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In my opinion this is very poor advice Please do not use psychedelics of any sort if you are suffering from depression without the oversight of a medical profe

In my opinion this is very poor advice Please do not use psychedelics of any sort if you are suffering from depression without the oversight of a medical professional such as a psychiatrist or psychologist A negative mindset can be heavily amplified through the use of serotonergic 5ht2a agonists, this can lead to disastrous consequences

beaker52 5y ago
This is worth saying again. DO NOT use psychedelics without medical oversight if you're at rock bottom. You ideally need to be strong enough to take some unexpected punches, and be in charge of an open, welcoming mindset. I'm bullish on the potential of psychedelics. I'm interested in finding work in this area to support it.
whalesalad 5y ago
I disagree with the notion that all things must be "left to professionals" - I have been let down by others more times than I can count. There are ton of abusive and incompetent therapists/psychs out there.
- netizen-936824 5y ago
  Its not about being left to professionals. This advice is to prevent suicide attempts by individuals who are feeling extremely negative with no hope. Psychedelics amplify your current state of mind. This means negative thought patterns are amplified, so an individual who may not have been suicidal previously may become so especially if they are alone. Personally I think psychedelics should be freely available to any human that wants them, however I'm also aware of the dangers that these compounds can present and as a society we need to be aware and prepared to face these things. That includes the awareness that one should be careful about their mindset when they decide to use such a powerful tool. I also agree that there are incompetent professionals, but this isn't about competency. Its about preventing suicide.
  - mysore 5y ago
    I've worked with psychiatrists who were so bad that they made me suicidal. medical professionals aren't interested in helping people. They are slaves to liability and insurance and place profits above the well being of their patients.
    - netizen-936824 5y ago
      Those kind of psychiatrists probably wouldn't be willing to sit for someone going through psychedelic therapy, and them being licensed is an issue entirely orthogonal to how psychedelics amplify emotions Just because some medical professionals suck, that doesn't make it safe to use psychedelics when depressed without someone who knows what they're doing with you. "Knows what they're doing" includes knowing how to handle suicidal individuals.
jaminal 5y ago
While I completely agree with the point about exploring psychedelic medicine with support, I need to counter by naming that a lot of medical professionals may not be well informed and many are categorically mis-informed. Please find a guide or therapist who has been formally trained in working with psychedelics, and who works closely with medical doctor if you have any medical concerns or questions. Or work directly with an MD if and only if that MD has had formal training with psychedelics. The conventional career tracks in western mental health (MFT, Psy.D, licensed psychiatrist or psychologist) do not give someone authority about psychedelic therapy. These backgrounds can be a part of a facilitators work, but they also need formal training in psychedelic therapy. These people exist and our numbers are growing steadily.
hypertele-Xii 5y ago
"Please do not attempt to program computers at home without the oversight of a qualified software engineer." You do realize this is hacker news?
- netizen-936824 5y ago
  That's not even close to being directly comparable Since when does programming carry the risk of suicide or death in some other fashion? I would argue its exceedingly rare, as opposed to suicidal tendencies being amplified by depressed individuals using psychedelics. You're comparing apples to shoes
  - hypertele-Xii 5y ago
    I'd hack apples and I'd hack shoes. I've programmed my computer and I've programmed my mind, using psychedelics and without. Fear of death is a self-reinforcing mechanism. The more you sustain it, the more likely it will spinlock during a trip.
    - netizen-936824 5y ago
      How well do we understand computers as humans? How well do we understand how the brain works? Its an entirely different field and we don't know shit. If you're depressed, using psychedelics alone should be the absolutely last thing you do And if you're not careful it just might be
      - hypertele-Xii 5y ago
        As per game theory, when you're already losing, that's the best time to take risks. If you lose more, it hardly matters as you were already losing anyway, but if you win you have a chance to comeback.
        netizen-936824 5y ago
        I don't think you understand either the perspective of depression or how these compounds work This is my opinion as a formal student of neuropsychopharmacology Its fine to use psychedelics if you have a responsible and prepared trip sitter, not alone which is what this entire thread is about. That's literally the most dangerous thing you can do and goes against all tenets of harm reduction Depression isn't "losing" and what you say almost sounds like you're okay with some suicides. That's a bit disgusting

beaker52 5y ago

This is worth saying again. DO NOT use psychedelics without medical oversight if you're at rock bottom. You ideally need to be strong enough to take some unexpected punches, and be in charge of an open, welcoming mindset. I'm bullish on the potential of psychedelics. I'm interested in finding work in this area to support it.

