How does Molly (MDMA) make you feel?

Learn how MDMA (Molly/Ecstasy) makes you feel and what the overall effects are, including euphoria and empathy.

New to RollSafe.org or MDMA? Check out our overview page.

How does pure Molly (MDMA) make you feel?

What is Molly like?

MDMA, Molly or Ecstasy, if pure and taken in a positive envrionment with a positive mindset, can make users feel like the world is perfect, with extreme euphoria, greatly enhanced touch and bodily sensations, and enhanced empathy and enhanced ability to have deeper and more understanding conversations with other people.

Chemist Sasha Shulgin describing his first 120 mg MDMA dose: “I feel absolutely clean inside, and there is nothing but pure euphoria. I have never felt so great, or believed this to be possible.”1

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi publicly compared psychedelics to a sacrament. Of MDMA he would later say for publication, “I felt the great delight of loving the universe and being loved by the universe.”1

Brother David Steindl-Rast told the Los Angeles Times the MDMA experience was “like climbing all day in the fog and then suddenly, briefly seeing the mountain peak for the first time. There are no shortcuts to the awakened attitude, and it takes daily work and effort. But the drug gives you a vision, a glimpse of what you are seeking.”1

“I have a friend,” Michael says, “who works with MDMA. He says there’s nothing you can get with MDMA that you can’t get without MDMA. You just might not get to it in this lifetime.”2

“MDMA puts you in the present moment,” Annie says, “It’s like with meditation, but some people never get to that point with meditation.”2

“Some people say MDMA gives them a map,” Michael adds, “and then later they can experience parts of that and find their way without the MDMA.”2

We do not promote the use of illegal psychoactive substances. This content has been created strictly for harm reduction purposes, and you should note that the only way to be perfectly safe using MDMA is to not take it at all. The same is true with alcohol, skydiving, and sex - the only way to be perfectly safe in these activities is to not do them.

If I buy Molly, will I feel like this?

Unfortunately for the safety of MDMA users, much of the “Molly” sold is not pure MDMA, and often contains no MDMA at all.

87% of “Molly” analyzed by the DEA between 2009 and 2013 contained 0% MDMA, instead mostly containing “bath salts” like methylone.3

Learn what’s in Molly.

Desirable effects from early MDMA research

What does Molly do to you? (Only applies if real MDMA)

In a published report summarizing the first twenty-nine subjects’ experience during the sessions, Greer notes that all of them reported positive changes in their attitudes and feelings, including sixteen who “felt more warm, fresh, alive, euphoric or loving feelings.” Ten reported “greater self-confidence or self-acceptance” and ten “felt their defenses were lowered.” There were also unpleasant effects. Twenty-two subjects reported jaw tension, shaking or teeth clenching during the session, and twenty-three reported fatigue lasting from a few hours to a few days after taking the MDMA.

Greer continued to track the long-term psychological impact of the session for up to two years for some subjects. “It is reasonable to conclude,” he wrote, “that the single best use of MDMA is to facilitate more direct communication between people involved in a significant relationship. Not only is communication enhanced during the session, but afterward as well.”

Sasha Shulgin, the chemist behind this chemistry, agreed with Greer’s conclusion. “It’s a lovely, gentle way for people to connect with each other”2

If you’re seeking the healing of trauma from your MDMA use, please know that it is unlikely to just happen magically without working to heal the trauma.

“Perhaps it’s not surprising,” Bogenschutz said, “that if someone went to a party and wanted to have a weird experience and they took psilocybin, they would have a weird experience and it wouldn’t necessarily change them in any particular way. Even with these very profound mystical experiences that people have, if they are not part of some kind of more organized effort to change, they are not necessarily going to make that much difference to people.”2

Stories of how people feel on MDMA or Molly/Ecstasy

This video by Sam Harris talks about how MDMA makes him feel.

Some other descriptions:

“It’s that quick feeling of relief and happiness you get when you finally find your car keys. For 4-6 hours.”4

“I always say “Anything and everything that you’re doing is exactly what you want to be doing more than anything else in the world and it all feels amazing.” Still doesn’t really cover it though.”4

“I usually just describe it to people as ‘the energy and confidence of being drunk, while simultaneously being level-headed and in a state of complete euphoria’.”4

A story from Quora (the whole story is great and worth reading):

The first time is usually wonderful — many regard it as one of life’s great experiences.

When I had my first experience of it, I was a forty-something professional man, happily married.

That little pill and a half had enabled me to experience joy, revamp my relationship, recover my self-esteem, and have some key insights into my neurotic blocks. It enhanced the quality of my life and made me a better person.

What are the desirable effects?

These effects last for 3-4 hours:

  • Everything is perfect - with you and with the world
  • Euphoria (extreme happiness)
  • Empathy + increased ability to connect with others
  • A feeling that you are more able to be yourself / be authentic

What are the side effects?

For MDMA’s side effects, see this page.

Therapy with MDMA

Check out our page on MDMA Therapy: Beneficial Things to Know.

References

New to RollSafe.org or MDMA? Start here.



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Recommended documentary about MDMA therapy: Trip of Compassion.