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Psychedelic drugs take on depression

nature.com

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Re: Psychedelic drugs take on depression

#81

Post by bhedgeoser »

ad404b8a372f2b9 wrote: post #3

Ketamine is a magical drug, I've told this story a hundred times on HN but it cured my depression overnight. I was given a large hit of it by a doctor after a horrible accident, I went into a K-hole and had a spiritual experience, but even more profound was the effect it had for 4 to 6 months after. It was like a veil had been lifted from my mind, the simplest pleasures of life made me happy, like smelling fresh coff…

Sorry if this comment comes off as ignorant. I've never taken ketamines and my only experience with ketamines is this game: https://thrilldawill.itch.io/mr-krabs-overdoses-on-ketamine . What do you think of it?

Re: Psychedelic drugs take on depression

#82

Post by mathgladiator »

FollowingTheDao wrote: post #75
swatcoder wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is kind of typical of the condition. It can be, but it’s not exclusive to it. It’s good that you’ve identified cues that helps you check in on your own well-being, and it’s good that you have concern for others and want to help them, but please be mindful not to inadvertently shit on someone else’s sundae in the process. Seeing your life in spiritual terms and identifying yourself with a purpose is a common and…

most of what you said is fair, but as a Taoist, I do not see a semi euphoric state as being a normal condition, or even a condition that can be a sustained for a long period of time. There’s a saying, that a strong wind does not blow all day. With these rushes of neurotransmitters, the receptor density on our neurons changes to adapt to them. This is a truth that we all need to understand. This is how the strong wind…

Ketamine has a nice rate limiter of $500 per session and at most once a month. I just had a booster, but I can't imagine myself doing it again for a while.

I do believe a neutral state is ideal, but that requires highs and lows to define. For a variety of reasons, it's very easy to get stuck in a down position for a variety of reasons.

Re: Psychedelic drugs take on depression

#83

Post by thatcat »

Overtonwindow wrote: post #33
ad404b8a372f2b9 wrote: post #3

Ketamine is a magical drug, I've told this story a hundred times on HN but it cured my depression overnight. I was given a large hit of it by a doctor after a horrible accident, I went into a K-hole and had a spiritual experience, but even more profound was the effect it had for 4 to 6 months after. It was like a veil had been lifted from my mind, the simplest pleasures of life made me happy, like smelling fresh coff…

Ketamine also has the effect of creating neuroplasticity in the 24 hours or so following administration. Even the nasal spray.

Source?

Re: Psychedelic drugs take on depression

#84

Post by orthecreedence »

kirse wrote: post #79
virgildotcodes wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>what if there was already the underlying emotional desire to do something and having the experience was more about creating the justification to act? That's definitely part of it, and I think kind of what OP was alluding to in that the experience allows you to dissolve many of the cognitive habits you've built up over your life, allowing you to experience an extremely honest perception of your own mind. I'm not sure…

experience an extremely honest perception of your own mind. Is it though? Does walking into the fun-house mirror room really produce an accurate reflection of who you are? An altered perspective accompanied by an intense emotional experience doesn't necessarily indicate any real truth was uncovered. You can have some quite profound experiences on 3-5 day water/electrolyte fasts as well. When the body is stripped of t…

It seems you're badmouthing psychadelics, while advocating for achieving the same effects without the use of drugs. Why does it matter if someone has a similar experience with a different method?

Also, not everyone can just hop into the woods, alone, for days on end without food. Although that sounds like fun to me, I get horrible migraines if I don't eat regularly. What then? Is vomiting up my last bit of bile huddled in excruciating pain in the middle of the woods going to be some profound experience? Possibly, but psychadelics are an easier method for someone like me (and can be just as natural, in the case of mushrooms/ayahuasca/mescaline/etc).

