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Funny, psilocybin has been largely detrimental to the mental health of everyone I know.

"Funny, psilocybin has been largely detrimental to the mental health of everyone I know."

This statemwnt is true for the people I know who have used it in a recreational manner. This statement is also false for the people I who who have self-treated with it in a controlled setting.

I've have done a lot of drugs and know a lot of people who have done a lot of drugs, and psilocybin is far and away the substance that is most loved and gets the best reviews. It's not even close.

Thoughts on Mescaline/Peyote?

I've known far fewer people who have taken it. Unlike mushrooms, I have heard stories of prolonged and difficult trips that sound much more challenging and arguably dangerous than a average-dose mushroom trip.

Mescaline is like the angry lover version of mushrooms. I did it once, two years ago to understand why it has been used, traditionally, as the baseline for comparison for psychedelic substances, and it was enlightening; it is certainly a tasting menu of the classical psychedelics, having at different points in the experience the flavor of stimulants, LSD, mushrooms and finally something all its own, but it is also much grittier and less loving than mushrooms.

Mescaline is _rough_. And honestly the "you are done with it before it is done with you" thing is 100% true, it is also very long lasting.

What would you say about ayahuasca?

Never tried it. Seems like it's vaguely hard to consume safely since it is tied to shaman woo culture overseas. Supposedly there are sessions in the bay area, but I'm not cool enough to know people who know about them, or for that matter the other things I'd like to try.

I have a plan to try it, DMT, LSD, 2-CB and 5-MeO-DMT before I'm 60, so I guess I'd better get cracking as that isn't far away for me.

What are the more preferred plants/substances for personal growth and mental health?

If someone is unfamiliar with psychoactive drugs, I would suggest they eat a single mushroom cap in a safe, private, comfortable environment and with another person who has some experience. I think it is a more pleasurable and worthwhile experience than marijuana, which can actually be more intense and is more prone to generating anxiety and paranoia. There's lots of resources online and there are communities in a lot of cities that advocate mushroom use.

As someone who has personally dealt with mental health issues I attribute to use of cannabis, I agree with the underlying sentiment here.

The people in this thread saying things like, "they wear off" or dismissing clinical treatment for depression as "suits ripping people off" are delusional and embodying bad stereotypes. Just because you and your bros took mushrooms, had a few laughs and carried on "working hard on saas" or even had a beneficial, religious-type experience doesn't mean that there aren't also risks or that everyone will have a similarly beneficial experience. It's been known for decades -- both empirically and scientifically -- that psychoactive substances can surface latent or bring about psychological issues (e.g. cannabis and schizophrenia) in some people.

Now, I'm not against use of these substances medicinally or recreationally but to pretend like there is no risk and that they're a one-size-fits-all miracle cure is reckless, naive and dumb. As mushrooms and cannabis become more widely available and more powerful (in the latter case), I suspect we'll be hearing a lot more about this class of issues in the coming years.

Agreed with a caveat: SSRIs and other antidepressants are far worse.

sometimes it amplifies preexisting issues and forces you to deal with them, at least that's what they did for me

In what way were they using it? In what dosages? Was it pharmaceutically pure or bought from some dude?

Overdosing on SSRIs or using them haphazardly could be pretty detrimental too.

my experience has been very different for everyone I know

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