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A Psychedelic Renaissance

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Re: A Psychedelic Renaissance

#61

Post by kenneth »

mirimir wrote: post #54
Swizec wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best advice I ever got about drugs was this: “Whatever happens, just remember it’s only the drugs. It’s all gonna be over tomorrow” Has really helped me any time I start overanalyzing what’s going on and how I’m feeling. Psychedelics or otherwise. It’s just the drugs, it will pass.

OK, I wasn't going to share this again. But now I must. So I'd introduced a friend to LSD. They liked it a lot, and wanted to trip again the next day. I advised against it, because tolerance would reduce effects. But no, it had to be. So we took maybe twice as much, and it was still disappointing. And then, being a total dumbass, I suggested that we smoke some marijuana. Now my friend was impressed. Indeed, they were…

I've experienced that exact bad trip, at it was horrible enough that I have never done psychedelics since. The one time in my life I thought I was dead. Not worth the risk to try again.

Plenty of other drugs that have real benefits without as much potential for a bad trip. MDMA is much more my speed.

Re: A Psychedelic Renaissance

#62

Post by KineticLensman »

puranjay wrote: post #59
tomhoward wrote: post #49

This recent interview [1] with Jamie Wheal, co-author of Stealing Fire [2] is worth watching if you're interested in this topic. He's observed the psychedelic "revolution" in recent years, and has both positive and negative things to say about it, but on the whole he's deeply pessimistic about where it seems to be going. His observations about fashion-driven, Instagram-performative "enlightenment", and the propensity…

I really wonder if anyone ever really does anything for themselves anymore. Every experience, even the most intimate and introspective ones, seem to be telegraphed and advertised as a part of your "branded identity"

Some of us are not focussed on building our brand identity. I enjoy photography and back in the day my Flickr portfolio had 500k views. I still take photographs, but don’t now post them online because I want to enjoy the craft of creating them, not help others maximise engagement or similar

Re: A Psychedelic Renaissance

#63

Post by 0xdeadb00f »

all2 wrote: post #22
GreaterFool wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, psychedelics make you face your inner demons. Perhaps not right away because the wonders of the experience can be captivating, for a while. But sooner or later they will. Many people I talked to tried something like LSD once or twice and while they enjoyed the fun part they didn't like what they've seen once the party was over and they were left alone with their own thoughts. This is where the benefits are but…

> But then who'd gobble up those anxiety or depression or ADHD or sleeping^` pills? Could you expand on the ADHD bit? That sounds interesting as its not something I've heard a lot about.

ADHD medication includes Ritalin and Adderall. Both have stimulant/amphetamine like effects to those without ADHD. You can see the window for abuse and addiction here is pretty huge.

Children misdiagnosed with ADHD can get hooked on this stuff (I don't have a source for that, but its what I've heard).

More commonly, college/highschool students can get them pretty easily to cram for an exam or finish an assignment in one night, or at least that's what they're told by movies and TV (but I'm told by a friend that it really is effective in getting a lot of work done in a small timeframe).

Re: A Psychedelic Renaissance

#64

Post by dillonmckay »

beenBoutIT wrote: post #41
sharkweek wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe not, but there are therapists who specialize in guided psychedelic trips who encourage exploration and fear facing. Seems like they'd know how to guide the discovery process.

We need scientific clinical trials conducted without any therapist intervention in order to understand what good these drugs do on their own. All the BS about talk-therapy being necessary for them to work is going to keep them out of the reach of most people. The reality is that psychedelics will quickly put psychiatrists out of business unless the public is convinced they can't take psychedelics safely without a shr…

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Re: A Psychedelic Renaissance

#65

Post by _carl_jung »

blotter_paper wrote: post #43
sharkweek wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the thoughtful comment. There was a part in Pollan's book where he talks about how an experienced guide will remind you to face the things in your trip that are scaring you. And that running away is what turns a trip into a bad one. My personality would naturally want to run away, where perhaps the point of the "scary thing" is to face it and deal with it in a suggestible state of consciousness. As an exam…

At the risk of overselling the benefits and downplaying the risk, I'll say this: even the trips I've had that were hell in the moment have (at least seemed to) teach me something about myself, and I don't regret them in the least. This isn't to say that a bad trip is something to be sought after, and you should definitely read up on set and setting before tripping (I would recommend being outdoors in the country on p…

Just to add my own experience. I am an experienced user of psychedelics with a lot of trips under my belt. The last time I took LSD I wound up thinking that my existence on earth was part of a universe that I myself had generated as the totality of subjective consciousness and thought I had control over it.

