7 ms·

Single dose of LSD provides immediate and lasting relief from anxiety, study say

100 points by thelastgallon 3y ago

ElijahLynn 3y ago
This being on CNN is quite hopeful! LSD, MDMA and Psilocybin (mushrooms) are all very potent non-habitual substances capable at creating instant psychic breaks and creating permanent improvements. I'm excited to see this momentum!
- metroholografix 3y ago
  "Terence’s pivotal, existential crisis came abruptly, some time in ’88 or ’89. Everything that happened after that event was fallout. I don’t know exactly when it happened, and I don’t know exactly what happened; I am piecing it together from what Kat [his wife at the time] has told me, and she has volunteered few details, and I am reluctant to probe. It happened when they were living for a time on the big island, and it was a mushroom trip they shared that was absolutely terrifying for Terence. It was terrifying because, for some reason, the mushroom turned on him. The gentle, wise, humorous mushroom spirit that he had come to know and trust as an ally and teacher ripped back the facade to reveal an abyss of utter existential despair. Terence kept saying, so Kat told me, that it was “a lack of all meaning, a lack of all meaning.” And this induced panic in Terence, and probably, I speculate, a feeling he was going mad. He couldn’t deal with it. Kat’s efforts to reassure him were fruitless. After that experience, he never again took mushrooms, and he took other psychedelics, such as DMT and ayahuasca, only on rare occasions and with great reluctance. Whatever the specific content of the psychedelic experience might have been that triggered the cognitive collapse of Terence’s worldview and precipitated his existential crisis, what was most remarkable was that he did not see it coming. He did not see it coming." — From Dennis McKenna, The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss: My Life with Terence McKenna, now excised
remir 3y ago
Never tried LSD, but a couple of weeks ago I consummed canabis oil from a small spray bottle I bought from our province's official canabis store. Not knowing much about canabis and proper dosage, I decided to try it, but it's clear I took too much... The trip was like a mental battle between moments of lucidity and negative thought loops and light paranoia. It forced me to see my own automatic thinking process and this "inner voice" I have with more clarity. I realized we can orient our thinking and it's polarity at any moment and it would influence our perception of reality. Sounds obvious on the surface, but it became clear when I realized negative thoughts were appearing and I would reorient my thinking elsewhere, the vibe changed and it felt like I was becoming more lucid.
- satvikpendem 3y ago
  I've done that with weed where I felt ego death basically, because my dose was too high as well. But the next day I felt fine. I've been using CBD oil as an anti-anxiety treatment, it works quite well.
  - aunty_helen 3y ago
    CBD is great for dealing with anxiety. I use broad spectrum drops and take quite a high dose a few times a day. Because the broad spectrum doesn’t have any thc it’s still easy to get work done with it and sometimes it even helps with getting started on something.
thegrim000 3y ago
So am I crazy in noticing all of these "X psychedelic great for anxiety/depression/Y" stories over the last couple of years and wondering if it's natural or else why there's a propaganda campaign pushing this idea out now? The internet is ruined for me now, I now just assume by default that it's likely coordinated, not natural, and there's some overall political/social angle they're trying to achieve. Probably working to soften up the population for legalization efforts in a few years? The weed pattern - spend a few years pushing studies that weed helps cure/treat X/Y/Z disease, which led after enough years to medicinal weed, which led after enough years to legalization.
ProllyInfamous 3y ago
"Three LSDs, please." ---- My brief experiences with entheogens largely agree with the study. However, if you're not in a good place (mentally), please don't just do drugs (it won't solve anything). Also, if anybody suggests you "try this," perhaps start with a microdose of psilocybin, first (but only if you're curious). ---- The beautiful interconnectedness of everything is my main "takeaway" from brief dabblings.
- spoiler 3y ago
  I assume you don't mean a micro dose, but a smaller dose. The point of microdosing is to almost not feel the effects of the substance, and recent research has shown that microdosing is largely ineffective (both for the neuroplasticity effects of psilocybin, but also on its effect on DMN; my hunch: the reasons are probably related, but I'm not a neuro scientist!)
  - wyre 3y ago
    Do you have sources showing the ineffectiveness of microdosing? I don’t not believe you, but that is news to me. I believed microdosing is effective.
    - neom 3y ago
      There is some data, but not much and not very good, that microdosing probably helps alleviate anxiety. However, I think what isn't well understood is, is this like using a band-aid for cancer. In my personal discussions with folks who work around psychedelic assisted therapy, these folks seem to believe it's the trip that knocks you right, and microdosing can keep you right, but you need to start with the trip. I have no real opinion on this, seems plausible to me based on my own experimentation, but I don't know. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-01811-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-01811-4
    - spoiler 3y ago
