Research on use of psychedelics for treatment of mental health conditions.
These are research studies on use of psychedelics in clinical settings as supposed to recreational use (for the sake of experiencing something different). I think there is a distinction made when these psychedelics are used in rituals or treatment bc there are protocols and processes for the purpose of healing. Individuals or groups may have such a process for self-healing, not tied to traditional methods or clinical treatments. I am personally biased that we don't necessarily need to use psychedelics but if it works, why not? What do you think?
Scientists Studied the Effect of Magic Mushrooms on Personality, And the Results Are Startling
Quote:It turns out that psychedelics aren't just good for turning into an elf and jousting a car. Psychiatrists, psychologists and specialists in addiction and recovery from traumatic experiences have been investigating the use of hallucinogens in treatment programs, and the results indicate that psychedelics actually have practical therapeutic uses. And one drug has proven particularly useful. Repeated studies have found the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms, psilocybin, can help people move past major life issues — like beating alcoholism and becoming more empathetic.
http://www.policymic.com/articles/89829/...ign=social
How ayahuasca can revolutionize psychotherapy
Quote:Some of the same doctors and researchers who have, in recent years, gotten FDA approval for breakthrough studies involving MDMA and psilocybin mushrooms are now turning their attention to ayahuasca. Preliminary work suggests the brew could help treat depression, chronic addiction, and fears of mortality.
People with less-defined diagnoses, but a hunger for something missing, say ayahuasca offers something ineffable: compassion, connectedness, spirituality.
http://www.citypages.com/2013-11-20/news...hotherapy/
I've seen a couple of documentaries about it, most people end up feeling depended upon phychedelics instead of other substances or meds. Fundamental societal changes might actually work though.
suggesting things cramps my style, but I suggest the maintenance of relations between humans and plants over 'man-made' compound replicas.
Though there are those who prefer the idea that synths have developed their own consciousness...
That is all for me on this subject.
Peace
i mean probably/possibly hahaha
This is fascinating. The most beautiful expression of nature that I have experienced was when I was on a variant of ayahuasca. I could tell I was on the side of insanity, but it was a controlled insanity. There was pleasure in insanity in that case. I could understand how the Joker from Batman felt.
I don't think I'll ever try it again because of my psych meds. But it would bring a tear to your eye how beautful everything was. And being a variant of ayahuasca, it didn't produce the nausea or vomiting associated. There wasn't the purge.
The variant was a man-made extract of the active ingredients of ayahuasca. It was still a beautiful experience. Mixed with orange juice it also tasted great.
(05-24-2014, 02:50 AM)dynamic equilibrium Wrote: [ -> ]guidance
What do you mean by guidance - do you mean you may get guidance via use of psychedelics?
(05-24-2014, 12:28 PM)reeay Wrote: [ -> ] (05-24-2014, 02:50 AM)dynamic equilibrium Wrote: [ -> ]guidance
What do you mean by guidance - do you mean you may get guidance via use of psychedelics?
Of course!
(05-24-2014, 01:26 PM)Matt1 Wrote: [ -> ] (05-24-2014, 12:28 PM)reeay Wrote: [ -> ] (05-24-2014, 02:50 AM)dynamic equilibrium Wrote: [ -> ]guidance
What do you mean by guidance - do you mean you may get guidance via use of psychedelics?
Of course!
I don't recall receiving guidance from DMT except to not go into it with expectations or attachments. I've never received any training, and it's not like I didn't take a high enough dose. Taken with THH sublingually, it's an incredibly powerful experience. I did have experience though on being on board of a UFO.
Yeah you just don't want pharma to start taking charge and making synthetic kinds or getting patents...
Ibogaine has been shown to get people off of heroin.
It may well be helpful as a tool to get people off of other substances but I don't see how it would actually solve anything. Rather just another way of dealing with the obvious symptoms or surface issues; such as mental illnessnes and/or substance abuse.
It doesn't exactly teach people how to (literally) embody themselves or the ability to become aware of their energy field/emotional states and learning how to remain fully and caringly present with themselves, in their body, while processing difficult emotions. It's the only way to actually heal from deep seated issues, as far as I can tell. And I think that kind of guidance can only be offered by well-experienced and skilled people.
(05-24-2014, 07:15 PM)Melissa Wrote: [ -> ]It may well be helpful as a tool to get people off of other substances but I don't see how it would actually solve anything. Rather just another way of dealing with the obvious symptoms or surface issues; such as mental illnessnes and/or substance abuse.
It doesn't exactly teach people how to (literally) embody themselves or the ability to become aware of their energy field/emotional states and learning how to remain fully and caringly present with themselves, in their body, while processing difficult emotions. It's the only way to actually heal from deep seated issues, as far as I can tell. And I think that kind of guidance can only be offered by well-experienced and skilled people.
