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Psilocybin 'promising' for depression

bbc.co.uk

171–180 of 324 posts

Re: Psilocybin 'promising' for depression

#171
post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would your friend have advice or resources on how to give microdosing a try, especially for people who've never done psychedelics?

Your best bet is to find a local friend or acquaintance who does have experience who can talk to you in detail about it and help source etc. Reddit is a good source of anecdotal information: https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/7fv5oj/beginner... https://www.reddit.com/r/microdosing/ This is also good: https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/microdosing-guide-and-explain...

Thank you.

Re: Psilocybin 'promising' for depression

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure there were formal studies decades ago showing potential use and positive outcomes (I think Stamets books from the 90s reference some formal studies, but i could be wrong). But like a lot of medical research, it never progressed to a market state. I think that's especially true in this case due to the legal classification around it.

I hear that LSD made the cover of Time magazine 5 times as a wonder drug, curing depression etc. That was pre-1970.

Yeah, they were able to bring LSD into therapeutic use before it was essentially outlawed. I believe there was one dominant practice in California that became well known as specialists and there were articles written about them and the celebrities that were treated there.

Re: Psilocybin 'promising' for depression

#173

For those curious: you can cultivate your own at home. It’s 100% legal to purchase psilocybin spores online in many states. I just had to throw out a grow due to contamination - super frustrating setback - but I’m determined to produce a healthy harvest.

Before anyone rushes to do this: Cultivating these mushrooms is not legal, even if buying the spores might be.

Likewise, self-medicating severe depression with hone grown psychedelics is not a great idea. These studies use controlled administration in supervised environments often with therapy as part of the process. You cannot replicate that at home. Psychedelics also can’t be dosed continuously like traditional antidepressants, making them a poor choice for continued treatment.

Re: Psilocybin 'promising' for depression

#175
post #128
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Measures to contain COVID-19 exist globally and if you have great cosmic insight into the fact that they don't work, perhaps you could share that instead of sarcasm without any basis.

Well they don't exist globally. Various US states and countries didn't copy China in a blind panic. There seems no correlation between lockdown and the overall outcome, suggesting that they don't "work". Texas opening up a month ago showed no spike in cases. Considering the massive amounts of suffering these policies are causing, there ought to be a bit of reflection on how effective they are. We have a years worth o…

You're wrong.

There exist a direct correlation between not locking down (or waiting) and the number of infections and deaths: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-81869-2

Re: Psilocybin 'promising' for depression

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

doesn't sound like their "minds were ruined", but rather that they have different priorities than you and that you're narrowminded and judgemental.

>but rather that they have different priorities than you and that you're narrowminded and judgemental. Having been loosely affiliated with the Goa/Psytrance scene, I too, have met some individuals who seemed to have "fried" their brains. If those "different priorities", how you call it, also include being almost dysfunctional and therefore dependent on constant external support, paranoid and frequently incoherent the…

i was responding to the parent’s description of people having “lost their ambition.” not everyone needs ambition, and ambition can be destructive.

what you’re describing sounds like psychosis which is entirely different

Re: Psilocybin 'promising' for depression

#177
Me and my girlfriend are microdosing LSD for the past couple of weeks. We both are very outgoing persons, but due to Corona, our life is really boring which makes our mental state not as positive as it was. We notice that we have more acceptance to the Corona situation. Especially the “bad” days, the microdosis makes the day much more acceptable.. I’m aware that this is a very brief explanation. If you are very interested in this, please let me know, happy to chat or call about it.

Re: Psilocybin 'promising' for depression

#178
post #143
post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't say they do nothing, lockdowns clearly cause massive harm and suffering yet there is no obvious benefit when compared to places that didn't lock down. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84092-1

I've seen this claim bandied about, but if you look at Sweden and its neighbors the no-lockdown case has 1000s more deaths. There are perhaps subtle arguments, but "no obvious benefit" seems extremely tenuous.

Looking at the stats now, it seems like it's doing better than a number of European countries, many of which had lockdowns (France, Belgium, Italy, etc.). Then you have countries like Japan, which people have been complaining about being lax for a year but still has lower rates than almost all Western countries.

That's not to say lockdowns aren't effective, but the data doesn't seem to fit any neat narrative at the moment.

Re: Psilocybin 'promising' for depression

#179
post #162

I was not able to speak to my father, let alone staying in the same room were he was, for about 26 years (~18yr old till recently ~44yr). The background for this was my choice of leaving an ultra orthodox jewish community and going on my own. I recently tried that (after 3 years of hesitation) and the magic happened. It affected my structure of feelings in several ways indeed, but in the context of this one, I would…

What's your take on allowing a substance to change you so much?

Re: Psilocybin 'promising' for depression

#180

I have a friend who has experienced magic mushrooms recreationally about half a dozen times in her 20s. After each trip she reported feeling clear headed and more mindful - she described it as though her mind's harddrive had been defragmented. Fast forward 10 years and that same friend felt low during lockdown over the past 12 months. After reading up online she decided to try microdosing mushrooms rather than the ma…

I know a lot of people whose minds were ruined by psychedelics. It’s something you will see when you spend time in those communities. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but it’s common.

I have heard this too, but mostly because there where looking for something that is not there. Example: if finding your true yourself is like peeling of an onion, the can peel a lot, but at some point, the reach the core where there is nothing to peel anymore. I have never reach this state and it is not at all my goal. I think it has something to do with ego. Doing psychedelics makes ego less important. But if you do it too much, you lose your ego too. Living without ego is not possible in my opinion..
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