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Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity

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Re: Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity

#21

Post by mnm1 »

whb07 wrote: post #6
mnm1 wrote: post #2

Current antidepressant drugs are garbage by comparison but we're stuck with them for profit and stupidity reasons. In the meantime millions who could potentially be helped suffer and die. It's truly hard to justify the current situation on this research and the government's position in letting people suffer and die from such a horrific condition as depression when there might be a solution right before our eyes. Futu…

Are we though? Most of the time people look for a pill solution to major deficiencies in their lives. The doctor isn’t strapping you down and shoving the drugs into your mouth. Just like blaming the heroine drug epidemic at pharma and doctors, it’s weird how we never look at the individual who’s taking the pills in the first place. Prior to this epidemic we had other ones to which everyone was really trying to pin th…

Not sure what you're asking. If you're asking if we are stuck with shitty drugs that only work sometimes and require the patient to be dependent on them, I'd say yes. The legal consequences are too severe to argue otherwise. Even carrying out legitimate scientific studies is close to impossible. Of course one should lol at the individual. One should also look at society's role in promoting depression. But you're not going to fix society so you're not going to fix the individual who is made sick by that society. People need friends and contact with other people, not the isolation our society provides. They need stability in life and purpose, not the unemployment and abysmal life our society provides for most of its members. We can't fix these problems. Blaming the individual for things that are out of his control is silly. Making him dependent on a substance to function is criminal. All the while we have medicine that one doesn't need to be dependent on and can be used once in awhile for recovery but researchers are punished with jail time so that we increase the profits of the company making the drug that doesn't work. Who wouldn't rightfully be depressed in such a society and who wouldn't be angry at people who suggest that the individual's own behavior rather than the helplessness and hopelessness of our society are his fault alone (as our society does with this issue)?

Re: Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity

#22

Post by cageface »

rufugee wrote: post #20
cageface wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I watched a good friend freak out in front of me on a bad trip. Almost thirty years later he's still not the same and needs antipsychotic medication to function. This kind of thing isn't common but it can definitely happen.

It's entirely possible that LSD uncovered or accentuated an underlying flaw in your friend's psyche...

It probably did but that flaw wasn't obvious at all beforehand. He was a bit eccentric but also a really bright and funny guy with a lot of friends and a very dedicated student.

Re: Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity

#23

Post by kolinko »

mnm1 wrote: post #2

Current antidepressant drugs are garbage by comparison but we're stuck with them for profit and stupidity reasons. In the meantime millions who could potentially be helped suffer and die. It's truly hard to justify the current situation on this research and the government's position in letting people suffer and die from such a horrific condition as depression when there might be a solution right before our eyes. Futu…

If you have a neurotypical person, therapy, or psychedelics can bring a lasting result.

But for a certain subset of population, with messed up serotonin pathways, antidepressants are the cure. Just like for a diabetic an insulin shot is.

Re: Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity

#24

Post by clu1590 »

tranchms wrote: post #13
pdgonzalez872 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So how do I get to experiment with this in a controlled and legal way these days?

You don’t. But if you have the drive, and are willing to take a small risk, you venture into the dark web and locate one of the handful of chemists/dealers who provide the world with its supply and buy in bulk. Or you find a friend who has already done this work.

To bad all the good Darknets were taken down and replaced with Honeypots.

Re: Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity

#25

Post by api »

cageface wrote: post #17
tranchms wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear ya. I’ve yet to see it negatively effect anyone other than a bad trip, which, seen in the right light, can be a therapeutic experience. But I know they need to be respected and understood. I also realize that some people with a family history of mental disorders like schizophrenia, would be better off staying away. Like, some people have used psychedelics, and they go crazy. But how many of those people were c…

I watched a good friend freak out in front of me on a bad trip. Almost thirty years later he's still not the same and needs antipsychotic medication to function. This kind of thing isn't common but it can definitely happen.

I've seen this too but not from just one trip. I've seen heavy users kind of never come back.

I suspect your friend had latent psychotic tendencies. Would be interesting to look at family history.

These are powerful drugs that seem capable of both helping and doing harm. They should definitely be used with care, studied, and not abused.

Of course what the war on drugs did was to ban the scientific study of these things and push them exclusively onto the street where they did get abused.

Re: Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity

#26

Post by mft_ »

tranchms wrote: post #7

I’m a huge proponent of safe psychedelic use, specifically LSD. I was massively depressed and suicidal growing up (I had family problems, and two of my best friends killed them selves at 13 and 17). I dropped out of high school. I experimented with LSD and mushrooms around 17/18 years old. And while I didn’t realize it then, my life massively changed for the better. Maybe I grew up. Maybe I took responsibility for my…

Any tips for approaching such experimentation in a relatively controlled manner?

(I've always been keen to try, but have avoided so far due to an unpleasant childhood experience when administered an opiate painkiller, which resulted in nightmares with conscious flashbacks for months.)