I take it you've never experienced what it's like to take LSD, shrooms, DMT, ect?
(05-24-2014, 07:15 PM)Melissa Wrote: [ -> ]It may well be helpful as a tool to get people off of other substances but I don't see how it would actually solve anything. Rather just another way of dealing with the obvious symptoms or surface issues; such as mental illnessnes and/or substance abuse.
It doesn't exactly teach people how to (literally) embody themselves or the ability to become aware of their energy field/emotional states and learning how to remain fully and caringly present with themselves, in their body, while processing difficult emotions. It's the only way to actually heal from deep seated issues, as far as I can tell. And I think that kind of guidance can only be offered by well-experienced and skilled people.
Those things are inclusive if it's part of a therapeutic process. The psychedelics themselves act as a way to create an opening space (gateway) to get in touch with certain issues that are very challenging to touch upon during 'normal' states. When we process our disturbing & distressing issues, it's quite natural for a person to become more mindful - to be present in their bodies in the moment. That's a natural progression as people heal.
Without aid (e.g., relaxation techniques, ego-strengthening, psychedelics, bi-hemispheric stimulation, etc.) people may become highly distressed & emotionally flood- like some people will go into baby mode and rock themselves while being totally unresponsive to your attempt to communicate. The techniques that are used to treat trauma will typically help people to enter into states where they will not be flooded. Unless you find a optimal level of distress, you can't really do anything bc you haven't gotten the safety and security to explore something disturbing & distressing.
As for addiction, I'm actually not so much knowledgable of how these psychedelics are used. Same thing tho, if given that gateway to explore people may engage in self understanding & acceptance.
That kind of intuitive and deep healing is never or very, very rarely a part of a therapeutic process though. And it's still so far from 'regular' therapy that most people who seek help will not even be introduced to it.
(05-25-2014, 04:30 AM)Melissa Wrote: [ -> ]That kind of intuitive and deep healing is never or very, very rarely a part of a therapeutic process though. And it's still so far from 'regular' therapy that most people who seek help will not even be introduced to it.
Yeah this is not your regular, ordinary treatment.
If they are doing research on the benefits of psychedelics for treatment of depression & trauma, they are researching this type of treatment for clients w/ severe level pathology. The people most likely tried all the regular therapy and no progress so these treatment are showing additional possibilities (this is the case for use of LSD for trauma treatment). However, if the researchers find that psychedelics are safe (little risks, little aversive consequences) when used in controlled setting, it's possible they *could* use it for a wider population - so for people w/ less severe pathology. They are still trying to figure that out - who it's for, how you use it, when do you use it, etc.,.
---
Btw for you research-haters out there (lol) this is why research is *so* important. It's ensuring safety and proper design of treatment protocol.
When i took magic mushrooms in the forest i had a great experience. I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and thing that i cannot even begin to explain but if i had to put it into words i would say experiencing the one original image.
(05-25-2014, 04:30 AM)Melissa Wrote: [ -> ]That kind of intuitive and deep healing is never or very, very rarely a part of a therapeutic process though. And it's still so far from 'regular' therapy that most people who seek help will not even be introduced to it.
But the reason such therapy hasn't been used regularly is due to the drug classifications that were unduly placed upon these substances. When LSD was first discovered, they immediately saw the potential therapeutic benefits but the powers that be saw it just as they did marijuana and the mind expanding/anti status quo effects so they demonized them. As for my personal experience with them, I wholly attribute my open mindedness to LSD. When my friends and I tripped, it wasn't just to see cool stuff moving. We sat and talked of time travel, religion, space/time, etc. this was waaaay before spirituality came into my life as three out of four of us were staunch atheists at this point but it got us questioning religion and the existence of god. The reason I mention all of this is that like reeay said, I opens avenues within your mind to be open to issues that you wouldn't be sober. So opening such gateways for the treatment of mental illness and trauma are completely possible given the lack of buffers or barriers in place while sober.
Same goes for MDMA/ecstasy. This drug in particular has amazing potential in couples therapy or any relationship that has issues. The amazing ability to live in complete and utter love that this drug enables truly is something that one cannot understand until you've experienced it. I've always said that if you locked all the world leaders in a room and gave them MDMA, all the world problems would be solved in a single night lol
Yes they are controlled substances. Good point
But so are psychotropic meds.
LSD and a bag of shrooms before taking the plunge down the mountain on my mountain bike. Man those were the days. 40 mile downhill singletrack through the forest. Get to town about 11pm, stop at the hotel where I did maintenance, swim for a while, then sit in hot tub, swim some more, then sit in sauna, then swim, then hot tub, get home in the most relaxed state
ever.