      Yes! Here is some I managed to quickly dig up: - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02876-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02876-5 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33648632/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33648632/ - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6364961/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6364961/ - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34915762/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34915762/ - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35918311/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35918311/ BIG DISCLAIMER before you read the next bits: I'm not a researcher/scientist in this field, but psychedelics have helped me get a handle on CPTSD, process trauma. My take on this is that microdosing probably still has some acute benefits, since it still does alters brain chemistry. So, can it be helpful? Probably, but it should come with a big "YMMV" disclaimer. In the context of psilocybin, my understanding is that it doesn't give long-term benefits as a "macro" dose would like DMN regulation[1] and neuroplasticity[2]; a lot of people tend to attribute these to microdosing too, but apparently it's not the case[3]. Also, due to tolerance build up, so you start getting diminishing returns from microdosing, so it's not effective long-term (even with the Fadiman microdosing protocol where you take breaks; I think there's other protocols that claims to lessen the diminishing returns). I don't think LSD triggers these physiological changes in the brain, but it's believed it can helps with the psychological aspects. I don't take them regularly anymore (I used to take them every couple of months during a rough patch in my life, but I also did therapy on-and-off during that period too). I now take them every few years as to check-in with myself, or special occasions. [1]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10032309 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10032309 [2]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6082376 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6082376; I feel like there was a another study on this too, but I can't find it now, sorry! [3]: Only briefly discussed by Huberman in his podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIxVfln02Ss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIxVfln02Ss. I recommend watching the video in its entirety; it's great!
rfarley04 3y ago
I support this. Seems like having a trained therapist involved can't HURT though. So not having one kind of feels like cutting corners, but maybe there's a more academic reason?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
lurquer 3y ago
Lobotomies can likewise help.
- barbazoo 3y ago
  source?
  - docandrew 3y ago
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1933933/?page=1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1933933/?page=1
    - datameta 3y ago
      [1942]
      - docandrew 3y ago
        I think that’s the GP’s point though. 70 years from now are we going to look back on these studies and think “what the heck were we thinking?”
        InCityDreams 3y ago
        ...psychedelics have been around for thousands of years. People like trippin'.
        datameta 3y ago
        Well hopefully we can continue actually studying benefits of psychedelic treatment in a medical setting because for about 30-40 years it was a dead field thanks to the government being oh-noesies in the late 60s. Maybe they should have put more money into understanding the drug from a medicinal perspective and not as a chemical agent against enemy troops or covert assassination through hyperdosing.
throwaway632 3y ago
If my physician offered LSD to me, would want to be sure it was a last resort. Don't want to risk HPPD without good reason. After experiencing very mild visual snow for a few months, that's frightening enough for me. My job is looking at a computer screen. I need my vision intact.
- iandanforth 3y ago
  https://eyewiki.aao.org/Hallucinogen_Persisting_Perception_Disorder#:~:text=Hallucinogen%20Persisting%20Perception%20Disorder%20(HPPD,of%20the%20initial%20substance%20use https://eyewiki.aao.org/Hallucinogen_Persisting_Perception_D....
- busterarm 3y ago
  This happened to me. After one particularly intense trip I couldn't even look at a television for 6 months without having really jarring visual hallucinations. A few years of panic attacks too. I quit taking LSD after that one and all psychoactives not much longer after.
- johnisgood 3y ago
  Similarly, MDMA may cause (and does cause in many individuals) visual snow.
- sneed_chucker 3y ago
  > After experiencing very mild visual snow for a few months, that's frightening enough for me. It went away? That's pretty uncommon from what I can tell.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - SpaceNugget 3y ago
    I had a similar experience with a similar time frame. It didn't completely go away, but I stopped noticing it as much. Except for situations where it's hard to not notice like at night or when it's dark or I actively pay attention to it, I ignore it without having to think about it most of the time.
toomuchtodo 3y ago
Dosage suggestions pls. Asking for a friend.
- TheCoelacanth 3y ago
  > “We’re very confident based on the results that 100 micrograms is the right dose to bring into our phase three studies, as we didn’t see any more improvement with 200 micrograms but did see additional adverse effects,” Karlin said.
  - toomuchtodo 3y ago
    Appreciate the quote, I should’ve specified: from HN folks. Sometimes there is a delta between public guidance and others with experience. All suggested resources are welcome, use case is someone with crippling anxiety.
    - kangda123 3y ago
      From for a friend, 80-100 mcg is pure bliss without the psychedelic effects kicking in too much. Do read more on how to do it properly though. Many factors can have greater impact on the experience than the actual dose.
    - wyre 3y ago
      For therapeutic effects (not recreational) might recommend the smallest dose that’s accessible and scaling from there. Ex. Taking a 100mcg tab and dividing it into fourths. This will accustom your friend to the new feelings and lowing the chances of an anxiety attack and allow them a reference point if they want to do it again, increase the dose, or abstain. LSD is known to be anti-addictive so having some leftover should be considered safe.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - neom 3y ago
    100µg does indeed seem to be the sweet spot, it also happens to be the dose I use to treat my depression. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33059356/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33059356/
gamepsys 3y ago
