Do psychedelics actually help with depression?

[notindanger]

I've met quite a few people who have told me about how their problems got fixed by some salvia, lsd, dmt, etc. I never thought about it too much until my closest friend told me that she used to be extremly depressed and then she took some lsd and everything got better.
I just wanna know if they help you at least a little bit. I tried talking about psychedelics with some other people that I know, but, you know, I got a "Psychedelics???? You're a drug addict!!!" kind of response whenever I asked somebody about their views on it.

 

[rotciv]

Low doses of cetamine and lsd are used. Doses used recreationally it's risky.

 

[Mäximum]

I wouldn't try it. There's the constant risk of addiction if you do it regularly.

 

[Praestat_Mori]

When I was a heavy drug user (party related, LSD, magic mushrooms, MDMA, speed and all that) I was not depressed at all (not bc of the drugs but bc my life was in order and going well!) and from today's point of view that was the best time of my life. That was several decades ago when I was in my 20's.

I do believe that psychedelics can have a positive impact on certain MH issues if taken in "medical doses" and with a medical purity. But they certainly won't solve all kinds of MH issues like prescription MH meds also cannot solve all kinds of MH issues.

I wouldn't try it. There's the constant risk of addiction if you do it regularly.

Psychedelics (especially LSD, shrooms) don't develop an addiction bc you build up a tolerance very quickly.

 

[CocoToxBase]

Just got to be careful when taking any drug that produces serotonin dopamine etc. these drugs use up all your happy chemicals to produce the high feeling and that's why you feel great. That's why MDMA/Ectasy was used as a 'love drug' as it made people talk about their emotions in a loving way and it still does to this day but depending on the dealer depends on the drugs… it's not exactly mdma anymore it's cut with all sorts which can make the drug either useless or dangerous.

When all your happy chemicals have been used up in a short space of time your body doesn't have them happy chemicals once your withdrawing. Such as MDMA you have your high then you'll have the worse 'comedown' where you feel depressed. And that's why it's not recommended for people with mental health issues due to it turning people suicide or even psychotic. And from personal experience from taking 15 MDMA tablets at once because I was fed up - I ended up in critical care hallucinating, having seizures, high temperature, organ failures, serotonin syndrome etc etc. the only thing I remember from that was the comedown. Oh my god, it wasn't any other form of depression it was hurrendous depression I felt so so low, anyone who would try talk to me I'd screamm I just wanted to be left alone kind of feeling. I managed to escape and jumped off a 2 story car park and broke my ankle in several places and fractured my pelvis which wasn't fun. But the comedown is very very dangerous is what I'm saying and that's why they are so addictive because your body can't cope with the lack of happy chemicals and it wants the drugs to give you them chemicals. Over repeated use, you can completely diminish your serotonin and dopamine where your body won't even produce them anymore and you'll land yourself on SNRI's for the rest of your life.

Fun fact though - if you take SSRI's (I was taking mirtazapine at the time) they actually interfere with these drugs. I was taking my medication as perscribed and decided to take a Ectasy tablet and literally nothing happened and that's due to the fact the SSRI's control the release of serotonin. So the SSRI's stop the MDMA from over producing which gives you the high like feeling. Not sure about SNRI's or other types of mental health drugs but definitely the tablet didn't work because I've tried it with over specific mdma tablets and I could never get the high unless I stopped taking my mirtazapine. Sucks right. But also be careful of serotonin syndrome

 

[silent.desperation]

Psilocybin (the active compound in magic mushrooms) is known to suppress anxiety and lift mood for a few weeks after use. It's legal in certain US states now as a treatment for various mental health issues. I'm almost certain that without them, I wouldn't be here today...whether that's a good or a bad thing is a discussion for another day...

