It was 22 at the time, so about 5 years ago. As far as my mental state, it's hard to say what was from what, since I consumed a lot of marijuana and cocaine at the time too, but I did have psychedelic-like visual distortions that persisted for many months after. Tryptamine tolerance builds very quickly so by the end I was taking a lot.
It was not the happiest time of my life, but not the worst either. I became pretty reclusive, and spent of lot of late, late nights walking around Minneapolis, sitting on the Stone Arch Bridge[1], watching insane late-night American TV / infomercials / televangelists, playing the guitar, and reading Hacker News. I maintained or even strengthened my interests in technology, but probably absorbed very little concrete knowledge at the time.
By less able to function, I mean I would've been utterly useless to an employer, or as a student, etc. I wouldn't have had the focus to complete any sort of complex project, software or otherwise. I did, however, manage to make some money ;)
So while I was not terribly productive, it did (I think) make me a more empathetic, positive, and less materialistic person and pushed me to make decisions that were ultimately very positive, like selling most of my stuff and moving to Cambodia! Still, I wouldn't recommend it and no doubt some of my behaviour could have incurred terrible legal consequences. My parents were definitely worried too.
It was not the happiest time of my life, but not the worst either. I became pretty reclusive, and spent of lot of late, late nights walking around Minneapolis, sitting on the Stone Arch Bridge[1], watching insane late-night American TV / infomercials / televangelists, playing the guitar, and reading Hacker News. I maintained or even strengthened my interests in technology, but probably absorbed very little concrete knowledge at the time.
By less able to function, I mean I would've been utterly useless to an employer, or as a student, etc. I wouldn't have had the focus to complete any sort of complex project, software or otherwise. I did, however, manage to make some money ;)
So while I was not terribly productive, it did (I think) make me a more empathetic, positive, and less materialistic person and pushed me to make decisions that were ultimately very positive, like selling most of my stuff and moving to Cambodia! Still, I wouldn't recommend it and no doubt some of my behaviour could have incurred terrible legal consequences. My parents were definitely worried too.
[1] http://www.waynemoran.com/blog2/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/s...