The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide

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1. mellavoraJul 2022
   Ok, so you have some control over quality. I'll also be generous and assume you have good estimate of dosages and/or some way to maintain consistency of dosages (anyone else reading this, the standard advice is to take less than you think you want and wait 45 min or so, then take more if needed to reach planned cruising altitude. This works if you have enough prior experience to calibrate by, otherwise is very difficult).

   How do you know which dosage is best for treating depression?

   Assuming the best treatment is a series of sessions, how do you know the optimal spacing of sessions, and the optimal dosing per session?

   You are correct that the trips should be intentional. Who sets these intentions, which intentions are the most helpful, how do you guide the session along the lines of the intentions (recalling that the session might include full ego death and conviction that both your mind and reality are distinct and permanently broken) and most importantly how do you structure the post-session therapy to integrate the learnings and actually get some personal growth out of this?

   Are there age-related differences in this? What is the protocol for a early 20s vs a mid-50s vs 70s/80?

   Also, to look at your own advice ("if you have anything else than extreme depression and no other mental health conditions") how do you actively screen for this?

   These are concerns which are well addressed within shamanic circles-- so I'm not speaking with the voice of pharma here.

   Psychedelics are powerful tools. Like any other power tool, they can be a great help and also fairly risky if not used carefully. Insert your own woodshop analogies here.

   And if you are going to use them anyway, without working with someone who knows what they are doing, please please please:

   1) start with small doses

   2) do some reading BEFORE. Minimal list: Hudson Smith, "Cleansing the Doors of Perception" and James Fadiman The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys

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2. cf141q5325Apr 2022
   Kicked my alcoholism and depression almost 3 years ago on accident with a recreational mushroom trip on holiday. Still doing great in both regards.

   Two short bits of information. First dont screw around wit this. Set and setting. Understand what will happen and better get an experienced trip sitter you trust. Give at least The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide a read.

   And while my urge to drink is still completely gone you have to do some work when it comes to depression. From personal experience i can say it works on multiple layers. There is

   * Giving you a short term point of reference you can later aim for (experiencing how not being depressed looks like)

   * Making changes to your entrenched thought patterns more easy in the short term

   * Allowing for more self reflection (i later learned the cognitive behavioral therapy aims at something similar)

   First point also got me to look into meditation. Eckhard Tolles Power of Now describes the same experience through meditation. In the end its no surprise that Timothy Leary found the Tibetan Book of the Dead a great trip sitting manual. See Sam Harris Waking up for a rational explanation.

   edit: After talking with a few people who had bad trips my personal pet theory is that your likelihood drastically increases if you are overly attached to your own perspective. To the degree that you cant really imagine that your perspective on reality could be wrong. Not that this is safe otherwise, but be very very careful if that describes you. You are the kind of personal for whom anything on the spectrum to ego death might be very unpleasant.

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3. pmoriartyApr 2022
   "People need to be careful with psychedelics."

   Absolutely. Psychedelics are incredibly powerful substances and they need to be treated with respect. Everyone considering doing them should educate themselves thoroughly beforehand and use them in maximally safe, constructive ways. James Fadiman's Psychedelic Explorer's Guide[1] has lots of great advice on how to do this.

   "The afterglow wears off pretty quick."

   It really depends on the substance and how it's used. Ketamine, for example, commonly needs to be readministered relatively frequently (though some people have lasting effects), while many people get very long lasting effects from between one to three therapeutic MDMA or psilocybin sessions (sometimes lasting for years).

   It's people who tend to use psychedelics outside of a therapeutic context, to "party" and/or without constructive intention or post-trip integration that tend to lack lasting effects.. but even then it's not at all uncommon for the experiences to be life-changing.

   [1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

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4. pmoriartyApr 2022
   "the research and therapy environment is extremely different than DIY"

   True, but that doesn't mean that the DIY environment couldn't be brought closer to the therapeutic one.

   I strongly recommend James Fadiman's Psychedelic Explorer's Guide[1]. It has lots of great advice on how to use psychedelics therapeutically.

   [1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

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5. pmoriartyApr 2022
   I hope that if you do this, you only do it with an trained psychedelic therapist who you like, respect, and trust... and who provides lots of therapy before and lots of integration after.

   Unfortunately there's not yet enough known about these substances to predict whether they'll work for a rare condition.. besides, everyone's different, and everyone reacts to these substances differently. They're pretty unpredictable. So it might work for you, it might not.

   A lot also depends on how they're used, where, and with whom -- what's known as "set and setting". I'd recommend reading James Fadiman's Psychedelic Explorer's Guide[1] for lots of good advice on this subject.

   [1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut...

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6. mekokaDec 2021
   > Were you worried about a bad trip?

   Many therapists and scientists have documented their personal experience guiding hundreds, sometimes thousands of trips with strong psychedelic doses (e.g. 20mg+ synthetic psilocybin, 200mcg+ lsd). They've written entire chapters on bad trips in the context of specifically psychedelics, what are their cause, how to avoid them, and how to handle them when they occur. Research papers, books, articles, etc. It's all in there. Sometimes, even reading just a single chapter from a single book is enough (James Fadiman's The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide is quite accessible. https://tripsafe.org/ also offers good advice)

   Acquiring that knowledge requires to actually sit down and read the stuff. Sadly, what we have around us is people usually just spewing anecdotes and opinions.

   If you're considering taking the journey, do yourself a favor and research the topic a bit before. You might be surprised at the amount of misinformation that's out there (and in these very threads).

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