I've seen people do this (with this and other drugs) and it can totally break people. I'm glad someone out there is happier than they were now, but it's insanely risky to apply untested foreign chemicals directly into your decision-making apparatus and the seat of your consciousness.
Also, "self-medicate" is such a disparaging term. Humans have been medicating outside of a clinical context for approximately 99% of our existence as Homo sapiens. I'm pretty sure my cat is "self-medicating" when she can't get a hairball up on her own and so she eats some lawn grass and yakks (usually on my couch).
If you do self medicate, take every sensible precaution you can, test your drugs, try to be supervised by someone who is educated and knowledgeable, and... if possible see real therapist while your neuroplasticity window is widened.
People get in trouble and other people are able to change their minds in positibe way.
We’re an aggregate organism and some of the individuals will always be on the edge of experimentation. It’s just the nature of the thing.
Be yourself. Be free. Some of us will die, some of us will be ruined, but the rest of us will be more informed.
It's not worth the risk.
You want to self-medicate? Do it with chemicals produced inside your body. Meditate, do a triathlon, lift weights, become a health-food nut, get some sun, find some opportunity for socialization, do that sauna + cold plunge thing, whatever.
All of it is safer than swallowing/snorting/injecting some concoction that may or may not break your brain.
It's worth pointing out that the fact you can only get these drugs from the black market presently does introduce a whole separate "you don't know what you're getting" aspect to this. So even if you believe MDMA is a cure-all and you're 100% right, do you actually know that it is real? It's a bummer, but everyone does need to weigh that in their decision if they want to keep themselves safe.
https://dancesafe.org/product/mdma-testing-kit/
Purity tests are pretty subjective. People have also been testing their drugs for the presence of fentenayl but it's somewhat unlikely due to the drug profile and can throw false positives given the sensitivity of the test sample setup.
Yes, you should be careful self-medicating with chemicals. There are ways to do it safely, though, even with MDMA. You should also do other things (as you are able) that don't require chemicals, and a lot of those should come before most chemicals.
But some chemicals are really safe! E.g. for anxiety, try silexan and L-theanine as a first-line thing — they're both cheap and have no significant negative side-effects. And other chemicals are really powerful and transformative, and while they need to be considered and/or used with extreme care, they may be really good options. I'd absolutely take the risk of MDMA with proper testing, dosing, and supplementation over the risk to my body from a triathlon, for example.
And you should definitely test MDMA, or have someone test it. Both of those are pretty accessible options for people who already know how to get MDMA.
I'm genuinely curious what shaped your view on this.
Wow, silly me! If only I had’ve known that my crippling depression, anxiety, and fuck knows what else could be solved by lifting weights and getting some sun.
It’s evidently clear you aren’t, and have never, suffered from severe mental illness. With all due respect, please step off. You don’t have the slightest clue what you’re talking about.
I went vegan. Got jacked. Ran 20 miles a week. It didn’t help in the slightest. I was fit, healthy, and depressed as fuck. None of that had anywhere near the same effect as a single bump.
So forgive me if “safety” isn’t my paramount concern when every waking moment is a nightmare.
For the vast majority of depressed people, a simple workout habit will do the trick. This should be the first thing everyone tries.
You seem to be completely out of touch with reality and I envy the charmed life you must have led.
"Exercise is as effective as antidepressants in some cases." - https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-is-an-...
"Depression and anxiety: Exercise eases symptoms" https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in...
For serious cases that can't be helped by exercise, there is professional help, including medication.
For no cases at all are illegal drugs / self-medication the answer.
For anything that ever goes wrong with a complex, self-adjusting system, we should start with light-touch interventions that align with the natural pathways of that system. Serious interventions are for serious problems only.
"boost your mood" has almost nothing to do with depression, depression runs a lot deeper.
Have you ever been depressed? Have you ever taken psychedelics?
What part is hard to understand?
0. Do not self-medicate with illegal drugs. Bro science is best avoided when it comes to the brain.
1. Try exercise. Did it work? Good! The vast majority of sad people get happier with exercise. Did it not work? Go to step 2!
2. See a professional who might medicate you, including psychedelics.
0. Do not drive a car. You could get into an accident.
1. Try walking. Did you reach your destination? Good. Did you not? Go to step 2!
2. Hire a professional driver who might drive you.
This is what fear mongering looks like.
Not something to just brush off, even though people will be ruined and die no matter what we do.