Benadryl

I want to start off this post by saying that I have never actually been high.

That being said, I am now going to talk about Benadryl.

Lols. "Benadryl...Benadryl...BIN-uh-drill..."

On it's label, Benadryl admits to the possibility of experiencing drowsiness while taking it. What it doesn't tell you is that in some cases, the drug can cause you to enter a reality where everything happens a full 3 seconds after it does in the real world. It also does not tell you that the world might tilt out from under you or that you might not remember a few hours of your afternoon.

I dunno. Maybe it's just me.

I've taken Benadryl when necessary my whole life, but as I've gotten older the effects have gotten worse. If my allergies get bad enough to take Benadryl, they must be REALLY, REALLY BAD, because once the tiny pink and white pill is in my system, I will be incapacitated within 20 minutes.

See, it's especially bad for me because I'm normally a rather quick person. I get puns, react to the phone ringing, block punches etc. pretty fast. When I'm on Benadryl, it cuts my brain function down about 80%. I am forced to retain, process and react with 20% of my brain juices flowing. For me, it's kind of frustrating, if I have my wits about me enough to be frustrated. For everyone around me, it's pretty freakin' hilarious.

It is also the time to have me divulge any deep dark secret you've always wanted to know. {I really wish I were kidding, guys.}

For me, the weirdest part of the Benadryl experience is when you feel it start to kick in. I remember one time when I was writing "The Mirror." The words were coming alright, and I was getting some decent thoughts down, when suddenly it started to feel like I was struggling through Chinese with a cotton-insulated brain.

I frowned at the screen, squinting my eyes, and analyzed each letter one by one. I carefully formed each of them into a word, and then each word into a sentence, but by the time I understood the sentence, I couldn't remember why I was reading it. Trying to put down a coherent thought to go WITH the sentence was a straight shot past impossible.

Then there was one time at small group when I was about twelve. It was my parents small group at Mrs. Suzanne's house, and she has cats, which I'm allergic to. I took some good ol' Benadryl, and twenty minutes later I tried to walk through the living room. The world literally looked tilted on its side, so much so that I actually cocked my head, trying to see straight. Then this bench kind of floated up to my hands and I was leaning on it. My mom asked me if I was okay, but she sounded like she was at the end of a tunnel. Three seconds later I looked at her, kind of trying to be sure I knew who she was, and nodded.

The last time I took Benadryl was on my sixteenth birthday. The power was out at my house, so my family and I {and Sam} headed to a friend's house so we could watch the Super Bowl. She has cats. Which I'm still allergic to. So after a couple of hours, I started to feel really awful and gave in to the pink and white pill. 20 minutes later...I didn't know which way was up. We were all in the guest bedroom, watching a movie, but nothing was registering whatsoever. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what all happened. I also don't remember what I said to Sam on the way home, but I remember lots of laughing and confusion.

Needless to say, Benadryl screws with my miiiiind.

What about you?

~Stephanie