The varieties of ecstasy experience: a phenomenological ethnography.

Summary

The study explores the experiences of ecstasy users in Sydney, Australia, highlighting nine thematic areas such as initial reactions, emotional connections, and the return to baseline after use. These user reports confirm existing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding ecstasy and suggest that a phenomenological framework can enhance the literature on this topic.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Ecstasy (MDMA) has attracted widespread attention with its association as a "recreational substance" that is concentrated in club and rave settings. This paper outlines a phenomenologically grounded ethnographic study of the experiences of ecstasy users in the Sydney, Australia, area. I espouse phenomenology as a framework for describing and understanding these experiences. A number of excerpts are presented from my primary corpus of ethnographic material. For the purposes of this paper I assemble user's reports into nine thematic areas: (1) initial reactions and peaking; (2) the rush; (3) plateau; (4) coming down/scattering; (5) love; (6) peace, love, understanding, and respect; (7) connections on ecstasy; (8) unificatory experiences; (9) returning to baseline. The typical experiences presented in these reports confirm and extend interdisciplinary approaches to understanding ecstasy. I suggest that a context-specific approach that is phenomenologically attuned to user's experiences with ecstasy can contribute to the growing body of literature undertaken in the Australian and international research community.