5 ms·

There are also similar therapeutic effects from taking mushrooms (psilocybin) or LSD. In these studies and others with MDMA, it appears that the effect lasts ov

There are also similar therapeutic effects from taking mushrooms (psilocybin) or LSD. In these studies and others with MDMA, it appears that the effect lasts over a year. ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/23/magic-mushrooms-psilocybin-depression-drug http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/23/magic-mushroom... ) For any of you HNers out there hesitant to utilizing any of these of substances in your life, remember that they help change your perspective and allow you to look at problems from new angles. I will leave you with a Steve Jobs quote on the topic: “Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin, and you can’t remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.”

matznerd 14y ago
I'll take the down votes for my post, and note that I'm not advocating you do them often, but there is something to be said about their positive effects if used sparingly and therapeutically.
throwaway0987 14y ago
Apologies for the throwaway, but I'd like to support your point. I'm generally quite reluctant with drugs and alcohol, however I recently experienced Truffles (the successor to mushrooms after the ban) in Amsterdam. In combination with meditation I found the experience quite manageable, and unique in terms of the concepts I could explore and the insights into existing situations in my life. I can see how recreational use can be quite damaging, but with the right intent and goals, deliberate application of psychedelics for troubleshooting and problem solving is something I'd happily explore again if it were more acceptable where I live.
- matznerd 14y ago
  I think it is important to do it in the right mindset and with the right intentions. Most people associate MDMA with partying, and while that may be one use, I don't think it is necessarily the best. I don't even understand how people go party on mushrooms. I think the best is to be somewhere safe and quiet, outdoors hopefully on a sunny day with someone you trust or by yourself and just to sit and think and write if you can. It is a matter of looking at these substances as entheogens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogens) and not a party tools and considering yourself a Psychonaut (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychonaut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychonaut) and not a party animal.
  - throwaway0987 14y ago
    A certain amount of training beforehand doesn't hurt either. I'd been meditating for quite a while, and I'm no expert but I had a level of trust about what I could handle in terms of experience. After the first couple of hours of my trip I introduced a lot of metal music and horror films to see exactly where it would go. There was nothing pleasant about that experience but I felt together enough to still observe it without being lost in it. However I couldn't consider deeply enough how horrifying it would be if you didn't have some sort of anchor inside of the experience.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
alwaysinshade 14y ago
> remember that they help change your perspective and allow you to look at problems from new angles For anyone who thinks this is airy-fairy crap, I can provide a very real example. I've been taking MDMA regularly for the last 6 months (~2 doses x 2 instances per month) and recently, after coming home while peaking I admitted to my partner of 9 years how I'd been abused as a child by particular relatives. I'd never told anyone up until that point, and it was what had been driving my alcoholism since my early 20's (now early 30's). As I recalled some of the details to her, what would have normally made me break down instead made me reflect on those events. I moved those memories from a traumatic area to a (for lack of a better phrase) "done and dusted" area. I made peace with those people and made peace with myself. Since then my desire to drink to excess has waned, and what was a constant anxiety is quickly fading. For anyone who has a dark side, I recommend you try MDMA - especially in the company of someone you love or trust.
- zone411 14y ago
  I wouldn't want to tell you what to do with your own body, but I hope you realize that at this usage frequency you are abusing this drug. The current thinking is that such frequent use does not give your brain nearly enough time to recover and can lead to serious negative life-long consequences, such as depression. Another consequence worth looking up, if you didn't hear about it previously, is so-called "loss of magic."
  - alwaysinshade 14y ago
    > I wouldn't want to tell you what to do with your own body, but I hope you realize that at this usage frequency you are abusing this drug. I disagree. Twice a month (two pills /in one night/ ~ two weeks apart) and doing it in a social situation isn't indicative of abuse or dependency. It's indicative of recreational use. > The current thinking is that such frequent use does not give your brain nearly enough time to recover and can lead to serious negative life-long consequences, such as depression. You are correct regarding depression - at least on a temporary basis. However the latest and most comprehensive study funded by NIDA has shown no marked residual cognitive effects in ecstasy users. See my other comment for more details including a link to the study: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4541273 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4541273 > if you didn't hear about it previously, is so-called "loss of magic." I hadn't heard of it but I looked it up. My experience to date, having tried different [MDMA] pills, is that you have mixed results. The most recent ones I've taken have been the best in terms of shortest activation time, "peak" and lack of come-down. It's likely correlated to the total MDMA content of the pill. YMMV.
chm 14y ago
I've had ecstasy once, 8 years ago. It was blissful, really. I've also had psilocybin on 5 occasions. The first and second were particularly scary, because I held so tightly to my "normal" self. I then learned to completely abandon myself to the drug, and I've come out of the last three experiences with an unusually great outlook on life. And as the Greek already knew, pleasure resides in moderation. To anyone wanting to try psychedelic drugs, my opinion is the same as matznerd's.
sneak 14y ago
> you can’t remember it when it wears off Bullshit.

