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Psilocybin bests SSRI for major depression in first long-term comparison

medscape.com

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Re: Psilocybin bests SSRI for major depression in first long-term comparison

#181
post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we do not know, really, what goes on in there when you take a drug like Psilocybin FYI, same goes for SSRIs. The scientific consensus is that the serotonin deficiency theory of depression was wrong. When SSRIs actually work, we still don’t know why. I’ve had bad trips, too. Very bad, but I still think that psilocybin (in a controlled, supportive setting) is a better bet. My bad trips were all due to being in bad se…

SSRIs barely work. For mild to moderate depression a placebo works similarly or better. Only for severe cases of depression are SSRIs found to be helpful because they surpress all emotion.

Worked great for me. Placebo might have worked too, but doctors don't prescribe those!

Re: Psilocybin bests SSRI for major depression in first long-term comparison

#182
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One dude recounted how psilocybin helped him have the best experience with the happy ending , as being out of this world, but the timing was perfect, not sure if it was 'How to Change Your Mind | | Netflix, or another one there.

happy ending?

the little death.

Re: Psilocybin bests SSRI for major depression in first long-term comparison

#183
post #85

What 2 decades of on & off therapies and meds couldn't fix, a single psilocybin trip fixed in 5 hours. That's all the proof I need. Not even getting into the side-effects of SSRIs including PSSD, brain zaps, lethargy, and a whole lot more. I just don't understand people who do this shit recreationally, as it was quite possibly the worst experience I had in my life.

If you don't mind my asking, what about the experience was so bad? Did it take time or work to process the experience for it to have its beneficial effect?

It's fine, I'm ok with sharing, although some of this might sound gibberish as it's hard to explain. Note, that I am not trying to impart any sort of mystical value to this, or trying to be poetic.

It's an incredibly scary experience that makes you feel like you're disintegrating in a metaphysical sense. Your mind, perception, body. Yourself. Like you're falling apart, being disassembled and that you will never be able to get yourself together again. You have no agency. And then you are gone. I believe this is what they call "ego death".

And then after you're gone, you're left with all these pieces of yourself. Including a lot of them that you forgot ever existed. Or how they fit together. Or some that you were subconsciously aware of but never perceived them. Like opening a shelf of Legos from your childhood. It's very dream-like.

Then comes the awareness, understanding and grief. I've never cried as much in my life, and I'm not a crying person.

Then comes hope.

And you get to assemble yourself back again. Feels like something between waking up, coming back to reality and a chain-reaction of those "AHA!" moments.

And then you're back, but you're not the same, and you understand more about yourself.

While the next few months were some of the best I had in decades, I'm extremely averse to repeating this experience, as it feels really traumatic.

I was in a controlled, safe, although not a clinical environment, and I am terribly aware how much this can fuck your brain up in ways I can probably never imagine. We have no idea how this machine works and this is basically decompiling an incredibly complex binary during execution, moving code around, recompiling, and hoping it works.

Re: Psilocybin bests SSRI for major depression in first long-term comparison

#184

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_i... >Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD)[62][63] refers to a set of symptoms reported by some people who have taken SSRIs or other serotonin reuptake-inhibiting (SRI) drugs, in which sexual dysfunction symptoms persist for at least three months[64][65][66] after ceasing to take the drug. The status of PSSD as a legitimate and distinct pathology is contentiou…

Within a few hours of taking zoloft I lost all sensation in my genitals and it's stayed that way for years

I've since gotten all my hormones tested (normal), and doctors are suggesting I cycle between TRT HCG & Clomid + Dopamine Agonists

I don't have ED. My symptoms are purely genital numbness/anorgasmia/failure to finish.

I submitted a complaint to the FDA last year. I understand they're currently being sued over this.

I don't understand how SSRIs aren't classified as reproductive toxins.

Re: Psilocybin bests SSRI for major depression in first long-term comparison

#185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you take it in a controlled environment like the study suggests? Every time serious conversation of medical progress comes up, it's polluted by naysayers with anecdata about how they took it while raving beside a live volcano. We need to give psychedelics a fair chance, and sure after we can discount them. The article suggests at scale there is potential

In the pre-modern world people had a very different relationship to death and there wasn’t anything like anxiety as its experienced today. Psychedelics are essentially an attempt to bring someone back to a more “authentic” experience of life before technological controls settled in. Perhaps its better to take the chance? I think so, but I want others to recognize it as a genuine risk that is truly unpredictable and n…

I wonder what you mean by saying there wasn't anything like anxiety as it's experienced today in the premodern world. The term "anxiety" comes from Latin "anxietas", and Old English had "angsumnes", both with apparently similar meanings, so it seems the idea has been around for a while, and most likely because it's a basic human emotional condition that could occur in various circumstances throughout history and prehistory.