> The multicenter, randomized, double-blinded trial tested doses of 25, 50, 100 and 200 micrograms compared with a placebo. Recently, the scientific testing of LSD seems to max at 200 micrograms. If you read the literature from the 50s and 60s, and if you listen to many recreational users, this number is low. I am actively curious if there are measurable positive effects in the 300-500 range. It seems like 200 is where negative effects start to really appear, so the researchers are afraid of going above that because the data they collect may not look good for regulators. Phase 3 trials targeting 100 micrograms is further along legitimizing LSD than I ever expected in my lifetime. It doesn't seem like a full embrace though.
- qvrjuec 3y ago
  The dose that recreational users are being told they're getting is FAR off what they are actually getting. When someone says they're taking 3 tabs of 100 microgram dosages, it's likely they're taking 50-75% of that.
- piva00 3y ago
  200μg is not really low, it's pretty much in the range for a "standard" dose. I personally prefer anywhere between 125-250μg for a worthwhile trip, including ego death, any time I have taken over 250μg it has required some preparation. 300-500μg range goes into way over a normal trip, I've only once taken 500+μg (and I consider myself experienced with hallucinogens) and the experience was borderline overwhelming, I had a good trip but wouldn't ever recommend it to anyone that isn't very experienced and knows very well what they are getting into.
  - aunty_helen 3y ago
    I once tripped with a guy that took 4x200. Best part was, he was meant to be the trip sitter. “It was pretty intense there for a moment” was his trip report. The most I’ve ever taken would be around 125 and that was starting to push it.
  - aantix 3y ago
    What sort of preparation?
tootie 3y ago
Drug policy makes no sense anymore. We've utterly failed at stemming abuse and held back a lot of valuable therapies. I'm treating a crippling disability with GHB and it's 100% legit prescribed by a doctor but the insurance headaches were insane.
- debacle 3y ago
  What disability is treatable with GHB?
  - tootie 3y ago
    Narcolepsy
Analemma_ 3y ago
I'm not sure I would trust this. I was at a party and ended up chatting to a researcher working with VA hospitals to develop psychedelic treatment for PTSD-- the VA doesn't fuck around with hippie shit, so his research was reasonably grounded in reliable, repeatable results-- and he emphasized that LSD is not being seriously considered as a possible treatment, because the emotional effects are pretty short-lived compared to psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, etc. Which is not to say LSD trips can't be useful and transformative experiences, but both personal experience and scientific account confirm they tend to be "intellectual trips", whereas what you need to help anxiety are the "emotional trips" that other drugs are better-suited for.
- jungturk 3y ago
  PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder are very different scenarios, so it wouldn't be surprising that treatments for one wouldn't be effective for the other. The initial data looks promising in this case, so it'll be interesting to see how the studies develop.
- devwastaken 3y ago
  "hippie shit" is apart of the science, but it can't be sold so medical research doesn't get funding. It's not as if they get a blank check, there's stakeholders and expected outcomes involved. For example if you don't embrace the "hippie shit" all you're going to get out of psychedelics is an emotional trainwreck with nothing to anchor it. It is a powerful medicine that has throughout history been a medicine for human connectedness. The environment, people and seemingly the direction the sun is pointing through the window affects how the experience works.
Fricken 3y ago
In my personal experience (not a lot, from my early 20s) the opposite can also be true. I came down from that trip thinking everything I had previously believed, and had been taught, was a sham. For the rest of that summer I was worried about a great number of things.
- michaelteter 3y ago
  Many things we have grown up believing and have been taught are shams, insofar as they often are not based on actual thought or circumstances but rather are "common wisdom" (rules) passed down and reinforced with an unquestioning society.
  - danlugo92 3y ago
    Yeah like from example, from an atheist point of view (and I'm not an atheist) you could say all religions are a sham... FWIW, I also think all religions are a sham but I do think something "above" exists, and yeah, that which exists allows suffering in this world, take it or leave it... ...which is one of the main atheist debating points like "but the children with cancer" and yeah I agree those children shouldn't go through that but I also acknowledge something "greater" exists, that, for better or worse, whether I like it or not, or anyone else for that matter, allows these children to exist and suffer... ...humankind does however self-inflict a lot of suffering...
- DANmode 3y ago
  Everything?
- malux85 3y ago
  > I came down from that trip thinking everything I had previously believed, and had been taught, was a sham. Me too, except this gave me a tremendous feeling of freedom. Suddenly there were no constraints as I realised most of the barriers were invented and in my head. I was filled with awe, curiosity and love.
- ramesh31 3y ago
  > In my personal experience (not a lot, from my early 20s) the opposite can also be true. Such is the nature of street drugs. The odds of what you took actually being 100% pure real LSD is approximately zero, unless it was directly handed to you by a trained chemist. Much more likely an obscure cocktail of designer tryptamines.
wombat-man 3y ago
Anecdotally, it actually kind of exacerbated anxiety for weeks afterward. But overall I think it is a positive experience.
hpeter 3y ago
Do not take LSD if you have anxiety. It can result in an awful experience. Just sit down, relax and breathe, that's better than drugs.
- klyrs 3y ago
  > Just sit down, relax and breathe, that's better than drugs. Not if you hold drugs up to your mouthparts whilst breathing, it isn't
- johnisgood 3y ago
  That is why you need to prepare, and/or have an experienced tripsitter.
- lakomen 3y ago
  Idk why this gets downvoted. LSD is not controllable. If you're in a bad mood or don't feel well, it can lead to a very bad trip. Just don't do it.
  - superb_dev 3y ago
    Why would I take it if I was in a bad mood or didn’t feel well?

