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Could ayahuasca have health benefits?

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Could ayahuasca have health benefits?

#51

Post by Fnoord »

jdironman wrote: post #26
fc003153 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a lot of apps are helpful to get you started, but a general example of meditation is being comfortable in good posture while focusing on deep, slow, and calm breaths. The main goal of meditation is to think of absolutely nothing, and focus in the present.

I always have heard the goal of meditation is not to 'think of nothing' but if a thought enters your mind observe it and let it pass. By 'trying to not think of anything' you are actually thinking of doing just that.

Correct, the way to deal with thoughts and emotions during mindfulness or meditation is non-judgmental acceptance, not with opposing, denying, fighting.

Re: Could ayahuasca have health benefits?

#52

Post by berberous »

darpa_escapee wrote: post #48
laser wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So some guy on the internet says that a friend of a friend of a friend of his lost his mind on Ayahuasca? Based on schizophrenia rates, I suspect pretty much everyone even has a friend of a friend that might catalyze their latent schizophrenia through psychedelics. But, the idea that psychedelics cause mental illness in those that otherwise would have been fine is not supported by scientific evidence[1][2], only anec…

The functional difference between 'causes schizophrenia' and 'triggers latent schizophrenia' to someone who is diagnosed with schizophrenia after ingesting ayahuasca is practically non-existent. Sure, you can generalize that those with family members who have schizophrenia are at an increased risk of having it rear its head. However, not everyone with schizophrenia gets diagnosed nor do many people have detailed psyc…

I would agree with you if there are people with 'latent schizophrenia' that would never have it become active but for the drug use. But perhaps it's more like someone with a heart defect that dies after some physical exercise -- there was a latent defect that would have revealed itself sooner or later (and schizophrenia is generally diagnosed by one's mid to late 20's). Does the literature have a consensus on which is the case?

Re: Could ayahuasca have health benefits?

#53

Post by hysterix »

nicodjimenez wrote: post #29
pstuart wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My only DMT experience lasted about 15 minutes, and that was plenty.

Yes, SWIM took DMT and loved it but finds the idea of Ayahuasca very frightening indeed.

Only idiots refer to themselves as "SWIM". Go back to dmt-nexus.

You're not throwing off the DEA or any other law enforcement agency, you just come off as a moron.

Re: Could ayahuasca have health benefits?

#55

Post by wallace_f »

hal9000xp wrote: post #35
virtualwhys wrote: post #13

> Could psychedelic drug ayahuasca have health benefits? Certainly, anecdotally I kicked a very strong 20 year coffee and sugar habit after doing a 3-day retreat in Latin America this past winter. Just happened naturally, oh, I don't need this daily coffee and sugar fix anymore. On the flip side, as the article mentions, the psychedlic tourism industry as a whole doesn't have formal safe guards in place for when the…

> I don't need this daily coffee and sugar fix anymore. In the same way, some people just stop being "addicted" to life in general after strong trip. Some of them decide to commit suicide. Just yesterday, I've been in party and one guy told story of his friend who committed suicide after such trip. The big problem with psychedelics is that you can't predict in which way a trip could change you.

Yea, in simple terms it has a multiplier effect on everything you experience. If feelings go bad, they can go really bad and remain that way afterwards.

But you commented on suicide. I also have a friend who unfortunately passed this way. Do you have any data on this? From what I have seen, studies have been limited.

I had read somewhere on erowid years ago a study where an increase in mental illness and suicide after psychadelic use was positive but less than an increase seen in another study of people who had completed religious quests.

Re: Could ayahuasca have health benefits?

#56

Post by Fnoord »

pstuart wrote: post #19
Fnoord wrote: post #9

Ayahuasca is a South American brew consisting of two plants one consisting of a MAOI and another of DMT (the exact plant genus differs). DMT without a MAOI gets broken down by the blood brain barrier, so its not efficient without the MAOI. The MAOI however puts dietary restrictions before the drug is being administered, and also makes the drug last vastly longer. Without the MAOI, the DMT wouldn't last long (IIRC eve…

My only DMT experience lasted about 15 minutes, and that was plenty.

I assume Ayahuasca refers to MAOI + DMT instead of merely DMT, but I could be wrong. Although which plants would be used as source? Maybe we should try to avoid the term Ayahuasca altogether; it is vague.

Re: Could ayahuasca have health benefits?

