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

US could soon approve MDMA therapy

nature.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

381–390 of 406 posts

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#381

Post by eimrine »

ImPostingOnHN wrote: post #336
hammyhavoc wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've also struggled with depression. If you're certain there's no rationality behind it (self-esteem, family ill, money problems, war, health etc), it might be worth considering medication of some description, but most depressive episodes can be solved without any kind of medication. Most medications simply mask the problem and don't deal with the root cause. That's not to say that medications can't be useful in tack…

it's worth noting that MDMA generally doesn't seem to be one of those drugs that "masks the problem", and can be quite useful in "dealing with the root cause"

Dealing with the root cause seems more about lsd/dmt. Masks the problem temporarily is about alcohol. Mdma is about mask the problem long term.

But the problem I am having in mind is not war-related PTSR. I don't imagine how to heal from problem when you are a massacre survivor. Especially if you were mobilized against your will.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#382

Post by ImPostingOnHN »

eimrine wrote: post #381
ImPostingOnHN wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's worth noting that MDMA generally doesn't seem to be one of those drugs that "masks the problem", and can be quite useful in "dealing with the root cause"

Dealing with the root cause seems more about lsd/dmt. Masks the problem temporarily is about alcohol. Mdma is about mask the problem long term. But the problem I am having in mind is not war-related PTSR. I don't imagine how to heal from problem when you are a massacre survivor. Especially if you were mobilized against your will.

MDMA doesn't seem to be one of those that masks the problem, short term or long term, but rather one that helps deal with the root cause: when you're not afraid to discuss a subject due to the pain it causes, you can discuss it

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#383

Post by corry »

vonnik wrote: post #282

Contrary data point to encourage caution with MDMA: MDMA can reset your dopamine baseline much lower. That is, after you come down, you may feel depressed, and it may be hard to climb out of that depression for a while. Use caution please.

While I think parent confused dopamine and serotonin, I'd echo this sentiment. In the rave community terms like "blue Monday" or the grimmer "suicide Tuesday" are there for a reason. Many people have a week or even more of 'depression', which thankfully seems transitory for most (although we all know depression can lead to negative feedback loops).

And while caution is definitely needed, the research is mind-blowing. Veterans who have seen and done horrible things find relief in MDMA therapy (in a proper clinic) when nothing else has worked. Powerful stuff, not just a party drug.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#384

Post by starkd »

cpncrunch wrote: post #323
starkd wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did not notice that. So, then it really doesn't tell us anything new. The article gives away the game here: >> But Doblin still envisions treatment centres sprouting up around the world — he predicts that more than 6,000 will emerge in the United States alone — where people with PTSD and other psychiatric illnesses can safely and legally use MDMA and other psychedelics under the guidance of therapists. Beyond this,…

>I did not notice that. So, then it really doesn't tell us anything new. It was in the linked article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01336-3 It's always good to go to the sources when looking at these potentially overhyped news articles. I would love this to be the answer to depression, but I'm somewhat skeptical. I'm also cognizant of the power of the placebo effect (and related psychological factors) i…

During Covid pandemic, I found it quite remarkable how some research studies got thrown to the side, while others were promoted as the standard. I really don't know which ones were truly good studies, but the speed with which they were dispensed or upheld with little outside discussion revealed to me there is a lot of politics at work in deciding which ones are authoritative.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#385

Post by taeric »

taeric wrote: post #342
Alupis wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a lot like arguing with a child about why the sky is blue. Facts and realities don't apply. Your comments about HP bullets, and particularly incendiary munitions (lol) are absurd and uninformed. But it doesn't matter, you will not educate yourself on the topic no matter how wrong you may be, and therefore we cannot have a productive conversation regarding gun control. The "I fired a gun once, and now I'm an expe…

I find your insistence that you are the rational one laughable, at best. Pedantic, to the extreme, I would give you. Rational? Nope. Children desperately hanging on to their toys. Everyone's health be damned.

On the off chance you come back to this. I would like to apologize for how rude I think I was to the end there. You are clearly prepared with talking points, and this is not a conversation I want to devote too much time to. That is no reason for me to be rude when I am engaged. Apologies.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#386

Post by eimrine »

ImPostingOnHN wrote: post #382
eimrine wrote: post #381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dealing with the root cause seems more about lsd/dmt. Masks the problem temporarily is about alcohol. Mdma is about mask the problem long term. But the problem I am having in mind is not war-related PTSR. I don't imagine how to heal from problem when you are a massacre survivor. Especially if you were mobilized against your will.

MDMA doesn't seem to be one of those that masks the problem, short term or long term, but rather one that helps deal with the root cause: when you're not afraid to discuss a subject due to the pain it causes, you can discuss it

How it can be possible when a patient wants to talk about traumatic experiense to a specialist, for the sake of getting rid of PTSR, but he afraids to talk about it because of... what may happen?

What kind of pain may block even talking about it? I have built an idea while reading those PTSR-witnessers that mobilization for males is an analog of rape for females and the pain is not from killing and seeing kills but from being enslaved. I have a lot of friends who use to kill Russians in Russo-Ukrainian war, or use to be a medic, and everybody is totally happy to discuss at least some analytical problems (equipment, strategy, caveats, how to avoid being killed in combat, etc). I am just trying not to be jerk and listen more than talk to them and those people even do not claim they heavily suffer from anything like PTSR.

What kind of questions were asked to patients and participants of what military group were the patients? If my theory is wrong, then the questions is always about killing and seeing massacre. I really want to know criterions of being chosen to mdma-assisted therapy instead of other antidepressant.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#387

Post by themitigating »

nkozyra wrote: post #88
themitigating wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perfection isn't required and as others have noted there are countries with far less problems so obviously it is possible

> Perfection isn't required and as others have noted there are countries with far less problems so obviously it is possible Never said it was impossible to improve. I said it was impossible to "fix" society.

Fix doesn't mean perfection either. Come on, it means bring things to a level consistent with other similar countries.

Your absolute take on this is a deflection to avoid any change

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#388

Post by 35208654 »

vonnik wrote: post #282

Contrary data point to encourage caution with MDMA: MDMA can reset your dopamine baseline much lower. That is, after you come down, you may feel depressed, and it may be hard to climb out of that depression for a while. Use caution please.

Just grab a bottle of 5HTP from your local upscale supermarket and you’ll be fine.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#389

Post by AlwaysRock »

cactusplant7374 wrote: post #205
AlwaysRock wrote: post #198

Does anyone have a timeline of what the history of this has been? Because I'm fairly positive that I was going to sign up for MDMA therapy for chronic pain in Chicago ~5 years ago because a clinic nearby offered it. But when I got around to it insurance regulations had changed and was no longer going to cover part of it so it was going to be incredibly expensive. It's possible that was ketamine therapy but I thought…

Ketamine is sometimes used for chronic pain. It’s very expensive if the IV route is used.

Got it. It must have been Ketamine then.

Re: US could soon approve MDMA therapy

#390

Post by _a_a_a_ »

abyssin wrote: post #375
hammyhavoc wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have heard a lot of similar tales regarding the shamanism and rejection of science and reasoning, making all kinds of outrageous claims about what it can "cure", which just isn't physically possible.

The biggest claim is that psychedelics are a tool to access a profound truth about the nature of life, the universe, etc. The scientific literature shows there’s a correlation between the intensity of the mysticism experience and its therapeutic benefits. The problem is truth. If experiencing religious visions and feelings is followed by getting better, it doesn’t mean God actually exists, or that your “soul” left yo…

I've been very happy with just "getting better"
Post reply on HN