As for a relationship to death, it's difficult to generalise over all people throughout history, but for example in medieval Europe where you had a seemingly quite vivid belief in the possibility of hell after life, that could result in some extreme anxiety of the most inescapable kind. Maybe that accounts for some of the more extreme behaviours of those times, who knows.

Re: Psilocybin bests SSRI for major depression in first long-term comparison

#186
post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The risk is to make things worse. That risk exists in many medical interventions. We need to quantify that risk and weigh it against the chances of making things better.

This is generally what the regulatory system tries to accomplish.

Right. But there was Oxycontin. So it's obviously got its flaws.

Re: Psilocybin bests SSRI for major depression in first long-term comparison

#187
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 2018 Hemp Farm bill gave the balls back to the citizens that the 2013 Analag act neutered. Seeing mushroom extracts with all the alkaloids included besides psilocybin at gas stations may be a temporary point of stability until I can go to the "21+" store in 2030 to get my preferred arylcyclohexylamine and phenylethylamine variant.

From what I understand, those “magic mushroom” edibles sold in head shops and gas stations are amanita muscaria derived, which is a completely different psychoactive substance with different alkaloids. Toxic to the liver too, in ways that a cubensis is not.

I was aware but I should know to put disclaimers in drug posts on HN at this point, as others may not be; thank you.

That being said, it did have an uncomfortable but brief 'burning/cleansing' feeling reminiscent of Lyseragmides that that most tryptamines / 4-aco-DMT / penis envy / cubensis / 5-MEO-[xxx] did not, and more visual distortions with notably less headfuckery / low body load.

I recommend a single try; the tolerance seemed to eliminate effects nearly immediately.

Re: Psilocybin bests SSRI for major depression in first long-term comparison

#188
post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we do not know, really, what goes on in there when you take a drug like Psilocybin FYI, same goes for SSRIs. The scientific consensus is that the serotonin deficiency theory of depression was wrong. When SSRIs actually work, we still don’t know why. I’ve had bad trips, too. Very bad, but I still think that psilocybin (in a controlled, supportive setting) is a better bet. My bad trips were all due to being in bad se…

SSRIs barely work. For mild to moderate depression a placebo works similarly or better. Only for severe cases of depression are SSRIs found to be helpful because they surpress all emotion.

Maybe the effect is different when prescribed for something other than depression, but I did not find my SSRI to suppress my emotions. It simply helps me curb rumination and negative thought spirals. Helps to feel "lighter" and simultaneously more grounded. If anything, that allows me to feel _more_ positive emotion rather than suppressing it.

Re: Psilocybin bests SSRI for major depression in first long-term comparison

#189

Ok like most of you I’ve taken psychedelic drugs. I’ve had bad experiences sure, but I’m fine now. The issue is that what people generally say, like, “oh sometimes you need to encounter your demons,” maybe that will be temporarily traumatizing—in general people recover from that. The real issues are…more complex. More complex than any diagnoses in the DSM can cover. The brain is very complicated, and everyone’s brain…

Taking psychedelics is a bit like trying to fix a Swiss watch with a sledgehammer: it might just work, but that's not the way to bet. Therapy and well-guided meditative practice can be a lot gentler than that.

Conversely, for some people trying to fix depression with therapy and guided meditation can be a bit like trying to fix a Swiss watch with therapy and guided meditation. Everybody is different!

Re: Psilocybin bests SSRI for major depression in first long-term comparison

#190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was 500ug of LSD mixed with probably 6 or 7 drinks of alcohol. Suffered serotonin syndrome for a few days afterwards. Regardless I’ve heard stories of people having severe long term psychological issues from even relatively light doses, simply because of how their body in particular interacted with the drug.

500ug of LSD isn’t really a standard dose. It’s almost double your typical dose.

According to Erowid, a "light" dose is 25ug-75ug, a "standard" dose is 50ug-150ug, and a "heavy" dose is 400ug+.
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