The life-changing effects of hallucinations • Hacker News Board

Re: The life-changing effects of hallucinations

#11

Post by kodah » Thu, Oct 06, 2022, 4:23 PM UTC

PuppyTailWags wrote: post #7

Interesting to me is the notion displayed here that hallucinations have a variety of internal response criteria and circumstance, only one of which is psychosis. And yet, psychosis has an overstated influence on hallucinations as a subject matter in the cultural consciousness.

Spot on. When I did LSD for the first time I was honestly shocked at my experience juxtaposed with what I had learned about psychedelics in popular culture (read: Thompson-esque). I didn't hallucinate at all. Rather, my mind was just more amenable to thoughts I wouldn't normally explore. It dropped my fears and judgements alongside making most things somewhat funny and giving me a ton of energy.

Re: The life-changing effects of hallucinations

#12

Post by drcongo » Thu, Oct 06, 2022, 4:25 PM UTC

The life-changing effect of LSD for me was a profound shift in the clarity of my thinking, like gaining a new superpower (compared to my prior, foggy brain) overnight. I'll always be thankful for that first trip.

Re: The life-changing effects of hallucinations

#13

Post by zwieback » Thu, Oct 06, 2022, 4:28 PM UTC

I'm a bit surprised about the enthusiasm for legalizing hallucinogenic drugs. My homestate of Oregon has legalized them (in certain settings) now but if hallucinogenic drugs are as powerful and life-changing as advocates claim I would think that we should have a good medical and legal framework for their use.

Re: The life-changing effects of hallucinations

#14

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 06, 2022, 4:30 PM UTC

kodah wrote: post #10

I wouldn't call myself a psychonaut yet, but I do love hallucinations. One thing I think the article didn't touch on that I found profoundly interesting is depersonalization. I had a trip recently where I entirely left my conscious reality behind, temporarily, except by a very thin thread. Some context for those that don't follow the fractals, depersonalization isn't super common on things like mushrooms or LSD, but…

[deleted]

Re: The life-changing effects of hallucinations

#15

Post by fknorangesite » Thu, Oct 06, 2022, 4:33 PM UTC

zwieback wrote: post #13

I'm a bit surprised about the enthusiasm for legalizing hallucinogenic drugs. My homestate of Oregon has legalized them (in certain settings) now but if hallucinogenic drugs are as powerful and life-changing as advocates claim I would think that we should have a good medical and legal framework for their use.

> I would think that we should have a good medical and legal framework for their use.

That's...that's what legalizing is.

Re: The life-changing effects of hallucinations

#16

Post by kordlessagain » Thu, Oct 06, 2022, 4:35 PM UTC

If you have Aphantasia, you probably won’t visualize on hallucinogens.

Re: The life-changing effects of hallucinations

#17

Post by browheresmychar » Thu, Oct 06, 2022, 4:39 PM UTC

WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #5

browheresmychar wrote: post #2

Quoted post unavailable.

It’s a shame you didn’t actually read the article. You might have contributed something useful. For the others who ware intrigued but don’t want to read, the article is mostly about research into the mechanisms creating the hallucinations. Neuroscientists have known since the 60s that you can make people hallucinate shapes and colours by exposing them to strobing lights. It seems that syncing the lights with some of…

I read the whole article and yes the dream machine is interesting. I'm just commenting because there have been multiple articles on front page today about hallucinogens and the standard thought on HN is that these things are beneficial to society. I simply disagree.

Re: The life-changing effects of hallucinations

#18

Post by browheresmychar » Thu, Oct 06, 2022, 4:41 PM UTC

happytoexplain wrote: post #4

browheresmychar wrote: post #2

Quoted post unavailable.

I sort of understand what you're getting at, but on a surface level, saying that hallucinogenic drugs are boring and played out is like saying music or war is boring and played out. It's a forever topic because it's a static part of the world for every generation of humans since prehistory.

That's very true

Re: The life-changing effects of hallucinations

#19

Post by CabSauce » Thu, Oct 06, 2022, 4:41 PM UTC

kodah wrote: post #10

I wouldn't call myself a psychonaut yet, but I do love hallucinations. One thing I think the article didn't touch on that I found profoundly interesting is depersonalization. I had a trip recently where I entirely left my conscious reality behind, temporarily, except by a very thin thread. Some context for those that don't follow the fractals, depersonalization isn't super common on things like mushrooms or LSD, but…

To comment on getting out of a bad place in a trip... We've found that just talking about the feeling is extremely helpful in moving on. Instead of stewing and digging deeper, somehow that seems to bring us out.

Re: The life-changing effects of hallucinations

#20

Post by zwieback » Thu, Oct 06, 2022, 4:42 PM UTC

fknorangesite wrote: post #15

zwieback wrote: post #13

I'm a bit surprised about the enthusiasm for legalizing hallucinogenic drugs. My homestate of Oregon has legalized them (in certain settings) now but if hallucinogenic drugs are as powerful and life-changing as advocates claim I would think that we should have a good medical and legal framework for their use.

> I would think that we should have a good medical and legal framework for their use. That's...that's what legalizing is.

Point taken. I wonder if the one we came up with is enough.