Patients with depression are warned not to take psilocybin on their own.
With no physical dependency potential, low abuse potential, and an LD50 of above 250mg/kg, the only significant danger from taking mushrooms comes from the police.
With no physical dependency potential, low abuse potential, and an LD50 of above 250mg/kg, the only significant danger from taking mushrooms comes from the police.
1) (set) A bad trip can result in a massive setback in terms of one's mental health -- which can take months or even years to overcome. This risk is significantly mitigated by the presence of an expert (which may be a therapist, and may be a seasoned psychonaut) who can talk through issues as they arise for the tripper.
2) (setting) People on mushrooms occasionally do really stupid shit. A naive user might not expect the trip to last for hours, realize they're "late" for some real-world engagement, and get into a car to drive there. Early into one of my first trips, I noticed that a 20m cliff appeared to be getting shorter... nearly short enough to jump. This can be mitigated by the presence of an expert (or, honestly, almost any sober adult), who should ensure that the immediate environment is effectively baby-proofed.
TL;DR alcohol is not helpful and can be very disruptive for some.
it doesn't https://health.usnews.com/conditions/mental-health/depressio...
> Shamans, curanderos and experienced users of ayahuasca advise against consuming ayahuasca when not in the presence of one or several well-trained shamans
I think a seasoned psychonaut friend who actually cares about you and isn't trying to get paid might be nice.
What the hell does a therapist have to do with it? You can just tell this is going to be another bs licensed profession in the future. Welcome to Spores'R-Us may I take your order.
You... trip.. with your drug dealer? Huh?
And if your therapist has a "clean supply" and you buy from them, are they not now your drug dealer?
How are these people stealing your car?
WHAT.
No, I don't trip with my dealer. Nor do I recommend it: I suggest that a risk you could incur is your dealer stealing from you while you're blitzed on the floor of your apartment. And should that happen, the police will happily book you for admitting to one crime while reporting another.
And, yes, your therapist would technically be your dealer at that point. But, key difference: the strictures of legality are stacked in your favor at that point.
I go outside to buy my drugs like a gentleman. If the cops come calling just tell them Dave's not here man.
Also if your therapist is selling you shrooms that is still a felony for both of you despite them having a license. The license is for therapy only, not a get out of jail free card.
If a researcher is administering shrooms as part of a study I think you can relax about your car being stolen buddy. Or take the bus there just in case. :P
And I suggested there's no reason your dealer should ever know where you live. So your best response is to call me high. Alright'y then, heh.
> Not everybody can find a seasoned psychonaut, though. The closest they'll have access to is their drug dealer.
Nowhere did I suggest that anything following that was a good idea.
If that is too overwhelming and difficult perhaps you're not ready for the experience in the first place. This isn't a dig at anybody.
The absolute necessity for a guide is also a completely baseless claim. It is prudent advice I suppose but nobody can really promise you a risk free trip or good results.
This is hardly uncharted territory. I'd start with reading some Terence McKenna rather than taking advice from randoms online/offline.
There is a reasonable body of work and advice on the subject available for those who seek it but you need to use your own judgment, and have good judgment.
Paying for an authority figure (note that I specifically opted not to use the word expert) to do your thinking for you doesn't always work.
The hell that a therapist has to do with it is the one you are experiencing in the moments just before the root gets uncovered, which hell may seem to last an eternity as the uncountable previous experiences of self-judgement become condensed into the space of now, and not just the experiences, but the very part of your personal identity to which in a way you are fully attached and without which you would feel loss, even though you consider it a pattern that introduces chaos into your daily experience. A good therapist, even one without extensive personal root cause psychedelic experience, will be able to help you navigate that hell, and reach the root. Without the proper structure and guidance you might not reach that experience of even beginning the work on the root, and if you do, a different outcome could be that you do not uncover the root, remain with the memory of a bad trip in which "I got stuck in a loop of self-judgement that seemed to never end", and are potentially further away from coming back to that subject and finishing the work by burying the root due to this experience, because if I went through that and didn't finish it in that sitting, I am for sure gonna take a nice long break from trying to understand self-judgement, and the condensed experience that would have led to uncovering the root will have had at least some temporary impact on my sensitivity, so I'll be fine dealing with self-judgement for a while.
I completely understand your worry though, and have one of my own, because it seems to me very possible that a future awaits where the structure of psychedelic work is not known, and the work will be limited to the surface, curing depression, learning incredible skills, and not realise the possibilities for the deep work. My worry is that psychedelics will be productised before their depth capacity is fully understood, and the product will be so appealing, near limitless in application and well marketed, that the depth work will have to wait for the next disruption opportunity in the product cycle, which in this market seems to be counted in the thousands of years.
I’m not sure how much, if any, scientific rigor was applied in the past - I hope that changes.
This is extremely rare. For perspective, there are people who drink once and overdo it, and end up dying in accidents or fights. But no one talks about it because it's equally rare and alcohol is socially accepted.
>People on mushrooms occasionally do really stupid shit.
Sober people do really stupid shit all the time, too.
Anecdotally I've taken 6g of dried shrooms (they are decriminalized here, for what that's worth) and was still able to refill my coffee and walk up and down a flight of stairs without spilling it or falling. I still wouldn't drive like that, but liquor impairs my fine motor skills a lot more. Driving myself to the hospital if I had to would've been possible off shrooms, but I can't say the same about half a bottle of whiskey.
Every drug is slightly different for every individual and no two highs are identical, sure, but for most nothing bad happens with psychedelics.
So be extreeemely careful with this.
Seprately to the point above, I eventually noticed that I could get really emotional on a micro-dose and would feel suicidal. I once did a micro-dose before work in the morning that resulted in sending a very emotionally charged email to a coworker. Haven't touched the stuff since then.
If you have a history of mental illness in your family, it is not advised to experiment with psychedelics as they can waken up latent mental illness you never thought you even had.
Psilocybin containing mushrooms & truffles were once legal in Ireland and you could just walk into a headshop and buy them like cigarettes. They were banned after someone jumped from a balcony to their death[0] after taking them, presumably after having an acute psychosis.
[0] https://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/how-tragedy-led-...
IMO it's the circulation of this trope that kills. People on psychedelics while having emotional issues and acting out know exactly how they're expected to behave.
And apparently, this guy jumped less than an hour after taking a small amount of them. I can't imagine he was feeling much of anything yet, although others' experiences may vary from mine.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/should-the-law-be-based-on-a...
I've had a few (always learned a lot, so all net positive experiences) but I understand the damage it can do for a person that's not fully mentally stable.
But when faced with the real world manifestation of these ideas, my emotions play out like these thoughts are indeed false. And I'd expect the reinforcement to correct this over time. But it hasn't. Causes great anxiety in quiet moments, and i'm hyper aware of certain social situations. It also comes up in dreams sometimes.
The idea about myself came up mid-trip, and from it poured out empathy for others (good) but somehow the anxiety inducing parts never left.
Note that amphetamines also carry similar risks: for example, if given to someone with bipolar disorder, they can cause schizoaffective disorder.
I agree with the safety. Had an astronomical trip yesterday and I feel great for it. Fascinating journey into the nature of my consciousness and the things I fear for no reason.