#57

Post by fjsh »

hal9000xp wrote: post #35
virtualwhys wrote: post #13

> Could psychedelic drug ayahuasca have health benefits? Certainly, anecdotally I kicked a very strong 20 year coffee and sugar habit after doing a 3-day retreat in Latin America this past winter. Just happened naturally, oh, I don't need this daily coffee and sugar fix anymore. On the flip side, as the article mentions, the psychedlic tourism industry as a whole doesn't have formal safe guards in place for when the…

> I don't need this daily coffee and sugar fix anymore. In the same way, some people just stop being "addicted" to life in general after strong trip. Some of them decide to commit suicide. Just yesterday, I've been in party and one guy told story of his friend who committed suicide after such trip. The big problem with psychedelics is that you can't predict in which way a trip could change you.

Which drug? Context matters.

Salvia can be a very negative experience and has allegedly caused suicides.

DMT is almost a universally euphoric and positive experience although not Ayahausca. I have never heard of anyone committing suicide after either.

The big problem with psychedelics is how people spread fear and uncertainty. Try sharing the death statistics for alcohol the next time you share a bottle of wine with a romantic interest.

Re: Could ayahuasca have health benefits?

#58

Post by curun1r »

R_haterade wrote: post #6
jack_pp wrote: post #5

I don't have any evidence of this but I stronly suspect that doing regular meditation will reduce the chance of bad trips or atleast let you deal with them much better. I'm saying this in case someone decides to experiment with DMT or other halucinogens, you should seriously consider trying meditation as a prerequisite.

Anything specific practices you recommend? I'm not interested in ayahuasca, but meditation has been on my list for a while now.

I don't want to push you towards any specific practice, but I'd highly encourage you to find the time to do a full retreat that gets you away from your daily routine, computing devices and other distractions. The first retreat I did was almost 2 weeks and I felt palpable withdrawal symptoms until the end of the 4th day when I started to become more calm and able to focus on the meditation. Not everyone feels similar, but I'd recommend against anything one week or shorter because I feel it doesn't give you the time to get in the right headspace to experience the benefits of meditation.

Shorter retreats can be beneficial to experienced meditators who practice on a regular basis and can make the most of a quick, intense period of meditation. But for beginners, it's not enough time to shake you free of your life and let you truly focus.

Re: Could ayahuasca have health benefits?

#59

Post by jdavis703 »

odammit wrote: post #32
andai wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can confirm, addictions to sugar, caffeine, alcohol and cannabis evaporated during my trip and did not return for many weeks. I had never felt so peaceful and balanced in my life. Whereas previously I was trying to escape chaos with substances, now consuming substances would only serve unbalance me. I felt like, wow, this is what a human being is supposed to feel like! When you face what is within you, and process it…

This is interesting. I only know one person that’s done it and he said the same thing. Kicked all the habits. I didn’t know him before his trip so I assumed he was kind of full of it. Based on my escalating coffee bill maybe I should give this a swing... So are the hallucinations ever “fun”? I’ve dabbled in other things and it has generally been very video game like kidjoy. All ayahuasca hallucinations I’ve read abou…

Caffeine pills are pretty cheap. Switching to them has saved me a ton, and now that lattes are a once-a-week treat I enjoy them more.

Re: Could ayahuasca have health benefits?

#60

Post by adrusi »

darpa_escapee wrote: post #48
laser wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So some guy on the internet says that a friend of a friend of a friend of his lost his mind on Ayahuasca? Based on schizophrenia rates, I suspect pretty much everyone even has a friend of a friend that might catalyze their latent schizophrenia through psychedelics. But, the idea that psychedelics cause mental illness in those that otherwise would have been fine is not supported by scientific evidence[1][2], only anec…

The functional difference between 'causes schizophrenia' and 'triggers latent schizophrenia' to someone who is diagnosed with schizophrenia after ingesting ayahuasca is practically non-existent. Sure, you can generalize that those with family members who have schizophrenia are at an increased risk of having it rear its head. However, not everyone with schizophrenia gets diagnosed nor do many people have detailed psyc…

Presumably the person with latent schizophrenia would see it emerge at later date even if they didn't take psychedelics. If the drug is only making symptoms emerge earlier, the cost of the trip is only however many years of sanity you had left (say, 5) rather than a lifetime of sanity (~65 years).
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