The improvement and deterioration of mood (euphoria and dysphoria) are represented in the cognitive schema as high and low elevations; thus, after the drug has elevated the mood (a state known as a high), there follows a period of coming back down, which often has a distinct character from withdrawal in stimulants.
Various drug classes, most especially stimulants and, to a lesser degree, opioids and sedatives, are subject to comedowns.
Stimulant comedowns are unique in that they often appear very abruptly after a period of focus or high, and are typically the more intensely dysphoric phase of withdrawal than that following complete elimination from the bloodstream.
Besides general dysphoria, this phase can be marked by frustration, anger, anhedonia, social withdrawal, and other symptoms characteristic to a milder mixed episode in bipolar disorder.
For example, in an MDMA ("ecstasy" and "molly") comedown, if the user experiences severe, persisting emotional distress, such as panic attacks, severe generalized anxiety, or insomnia following an MDMA session, a physician may prescribe a benzodiazepine (specifically, lorazepam) and/or sleep aid (e.g., zolpidem), to alleviate those effects.