I never really had much of an interest in psychedelics for two (and a half) reasons.<p>1) I’m a child of the DARE era, which scared me about the big, scary risks associated with mind-altering substances!!!<p>2) I get severely anxious when I smoke even a little bit too much marijuana.<p>2.5) I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder (specifically OCD) which I now manage with ERP. But I severely fear losing control of my thoughts.<p>However, I recently read How To Change Your Mind, and it did reshape my thinking about a lot of the above.<p>I’m still hesitant to try shrooms or LSD, but the idea of a guided trip with a trained therapist, who will walk me through the more fear-inducing moments, does have an appeal. To think that maybe this would HELP my daily anxieties seems like a dream.
The recent interest in Ketamine/MDMA/psychedelics is long overdue. But I can't help feeling the optimism is somewhat too high?<p>I would encourage everyone to try LSD at some point in their lives. There are just vast parts of culture and humanity that you will suddenly understand. Most striking for me was seeing everyday scenes on the streets–people in cafés, parks, etc.–exactly as they are depicted in impressionist paintings. Or, of course, The Dark Side of the Moon.<p>But I'm sceptical regarding therapeutic use. Somewhere between 2% and 5% of people have recreationally tried most any given category of drugs. It was explored rather thoroughly in the therapist community in the 60s and 70s. If, indeed, they had the potential to essentially cure any of the diseases we have so far failed abysmally (depression, schizophrenia), no moralising majority would have had the power to suppress them.<p>What's promising are some less-frequent diseases such as PTSD. PTSD is somewhat unique because it involves memory, a system which we seem to have a much better chance at influencing compared to the evolutionary ancient limbic system of emotions.<p>Another fun aspect is the use of MDMA in talk therapy. For psychiatrist, it's an absolutely mind-blowing experience. They have often devoted their life to learning to get people to open up to them. And here you give them a pill and the effect is, reliably, like that scene of Robin Williams hitting Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting.
One of the most powerful benefits of psilocybin I don't see talked about very often is in the treatment of ADHD. A tip for researchers: The anxiety reducing effects are probably linked very strongly to emotional regulation which also receives similar positive benefits.
Mushrooms, cannabis and LSD are each much safer than alcohol [1]. (Objectively speaking, cocaine, amphetamine and MDMA are, too.) Legalisation for the first three and decriminalisation for the latter makes sense.<p>(I’m a wine and whiskey person myself. But my subjective choices shouldn’t have relevance.)<p>[1] <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-rank-recreational-drugs-based-on-how-dangerous-they-are" rel="nofollow">https://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-rank-recreational-d...</a>