Has Anyone Tried Psychedelic Therapy?

[pugilistico]

This might be ignorant as fuck but why the hell you need therapy

Werent you the guy who travels around the world, has chill job and gets women without trying?

Basically dream for large part of population yet theres discussion for therapy?

I also work out regularly, have a good network of friends, journal, have active hobbies, etc. I might have made a thread about my lifestyle a while back and how in the end, it isn't the answer some people are searching for. A big part of the reason why I live the way I do is because of my mental struggles. If I stayed at my old corporate job before I started going remote and traveling and settled down with the ex I was dating at the time, it's very likely I would have offed myself. I'm for sure less miserable now, but the struggle still remains. I get laid easily because I stopped caring.

A common misconception is that people with favorable external factors are happy but material gains don't always fill your soul. I know people who are very privileged and have all the right things going for them but are depressed or have committed suicide. This is why I don't believe money makes people happy. I'm the most jealous of monks who can seemingly find peace with very little.

I've watched a lot of videos of vets and addicts with serious issues doing specific psychedelics and were basically healed after one treatment. The vets lost all of their anger and PTSD and issues, and the addicts were no longer addicts.

I would like to try it myself but it doesn't sound like a pleasant experience so I'm honestly too afraid to try. I'm talking the real heavy stuff that totally rewires your brain. It's been proven to work but it has the reputation of being a hellacious process. Not always, but some people report back as having gone through this ultra horrific experience, and I don't really want to go through that.

I had my own horrific experience with a weed edible once and I can't imagine what something 1000x more powerful would be like. Fuck.

Some people think it's a fun drug experience (I'm sure it is for some) but a lot of trips can feel like a grind. I never come out of a trip thinking, "I can't wait to do this again," even if it was pleasant.

Psychedelics are some very powerful stuff. There's a reason ayahuasca is always done with a shaman.

LSD is strongly recommended to be experienced with a "guide", etc.

Experimenting with psychedelics by one own self can be dangerous.

This may sound contradictory, but I think the danger of doing it alone is overblown. I've done it several times alone and I've had some incredibly positive outcomes. The bad ones were really unpleasant, but I wouldn't say they were dangerous.
Yet, I think it is best done with a therapist, guide, or a sober trip sitter at least to get the most out of the experience and to help navigate bad trips.

The issue with self therapeutic efforts is this - who said you’d make a good therapist? Better a professional to provide guidance.

Psychedelics aren’t a cure. If that was the case i wouldn’t have my demons and we wouldn’t have half who do psychedelics with ongoing issues

Im currently doing CBT which in comparison to 4 years of psychodynamic is amazing. But you have to be prepared to do the work. Psychedelics are a lazy excuse for therapy.

I agree that ultimately one has to do the work whether you're taking shrooms or getting therapy. But to say it's a lazy excuse for therapy is misleading because psychedelic experiences aren't always that pleasant and it feels like a lot of work just tripping, which is why I'm less inclined to take psychedelics now. It's just so much sometimes. Plus the clinical trials would disagree with you. The real work is still integrating what comes after of course. There are people who just take psychedelics without doing the work just as there are people who get therapy every week without doing the work.

What kind of work do you do with CBT?

 

[fungi]

This may sound contradictory, but I think the danger of doing it alone is overblown. I've done it several times alone and I've had some incredibly positive outcomes. The bad ones were really unpleasant, but I wouldn't say they were dangerous.
Yet, I think it is best done with a therapist, guide, or a sober trip sitter at least to get the most out of the experience and to help navigate bad trips.

A bad trip may be one in a few, but it can fuck one up for life. Better safe than sorry.

Again, I agree it better be done with a therapist/shaman.

 

[RichardHarrow]

I also work out regularly, have a good network of friends, journal, have active hobbies, etc. I might have made a thread about my lifestyle a while back and how in the end, it isn't the answer some people are searching for. A big part of the reason why I live the way I do is because of my mental struggles. If I stayed at my old corporate job before I started going remote and traveling and settled down with the ex I was dating at the time, it's very likely I would have offed myself. I'm for sure less miserable now, but the struggle still remains. I get laid easily because I stopped caring.