whalesalad 5y ago

I disagree with the notion that all things must be "left to professionals" - I have been let down by others more times than I can count. There are ton of abusive and incompetent therapists/psychs out there.

netizen-936824 5y ago
Its not about being left to professionals. This advice is to prevent suicide attempts by individuals who are feeling extremely negative with no hope. Psychedelics amplify your current state of mind. This means negative thought patterns are amplified, so an individual who may not have been suicidal previously may become so especially if they are alone. Personally I think psychedelics should be freely available to any human that wants them, however I'm also aware of the dangers that these compounds can present and as a society we need to be aware and prepared to face these things. That includes the awareness that one should be careful about their mindset when they decide to use such a powerful tool. I also agree that there are incompetent professionals, but this isn't about competency. Its about preventing suicide.
- mysore 5y ago
  I've worked with psychiatrists who were so bad that they made me suicidal. medical professionals aren't interested in helping people. They are slaves to liability and insurance and place profits above the well being of their patients.
  - netizen-936824 5y ago
    Those kind of psychiatrists probably wouldn't be willing to sit for someone going through psychedelic therapy, and them being licensed is an issue entirely orthogonal to how psychedelics amplify emotions Just because some medical professionals suck, that doesn't make it safe to use psychedelics when depressed without someone who knows what they're doing with you. "Knows what they're doing" includes knowing how to handle suicidal individuals.

jaminal 5y ago

While I completely agree with the point about exploring psychedelic medicine with support, I need to counter by naming that a lot of medical professionals may not be well informed and many are categorically mis-informed. Please find a guide or therapist who has been formally trained in working with psychedelics, and who works closely with medical doctor if you have any medical concerns or questions. Or work directly with an MD if and only if that MD has had formal training with psychedelics. The conventional career tracks in western mental health (MFT, Psy.D, licensed psychiatrist or psychologist) do not give someone authority about psychedelic therapy. These backgrounds can be a part of a facilitators work, but they also need formal training in psychedelic therapy. These people exist and our numbers are growing steadily.

hypertele-Xii 5y ago

"Please do not attempt to program computers at home without the oversight of a qualified software engineer." You do realize this is hacker news?

netizen-936824 5y ago
That's not even close to being directly comparable Since when does programming carry the risk of suicide or death in some other fashion? I would argue its exceedingly rare, as opposed to suicidal tendencies being amplified by depressed individuals using psychedelics. You're comparing apples to shoes
- hypertele-Xii 5y ago
  I'd hack apples and I'd hack shoes. I've programmed my computer and I've programmed my mind, using psychedelics and without. Fear of death is a self-reinforcing mechanism. The more you sustain it, the more likely it will spinlock during a trip.
  - netizen-936824 5y ago
    How well do we understand computers as humans? How well do we understand how the brain works? Its an entirely different field and we don't know shit. If you're depressed, using psychedelics alone should be the absolutely last thing you do And if you're not careful it just might be
    - hypertele-Xii 5y ago
      As per game theory, when you're already losing, that's the best time to take risks. If you lose more, it hardly matters as you were already losing anyway, but if you win you have a chance to comeback.
      - netizen-936824 5y ago
        I don't think you understand either the perspective of depression or how these compounds work This is my opinion as a formal student of neuropsychopharmacology Its fine to use psychedelics if you have a responsible and prepared trip sitter, not alone which is what this entire thread is about. That's literally the most dangerous thing you can do and goes against all tenets of harm reduction Depression isn't "losing" and what you say almost sounds like you're okay with some suicides. That's a bit disgusting