100 points by thelastgallon 3y ago

This being on CNN is quite hopeful! LSD, MDMA and Psilocybin (mushrooms) are all very potent non-habitual substances capable at creating instant psychic breaks and creating permanent improvements. I'm excited to see this momentum!

metroholografix 3y ago
"Terence’s pivotal, existential crisis came abruptly, some time in ’88 or ’89. Everything that happened after that event was fallout. I don’t know exactly when it happened, and I don’t know exactly what happened; I am piecing it together from what Kat [his wife at the time] has told me, and she has volunteered few details, and I am reluctant to probe. It happened when they were living for a time on the big island, and it was a mushroom trip they shared that was absolutely terrifying for Terence. It was terrifying because, for some reason, the mushroom turned on him. The gentle, wise, humorous mushroom spirit that he had come to know and trust as an ally and teacher ripped back the facade to reveal an abyss of utter existential despair. Terence kept saying, so Kat told me, that it was “a lack of all meaning, a lack of all meaning.” And this induced panic in Terence, and probably, I speculate, a feeling he was going mad. He couldn’t deal with it. Kat’s efforts to reassure him were fruitless. After that experience, he never again took mushrooms, and he took other psychedelics, such as DMT and ayahuasca, only on rare occasions and with great reluctance. Whatever the specific content of the psychedelic experience might have been that triggered the cognitive collapse of Terence’s worldview and precipitated his existential crisis, what was most remarkable was that he did not see it coming. He did not see it coming." — From Dennis McKenna, The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss: My Life with Terence McKenna, now excised

remir 3y ago

Never tried LSD, but a couple of weeks ago I consummed canabis oil from a small spray bottle I bought from our province's official canabis store. Not knowing much about canabis and proper dosage, I decided to try it, but it's clear I took too much... The trip was like a mental battle between moments of lucidity and negative thought loops and light paranoia. It forced me to see my own automatic thinking process and this "inner voice" I have with more clarity. I realized we can orient our thinking and it's polarity at any moment and it would influence our perception of reality. Sounds obvious on the surface, but it became clear when I realized negative thoughts were appearing and I would reorient my thinking elsewhere, the vibe changed and it felt like I was becoming more lucid.

