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DMT, Derealization, and Depersonalization

ecstaticintegration.org

31–40 of 74 posts

Re: DMT, Derealization, and Depersonalization

#31
post #22

This effect is not uncommon with respect to powerful psychedelics but it does have a mechanistic neurological explanation which in turn helps explain the psychological (or spiritual if you like) knock-on effects. It's really the same kind of thing underlying optical illusions, such as the dancing grid dots illusion: https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ScintillatingGridIllusion.html Fundamentally your brain is interpreting…

This ain’t it

What's missing?

Re: DMT, Derealization, and Depersonalization

#32
I wouldn't recommend anyone to smoke DMT or changa, it's way too strong and it's difficult to make sense out of the experience afterwards.

Ayahuasca is an amazing medicine. If you decide to do it, do it in the Peruvian Amazon, read the reviews carefully of each retreat center before you decide on which one to go to. Follow the diet and any other restrictions, this is especially important AFTER drinking ayahuasca. The shaman will tell you what to avoid and for how long. Don't use kambo, bufo or rapé before, during or after the retreat, it will interfere with the treatment. A lot of vendors in Iquitos will try to convince you that it's good to combine rapé with ayahuasca, but it isn't. Ayahuasca works best alone. Basically you should only be doing ayahuasca (and mapacho if you like to smoke).

It's a very powerful medicine and if you drink with someone with bad intentions it can be very dangerous.

Re: DMT, Derealization, and Depersonalization

#33
post #13

I'm not sure if I've had these exact experiences, but something related perhaps, albeit milder. When I was in my early twenties I consumed a lot of cannabis in the form of hash cakes one night and it triggered a panic attack. What was scary about the panic attack was this feeling of the world around me feeling dreamlike, or like I was in a dream I couldn't wake up from. It was like there's normally this safe ground w…

wow, that's intriguingly similar to what I experienced in my life.

Re: DMT, Derealization, and Depersonalization

#35

Is it just me or does DMT have one or the worst tastes / smells that exist?

Yeah, tryptamines and indoles in general tend to have really nasty aroma. I think one of the reasons is that they're chemically similar to skatole, which is an indole chemical that's one of the main components of the odour of faeces.

Skatole can also build up in the meat of pigs, especially male adult ones, which is why some pork meat doesn't taste right. This is probably true for other meats as well. I've certainly encountered a similar off taste in lamb meat and duck meat before.

Re: DMT, Derealization, and Depersonalization

#36

This effect is not uncommon with respect to powerful psychedelics but it does have a mechanistic neurological explanation which in turn helps explain the psychological (or spiritual if you like) knock-on effects. It's really the same kind of thing underlying optical illusions, such as the dancing grid dots illusion: https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ScintillatingGridIllusion.html Fundamentally your brain is interpreting…

I dealt with episodes of this when I was using MDMA regularly and it's not a problem of like, intellectually dealing with being confronted with how the brain works, because I was fully aware of all this and had no problem conceptualizing what was going on with me abstractly, but derealization and depersonalization is a very strong _feeling_ that is very hard to shake and you can't like rationalize yourself out of it. I think it was easier for me to _handle_, because I knew what it was, but that still didn't make it go away. For me it faded after I gave my brain time to recover -- it took a few months.

Re: DMT, Derealization, and Depersonalization

#37

Nobody wants to discuss potential harms in a grassroots advocacy movement for legalization or normalization - we saw the same thing in decades past with cannabis. The reasons are understandable, but the results aren't great. I would rather see more openness up front even at the cost of complicating the message, than see folks end up with this kind of trouble because advocates chose not to be as honest about the risks…

The downsides of hallucinogenic drugs have become a taboo.

Even with reasonable people who have very little skin in the game, it’s akin to pushing a boulder up a hill just to get them to admit that cannabis can contribute to or worsen mental health issues.

Re: DMT, Derealization, and Depersonalization

#38

I wouldn't recommend anyone to smoke DMT or changa, it's way too strong and it's difficult to make sense out of the experience afterwards. Ayahuasca is an amazing medicine. If you decide to do it, do it in the Peruvian Amazon, read the reviews carefully of each retreat center before you decide on which one to go to. Follow the diet and any other restrictions, this is especially important AFTER drinking ayahuasca. The…

I think, like all drugs, this is too broad a stroke. Instead I suggest you first look into your personal history with psychedelics, then do some research and ensure you dose properly (weigh yourself and use a triple point scale). Alternatively, DMT carts are much weaker and you rarely “blast off” with them. Yes, it is a very strong compound. But I have had some of the best experiences of my life on it. YMMV of course.

Re: DMT, Derealization, and Depersonalization

#39

I wouldn't recommend anyone to smoke DMT or changa, it's way too strong and it's difficult to make sense out of the experience afterwards. Ayahuasca is an amazing medicine. If you decide to do it, do it in the Peruvian Amazon, read the reviews carefully of each retreat center before you decide on which one to go to. Follow the diet and any other restrictions, this is especially important AFTER drinking ayahuasca. The…

I have had great experiences smoking changa and having therapeutic breakthroughs in my understanding of my life, biases I was unaware of, and new perspective in approaches to tough problems.

I think the devil is in the dose.

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