A common misconception is that people with favorable external factors are happy but material gains don't always fill your soul. I know people who are very privileged and have all the right things going for them but are depressed or have committed suicide. This is why I don't believe money makes people happy. I'm the most jealous of monks who can seemingly find peace with very little.


Some people think it's a fun drug experience (I'm sure it is for some) but a lot of trips can feel like a grind. I never come out of a trip thinking, "I can't wait to do this again," even if it was pleasant.


This may sound contradictory, but I think the danger of doing it alone is overblown. I've done it several times alone and I've had some incredibly positive outcomes. The bad ones were really unpleasant, but I wouldn't say they were dangerous.
Yet, I think it is best done with a therapist, guide, or a sober trip sitter at least to get the most out of the experience and to help navigate bad trips.


I agree that ultimately one has to do the work whether you're taking shrooms or getting therapy. But to say it's a lazy excuse for therapy is misleading because psychedelic experiences aren't always that pleasant and it feels like a lot of work just tripping, which is why I'm less inclined to take psychedelics now. It's just so much sometimes. Plus the clinical trials would disagree with you. The real work is still integrating what comes after of course. There are people who just take psychedelics without doing the work just as there are people who get therapy every week without doing the work.

What kind of work do you do with CBT?

You mean what am I focusing on ?

 

[RichardHarrow]

I also work out regularly, have a good network of friends, journal, have active hobbies, etc. I might have made a thread about my lifestyle a while back and how in the end, it isn't the answer some people are searching for. A big part of the reason why I live the way I do is because of my mental struggles. If I stayed at my old corporate job before I started going remote and traveling and settled down with the ex I was dating at the time, it's very likely I would have offed myself. I'm for sure less miserable now, but the struggle still remains. I get laid easily because I stopped caring.

A common misconception is that people with favorable external factors are happy but material gains don't always fill your soul. I know people who are very privileged and have all the right things going for them but are depressed or have committed suicide. This is why I don't believe money makes people happy. I'm the most jealous of monks who can seemingly find peace with very little.


Some people think it's a fun drug experience (I'm sure it is for some) but a lot of trips can feel like a grind. I never come out of a trip thinking, "I can't wait to do this again," even if it was pleasant.


This may sound contradictory, but I think the danger of doing it alone is overblown. I've done it several times alone and I've had some incredibly positive outcomes. The bad ones were really unpleasant, but I wouldn't say they were dangerous.
Yet, I think it is best done with a therapist, guide, or a sober trip sitter at least to get the most out of the experience and to help navigate bad trips.


I agree that ultimately one has to do the work whether you're taking shrooms or getting therapy. But to say it's a lazy excuse for therapy is misleading because psychedelic experiences aren't always that pleasant and it feels like a lot of work just tripping, which is why I'm less inclined to take psychedelics now. It's just so much sometimes. Plus the clinical trials would disagree with you. The real work is still integrating what comes after of course. There are people who just take psychedelics without doing the work just as there are people who get therapy every week without doing the work.

What kind of work do you do with CBT?

Maybe lazy excuse for therapy is the wrong to put it and saying “ a lot of work just tripping” means your intentions are good . I’m speaking for the bunch but you appear to have a good head on your shoulders.

The truth is how many of us can interpret it correctly and possess the healthy life management skills and follow through with its application rather than just becoming complacent once again. Am I making sense here ?

@fungi we should be seeing more from you here ! Lol

 

[RichardHarrow]

A bad trip may be one in a few, but it can fuck one up for life. Better safe than sorry.

Again, I agree it better be done with a therapist/shaman.

You know Fungi I’ve always been of the opinion that there’s no such thing as a bad trip per se rather than demons we have allowed extensively to fester without addressing them and when one does trip it becomes particularly challenging since said issue has become a monster.

BUT this is another reason why one should have a guide and / or a friend. Setting is everything and if you’re your own worst critic then your interpretation and handling of the event could leave you traumatized so I do agree with you.

 

[Yoricks Wisdom]

Chatgpt on acid.

had to happen eventually.

 

[chill doggie]

It’s a better idea than trying to play poker on mushrooms or LSD, it makes a lot of difference and not for the better in my experience.

 

[wh4tttt]

Had some vet friends that have benefitted from it. You have to put in some work.

Also seen a really entitled person go down this path and now follows the jam bands as a groupie for more trips lol.