satvikpendem 3y ago
I've done that with weed where I felt ego death basically, because my dose was too high as well. But the next day I felt fine. I've been using CBD oil as an anti-anxiety treatment, it works quite well.
- aunty_helen 3y ago
  CBD is great for dealing with anxiety. I use broad spectrum drops and take quite a high dose a few times a day. Because the broad spectrum doesn’t have any thc it’s still easy to get work done with it and sometimes it even helps with getting started on something.

thegrim000 3y ago

So am I crazy in noticing all of these "X psychedelic great for anxiety/depression/Y" stories over the last couple of years and wondering if it's natural or else why there's a propaganda campaign pushing this idea out now? The internet is ruined for me now, I now just assume by default that it's likely coordinated, not natural, and there's some overall political/social angle they're trying to achieve. Probably working to soften up the population for legalization efforts in a few years? The weed pattern - spend a few years pushing studies that weed helps cure/treat X/Y/Z disease, which led after enough years to medicinal weed, which led after enough years to legalization.

ProllyInfamous 3y ago

"Three LSDs, please." ---- My brief experiences with entheogens largely agree with the study. However, if you're not in a good place (mentally), please don't just do drugs (it won't solve anything). Also, if anybody suggests you "try this," perhaps start with a microdose of psilocybin, first (but only if you're curious). ---- The beautiful interconnectedness of everything is my main "takeaway" from brief dabblings.

spoiler 3y ago
I assume you don't mean a micro dose, but a smaller dose. The point of microdosing is to almost not feel the effects of the substance, and recent research has shown that microdosing is largely ineffective (both for the neuroplasticity effects of psilocybin, but also on its effect on DMN; my hunch: the reasons are probably related, but I'm not a neuro scientist!)
- wyre 3y ago
  Do you have sources showing the ineffectiveness of microdosing? I don’t not believe you, but that is news to me. I believed microdosing is effective.
  - neom 3y ago
    There is some data, but not much and not very good, that microdosing probably helps alleviate anxiety. However, I think what isn't well understood is, is this like using a band-aid for cancer. In my personal discussions with folks who work around psychedelic assisted therapy, these folks seem to believe it's the trip that knocks you right, and microdosing can keep you right, but you need to start with the trip. I have no real opinion on this, seems plausible to me based on my own experimentation, but I don't know. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-01811-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-01811-4
  - spoiler 3y ago
    Yes! Here is some I managed to quickly dig up: - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02876-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02876-5 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33648632/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33648632/ - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6364961/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6364961/ - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34915762/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34915762/ - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35918311/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35918311/ BIG DISCLAIMER before you read the next bits: I'm not a researcher/scientist in this field, but psychedelics have helped me get a handle on CPTSD, process trauma. My take on this is that microdosing probably still has some acute benefits, since it still does alters brain chemistry. So, can it be helpful? Probably, but it should come with a big "YMMV" disclaimer. In the context of psilocybin, my understanding is that it doesn't give long-term benefits as a "macro" dose would like DMN regulation[1] and neuroplasticity[2]; a lot of people tend to attribute these to microdosing too, but apparently it's not the case[3]. Also, due to tolerance build up, so you start getting diminishing returns from microdosing, so it's not effective long-term (even with the Fadiman microdosing protocol where you take breaks; I think there's other protocols that claims to lessen the diminishing returns). I don't think LSD triggers these physiological changes in the brain, but it's believed it can helps with the psychological aspects. I don't take them regularly anymore (I used to take them every couple of months during a rough patch in my life, but I also did therapy on-and-off during that period too). I now take them every few years as to check-in with myself, or special occasions. [1]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10032309 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10032309 [2]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6082376 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6082376; I feel like there was a another study on this too, but I can't find it now, sorry! [3]: Only briefly discussed by Huberman in his podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIxVfln02Ss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIxVfln02Ss. I recommend watching the video in its entirety; it's great!

rfarley04 3y ago

I support this. Seems like having a trained therapist involved can't HURT though. So not having one kind of feels like cutting corners, but maybe there's a more academic reason?