Science is finding that the hallucinations from shrooms are a result of seeing more of what exists. They tell us that the majority of the brain activity is a filtering system, shutting out what we don't want to see or hear.
(05-25-2014, 11:05 AM)Jeremy Wrote: [ -> ]I wholly attribute my open mindedness to LSD.
I have seen some people lose it on LSD. I think there are serious complications possible through mixing of drugs.
I found LSD to be an amplifier. If you have mental issues that you are very good at hiding, they will come out. If you have latent abilities that you are barely aware of, they may come out as well. I became more "perfected" in terms of agility and mechanical linear thought.
I also found that it was very useful for moving me outside of my habitual perspective and letting me view things from a variety of new angles. I could look at the future in a very mechanical way and define every step that needed to be taken in order to fulfill actual manifestation of any desire, along with an exact time frame of completion. And it always worked out as planned.
(05-24-2014, 12:28 PM)reeay Wrote: [ -> ] (05-24-2014, 02:50 AM)dynamic equilibrium Wrote: [ -> ]guidance
What do you mean by guidance - do you mean you may get guidance via use of psychedelics?
IMO the most powerful plant 'psycho-actives' may be considered honed teach/learners for the supple student.
But- as always-
follow one's guidance.. 
Quote:One might consider the polarities with the literal nature enjoyed by the physical polarity of the magnet. The negative and positive, with their electrical characteristics, may be seen to be just as in the physical sense. It is to be noted in this context that it is quite impossible to judge the polarity of an act or an entity, just as it is impossible to judge the relative goodness of the negative and positive poles of the magnet.
(05-25-2014, 05:37 PM)BrownEye Wrote: [ -> ]LSD and a bag of shrooms before taking the plunge down the mountain on my mountain bike. Man those were the days. 40 mile downhill singletrack through the forest. Get to town about 11pm, stop at the hotel where I did maintenance, swim for a while, then sit in hot tub, swim some more, then sit in sauna, then swim, then hot tub, get home in the most relaxed state ever.
Science is finding that the hallucinations from shrooms are a result of seeing more of what exists. They tell us that the majority of the brain activity is a filtering system, shutting out what we don't want to see or hear.
(05-25-2014, 11:05 AM)Jeremy Wrote: [ -> ]I wholly attribute my open mindedness to LSD.
I have seen some people lose it on LSD. I think there are serious complications possible through mixing of drugs.
I found LSD to be an amplifier. If you have mental issues that you are very good at hiding, they will come out. If you have latent abilities that you are barely aware of, they may come out as well. I became more "perfected" in terms of agility and mechanical linear thought.
I also found that it was very useful for moving me outside of my habitual perspective and letting me view things from a variety of new angles. I could look at the future in a very mechanical way and define every step that needed to be taken in order to fulfill actual manifestation of any desire, along with an exact time frame of completion. And it always worked out as planned.
Yea I completely agree. For instance, I'd never even think about taking LSD nowadays due to latent anxiety I deal with. The last two times I've taken MDMA, I've had to fight off panic attacks the entire time which wasn't fun at all. This is where using such a strong psychedelic could potentially be harmful when dealing with alcoholism. I know my strongest anxiety coincided with my ridiculous amounts of alcohol so to use LSD to combat it would have been disastrous for me.
Anxiety should lead you to focus on the blood condition and root chakra.
So how does a 'bad trip' work?
One of the major risks of this type of treatment for those with mental health conditions (clinical level meaning severity is higher than what you see in the general population) is that when this gate opens and whole lot of 'stuffs' comes pouring out. You would need to be able to help someone to manage this level of discomfort bc the reason why they closed up is due to being overwhelmed and incapacitated by their 'trauma' or emotions or whatnot. There are methods to deal with that (altho I am not sure what these researchers are doing to ensure someone doesn't get too deep, too fast).
When you are using psychedelics, is there a way you make sure you prevent 'bad trips'? Jeremy shared the possible effects of using substances such as alcohol w/ LSD - so that is one important point- no mixing. Any other ways to ensure a kind of 'safety'?
(05-27-2014, 12:19 AM)reeay Wrote: [ -> ]Any other ways to ensure a kind of 'safety'?
Balance?
Honesty?
We're all working on the same project together (humans, animals, plants, derivatives) so to be with 'friends' can help.
I have bad trips most of the time, but it's more due to a distortion towards being 'closed up'.
So what would one suggest for
any therapy?
Heal!
(05-27-2014, 12:19 AM)reeay Wrote: [ -> ]So how does a 'bad trip' work?
