Comment by oldgeezr | Hacker News Reader

Comment by oldgeezr | Hacker News Reader

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I have permanent visual disturbances and suffered long-term panic attacks and anxiety as a result of psychedelic use. Things got better over time, but not completely back to normal. I'm not advocating for the continuation of our current legal strategy, but I feel like these drugs need to come with strong cultural wisdom about their appropriate use and potential for abuse.

Anyone who's been in a psychedelic community for long(stoners, deadheads, etc) knows at least a few people who have been temporarily(1 day - 1 year) or permanently fried from having experienced one or many trips. I feel like there is often a backlash against our regressive legal approach which tends to accentuate the positives and diminish the negatives but really we need information. These drugs can permanently change your personality in some ways that will generally not be seen as positive. Yes, they can have many good effects but that comes with a small risk of extreme side effects.

Are these people "fried" because they used those substances, or because of how they used them, or how they viewed, integrated (or not-integrated) their experiences?

A visual distortion is a good example. When experiencing a visual distortion, it is possible to feel anxious about the appearance of such a distortion, or instead one could be indifferent to it, or even enjoy and welcome it. It need not be negative.

More research is certainly needed on the negative experiences people sometimes have with psychedelics (so far, most of the research has focused on the positives), but I have a strong feeling that how people approach their experiences, what they expect to happen, and how they interpret what happens plays a very critical role on whether the experience is positive or negative for them. This is the old "set" (or "mindset") part of "set and setting" that's critically important for their constructive use.

Also, it may be possible to work through any anxiety or negative effects one experience with a therapist. Panic attacks and anxiety, for instance, are things that therapists tend to be actually really good at treating.

Depends on the distortion. A visual distortion means that you aren't seeing things as they really are. That could be problematic for your ability to drive, or to ride a bike, or any number of other activities. You could be indifferent to that, but it could still be a genuine problem for your ability to function.

Even without visual distortions, none of us ever see things as they are :)

As a fun fact, you can drive on LSD if you’re experienced with psychedelics and know you can trust yourself, at least under doses <150ug. Absolutely not recommending it to anyone, but the visuals don’t really get in the way. (I’ve only driven on acid once, when I witnessed a really, really bad skateboarding accident and had to rush a stranger to the ER).

IME most people handle psychs fine, some can handle practically anything, and some will lose connection to reality and basically forget how rational thought works on an eighth of mushrooms. There’s little indicators that have given me an idea of how someone might react, but you never know for sure. Thus why the advice to have a trip sitter is always given - personally I’ve never needed a trip sitter, but I’ve seen people who absolutely did.

"you can drive on LSD if you’re experienced with psychedelics and know you can trust yourself, at least under doses <150ug. ... Absolutely not recommending it to anyone, but the visuals don’t really get in the way."

It's not just the visuals that are the problem. Temporal distortions are common -- you can feel like time has stopped or slowed down or sped up or gone backwards. Also, you might get disoriented or confused -- not understanding where you are or what you're doing or how a steering wheel works while you're on the freeway is probably not the wisest or safest thing to subject yourself or others on the road to. Or you might get irresistibly entranced by a fleck of paint on your dashboard, which could look like a whole animated world to you, while you should be keeping your eyes on the road, etc, etc, etc.

You know how there's a warning not to drive or operate heavy machinery on some medications? Well, that warning should be on psychedelics, only times 1000.

Visual disturbances affected my ability to read books for years. I am no longer a speed reader thanks to psychedelics. For years after my first big trip, walls breathed and floor tiles became 3d. It is hard to be indifferent to such things.

My set going into the trip was that I was expecting to have a great time with friends. I was young and very positive towards psychedelics. I did not have a 'bad trip'. The effects came later.

Yes, I experienced being 'fried' for a couple of years after excessive MDMA and LSD use. My experience mirrors yours.

MDMA is neurotoxic though. It's strange if only hallucinogens triggered problems in the other poster. LSD is not as far as I read.

Out of curiosity do you have colorblindness?

Nope(sorry I'm OP but using my home account). I'm nearsighted. I was eventually diagnosed as slightly bipolar(agitated depressed), but that was after my experience with psychedelics. FWIW, I believe the life changing experience was caused by something other than LSD. A friend got tie-dye blotter from the Grateful Dead parking lot around '90. I took two tabs. It lasted around 21 hours, which is odd for LSD. Definite LSD-like effects(time dilation, huge trails, tunnel-vision in the early stages...). It was blotter though, so it limits the number of RCs it could have been.

Also I ended up with essential tremor, ticks, and restless leg syndrome. That runs in my family though. I probably have mutations in my dopamine system.

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