3 ms·

As studies continue, it seems that a key component is a safe and therapeutic environment and a trained guide who can help the person navigate what they experien

As studies continue, it seems that a key component is a safe and therapeutic environment and a trained guide who can help the person navigate what they experience. People most often get in trouble when they bring a recreational drug mindset, or are predisposed to certain conditions, or have not worked with a therapist to have foundational tools to manage the experience. The risks are absolutely real and should not be taken lightly, but there’s a huge difference between going on a personal journey of experimentation without the tools to navigate that journey, and going through a careful screening process with counseling during and after each trip. Michael Pollan’s work (book and documentary) explores this somewhat. I don’t think most people would describe the experience as ambiguous. That is not to say that the experience can be sufficiently described with language.

abyssin 4y ago
Interestingly, my recent bad experience was in what I expected to be the safest and most therapeutic environment available to me. What I discovered instead was an irrational culture with an immature fascination for shamanism. My individual experiences, informed by my research, were more beneficial (and cheaper as well). Knowing the topic and a trip-sitter you know might prove a better choice than trusting self-proclaimed guides.
- hammyhavoc 4y ago
  I have heard a lot of similar tales regarding the shamanism and rejection of science and reasoning, making all kinds of outrageous claims about what it can "cure", which just isn't physically possible.
  - abyssin 4y ago
    The biggest claim is that psychedelics are a tool to access a profound truth about the nature of life, the universe, etc. The scientific literature shows there’s a correlation between the intensity of the mysticism experience and its therapeutic benefits. The problem is truth. If experiencing religious visions and feelings is followed by getting better, it doesn’t mean God actually exists, or that your “soul” left your body.
    - _a_a_a_ 4y ago
      I've been very happy with just "getting better"
- wnolens 4y ago
  > What I discovered instead was an irrational culture with an immature fascination for shamanism Hilarious revelation to have from a trip. I never put it like that in my mind, but I feel kind of similar. My take is.. people want an external locus of control and/or instructions on how to live so bad that in the modern bent towards Atheism/Agnosticism, they transfer that responsibility elsewhere (star signs, tarot cards, psychedelics, their political party, some 'expert'..)
rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
I think the medical community is still catching up to the knowledge that experienced users have - even today, I'd still recommend newbies read up on the stuff themselves, and do it with someone experienced that they trust. The research will eventually catch up, and within a decade or two tripping in a doctor's office will be much more responsible and fruitful. Doctors can already provide a lot of pharmacological advantages: they have access to consistent, predictable, controlled dosages, and access to prescription antipsychotics to end a trip if it is not going well, which is obviously a much better situation than eating a few mushrooms with an unknown amount of psilocybin then hanging on and hoping for the best.

abyssin 4y ago

Interestingly, my recent bad experience was in what I expected to be the safest and most therapeutic environment available to me. What I discovered instead was an irrational culture with an immature fascination for shamanism. My individual experiences, informed by my research, were more beneficial (and cheaper as well). Knowing the topic and a trip-sitter you know might prove a better choice than trusting self-proclaimed guides.

hammyhavoc 4y ago
I have heard a lot of similar tales regarding the shamanism and rejection of science and reasoning, making all kinds of outrageous claims about what it can "cure", which just isn't physically possible.
- abyssin 4y ago
  The biggest claim is that psychedelics are a tool to access a profound truth about the nature of life, the universe, etc. The scientific literature shows there’s a correlation between the intensity of the mysticism experience and its therapeutic benefits. The problem is truth. If experiencing religious visions and feelings is followed by getting better, it doesn’t mean God actually exists, or that your “soul” left your body.
  - _a_a_a_ 4y ago
    I've been very happy with just "getting better"
wnolens 4y ago
> What I discovered instead was an irrational culture with an immature fascination for shamanism Hilarious revelation to have from a trip. I never put it like that in my mind, but I feel kind of similar. My take is.. people want an external locus of control and/or instructions on how to live so bad that in the modern bent towards Atheism/Agnosticism, they transfer that responsibility elsewhere (star signs, tarot cards, psychedelics, their political party, some 'expert'..)

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago

I think the medical community is still catching up to the knowledge that experienced users have - even today, I'd still recommend newbies read up on the stuff themselves, and do it with someone experienced that they trust. The research will eventually catch up, and within a decade or two tripping in a doctor's office will be much more responsible and fruitful. Doctors can already provide a lot of pharmacological advantages: they have access to consistent, predictable, controlled dosages, and access to prescription antipsychotics to end a trip if it is not going well, which is obviously a much better situation than eating a few mushrooms with an unknown amount of psilocybin then hanging on and hoping for the best.