One of the major risks of this type of treatment for those with mental health conditions (clinical level meaning severity is higher than what you see in the general population) is that when this gate opens and whole lot of 'stuffs' comes pouring out. You would need to be able to help someone to manage this level of discomfort bc the reason why they closed up is due to being overwhelmed and incapacitated by their 'trauma' or emotions or whatnot. There are methods to deal with that (altho I am not sure what these researchers are doing to ensure someone doesn't get too deep, too fast).
When you are using psychedelics, is there a way you make sure you prevent 'bad trips'? Jeremy shared the possible effects of using substances such as alcohol w/ LSD - so that is one important point- no mixing. Any other ways to ensure a kind of 'safety'?
The only possibility I would propose would be to have an injectable sedative like Ativan on hand because after experiencing my first panic attack long ago, I realized that the one bad trip I had, which was off of shrooms, is basically an intense panic attack. The difference is that due to the intensity of the trip, I was unable to pull myself out of it so I experienced the most intense panic attack I have ever had for 4 hours.
The event was so traumatic for the 3 of us, we actually went drug free for the next school year. Then we discovered MDMA and liquid LSD and it was on from there for the coulple years lol.
(05-27-2014, 12:19 AM)reeay Wrote: [ -> ]So how does a 'bad trip' work?
To simplify the idea, imagine the person I used to hang out with freaking out over the red worms crawling in and out of his skin. Then imagine him constantly complaining and picking at his skin trying to remove them.
Now understand that this was not his imagination, but rather the greater reality of things. He was simply perceiving astral critters and it was causing him shock.
Many folks are just not ready to perceive things they are
told do not exist. This is why those who have done the work are more prepared and much more ready to accept what they are seeing instead of going into mental cognition loops.
Once the brain has functioned at these other frequencies of perception, it can be triggered to activate the memory of these frequencies, causing a "flashback" episode, returning to the temporary perceptive state. (though I think it very possible to remain permanently in this perceptive state, while
not mentally capable of processing what is sensed.)
most recently I perceived little buggys gorging on the top of my brain. I was about to get rid of them, but were so cute and hungry, and I realized that I/this was/is the only sustenance for them, so I invited them to stay, hehehe. Like specialization.
I study the usefulness of the veil muahaha.
Scary scary stuff out/in there/here, panic attacks are from lack of awareness and/or courage, etc.
I panic often. Panic is okay, if one can see that.
I mostly panic over responsibility, failure to properly express the self, and frustration at the state of the world; all of which may be considered completely 'retarded' (forgive me if you care to, but this term was once commonplace)
Also, I should note;
Smoking mary jane tends to produce the highest incidence of anxiety in my experience (over and above the 'emotionally charged' anxiousness commonly associated with 'psychedelics' used on numerous occasions), and yet I tend to use it FAR more than the others.
Partially due to availability, and part to sheer boundedness with reality(s).
I love her so much.. though we like our space sometimes too.. usually not long tho hahaha
(05-27-2014, 12:19 AM)reeay Wrote: [ -> ]So how does a 'bad trip' work?
One of the major risks of this type of treatment for those with mental health conditions (clinical level meaning severity is higher than what you see in the general population) is that when this gate opens and whole lot of 'stuffs' comes pouring out. You would need to be able to help someone to manage this level of discomfort bc the reason why they closed up is due to being overwhelmed and incapacitated by their 'trauma' or emotions or whatnot. There are methods to deal with that (altho I am not sure what these researchers are doing to ensure someone doesn't get too deep, too fast).
When you are using psychedelics, is there a way you make sure you prevent 'bad trips'? Jeremy shared the possible effects of using substances such as alcohol w/ LSD - so that is one important point- no mixing. Any other ways to ensure a kind of 'safety'?
Not in any particular order:
1. Starting with a small dose for the first trip. (Not much happens on a small dose, but the person will become more comfortable with its effects for the second trip)
2. Making sure there is no doubt as to the quality of the compound.
3. Having a trusted sitter - preferably a good trusted friend who is sober but has done this before.
4. Good, quiet settings. Usually daytime and around nature, but with privacy so a nice backyard is good.
5. The person doing the trip needs to understand that bad trips are good in that they are part of the cleaning and healing process. They are not a "wrong" outcome.
6. An understanding that if they try to control the trip, the experience is much harsher than accepting what the trip brings. Just let it flow.
7. Paper and pencil to write down anything if desired.
8. Pleasant soft music.
9. An understanding that it is meant to be a sitting, being experience, and that any action should wait until after the trip is over.
10. An understanding that the dying experience is often one of the most powerful healing experiences, as to not fear it. Death is rebirth.
I've done moderate to high levels of shrooms probably half a dozen times. Sometimes solo.