matznerd 14y ago

I'll take the down votes for my post, and note that I'm not advocating you do them often, but there is something to be said about their positive effects if used sparingly and therapeutically.

throwaway0987 14y ago

Apologies for the throwaway, but I'd like to support your point. I'm generally quite reluctant with drugs and alcohol, however I recently experienced Truffles (the successor to mushrooms after the ban) in Amsterdam. In combination with meditation I found the experience quite manageable, and unique in terms of the concepts I could explore and the insights into existing situations in my life. I can see how recreational use can be quite damaging, but with the right intent and goals, deliberate application of psychedelics for troubleshooting and problem solving is something I'd happily explore again if it were more acceptable where I live.

matznerd 14y ago
I think it is important to do it in the right mindset and with the right intentions. Most people associate MDMA with partying, and while that may be one use, I don't think it is necessarily the best. I don't even understand how people go party on mushrooms. I think the best is to be somewhere safe and quiet, outdoors hopefully on a sunny day with someone you trust or by yourself and just to sit and think and write if you can. It is a matter of looking at these substances as entheogens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogens) and not a party tools and considering yourself a Psychonaut (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychonaut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychonaut) and not a party animal.
- throwaway0987 14y ago
  A certain amount of training beforehand doesn't hurt either. I'd been meditating for quite a while, and I'm no expert but I had a level of trust about what I could handle in terms of experience. After the first couple of hours of my trip I introduced a lot of metal music and horror films to see exactly where it would go. There was nothing pleasant about that experience but I felt together enough to still observe it without being lost in it. However I couldn't consider deeply enough how horrifying it would be if you didn't have some sort of anchor inside of the experience.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

alwaysinshade 14y ago

> remember that they help change your perspective and allow you to look at problems from new angles For anyone who thinks this is airy-fairy crap, I can provide a very real example. I've been taking MDMA regularly for the last 6 months (~2 doses x 2 instances per month) and recently, after coming home while peaking I admitted to my partner of 9 years how I'd been abused as a child by particular relatives. I'd never told anyone up until that point, and it was what had been driving my alcoholism since my early 20's (now early 30's). As I recalled some of the details to her, what would have normally made me break down instead made me reflect on those events. I moved those memories from a traumatic area to a (for lack of a better phrase) "done and dusted" area. I made peace with those people and made peace with myself. Since then my desire to drink to excess has waned, and what was a constant anxiety is quickly fading. For anyone who has a dark side, I recommend you try MDMA - especially in the company of someone you love or trust.

zone411 14y ago
I wouldn't want to tell you what to do with your own body, but I hope you realize that at this usage frequency you are abusing this drug. The current thinking is that such frequent use does not give your brain nearly enough time to recover and can lead to serious negative life-long consequences, such as depression. Another consequence worth looking up, if you didn't hear about it previously, is so-called "loss of magic."
- alwaysinshade 14y ago
  > I wouldn't want to tell you what to do with your own body, but I hope you realize that at this usage frequency you are abusing this drug. I disagree. Twice a month (two pills /in one night/ ~ two weeks apart) and doing it in a social situation isn't indicative of abuse or dependency. It's indicative of recreational use. > The current thinking is that such frequent use does not give your brain nearly enough time to recover and can lead to serious negative life-long consequences, such as depression. You are correct regarding depression - at least on a temporary basis. However the latest and most comprehensive study funded by NIDA has shown no marked residual cognitive effects in ecstasy users. See my other comment for more details including a link to the study: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4541273 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4541273 > if you didn't hear about it previously, is so-called "loss of magic." I hadn't heard of it but I looked it up. My experience to date, having tried different [MDMA] pills, is that you have mixed results. The most recent ones I've taken have been the best in terms of shortest activation time, "peak" and lack of come-down. It's likely correlated to the total MDMA content of the pill. YMMV.

chm 14y ago

I've had ecstasy once, 8 years ago. It was blissful, really. I've also had psilocybin on 5 occasions. The first and second were particularly scary, because I held so tightly to my "normal" self. I then learned to completely abandon myself to the drug, and I've come out of the last three experiences with an unusually great outlook on life. And as the Greek already knew, pleasure resides in moderation. To anyone wanting to try psychedelic drugs, my opinion is the same as matznerd's.

sneak 14y ago

> you can’t remember it when it wears off Bullshit.