Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

California study begins screening for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD

maps.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 212 posts

Re: California study begins screening for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD

#91

Post by W4ldi »

virtualritz wrote: post #44
abledon wrote: post #2

I don't think this stuff should be sold, say, in a gas station beside the humpty dumpty peanuts... but it does have its place. The mental health epidemic for returning veterans for example[1]: "More than 45,000 veterans and active-duty service members have killed themselves in the past six years. That is more than 20 deaths a day — in other words, __more suicides each year than the total American military deaths in A…

> I don't think this stuff should be sold, say, in a gas station beside the humpty dumpty peanuts... but it does have its place. But alcohol (or tobacco) should? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rational_scale_to_asses...

If you think Tobacco and Alcohol are as dangerous as MDMA you have no idea about drugs. It can escalate far far far more easily and I hate those comparison. I'm speaking from experience.

Re: California study begins screening for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD

#92

Post by noduerme »

refurb wrote: post #82
nkozyra wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It strikes me that none* of these are "liberal policies" but rather realities that arose in a few West Coast liberal cities that simply couldn't handle the influx of people who came to SF, Portland, Seattle. * Perhaps no bail, although I think in isolation that's unlikely to be an issue These areas are always unique because transient and the homeless can live with some degree of year round comfort, so they will be na…

These are all liberal/progressive policies enacted across the West Coast - Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angelas. Progressives believe in restorative justice not prison or punishment. They believe that justice is actually righting the wrong that caused people to behave this way in the first place . "The infinite perfectability of man". That's a core progressive belief. Thus they "catch and release" for non-vi…

What you're saying is right. I still fail to understand whether "restorative justice" actually comes from love or from some desire to watch the world burn. But you're describing what I've seen with my own eyes in the past few years in PDX. A slow self-immolation. What's sort of nuts to me is: I'm an extremist for personal freedom and individual rights, I loathe authority but I believe in collaborative action, and I'm a leftist in terms of helping people get off the bottom and on their feet. I guess that's what "liberal" used to mean. But I'm morally offended by what progressivism stands for now. I can't see the reason in justifying terrorism against working people by people who refuse to work, and worse, clothing it in some kind of bullshit moral superiority. Because that's what it's become.

Re: California study begins screening for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD

#93

Post by WillDaSilva »

SpodGaju wrote: post #56
emteycz wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, MDMA will simply stop working for you for a while after you do it a few times in a row. Alcohol, not really.

You literally described what addiction is in reference to MDMA. And this is going to be the problem with the drug for treating mood disorders. Just like Prozac, it will stop working And you will need a larger dose for the same action. Just because you don’t actively go out and seek for a drug does not mean you are not addicted (conditioned)to it.

Addiction and tolerance are related, but distinct.

Re: California study begins screening for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD

#94

Post by noduerme »

thorin wrote: post #64
noduerme wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the heart of Portland, Oregon. It was safe as fuck before the pandemic. I grew up in Los Angeles and lived in East LA awhile; lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant two years; lived in the Tenderloin for a year (not the way it is now). I've also lived in Prague, Barcelona, Saigon, Bangkok, Sydney (King's Cross, before the fall of it). The total chaos and anarchy of Portland right now is hard to explain. Almost everyone I kno…

That sounds horrendous. I had a friend from Portland that I met kayaking and he made it sound like heaven on earth. I have friends from UK who moved to work at Google (in Washington I guess?) Is there a great re-location of tech staff happening in the US right now? I heard that a lot of people are leaving California including a few friends of mine. Even Joe Rogan moved to Austin and he can handle himself!

The countryside is beautiful.

Everyone in the US who formerly worked in an office is threatening to quit if they can't work remotely full time now. No one is going back to offices. Oregon is a beautiful place to move to. 99% of it is not the city of Portland.

Re: California study begins screening for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD

#95

Post by noduerme »

SpodGaju wrote: post #90
noduerme wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No - they're pseudo-progressive on both fronts. It's not really that. They're passive aggressive . The phrase that always goes through my mind in this city is ineffectual asshole .

Yes, passive aggressive: "Passive-aggressive people regularly exhibit resistance to requests or demands from family and other individuals often by procrastinating, expressing sullenness, or acting stubborn." "What do we want!?" "Ending homelessness!" "When do we want it?" "It's impossible!"

Oh, ending homelessness is a stupid priority. Giving people the education to take care of themselves if they choose to is important, but what they do with it is only my problem if they make it my problem. I can't spend my life taking care of people who refuse to take care of themselves.

Re: California study begins screening for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD

#96

Post by disabled »

BoxOfRain wrote: post #74
SpodGaju wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

Anecdotally when I've taken SSRIs in the past they worked very quickly, what took 2-4 weeks was the side effects to set in. Everyone's response is so different though, I had a friend who was on an identical dose of an identical drug to me and it effectively and lastingly lifted a deep depression in them while it was the real-life equivalent of the Dementor's Kiss for me. I'm glad these tools exist and do help people,…

> I'm glad these tools exist and do help people, though I do think the potential risks are downplayed in our society.