 

[RichardHarrow]

Had some vet friends that have benefitted from it. You have to put in some work.

Also seen a really entitled person go down this path and now follows the jam bands as a groupie for more trips lol.

Perfectly said. You have to put in the work. It’s like an epiphany dream . Follow through is a must otherwise those breakthroughs are gone with the wind.

 

[RoastBeast]

You can pretty much tune into any Joe Rogan podcast, no matter who he is talking to, and get all the information you'll ever need on this subject.

 

[AmonTobin]

MDMA therapy sounds sublime. I would sign up for that in a heart beat.

 

[RichardHarrow]

MDMA therapy sounds sublime. I would sign up for that in a heart beat.

MDMA therapy is absolutely BS. You want to feel good that's fine but in no way shape or form is it introspective ala shroomz etc.

 

[Protectandserve]

Had a coworker who did this for PTSD when he retired. He was also at Route 91 shooting in Vegas and had a lot of heavy shit he was dealing with.

Worked well for him.

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

Must Psilocybin Always “Assist Psychotherapy”? | American Journal of Psychiatry

PsychiatryOnline.org is the platform for all American Psychiatric Association Publishing journals, DSM, and bestselling textbooks, as well as APA Practice Guidelines, and continuing medical education.

psychiatryonline.org

(2023)

"psychological support provided in recent studies of psilocybin is primarily directed to safety—specifically, the preparation and safeguarding of vulnerable people who are submitting to a potentially disorienting experience."



not saying psychedelic+therapist wont be helpful for you, but this is something i would keep in mind.

i dont have experience, but i get the impression that many therapists are open to their patients using psychedelics (particularly the ones that have shown clinical efficacy) during treatment.

 

[chill doggie]

MDMA therapy is absolutely BS. You want to feel good that's fine but in no way shape or form is it introspective ala shroomz etc.

I think MDMA would be especially good in a group therapy setting because it can lower interpersonal barriers and allow people to express themselves to someone who will be more receptive and compassionate rather than the usual reactive response that would be expected out of those with cemented viewpoints.

And I’m sure there exists literature on success stories with individual therapy based on similar principles applied to intrapersonal issues.

 

[jeffk]

never done them for recreation or therapy and maybe it is common knowledge but I didn’t realize you can get them at many stores and it isn’t anything secret in my area.

I read Love Drugs by Brian Earp a couple years ago and he made convincing arguments that more drugs/medicine should be studied to treat mental health and discussed the moral implications of soff label use of drugs. Good book.

 

[whocares]

Better be crystal clear on your family history before you go playing experimental wellness games with big boy drugs. The same drug that can temporarily mitigate depression or anxiety can just as swiftly lock you permanently into schizophrenia or any related severe mood disorder if you've got a little too much degradation to your myelin sheaths going on. Therapists and the newest pharmaceutical reps in the industry aren't in the business of reading the fine print to anyone.

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

never done them for recreation or therapy and maybe it is common knowledge but I didn’t realize you can get them at many stores and it isn’t anything secret in my area.

I read Love Drugs by Brian Earp a couple years ago and he made convincing arguments that more drugs/medicine should be studied to treat mental health and discussed the moral implications of soff label use of drugs. Good book.

are you sure it is?

not sure where you are, but there are very few places in the US where psilocybin is decriminalized for sale. i think washington DC might be one of the only. pretty much everywhere else in the US, a store would be committing a enforceable federal crime if they were selling psilocybin products.

pretty much, if you see stores selling 'magic' mushroom products, they dont contain psilocybin. often, theyll contain amanita mushrooms, which contain a different, nonschedule psychoactive agent that isnt nearly the same as psilocybin.

 

[fungi]

@fungi we should be seeing more from you here ! Lol

Thanks for the shout-out!
But I try to refrain from giving advice in general, especially on such delicate topics.

 

[fungi]

You know Fungi I’ve always been of the opinion that there’s no such thing as a bad trip per se rather than demons we have allowed extensively to fester without addressing them and when one does trip it becomes particularly challenging since said issue has become a monster.

BUT this is another reason why one should have a guide and / or a friend. Setting is everything and if you’re your own worst critic then your interpretation and handling of the event could leave you traumatized so I do agree with you.

Many shamans/guides directly claim that we meet actual demons from other dimensions, while on trips.