Some caveats: Not to be used in conjunction with anti-depressants (SSRIs) as it can cause something called serotonin syndrome. Tripping alone is not advisable until you're a little more experienced with the process and effects. Ask a friend to trip-sit for you. You can even try tackle certain issues in your life by writing the issues down before the trip and then speaking them through with your trip-sitter while tripping. Psilocybin repairs brain synapses so I look at them like vitamins for my brain. They're also completely non-addictive. In a medical context, they're actually used to treat addiction like alcoholism, smoking etc.

I take a few grams every 6-8 weeks to reset my assh*le brain. I would definitely recommend you research them for yourself. Look up Paul Stammets, he's a famous mycologist. He cured his stutter with high-dose psilocybin and also cured his mother's cancer with turkey tail mushrooms. He's done a few podcasts with Joe Rogan, worth a watch. Good luck :)

 

[breezeboy]

Psychedelics (especially LSD, shrooms) don't develop an addiction bc you build up a tolerance very quickly.

I'm glad someone said this!

 

[Hotsackage]

Idk bout the others, but I've heard pysilisbin microdosing, and ketamine infusions r good

 

[MyLifeisHell]

@tiredplant777, can you share?

 

[Aim]

Science has proven so yess, but dig deep into into it before venture away. It's not something to take lightly. Especially not Ayahuasca.

 

[cosmic_traveler]

The 5 minute DMT experience is better than 5 years of the best therapy. That's been my experience anyway. In addition, psychedelics take away any fear of death you previously had. It's very similar to how people describe near death experiences.

Not all experiences are the same of course.

 

[Tired_of_myself]

has anyone tried mushrooms or CBD? I am kind of curious... because nothing works for me, and a friends doctor told her about the medical use of the shrooms... my actual doctor told me to try cbd... as an alternative for the meds and to help with my autism and depression... but in my country is very expensive... but if it works I may try

 

[MrShino]

I think it depends alot on the baseline mentality of the indivdual as well as what you use and in what setting. There are lots of beneficial research on psychedelics for treating various conditions, and they really have the potential to elevate your mind to see your problems in a new way - perhaps granting you a new perspective that can help you solve or deal with problems much better than a mindset that is stuck in routine-negative thinking. For a lot of suicidals and people with depression, there are often strong negative biases and thoughtforms that have developed over many years, that constantly go on in the subconscious mind. There is also perhaps untreated traumas and experiences and all of that. There's however a lot of promising studies done on this; everything from MDMA-assisted psychotherapy against PSTD to ketamin for treatment-resistant depression, to psilocybin against the fear of death in cancer patients. It all comes down to your indivdual needs; how you do these things (under what inner and outer conditions) and how you work with what comes to the surface.

There's often adviced against the use of psychedelics for people with a history of psychosis and similar mental states, probably because they can really challenge and shatter your views of yourself and reality, and a mentally strong baseline is often crucial to deal with that. It's also often adviced against taking them in particularly challenging seasons of your life (like shortly after a break-up, or other personal events that affect you deeply).

So, I'd say, if you would ever consider this - do your research on it, carefully decide and use it in a proper and wise way. Give it due respect, as this is definitively not something to play around with - it's potentially extremely powerful that can alter your mind in fundamental ways. Can it provide you with a newfound appreciation of life along with meaning, happiness and purpose? Definitively. Can you be absolutely certain that they will improve your life and not give you new challenges instead? Probably not.

I can recommend the Michael Pollan series 'How to Change Your Mind' - they are quite good. Also I see some other claims here that are incorrect as far as I know. Psychedelics in general have extremely low chances of addiction (unless you consider ketamine and MDMA/ecstacy as part of of psychedelics). Also if you are on SSRI medication, that can create problems (serotonin syndrome) with MDMA, but studies have not found this to be the case with other psychedelics from my knowledge. They are likely to make it much less effective though, as SSRIs will downregulate the 5HTP-2A receptors to prevent the reuptake of serotonins in the psynapses. Psychedelics are targetting these exact same receptors. You must therefore either take a greater dose (you should gradually up the dose to find out what works for you since people are reacting differently individually) or chose to tap off the SSRIs (should only be done under medicial supervision). Above all, be careful.

