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YMMV. I took LSD. It didn't do a whole lot other than make me think I could play the piano when I definitely can't. The only life changing thing was I was down

YMMV. I took LSD. It didn't do a whole lot other than make me think I could play the piano when I definitely can't. The only life changing thing was I was down some cash which I could have spent on something else. A friend at the time took it and killed themselves a month later. Point is there are no absolutes and a lot of romanticism and anecdotes around it when we need science. But it's difficult to be anything but subjective about it if you have experienced it. I suspect any critical thinking becomes biased and that relationship requires some analysis as well. Boring take I know but to pose a question: at the level of society if it is normalised, does taking psychedelics have a general positive or a general negative outcome?

InCityDreams 3y ago
>A friend at the time took it [LSD] and killed themselves a month later. Do you think the two events could be otherwise related? As you then say "Point is there are no absolutes and a lot of romanticism and anecdotes around it when we need science." >...does taking psychedelics have a general positive or a general negative outcome? It's a great question, but banning it, so the quality of the chemical supplied then may be suspect, and the dosages may be wildly different - and seeing what happens over 60+ years was an incorrect move.
- crimbles 3y ago
  Yes they are 100% related. The side effect was triggering underlying schizophrenia. Which is why we need controlled research.
temp0826 3y ago
>> does taking psychedelics have a general positive or a general negative outcome? If everyone took them in a context conducive to healing/therapy it would be positive. Unfortunately that's rarely the case (though it's becoming more common).
- crimbles 3y ago
  Well that's not how you need to test it really and is not an objective measure. That's a badly posed question. It should be compared to other forms of therapy. And the criteria for entering therapy needs to be understood.
LoganDark 3y ago
> YMMV. I took LSD. It didn't do a whole lot other than make me think I could play the piano when I definitely can't. For me, despite regularly taking high doses of psychedelics (so far LSD and psilocybin), none of them have been huge life-shattering trips. They're just recreational experiences. Maybe I'm just neurodivergent in a very specific way that isn't easily impacted by psychedelics. They're still my favorite substances and I still enjoy them, but it hasn't made that big of an impact on my life, other than being something to spend my money on, like you say. Or maybe people with self-proclaimed life-shattering experiences are just extrapolating more out of their trip than what actually happened. I'm sure plenty of people have legitimately improved their lives this way, but I don't believe the hype.
deepnotderp 3y ago
Do we hold things like alcohol or tiktok to the same level of rigor? > when we need science. Do SSRIs beat placebo?
Ingaz 3y ago
My son "forgot" his asthma after one dose of LSD. Literally - 1.5 year and no problems. That was absolutely unexpected effect. I still don't know what to think about it. I'm not a psychodelic enthusiast
- crimbles 3y ago
  I had asthma as a kid. I stopped taking the meds at 15 and had no problems since. YMMV. Would require a study.
  - Ingaz 3y ago
    I suspect it was something similar: he had real asthma during childhood but continued taking meds when they were not really needed. After LSD he just "forgot" to take them
matrix87 3y ago
> YMMV. I took LSD. It didn't do a whole lot other than make me think I could play the piano when I definitely can't. The only life changing thing was I was down some cash which I could have spent on something else. A friend at the time took it and killed themselves a month later. I remember one trip I was reading this book called Be Here Now by Ram Dass. Very new-agey, acid culture type thing. A very spiritually intense book I remember having this lingering feeling of "I probably shouldn't be doing these" because of some mental health history on my mother's side of the family. I remember there was this part of it about how people go insane off of psychedelics, turning the page and seeing this lightning bolt hitting a giant tower and seeing a bunch of people falling to the ground out of it. And right when I saw that, I heard the loudest thunder I have ever heard in my entire life (it was raining outside). Like it shook the whole fucking house Afterwards I looked up the dude who wrote the book, saw he was a "new age" guy with a white robe on and sort of felt like I was tricked, and that the lightning was some type of coincidence. In hindsight I see this as pride from my part. Also that was the last time I did a psychedelic. There's this saying with them where "you get the message and hang up the phone", that was my cue I was an atheist up to this point but that scared this fear into me that there's something out there. You can rationalize and come up with reasons to deny that (it isn't hard), but I'd rather not personally. At least, I feel more at peace now after accepting that there is