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

lurquer 3y ago

Lobotomies can likewise help.

barbazoo 3y ago
source?
- docandrew 3y ago
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1933933/?page=1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1933933/?page=1
  - datameta 3y ago
    [1942]
    - docandrew 3y ago
      I think that’s the GP’s point though. 70 years from now are we going to look back on these studies and think “what the heck were we thinking?”
      - InCityDreams 3y ago
        ...psychedelics have been around for thousands of years. People like trippin'.
      - datameta 3y ago
        Well hopefully we can continue actually studying benefits of psychedelic treatment in a medical setting because for about 30-40 years it was a dead field thanks to the government being oh-noesies in the late 60s. Maybe they should have put more money into understanding the drug from a medicinal perspective and not as a chemical agent against enemy troops or covert assassination through hyperdosing.

throwaway632 3y ago

If my physician offered LSD to me, would want to be sure it was a last resort. Don't want to risk HPPD without good reason. After experiencing very mild visual snow for a few months, that's frightening enough for me. My job is looking at a computer screen. I need my vision intact.

iandanforth 3y ago
https://eyewiki.aao.org/Hallucinogen_Persisting_Perception_Disorder#:~:text=Hallucinogen%20Persisting%20Perception%20Disorder%20(HPPD,of%20the%20initial%20substance%20use https://eyewiki.aao.org/Hallucinogen_Persisting_Perception_D....
busterarm 3y ago
This happened to me. After one particularly intense trip I couldn't even look at a television for 6 months without having really jarring visual hallucinations. A few years of panic attacks too. I quit taking LSD after that one and all psychoactives not much longer after.
johnisgood 3y ago
Similarly, MDMA may cause (and does cause in many individuals) visual snow.
sneed_chucker 3y ago
> After experiencing very mild visual snow for a few months, that's frightening enough for me. It went away? That's pretty uncommon from what I can tell.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- SpaceNugget 3y ago
  I had a similar experience with a similar time frame. It didn't completely go away, but I stopped noticing it as much. Except for situations where it's hard to not notice like at night or when it's dark or I actively pay attention to it, I ignore it without having to think about it most of the time.

toomuchtodo 3y ago

Dosage suggestions pls. Asking for a friend.

TheCoelacanth 3y ago
> “We’re very confident based on the results that 100 micrograms is the right dose to bring into our phase three studies, as we didn’t see any more improvement with 200 micrograms but did see additional adverse effects,” Karlin said.
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  Appreciate the quote, I should’ve specified: from HN folks. Sometimes there is a delta between public guidance and others with experience. All suggested resources are welcome, use case is someone with crippling anxiety.
  - kangda123 3y ago
    From for a friend, 80-100 mcg is pure bliss without the psychedelic effects kicking in too much. Do read more on how to do it properly though. Many factors can have greater impact on the experience than the actual dose.
  - wyre 3y ago
    For therapeutic effects (not recreational) might recommend the smallest dose that’s accessible and scaling from there. Ex. Taking a 100mcg tab and dividing it into fourths. This will accustom your friend to the new feelings and lowing the chances of an anxiety attack and allow them a reference point if they want to do it again, increase the dose, or abstain. LSD is known to be anti-addictive so having some leftover should be considered safe.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- neom 3y ago
  100µg does indeed seem to be the sweet spot, it also happens to be the dose I use to treat my depression. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33059356/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33059356/

gamepsys 3y ago

> The multicenter, randomized, double-blinded trial tested doses of 25, 50, 100 and 200 micrograms compared with a placebo. Recently, the scientific testing of LSD seems to max at 200 micrograms. If you read the literature from the 50s and 60s, and if you listen to many recreational users, this number is low. I am actively curious if there are measurable positive effects in the 300-500 range. It seems like 200 is where negative effects start to really appear, so the researchers are afraid of going above that because the data they collect may not look good for regulators. Phase 3 trials targeting 100 micrograms is further along legitimizing LSD than I ever expected in my lifetime. It doesn't seem like a full embrace though.

qvrjuec 3y ago
The dose that recreational users are being told they're getting is FAR off what they are actually getting. When someone says they're taking 3 tabs of 100 microgram dosages, it's likely they're taking 50-75% of that.
piva00 3y ago
200μg is not really low, it's pretty much in the range for a "standard" dose. I personally prefer anywhere between 125-250μg for a worthwhile trip, including ego death, any time I have taken over 250μg it has required some preparation. 300-500μg range goes into way over a normal trip, I've only once taken 500+μg (and I consider myself experienced with hallucinogens) and the experience was borderline overwhelming, I had a good trip but wouldn't ever recommend it to anyone that isn't very experienced and knows very well what they are getting into.
- aunty_helen 3y ago
  I once tripped with a guy that took 4x200. Best part was, he was meant to be the trip sitter. “It was pretty intense there for a moment” was his trip report. The most I’ve ever taken would be around 125 and that was starting to push it.
- aantix 3y ago
  What sort of preparation?

