"Once I sober up, though, I suddenly realize that they're a load of crap."
That's your experience. A lot of other people have really good ideas when they are high, and those ideas are still really good while sober.
Part of this is that normally when you have an insight while sober, there is a unique feeling of pleasure you get in your brain. This is because part of the way we identify when we've had an insight is when we get this feeling. However, when we're high we get this feeling much more easily, even if what we're thinking about isn't actually at all insightful. Thus you need to sort of reteach yourself how to think and evaluate the quality of your ideas in a way that isn't reliant on whether or not something 'feels' insightful.
It's a big step once you can divorce the depth of insight from the intensity of the eureka feeling. They are not necessarily linked.
That's your experience. A lot of other people have really good ideas when they are high, and those ideas are still really good while sober.
Part of this is that normally when you have an insight while sober, there is a unique feeling of pleasure you get in your brain. This is because part of the way we identify when we've had an insight is when we get this feeling. However, when we're high we get this feeling much more easily, even if what we're thinking about isn't actually at all insightful. Thus you need to sort of reteach yourself how to think and evaluate the quality of your ideas in a way that isn't reliant on whether or not something 'feels' insightful.
It's a big step once you can divorce the depth of insight from the intensity of the eureka feeling. They are not necessarily linked.