It's just important to understand that it goes both ways. These drugs can also bring up mental issues. They are powerful in both directions.
Psychedelics could heal brain cells in people suffering from depression: study
201–210 of 240 posts
Re: Psychedelics could heal brain cells in people suffering from depression: study
#202Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've always felt that this philosophy, and others like it, ultimately boil down to "you're going to lose no matter what, so try not to care about the game."
That's really not it at all. Have you heard the story "who knows what's good or bad"? Something happens, and we judge it good and feel good about it. Then something else happens, and we judge it bad and feel bad about it. And so on. Our feelings are put on a roller coaster according to our judgements. But we don't have enough information to judge anything good or bad. It always remains to be seen. Deeply internalizin…
There are plenty of things that are pretty unequivocally good or bad. When we anticipate one of these things happening, our emotions change accordingly and this helps to guide our actions in avoiding or encouraging the thing in question. That's what emotions are for. If you have any control over the course of events that affect you, you should experience an emotional response. Anything else just seems like learned helplessness.
Re: Psychedelics could heal brain cells in people suffering from depression: study
#203Earlier quoted context omitted.
"[W]hy this[psychedelics] is not four-inch headlines on every newspaper on the planet" Psychedelics might reveal to you that the neat little reality that you thought you had all figured out is a lot stranger and different from from what you thought it was, that your understanding of it might be all wrong, and that your place in it might not be all that cozy and secure. The experience could put everything in to questi…
Another Terence McKenna quote I'm reminded of! "The British enzymologist, J. B. S. Haldane in the 1920s, in an essay, said, "The universe may not only be stranger than we suppose; it may be stranger than we can suppose," and I suggest to you that as we look back over human history, every pinnacle of civilizationf whether it be Mayan or Greco-Roman or Song dynasty, has believed that it was in possession of an accurate…
Asimov wrote an essay to counter that point: https://chem.tufts.edu/answersinscience/relativityofwrong.ht...
Re: Psychedelics could heal brain cells in people suffering from depression: study
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
> A lot of people feel threatened by that, so they try to push it away, lock it up, turn it off, or dismiss it. You hit the nail right on the head. It reminds me about how we want and need security, particularly around our beliefs. What I think is true in that regard is what Adyashanti, a spiritual teacher, once noted: "The magical part is that the more you let go, the better it feels. The more you step into insecuri…
I've always felt that this philosophy, and others like it, ultimately boil down to "you're going to lose no matter what, so try not to care about the game."
It's closer to 'try not to be attached to specific outcomes'. It's fine to play the game, as long as you don't get so hung up on trying to 'win' that you can't enjoy your life along the way. It's highly unlikely that you'll get to a point where you think that now you've won and can just enjoy, so focusing too much on the game means you will eventually lose - you're not going to live forever. The 'wins' are happening along the way, and if you look, you'll find many of them at times when you're 'losing'.
Re: Psychedelics could heal brain cells in people suffering from depression: study
#205Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps we need a new category of prescription, e.g. "for use only under direct supervision of a qualified medical professional" In other words it could be dispensed in a clinical setting, but not via a pharmacy or other "take home" pathways. I'm thinking that must already exists for certain surgical anesthetics, etc.
> I'm thinking that must already exists for certain surgical anesthetics, etc. Correct. You can get cocaine when you're at your ophthalmologist, but not from your pharmacy.
For that matter, heroin is used as a morphine alternative in some UK hospitals, and morphine itself is another example.
Re: Psychedelics could heal brain cells in people suffering from depression: study
#206Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is it at all possible to explain this to a sober person? One who is neither consciously nor subconsciously afraid of having the illusion removed?
It's no more possible to do that than for a schizophrenic to explain his delusion. The difference between a psychedelic experience and mental delusion is that the former brings a newly found perspective on and (knowingly or unknowingly) appreciation for the "big illusion". The latter usually reflects a degenerative condition and the delusion may never end. Both no doubt lead to fascinating experiences but they're int…
> What bothers me about people who promote psychedelics is that they ignore the utter fragility of the human mind. Most people will come back from their experience but in others it can instigate or hasten mental decline (e.g. schizophrenia, psychological dependency).
I am apparently very sensitive to THC, because under what seem like mild doses to most people, I feel like I have lost my grip on reality in a deeply uncomfortable way. I have never tried more serious psychedelics due to fear for my safety and sanity.
