Mood & Behaviour Enhancers

Mood and behaviour enhancers are taken for the purpose of altering mood or social behaviours in people who may or may not be mentally healthy.

The use of mood and behaviour enhancers is nothing new, and in particular drugs such as alcohol, cannabis and MDMA have been used for these types of effects. Besides these more ‘traditional drugs’ people are finding new ways to improve their mood, reduce anxiety, relief pain and increase ‘happiness’. For example, the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to treat ‘depressed feelings’ (e.g. Prozac) or the use of beta blockers (e.g. Propranolol) to deal with stage fright.

Currently there is little research on people who are using these drugs as part of their medical treatment or just to enhance themselves. In the US 54 million people over the age of 12 have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons in their lifetime. The most commonly non-medically used prescription drugs are painkillers (e.g. oxycodone), central nervous system depressants (e.g. tranquilizers), and prescription stimulants. Another study in the UK showed that the lifetime prevalence of prescription drug misused was 33% amongst students and 25% among university staff, of which again painkillers were the main used drugs, followed by sedatives (e.g. amobarbital) and sleeping pills (e.g. alprazolam). Further, it is shown that an increasing number of people are using SSRIs to enhance their mood, although several studies have showed no immediate or delayed mood enhancing effects. The use of mood and behaviour enhancers is more common among individuals who have a high workload and private stress such as surgeons or students.

In general, the harms posed by these types of human enhancement drugs have been extensively studied in the medical literature, as most mood and behaviour enhancers are licensed medications used to treat problems such as depression and social anxiety disorder. Like any medication, these drugs may come with several potential side-effects including a range of physical and psychiatric effects. For instance, painkillers and SSRIs may cause dizziness, fatigue, headaches, sleeping problems and skin rashes. Furthermore, there is a risk of dependence when using certain mood and behaviour enhancers (e.g. opioids), even when you take them for more than a few days. However, little research exists on the effects of these drugs on healthy individuals who use them for non-medical reasons.