Oh, don’t underestimate the effect of heat. Good hot spices do more than add flavor (if it doesn’t, it’s crap), at a high enough level it induces an endorphin rush - a legal high of happiness and laughter. Last time I had “nuclear level hot” wings, I just sat there and giggled for 5-10 minutes despite profuse sweating, ending with an afterglow of joy. Yes, it tasted good too.
I’ve also had Hertz Hot Sauce (”So hot it Hertz!”). Threw it out. It hurt, it was supposed to hurt, and all it did was hurt.
Don’t confuse good vs bad hot sauce. Like good beer, wine, steak, etc good hot spices is a visceral experience that brings you back to your base essence of being human.
On the ‘pepper high’...I remember reading about a guy who was a connoisseur of really hot peppers and the endorphin rush you spoke of.
He’d said he was sharing a plate of roasted habaneros with a friend at a cafe in South America. He said that he could swear that during the ‘high’, his hearing seemed to become diminished. He spoke to his friend about it, and the waiter overheard.
The waiter replied, “Yes, senor...that is so you don’t hear your own screams.”