Re: Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity

#27

Post by acd »

Psychedelics such as LSD, Psilocybin and Mescaline has the ability to treat long term depression. They seem to allow you to step out of the box in other words get you a truly new perspective on the world. From what I can understand these drugs alter the brain area responsible for emotions the amygdala. I would go as far as to say people with long term depression needs reprogramming of their brain and one way to accomplish that is Psychedelics. This is not something one should self administer when depressed. For those who tried above substances did it change your brain for the better? Also I belive Psychedelic drugs could help people with autism spectrum for some. People with autism also be helped with a different perspective on the world.

Psilocybin and Depression https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03380442

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/psychedelic-drugs-...

Re: Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity

#28

Post by heavenlyblue »

mft_ wrote: post #26
tranchms wrote: post #7

I’m a huge proponent of safe psychedelic use, specifically LSD. I was massively depressed and suicidal growing up (I had family problems, and two of my best friends killed them selves at 13 and 17). I dropped out of high school. I experimented with LSD and mushrooms around 17/18 years old. And while I didn’t realize it then, my life massively changed for the better. Maybe I grew up. Maybe I took responsibility for my…

Any tips for approaching such experimentation in a relatively controlled manner? (I've always been keen to try, but have avoided so far due to an unpleasant childhood experience when administered an opiate painkiller, which resulted in nightmares with conscious flashbacks for months.)

Find someone who likes them, but is generally not too eager to speak about it - these are usually quite knowledgable but also realise the implications of social agenda coming with the use. I would be wary of anyone who is too much of a hippie, in a way. Ask the person of the implications: anyone who’s _just_ positive about the effects is probably a liar.

Find a nice time: for example, leave one-two days after your week-long vacation for a trip. You’ll have a clear mind and will be well-rested, so nothing to remind of a possibly stressful job.

Trip with the person from the first paragraph. One thing that I find is way more highlighted in people who are fond of psychedelics is knowing that people change when they trip and they expect that. So should be not many questions asked.

I would say approach the setting the way you would approach your therapist: personal stuff should remain in Vegas; and it will be a better trip if you can expose yourself.

Also the most imprtant part: don’t expect to feel “better”. It’s a two-sided experience, where it may swing you towards both depressing and incredibly positive. You learn how to manage that, but one thing that psychedelics are not is an escape.

Re: Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity

#29

Post by tranchms »

mft_ wrote: post #26
tranchms wrote: post #7

I’m a huge proponent of safe psychedelic use, specifically LSD. I was massively depressed and suicidal growing up (I had family problems, and two of my best friends killed them selves at 13 and 17). I dropped out of high school. I experimented with LSD and mushrooms around 17/18 years old. And while I didn’t realize it then, my life massively changed for the better. Maybe I grew up. Maybe I took responsibility for my…

Any tips for approaching such experimentation in a relatively controlled manner? (I've always been keen to try, but have avoided so far due to an unpleasant childhood experience when administered an opiate painkiller, which resulted in nightmares with conscious flashbacks for months.)

This resource: Maps.org

https://www.maps.org/resources/responding_to_difficult_psych...

It’s all about mindset and setting.

We could discuss what that entails, but that’s a long conversation. Good attitude, good vibes, safe setting, comfortable and familiar. In your home. In familiar nature. I’d avoid public places and people.

And it’s preferable for the first number of trips to have a safe and understanding “sitter” or “guide” there who is reliable and calm and supportive.

As you get more experienced, you can explore the bounds of set and setting, to push your mind to places for therapeutic purposes.

Psychedelics amplify whatever thoughts or surroundings you’re in. They turn up the volume, so to say, for good or ill.

The bad trips are the most therapeutic. You’re working through repressed thoughts and feelings that otherwise go unnoticed or denied or suppressed as a natural psycho response to pain.

Ridding self deception is the root of all therapy.

When that negativity comes to mind during a trip it’s often uncomfortable as hell. You work through it. You accept it. You embrace it. You see it in the right light, with the right perspective.

What you don’t do is resist thoughts or feelings or experiences. That only causes more problems.

You can’t run from yourself.

Re: Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity

#30

Post by [deleted] »

heavenlyblue wrote: post #28
mft_ wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any tips for approaching such experimentation in a relatively controlled manner? (I've always been keen to try, but have avoided so far due to an unpleasant childhood experience when administered an opiate painkiller, which resulted in nightmares with conscious flashbacks for months.)

Find someone who likes them, but is generally not too eager to speak about it - these are usually quite knowledgable but also realise the implications of social agenda coming with the use. I would be wary of anyone who is too much of a hippie, in a way. Ask the person of the implications: anyone who’s _just_ positive about the effects is probably a liar. Find a nice time: for example, leave one-two days after your we…

[deleted]
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