InCityDreams 3y ago

>A friend at the time took it [LSD] and killed themselves a month later. Do you think the two events could be otherwise related? As you then say "Point is there are no absolutes and a lot of romanticism and anecdotes around it when we need science." >...does taking psychedelics have a general positive or a general negative outcome? It's a great question, but banning it, so the quality of the chemical supplied then may be suspect, and the dosages may be wildly different - and seeing what happens over 60+ years was an incorrect move.

crimbles 3y ago
Yes they are 100% related. The side effect was triggering underlying schizophrenia. Which is why we need controlled research.

temp0826 3y ago

>> does taking psychedelics have a general positive or a general negative outcome? If everyone took them in a context conducive to healing/therapy it would be positive. Unfortunately that's rarely the case (though it's becoming more common).

crimbles 3y ago
Well that's not how you need to test it really and is not an objective measure. That's a badly posed question. It should be compared to other forms of therapy. And the criteria for entering therapy needs to be understood.

LoganDark 3y ago

> YMMV. I took LSD. It didn't do a whole lot other than make me think I could play the piano when I definitely can't. For me, despite regularly taking high doses of psychedelics (so far LSD and psilocybin), none of them have been huge life-shattering trips. They're just recreational experiences. Maybe I'm just neurodivergent in a very specific way that isn't easily impacted by psychedelics. They're still my favorite substances and I still enjoy them, but it hasn't made that big of an impact on my life, other than being something to spend my money on, like you say. Or maybe people with self-proclaimed life-shattering experiences are just extrapolating more out of their trip than what actually happened. I'm sure plenty of people have legitimately improved their lives this way, but I don't believe the hype.

deepnotderp 3y ago

Do we hold things like alcohol or tiktok to the same level of rigor? > when we need science. Do SSRIs beat placebo?

Ingaz 3y ago

My son "forgot" his asthma after one dose of LSD. Literally - 1.5 year and no problems. That was absolutely unexpected effect. I still don't know what to think about it. I'm not a psychodelic enthusiast

crimbles 3y ago
I had asthma as a kid. I stopped taking the meds at 15 and had no problems since. YMMV. Would require a study.
- Ingaz 3y ago
  I suspect it was something similar: he had real asthma during childhood but continued taking meds when they were not really needed. After LSD he just "forgot" to take them

matrix87 3y ago

> YMMV. I took LSD. It didn't do a whole lot other than make me think I could play the piano when I definitely can't. The only life changing thing was I was down some cash which I could have spent on something else. A friend at the time took it and killed themselves a month later. I remember one trip I was reading this book called Be Here Now by Ram Dass. Very new-agey, acid culture type thing. A very spiritually intense book I remember having this lingering feeling of "I probably shouldn't be doing these" because of some mental health history on my mother's side of the family. I remember there was this part of it about how people go insane off of psychedelics, turning the page and seeing this lightning bolt hitting a giant tower and seeing a bunch of people falling to the ground out of it. And right when I saw that, I heard the loudest thunder I have ever heard in my entire life (it was raining outside). Like it shook the whole fucking house Afterwards I looked up the dude who wrote the book, saw he was a "new age" guy with a white robe on and sort of felt like I was tricked, and that the lightning was some type of coincidence. In hindsight I see this as pride from my part. Also that was the last time I did a psychedelic. There's this saying with them where "you get the message and hang up the phone", that was my cue I was an atheist up to this point but that scared this fear into me that there's something out there. You can rationalize and come up with reasons to deny that (it isn't hard), but I'd rather not personally. At least, I feel more at peace now after accepting that there is