Re: Psychedelic drugs take on depression

#85

Post by bradly »

tasty_freeze wrote: post #56

There are many personal anecdotes about how one treatment was a game changer. I don't doubt them, but as the article says, it doesn't work for everyone. I am posting this as a counterweight to all the glowing reports. My wife has some chronic health conditions (EDS and ME/CFS and depression); I'm sure they are at least partially related. While ramping off of one antidepressant in anticipation of trying something diff…

I found a single practitioner that did muscle injections instead of an IV so no nurses or anesthesiologists are present. I'm in a cozy room with nice, low lighting, my music, and he leaves the room during the treatment. It feels like going into someone's home. He has a camera to monitor and has come in when I've gotten restless.

Being in a home-like setting isn't for everyone though, so when I guide people to Ketemine treatments I ask them if they are more comfortable in a hospital environment and If so, I recommend the IV clinics.

Re: Psychedelic drugs take on depression

#86

Post by politician »

scubakid wrote: post #80
ad404b8a372f2b9 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very interesting. I've long sought the divine in the machine but haven't found a satisfactory avenue to pursue it so I went back to Catholicism instead. It provides answers to our suffering that hedonism ignores.

Growing up in a catholic household, what I mostly felt as a kid was cognitive dissonance and guilt... but to each their own.

Parenting is hard.

Re: Psychedelic drugs take on depression

#87

Post by jamal-kumar »

jahnu wrote: post #9

The frequency of these kind of posts followed by anecdotes about how it worked for the commenter (who I believe btw) makes me a little uneasy. Somewhere buried in the discussion eventually is a comment from a relevant professional urging caution in interpreting and reacting to these news reports and anecdotes. Now with something as serious as this I would not at all object to such cautions being placed a bit more pro…

The one side effect of regular ketamine use in particular of having it recrystallize in your bladder, ripping it to shreds, is something I wonder if we're going to see more of in the medical literature in the future.

That said it's a pretty interesting wonder drug of sorts for a ton of different things, for example preventing further excitotoxic damage from brain injury

Re: Psychedelic drugs take on depression

#89

Post by zone411 »

thatcat wrote: post #83
Overtonwindow wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ketamine also has the effect of creating neuroplasticity in the 24 hours or so following administration. Even the nasal spray.

Source?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31830487/

"Rodent studies also demonstrate that ketamine rapidly increases BDNF and VEGF release and/or expression in the medial PFC (mPFC) and hippocampus, leading to increase in the number and function of spine synapses in the mPFC and enhancement of hippocampal neurogenesis."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27106168/

"Likewise, repeated ketamine administration increased adult hippocampal neurogenesis"

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31310776/

"Our results demonstrate that a single ketamine administration promotes adult neurogenesis in the ventral hippocampus quite selectively" (mice)

And a review about psychedelics in general: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34566723/

"Studies (n = 20) show that a single administration of a psychedelic produces rapid changes in plasticity mechanisms on a molecular, neuronal, synaptic, and dendritic level. The expression of plasticity-related genes and proteins, including Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), is changed after a single administration of psychedelics, resulting in changed neuroplasticity. The latter included more dendritic complexity, which outlasted the acute effects of the psychedelic. Repeated administration of a psychedelic directly stimulated neurogenesis and increased BDNF mRNA levels up to a month after treatment."

Re: Psychedelic drugs take on depression

#90

Post by liamwire »

hestefisk wrote: post #88

Has anyone had bad experience taking this drug as a treatment for depression? I’m on my third SSRI and am quite desperate to find something to improve my “quality of mind”.

Plenty, see erowid.org. It’s vital to note that the therapy used in combination with these medicines appears to be a key component in all trials I’ve read into—simply taking mushrooms themselves, for example, doesn’t guarantee any positive outcome.

Anecdotally, many people report self-guided use of psychedelics to have been transformative for their own mental health, but it’s equally important to not blind yourself to the very real risks posed in doing so. I don’t say this to discourage you, but rather encourage you to really dive into the topic and learn as much factual information as you can, particularly before undertaking any treatment.

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