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…
Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin
51–60 of 192 posts
Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin
#52Earlier 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…
> 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…
Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin
#53Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin
#54Earlier 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. It can be expensive. It can stop working, from tolerance. It can have unpleasant side effects. A one-time, permanent cure is clearly superior. And your closing sentence was unnecessarily combative.
>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…
How insensitive of you.
Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin
#55Totally 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…
Makes me even more concerned when people talk about psychedelics as a low risk self-treatment for various illnesses. I myself have had a bad trip which resulted in years of anxiety and panic attacks (although after having done psychedelics many times before).
Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is not how psychedelics for treatment resistant depression is tested. The most common treatment protocol is a single psychedelics session assisted by 2 therapists (preceded by a few therapy sessions and some follow-ups). Overwhelmingly the evidence point to very significant effects lasting months after the session. This is far from "a never-ending psychedelic trip". If you follow the evidence for the most resear…
> The most common treatment protocol is a single psychedelics session assisted by 2 therapists (preceded by a few therapy sessions and some follow-ups). Ketamine is approved by the FDA for depression and also has a history, albeit shady, of being prescribed off-label at IV clinics. This is far more common than psychotherapy while taking medication and much less expensive too. > If you follow the evidence for the most…
Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin
#57Totally 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…
I wonder if some have a genetic predisposition to bad reactions to psychedelics. My best friend had an LSD reaction similar to yours (increasingly intense hallucinations until falling on the ground and starting to seize). His brother had a bad experience with psilocybin and jumped out a window. I believe a second brother also had a bad experience. Makes me even more concerned when people talk about psychedelics as a…
These days I steer clear of all drugs except for my SSRIs and alcohol, the latter being basically the only recreational drug I've taken that seems to not put me at some level of psychological turbulence.
Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin
#58Totally 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…
I don't reccomend LSD to anyone. My last time taking it was devastating. Traumatic hallucinations and delusions during the trip and I had anxiety and uncomfortable tactile sensations that took more than a year to dissipate.
Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin
#59Totally 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…
Marijuana never caused me any panic, but at the end of the trip, I was barely feeling anything and smoked a joint, what happened next was frightening. I felt an ache at my heart and considered calling the hospital for several hours, but was scared because of intoxication. I could not relax and sit at one place, there was darkening in my eyes, and peripheral vision was gone, and LSD made the feeling of fear massively intense. It felt as if my heart was going to stop just because I was thinking so much that I was dying.
I can only name what helped me then: I started walking short distances telling myself that if I manage to go from point A to point B then I'm fine and it's just a bad drug tripped. It helped, also tasting various flavours and hearing sounds from outside the street helped me focus my attention on something else. After a few hours of walking/tasting/hearing, I noticed my heart pace slowing down and the realisation that I wasn't in any real danger followed next. A terrible feeling that I will never forget. The bad trip lasted about 6 hours, and for the next few days, I felt a sharp pain in my chest.
Re: Alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin
#60Totally 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 wha…
I knew that wasn't ok at all so I ended up going back on my old SSRIs which, unsurprisingly, massively turned down the intensity knob on everything and brought me back to reality.
I think I struggled with the aftermath for about 6 months. At first I thought my anxiety was cured by the trip, but about 2 or 3 months after I started losing touch with reality. I am better now (due entirely to SSRIs) but still struggling with the generalized anxiety disorder I have grappled with for my life so far