Psychedelics for Mental Health Tx

[reeay]

Scientists find how magic mushrooms alter the mind

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists studying the effects of the psychedelic chemical in magic mushrooms have found the human brain displays a similar pattern of activity during dreams as it does during a mind-expanding drug trip.

http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-magic-m...44187.html

Dreaming is one way our brain and our mind 'resets' itself (like calibrating or 'de-frag' if you want to use computer/mechanical terms). When we use psychedelics then, it's possible to be more 'aware' in our dream-like experiences than we are sleeping. One phrase the researcher used was 'perturb the system' - to give it stimulation or catalyst to 'jiggle' the brain and mind to allow deeper exploration of self. This is exactly what other therapy technique does e.g., stimulating both hemisphere of the brain (EMDR) allows the mind to begin to process information that was previously unprocessed due to trauma.

Dreaming is very important when we want to process information - when people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder want to process their distressful catalyst, they end up having nightmares bc the mind just cannot process what happened. Nightmares are a kind of an indication of - 'failure to process'. Therefore, when we are deeply disturbed, our natural healing function (dream) is compromised. It's almost like the mind is constipated and there is no relief... Magic shroomies, if they help induce a dream-like brain state, would then help people to open that possibility to process distressful experiences in a conscious and (hopefully) safe environment.

Ecstasy is also being investigated:

British researchers have been exploring the potential of psilocybin to alleviate severe forms of depression in people who don't respond to other treatments, and obtained some positive results from early-stage experiments.

In the United States, scientists have seen positive results in trials using MDMA, a pure form of the party drug ecstasy, in treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

People have been using this stuff all 'wrong' lol. I guess this is how 'drugs' work (any drugs) - when used for the process of healing it may yield very positive experiences. Using it to have fun,mask problems, or to bypass catalyst can potentially go nowhere... but that could differ based on the individual.