A Pragmatic Substance
Diazepam (Valium)
by Ams
Citation:   Ams. "A Pragmatic Substance: An Experience with Diazepam (Valium) (exp27013)". Erowid.org. Feb 10, 2004. erowid.org/exp/27013

 
DOSE:
  oral Pharms - Diazepam (pill / tablet)
BODY WEIGHT: 155 lb
Valium first entered my life when I was 21, and hanging out with a recovering heroin addict. He liked the drug in high doses because it reminded him of heroin, I liked it in low doses because it gave me that reassuring feeling of 'that's ok.' In the seven years since being introduced to valium, I've found that being able to induce the 'that's ok' feeling is VERY USEFUL.

It should be noted that the first time I took valium, I ended up having my first threesome, something that my own sexual anxiety never would have let happen had I been sober. When things started happening between the three of us, I just thought to myself, 'that's ok,' and let them happen. I thank valium for that. HOWEVER! It should also be noted that it was an threesome without condoms (me thinking, 'no condoms? that's ok...'), which leads me to my first point: VALIUM CAN LEAD TO BAD DECISION-MAKING, sexual and otherwise. When you think 'that's ok' about everything, it can get you into situations both bad and good.

I've used valium dozens of times as a come-down aid, taking low doses (2.5 - 5 mg) after a nights of doing ecstasy, acid, speed, coke, etc. I have reached a point in my life, in fact, where I won't go UP on any drug without having a way back DOWN, ie a 'parachute' of valium. It's interesting to note that at these low dosages, valium doesn't necessarily make you fall asleep after a night of partying (takes more like 20 mg for that), but does take the edge off.

For example, around hour 7 of an acid trip, I typically get cranky and gritty from lack of sleep, food, the come-down, etc. Taking 2.5 mg of valium doesn't really take those bad feelings away, it just makes me think, 'Oh. I feel tired and gritty and cracked out....that's ok!' It's a nice way to quiet a come-down, and at low dosages, you can still enjoy the ends of the trip.

As I said, at higher dosages, it will cleanly knock you out, which can also be nice. Doing valium to help me sleep after a night of partying has helped me realize that a big chunk of that 'cracked out' post-ecstasy, speed, or acid feeling is simply sleep-deprivation and exhaustion. If I sleep solidly on valium after doing an 'awake' drug, I find myself waking in much better shape than if I'd had a normal post-drug sleep. It does not, however, take care of that 'tuesday bluesday' feeling post-ecstasy.

Valium also has great pragmatic uses such as calming down my boyfriend (deathly afraid of flying) on airplanes. His experiences seem to mirror my own: he still expresses fear while flying, but has this general feeling of, 'Hmm, this is scary. That's ok.' We've also used higher dosages of valium (5 - 10 mg) on longer flights (8+ hours) to knock ourselves out for the whole duration of the trip. It's useful to help you reset your clock when dealing with jetlag -- when arriving at your destination, simply take a valium when you 'should' go to bed, destination time. It's much easier than fighting with your jetlagged body and trying to make it sleep.

Valium was nicknamed 'mother's little helper' for a reason: it makes any stress-inducing situation just fine. HOWEVER: if you overuse it, it seems to lower people's ability to deal with ANY sort of stressful situation, ie, 'Oh my god! I need to wash the dishes. Oh shit. I can't deal with this pressure. I NEED A VALIUM.' I'm sort of kidding here, but this drug is definitely habit-forming and very addictive. No joke. Be careful. I prefer to save my valium use for drug come-downs or travel. I start to feel sketchy about it as a general sleeping pill because it is so additive.

Exp Year: 2003ExpID: 27013
Gender: Female 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Feb 10, 2004Views: 96,912
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Pharms - Diazepam (115) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Various (28)

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