I suspect many people have experiences that feel much more manageable. But I agree with your skepticism about the maximalist viewpoint.
Re: Psychedelics could heal brain cells in people suffering from depression: study
#207Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hear ya. My anecdote is unique. If I provided more context, and told you my life story, it might make better sense. And it’s impossible to assign responsibility solely to psychedelics, but after years of hospitalizations and addictions and depression and suicidal attempts and witnessing a few friends suicides, there was a turning point in my life, and it conincided with my experimentation of LSD and mushrooms, some…
>I think the psychedelics nurture the ability to recognize that feelings and narratives are not representative of reality >The ability to detach from self, to recognize a spectrum of truth, of perception It sounds a lot like meditation and buddhist practice. I mean, I already hear that everywhere and there are some clinical trials with meditation too. But your narrative fits nicely. That's cool.
Yes. In his book Waking Up, Sam Harris (yes, that Sam Harris), makes this same connection. He does it in a very sensitive way too, without suggesting psychedelics as a shortcut to mindfulness.
Edit: I've never experienced psychedelics myself, but have had been using mindfulness/meditation to come to terms with these same ideas.
Re: Psychedelics could heal brain cells in people suffering from depression: study
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
Psychedelics punch through the big illusion, as in maya. They give the game away. I feel people are subconsciously and collectively terrified of this.
Is it at all possible to explain this to a sober person? One who is neither consciously nor subconsciously afraid of having the illusion removed?
Do not fall for the romantic tales of psychonauts to reach some kind of enlightenment. All these people suffer from psychosis.
The human experience of the world (thoughts, vision, audition, pleasure, fear,...) is triggered by the nervous system (including the brain) that reacts on bio-chemistry.
Changing the bio-chemistry changes the human experience but gives no super powers. Most likely your thoughts on drugs are less smart but appear smart to you. Similar to other drug intoxications that disturb the normal brain activity and the sober judgement of your thoughts and experience of reality.
Granted, some people have been able to solve some of their problems with psychedelics because they are strong destabilizers.
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/how-doctors-tr...
I am in favor of using psychedelics as last resort medicine under supervision of a medical expert.
But I am against the promotions of psychedelics by people who are either lucky (no bad life changing effects for months or years because of drug induced trauma with PTSD or bad neuroplasticity) or suffer already from psychosis.
Re: Psychedelics could heal brain cells in people suffering from depression: study
#209Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is it at all possible to explain this to a sober person? One who is neither consciously nor subconsciously afraid of having the illusion removed?
Do not fall for the romantic tales of psychonauts to reach some kind of enlightenment. All these people suffer from psychosis. The human experience of the world (thoughts, vision, audition, pleasure, fear,...) is triggered by the nervous system (including the brain) that reacts on bio-chemistry. Changing the bio-chemistry changes the human experience but gives no super powers. Most likely your thoughts on drugs are l…
"Do not fall for the romantic tales of psychonauts to reach some kind of enlightenment. All these people suffer from psychosis."
Nothing like a blanket statement in your first sentence to immediately discredit your argument.
"All black people... All psychonauts... All Americans..." When you look at it yourself... doesn't it sound stupid to try to argue this way?
There are now hundreds of studies showing numerous benefits to psychedelics, from anxiety, depression, OCD, anxiety, Autism, etc.
What more evidence and data do you need?
Re: Psychedelics could heal brain cells in people suffering from depression: study
#210I recommend reading the LSD Clincial Handbook: https://www.maps.org/resources/responding_to_difficult_psych... LSD changed my life, and continues to do so. If you live in California, check out MAPS and Psychedelic Seminars. I’m a huge advocate because I have experienced first hand the profound transformation that occurs as a result of a psychedelic experience.
Not to negate this anecdote, but just to point out your mileage may vary. The research on this subject is still in its infancy. I know a lot of people are looking for that "magic-bullet" panacea for all their small woes (social anxiety, minor depression, etc) and have tried everything under the sun (exercise, all kinds of diets, all kinds of books). It's been my experience with the people I knew personally who did ac…
Research has been conducted since 1950 (With a gap period of a few decades). It's pretty clear it works effectively, there are several meta analysis' done on modern and historical studies.
I agree that many normal things help even simpler, such as good sleep, exercise, good diet, meaning work, connection to community/society/family, etc.
You are absolutely correct that there is no panacea.