tootie 3y ago

Drug policy makes no sense anymore. We've utterly failed at stemming abuse and held back a lot of valuable therapies. I'm treating a crippling disability with GHB and it's 100% legit prescribed by a doctor but the insurance headaches were insane.

debacle 3y ago
What disability is treatable with GHB?
- tootie 3y ago
  Narcolepsy

Analemma_ 3y ago

I'm not sure I would trust this. I was at a party and ended up chatting to a researcher working with VA hospitals to develop psychedelic treatment for PTSD-- the VA doesn't fuck around with hippie shit, so his research was reasonably grounded in reliable, repeatable results-- and he emphasized that LSD is not being seriously considered as a possible treatment, because the emotional effects are pretty short-lived compared to psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, etc. Which is not to say LSD trips can't be useful and transformative experiences, but both personal experience and scientific account confirm they tend to be "intellectual trips", whereas what you need to help anxiety are the "emotional trips" that other drugs are better-suited for.

jungturk 3y ago
PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder are very different scenarios, so it wouldn't be surprising that treatments for one wouldn't be effective for the other. The initial data looks promising in this case, so it'll be interesting to see how the studies develop.
devwastaken 3y ago
"hippie shit" is apart of the science, but it can't be sold so medical research doesn't get funding. It's not as if they get a blank check, there's stakeholders and expected outcomes involved. For example if you don't embrace the "hippie shit" all you're going to get out of psychedelics is an emotional trainwreck with nothing to anchor it. It is a powerful medicine that has throughout history been a medicine for human connectedness. The environment, people and seemingly the direction the sun is pointing through the window affects how the experience works.

Fricken 3y ago

In my personal experience (not a lot, from my early 20s) the opposite can also be true. I came down from that trip thinking everything I had previously believed, and had been taught, was a sham. For the rest of that summer I was worried about a great number of things.

michaelteter 3y ago
Many things we have grown up believing and have been taught are shams, insofar as they often are not based on actual thought or circumstances but rather are "common wisdom" (rules) passed down and reinforced with an unquestioning society.
- danlugo92 3y ago
  Yeah like from example, from an atheist point of view (and I'm not an atheist) you could say all religions are a sham... FWIW, I also think all religions are a sham but I do think something "above" exists, and yeah, that which exists allows suffering in this world, take it or leave it... ...which is one of the main atheist debating points like "but the children with cancer" and yeah I agree those children shouldn't go through that but I also acknowledge something "greater" exists, that, for better or worse, whether I like it or not, or anyone else for that matter, allows these children to exist and suffer... ...humankind does however self-inflict a lot of suffering...
DANmode 3y ago
Everything?
malux85 3y ago
> I came down from that trip thinking everything I had previously believed, and had been taught, was a sham. Me too, except this gave me a tremendous feeling of freedom. Suddenly there were no constraints as I realised most of the barriers were invented and in my head. I was filled with awe, curiosity and love.
ramesh31 3y ago
> In my personal experience (not a lot, from my early 20s) the opposite can also be true. Such is the nature of street drugs. The odds of what you took actually being 100% pure real LSD is approximately zero, unless it was directly handed to you by a trained chemist. Much more likely an obscure cocktail of designer tryptamines.

wombat-man 3y ago

Anecdotally, it actually kind of exacerbated anxiety for weeks afterward. But overall I think it is a positive experience.

hpeter 3y ago

Do not take LSD if you have anxiety. It can result in an awful experience. Just sit down, relax and breathe, that's better than drugs.

klyrs 3y ago
> Just sit down, relax and breathe, that's better than drugs. Not if you hold drugs up to your mouthparts whilst breathing, it isn't
johnisgood 3y ago
That is why you need to prepare, and/or have an experienced tripsitter.
lakomen 3y ago
Idk why this gets downvoted. LSD is not controllable. If you're in a bad mood or don't feel well, it can lead to a very bad trip. Just don't do it.
- superb_dev 3y ago
  Why would I take it if I was in a bad mood or didn’t feel well?