In a fit of excitable mania I ran around my sitter's home and leapt off their second story balcony. I'm still recovering from a broken heel, fractured T10 and fractured collar bone.

I had spent weeks planning and determining how best to organise the experience. I am now confident that no matter how much you try to minimise negative outcomes, they _can_ happen. Though they're probably rare.

My point is, please just be very careful.

Re: A Psychedelic Renaissance

#66

Post by chinarulezzz »

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Re: A Psychedelic Renaissance

#67

Post by mapcars »

fartcannon wrote: post #58
mapcars wrote: post #51

From my experience, everything mentioned in the article can be "treated" with meditation. I say treated in quotes because all this is self-caused and treatment is only to realize that it's actually me is the one who is causing stress and anxiety to myself. Once this is realized these things disappear in a matter of days. Meditation is long-established, safe, legal, available to everyone regardless of any status or co…

Have you tried it? Perhaps there words aren't doing justice to the experience and what you're writing off as the same as some other act might be missing the target. For example, having never tried meditation nor psychedelics, both yours and ops experiences seem barely believable. But I haven't tried either so I wouldn't go out and say that.

Yes, I'm saying this only because last 1.5 years I'm doing my kriya practice which includes meditation, breathing technic and few other things and it has been working wonderfully - since I "got it" I never had a single bad day. I am comparing this to having occasional bursts of depression, loneliness, self-doubt for a few years before.

I did not try strong psychedelics but the problem with them as with any kind of drug is the effect wears off inevitably. If you feel great for some time, going back becomes even more terrible than staying there, because now you know there are better states. What sets meditation apart is that it is a process which (at a certain level) lasts through the day and even becomes permanent. This is something you can not get with outside help because you will just become dependent on the source of that help.

Re: A Psychedelic Renaissance

#68

Post by sutterbomb »

KineticLensman wrote: post #62
puranjay wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really wonder if anyone ever really does anything for themselves anymore. Every experience, even the most intimate and introspective ones, seem to be telegraphed and advertised as a part of your "branded identity"

Some of us are not focussed on building our brand identity. I enjoy photography and back in the day my Flickr portfolio had 500k views. I still take photographs, but don’t now post them online because I want to enjoy the craft of creating them, not help others maximise engagement or similar

But you do want to point out to strangers that you’re above sharing your photos.

It’s easy to be super cynical about everyone’s motivations, and it’s turtles (or signaling) all the way down

Re: A Psychedelic Renaissance

#69

Post by sutterbomb »

beenBoutIT wrote: post #41
sharkweek wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe not, but there are therapists who specialize in guided psychedelic trips who encourage exploration and fear facing. Seems like they'd know how to guide the discovery process.

We need scientific clinical trials conducted without any therapist intervention in order to understand what good these drugs do on their own. All the BS about talk-therapy being necessary for them to work is going to keep them out of the reach of most people. The reality is that psychedelics will quickly put psychiatrists out of business unless the public is convinced they can't take psychedelics safely without a shr…

The reality is that they’re currently out of reach for most people, and the only shot at increasing adoption comes with legally sanctioned institutions to help deploy them safely.

Re: A Psychedelic Renaissance

#70

Post by collyw »

kenneth wrote: post #61
mirimir wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK, I wasn't going to share this again. But now I must. So I'd introduced a friend to LSD. They liked it a lot, and wanted to trip again the next day. I advised against it, because tolerance would reduce effects. But no, it had to be. So we took maybe twice as much, and it was still disappointing. And then, being a total dumbass, I suggested that we smoke some marijuana. Now my friend was impressed. Indeed, they were…

I've experienced that exact bad trip, at it was horrible enough that I have never done psychedelics since. The one time in my life I thought I was dead. Not worth the risk to try again. Plenty of other drugs that have real benefits without as much potential for a bad trip. MDMA is much more my speed.

MDMA is fun but you psilocybin has the potential to teach you so much more.
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