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Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin

nature.com

41–50 of 192 posts

Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar experience taking LSD(or whatever was on the blotter) when I was a kid. I've done psychedelics since and enjoyed it, but that was my third experience and it was decades before I tried again.

That is what puts me off trying LSD. It seems that unless you live in the Bay area and are friends with certain organic chemists, your chances of getting good quality, real LSD are slim. However, mushrooms are quite easy to grow.

[...] you're chances of getting good quality, real LSD are slim

How do you figure?

Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar experience taking LSD(or whatever was on the blotter) when I was a kid. I've done psychedelics since and enjoyed it, but that was my third experience and it was decades before I tried again.

That is what puts me off trying LSD. It seems that unless you live in the Bay area and are friends with certain organic chemists, your chances of getting good quality, real LSD are slim. However, mushrooms are quite easy to grow.

That isn't true here in the UK at least, it is easy and quite cheap to get real LSD. Also it's pretty easy to test too

Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin

#43
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Daily medication, which must be taken without fail in order to have a normal life, is a liability. It can be lost, stolen, or missed. It must be obtained on a regular basis, and carried around on trips. I doubt these are a real problem for people who have a modicum of conscientiousness. >A one-time, permanent cure is clearly superior If you think that big bad pharma companies are keeping people from taking one-time…

> I doubt these are a real problem for people who have a modicum of conscientiousness. What does conscientiousness have to do with it? You might need to travel or transit through a country which prohibits carrying them. Now you have to cancel the trip or go without the medicine. > by all means come up with a one-time cure on your own This is not helpful. People have the right to ask questions without being asked to d…

> Now you have to cancel the trip or go without the medicine.

International travel is a minuscule thing to give up if you get effective depression (or pretty much any chronic condition) treatment in exchange. Heck most people can't justify the expense of international travel in the first place and the number of people who do it regularly for work and have depression is very small compared to the number of people who have depression. Practically nobody is going to let a chronic condition that affects their daily life go untreated because there's a short list of countries they can't have that treatment in.

Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin

#44
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is what puts me off trying LSD. It seems that unless you live in the Bay area and are friends with certain organic chemists, your chances of getting good quality, real LSD are slim. However, mushrooms are quite easy to grow.

[...] you're chances of getting good quality, real LSD are slim How do you figure?

It is not that popular as a drug and there can't be that many people world-wide capable of producing it.

Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin

#45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is what puts me off trying LSD. It seems that unless you live in the Bay area and are friends with certain organic chemists, your chances of getting good quality, real LSD are slim. However, mushrooms are quite easy to grow.

That isn't true here in the UK at least, it is easy and quite cheap to get real LSD. Also it's pretty easy to test too

I guess I haven't been that motivated to really look for it, so maybe I'm wrong about availability here.

Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar experience taking LSD(or whatever was on the blotter) when I was a kid. I've done psychedelics since and enjoyed it, but that was my third experience and it was decades before I tried again.

That is what puts me off trying LSD. It seems that unless you live in the Bay area and are friends with certain organic chemists, your chances of getting good quality, real LSD are slim. However, mushrooms are quite easy to grow.

>It seems that unless you live in the Bay area and are friends with certain organic chemists, your chances of getting good quality, real LSD are slim.

Definitely not true. LSD is one of the purest recreational drugs you can buy. If it's LSD it's 'good' LSD. Occasionally dox or nbome are sold as LSD but even that is relatively rare. Also you can just order it online.

Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin

#47
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I doubt these are a real problem for people who have a modicum of conscientiousness. What does conscientiousness have to do with it? You might need to travel or transit through a country which prohibits carrying them. Now you have to cancel the trip or go without the medicine. > by all means come up with a one-time cure on your own This is not helpful. People have the right to ask questions without being asked to d…

Are there any examples of medication other than ADHD medication that are have such restrictions in certain countries?

Opioid-based painkillers for sure, sleeping pills, apparently even decongestants like Sudafed because they contain pseudoephedrine.

Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin

#48
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[...] you're chances of getting good quality, real LSD are slim How do you figure?

It is not that popular as a drug and there can't be that many people world-wide capable of producing it.

Nah, it's an extremely popular drug and right now it's probably more available than any time since the sixties.

Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin

#50
post #6

Totally anecdotal but LSD made my depression significantly worse than improving it in any way. I had two proper trips and had a seizure kind of thing at the start of the second one due to the overwhelming visuals (not experienced anything like that before or since). EDIT: to expand, it made me very questioning of my own consciousness and gave me severe and persistent existential dread and fear of death to the point w…

That's rough. I'm sorry you're struggling with the aftermath.

My own story may be relevant to you. FWIW:

I was really into zen as a kid. Part of my rebellion against Christianity and leaving my church. Once while meditating, I accidentally had a pretty bad trip. (I can describe the actual trip separately.) I was completely unprepared, didn't even know such a thing was possible.

It's kicked my ass ever since.

From what I read (afterwards), others have called that kind of trip ego death, death-rebirth, religious experience.

In buddhist terms, if that was the 2nd stage, I had ZERO interest in experiencing the 3rd stage, much less the 4th stage (aka "enlightenment").

A few months later, I was diagnosed with an acute life threatening disease. I was hospitalized for months, spent a few years recovering.

So the upside to having the living shit scared out of me while meditating was that actual near death real experiences were emotional cake walks. My care providers were like "Who is this kid?!" My family was less amused by my apparent blasé attitude.

Any way. To wrap this up.

We're all going get "there" one way or another. You're gonna die. It's all pointless. Yadda, yadda.

But you can choose to resume your normal life. You cope. You adapt. Fake it, if you have to, like I did. And eventually the habit of day to day living, striving, struggling, smelling the roses will become your new normal. Most of the time.

Just one caveat. Your pharmacology can absolutely change your brain, personality, outlook. Mental well being isn't just happy self-talk. Mind and body are inseparable. So figure out that other stuff too, if needed.

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