 

[DreamEnd]

Set and setting set and setting

 

[divinemistress36]

Ketamine infusions didn't help my depression but it was nice leaving my body for a few hours felt like I was dead and in another realm. I'm starting to microdose shrooms I'm not sure it will do anything though since I'm on a antidepressant though. Mdma therapy sounds promising

 

[cosmic_traveler]

Set and setting set and setting

Second this.

 

[tiredplant777]

I've met quite a few people who have told me about how their problems got fixed by some salvia, lsd, dmt, etc. I never thought about it too much until my closest friend told me that she used to be extremly depressed and then she took some lsd and everything got better.
I just wanna know if they help you at least a little bit. I tried talking about psychedelics with some other people that I know, but, you know, I got a "Psychedelics???? You're a drug addict!!!" kind of response whenever I asked somebody about their views on it.

I have had significant help from psychedelics. I will say that the thing that probably has helped me the most is microdosing mushrooms. It was like night and day. I truly believe this dramatically fixed or healed my damaged brain chemistry. With everything though they are not a panacea. I think it can depend also on why you are depressed. One thing is if it is from trauma psychedelics can be extremely helpful in working through it. I have worked through SO much stuff I would not have been able to otherwise and I don't think I would be here without all of that.
They don't fix everything for me though, I still can struggle a lot, but I also know that I struggle because of isolation, and lack of community and intimacy, and also because I just find the state of the world extremely challenging. I would say if you want to try them to be safe, only be around people you trust and feel truly safe around. Don't do too much probably lol. I dunno they have helped me a lot and i am really grateful.

I think it depends alot on the baseline mentality of the indivdual as well as what you use and in what setting. There are lots of beneficial research on psychedelics for treating various conditions, and they really have the potential to elevate your mind to see your problems in a new way - perhaps granting you a new perspective that can help you solve or deal with problems much better than a mindset that is stuck in routine-negative thinking. For a lot of suicidals and people with depression, there are often strong negative biases and thoughtforms that have developed over many years, that constantly go on in the subconscious mind. There is also perhaps untreated traumas and experiences and all of that. There's however a lot of promising studies done on this; everything from MDMA-assisted psychotherapy against PSTD to ketamin for treatment-resistant depression, to psilocybin against the fear of death in cancer patients. It all comes down to your indivdual needs; how you do these things (under what inner and outer conditions) and how you work with what comes to the surface.

There's often adviced against the use of psychedelics for people with a history of psychosis and similar mental states, probably because they can really challenge and shatter your views of yourself and reality, and a mentally strong baseline is often crucial to deal with that. It's also often adviced against taking them in particularly challenging seasons of your life (like shortly after a break-up, or other personal events that affect you deeply).

So, I'd say, if you would ever consider this - do your research on it, carefully decide and use it in a proper and wise way. Give it due respect, as this is definitively not something to play around with - it's potentially extremely powerful that can alter your mind in fundamental ways. Can it provide you with a newfound appreciation of life along with meaning, happiness and purpose? Definitively. Can you be absolutely certain that they will improve your life and not give you new challenges instead? Probably not.

I can recommend the Michael Pollan series 'How to Change Your Mind' - they are quite good. Also I see some other claims here that are incorrect as far as I know. Psychedelics in general have extremely low chances of addiction (unless you consider ketamine and MDMA/ecstacy as part of of psychedelics). Also if you are on SSRI medication, that can create problems (serotonin syndrome) with MDMA, but studies have not found this to be the case with other psychedelics from my knowledge. They are likely to make it much less effective though, as SSRIs will downregulate the 5HTP-2A receptors to prevent the reuptake of serotonins in the psynapses. Psychedelics are targetting these exact same receptors. You must therefore either take a greater dose (you should gradually up the dose to find out what works for you since people are reacting differently individually) or chose to tap off the SSRIs (should only be done under medicial supervision). Above all, be careful.

Yeah thank you this is amazing advice.