Actual "Things People Say" About Psychedelics #2

Wow, this is unexpected. I no longer feel weighed down by a sense of guilt, that I don't deserve to be able to do things such as write blog posts. (Re: My last li'l post.) That conveniently makes this easier. As does having gotten this laptop running much faster.
` In fact, I'm uploading more video clips onto YouTube right now as I'm typing this, and it's running perfectly fine. So yes, everything is moving ahead now! In fact, I lied last time, I have been writing my next video, but not much in the way of blog posts.

In celebration, here's the next post in the queue, which is of course on psychedelics, a subject I've begun to write about in great detail. (See High-Powered Tools of Inner Exploration and Neuroscience.)
` For the first "Things People Say", go here. This one's shorter and sort of follows the other, except instead of abject terror of psychedelics, there is more of a fearful willingness to accept that perhaps they would be beneficial. But it's still a bit odd. I promise to have more interesting/amusing ones for next time.


Person writing to me: "I do need my brain reset because I've just got a lot of stress in life and I've had issues with alcohol which basically still bothers me.  I don't drink but I have a strong desire for the calming properties of alcohol to forget stress and that desire itself causes me great anxiety.
I am worried about taking them because I do know it is possible to have a "bad trip" and that worries me
... I walk around with a feeling inside of great unease.  I feel a bit like there's something very wrong and or I have a lot to worry about.
...Alcohol can dull this and make me feel more at ease, but it's a poor solution.
I have not found medications to be especially helpful.  They are a little but they don't kill that anxiety 100%."
[If I take a psychedelic]...I'm afraid I'll harm myself or someone else. I'm not at all a violent person, and I have not been in a fight since kindergarten,  But what if I hallucinate that I'm on a sinking ship and I think I'm throwing someone into a lifeboat but I'm actually throwing them out a window?"

So I answer: "Let me describe to you what it "looks like" to be on mushrooms (or LSD):
THE ROOM STILL LOOKS LIKE THE ROOM.
You may see some patterns on the walls, but it pretty much looks normal otherwise.
When you close your eyes, you find that you have an "inner eye". It is like having a spherical eyeball that sometimes can see in all directions. It's like being in a hi-tech future where you can close your eyes and see a virtual reality display that is separate and distinct from what you see when you look around the world.
` What you see in there is usually abstract mathematical patterns of bright colors and rich textures. You can also see landscapes, alien worlds, things that you imagine, concepts that you operate on, and aspects of yourself, and in ways hard to describe. ... If you don't take insane amounts, there is not much chance that you will lose track of reality."

They ask: "What if I hallucinate that they are attacking me?"

I respond: "I have never heard of anyone hallucinating that someone was attacking them. If someone attacks you when you are high, I know that's not fun."

"What if I hallucinate that one of my arms is bleeding so bad I need to put a tourniquet on it?"

I answer: "I have never even heard of that happening, so I'm sure it's easily avoided. However, it is possible for one to vomit all over the floor and then have a hard time cleaning up the vomit chunks because they appear to sink into a dimension below the floor, swirl around and then bob back up."

Them: "Is psilocybin less intense than LSD?"

Me: "Intensity mostly depends on dose with these two drugs. Mushrooms are measured in grams, psilocybin itself is measured in milligrams, and LSD is measured in micrograms."

Them: "I feel like if I go in with the scared and apprehensive feeling I have that could be bad
I have been reading some studies on mushrooms that were done under good conditions.  One said "20% reported part of their experience was unpleasant, but only 3% said that the experience was entirely negative, frightening or stressful"
None of that 3 percent had any lasting effects. They just really did not enjoy the experience.
So clearly having a bad trip is possible.  It can happen.
That's what worries me."

Me: I understand why you would be worried about being in that 3%. Nevertheless, it is possible to prevent (and as you said, worrying about it can make it a self-fulfilling prophecy). [Name redacted], who did a workshop at [skeptic's conference] about [redacted] told me that his plan to help overcome his own insane childhood horror he would take shrooms. He is experienced in [certain therapeutic techniques I am partial to], yes, but it is MDMA (aka ecstasy) which he would precede the mushrooms with to eliminate the anxiety.
` ...I think it would work for him. MDMA is one of those substances that will generally just make you feel fantastic, in the right environment. It is difficult to feel bad on it, unless someone is deliberately trying to make you feel bad.
` Also, getting up and walking into another room can just make your brain forget what it was doing, just as it does when you walk into a room and forgot why. At the meeting with Anthony Garcia-Romeu, I met a guy who said that's what he does to get his mind in a better space during a trip.

Them: "I don't feel comfortable doing psychedelics alone for the first time."

Me: "As you shouldn't. You definitely should have someone with you the first time."

Them: "Do you think it is safe for multiple people to get together and take them together?  Or should someone stay sober to supervise the other so if they start to panic or something they will have someone to calm them down."

Me: "People often take them in groups, and usually have at least one trip sitter. That is the smartest way. Ayahuasca retreats and churches also do that, actually."

Them: "In every study I have read of psychedelics it indicates that people do occasionally have very unpleasant and frightening experiences.
It's not common but it can happen.  Sometimes a trip starts out pleasant but then takes a turn for the worse.
In such cases it helps to have a reassuring calm person there."

Me: "That's very much true. The unpleasant experiences I am familiar with were often "needed" therapeutically. They were caused by either something or someone else being irritating, or worse.
Trips can be steered, however. ... All I can say is, good company, good environment, some uplifting music... Anything good to trip out on is what you should be surrounded by."


That is all for now. I'd like to add more, perhaps some from someone who was taunting me or some amusing instance like that. I'll have to dig something like that up for Actual "Things People Say" #3.
` Until then, I'll keep you posted on far more exciting projects. Again, it's time for me to go to bed. But the laptop will remain on, uploading more video clips.