I have been dealing with severe akathisia from medications I took for severe depression.

I have 2 rare immune mediated neurological diseases affecting my peripheral nervous system plus type 1 diabetes. None of this is even remotely as bad as the akathisia.

There are people who are cancer survivors, combat veterans, rape survivors, who all say that akathisia by far takes the cake in terms of traumatic experiences.

Please if you are going to be taking psych meds of any type, get genetic testing done:

https://Genomind.com

It is covered 100% by original Medicare and/or Medicaid. So, it is not like it is some non-proven technology.

You can develop akathisia spontaneously, too, so even if you are on psych meds now, you need to get tested.

Re: California study begins screening for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD

#97

Post by LocalH »

W4ldi wrote: post #91
virtualritz wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't think this stuff should be sold, say, in a gas station beside the humpty dumpty peanuts... but it does have its place. But alcohol (or tobacco) should? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rational_scale_to_asses...

If you think Tobacco and Alcohol are as dangerous as MDMA you have no idea about drugs. It can escalate far far far more easily and I hate those comparison. I'm speaking from experience.

Alcohol is far more dangerous than MDMA, both in long-term usage and immediate effects. Especially when you consider how socially acceptable it is to drink alcohol, and thus the total consumption of alcohol is far higher. Tobacco is largely dangerous in the long term, the immediate damage from tobacco is much smaller.

Re: California study begins screening for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD

#98

Post by noduerme »

SpodGaju wrote: post #89
noduerme wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know I just had an argument with three union reps at a bar tonight - basically around the idea that "you were lucky..." but the outcome as phrased by one of them was "individual thoughts don't matter, I have no interest in that. Everything is systemic". I've staked my entire life on being an individual who won't support a team, a religion, or a social movement (beyond individual points I agree with). I happen to…

Quoted post unavailable.

No, I was not a savage. And you're not a savage. You're right, the world will act the way they're treated. I try to act kindly when possible. What's wrong with beering the homeless kids? But I don't think much of them.

This ain't about me being "good". It's about my right to exist and work and live whether some 18 year old is having a bad family life or not. It's about handling their problems, as I have had to handle my own. Funny. Sympathy only flows in one direction - towards the generation who were born of the richest fattest bulge of neocon shitheads in imperial american history. Who shit on my porch in the name of equity and social justice, literally, waving ipads.

You lost me at Ukraine. I don't see how that relates to this. But FWIW, you think it's gross that I explained both sides of my attempt to understand and my underlying dislike of the people outside my door? Cool, I'm not trying to be your friend. I'm explaining how I've chosen to deal with a world of spoiled shit spawn of boomers. Bit of carrot and stick.

[edit] also? >>they hate it because it is history now. They still love war

...is incredibly ignorant. We hated it because it was WRONG, the way Russians who protest now know that their war is wrong. This is recent and important history. The war just ended. It was the longest war in US history. It's a very good thing that people hated it. Because above all it happened for completely artificial reasons. Yes, this means you might have to admit that some wars are more artificial than others, but that one, for those of us who watched in horror when it started, was completely unjustified. So go ahead and shit on the people who were out in the streets protesting. You clearly know better.

Re: California study begins screening for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD

#99

Post by emteycz »

SpodGaju wrote: post #56
emteycz wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, MDMA will simply stop working for you for a while after you do it a few times in a row. Alcohol, not really.

You literally described what addiction is in reference to MDMA. And this is going to be the problem with the drug for treating mood disorders. Just like Prozac, it will stop working And you will need a larger dose for the same action. Just because you don’t actively go out and seek for a drug does not mean you are not addicted (conditioned)to it.

Larger dose won't work. No dose will work. There is no more action until you wait long enough (usually weeks).

Re: California study begins screening for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD

#100

Post by LocalH »

SpodGaju wrote: post #56
emteycz wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, MDMA will simply stop working for you for a while after you do it a few times in a row. Alcohol, not really.

You literally described what addiction is in reference to MDMA. And this is going to be the problem with the drug for treating mood disorders. Just like Prozac, it will stop working And you will need a larger dose for the same action. Just because you don’t actively go out and seek for a drug does not mean you are not addicted (conditioned)to it.

The thing about MDMA is that it causes your brain to dump your serotonin reserves into your brain all at once. Doing that too often, without letting your serotonin rebuild, can cause serotonin syndrome.

I think psychedelics are safer in that regard. Nobody in the history of humanity has ever physically done "too much acid". Even some people who ingested tens of thousands of micrograms (thinking they were snorting coke) came out of it perfectly fine with appropriate care (since the amount was so high compared to the usual dosages, they did need medical care).

Post reply on HN