How Safe Is Ayahuasca? Large-Scale Study Explores – Technology Networks

Re:How Safe Is Ayahuasca? Large-Scale Study Explores – Techn... by pmoriarty on Friday November 18, 2022 @05:01AM (#33652616)

"I don't seem to get the distortion of emotional state so many others seem to have on psychedelics (be it positive or negative). I get all the other distortions. ... I inevitably start trying to figure out how it works, and the whole trip turns into scientific self experimentation."

This sounds like a defense mechanism on a dose low enough that your mind can still defend itself like that. It's possible to take such a strong dose of psychedelics that they blow through any such defense mechanisms.

Unfortunately, such doses sometimes lead to amnesia afterwards, as the mind may still try to defend itself from even the memory of it.

This is yet another reason to do this under the guidance of a trained therapist, who can prepare you for the experience, help you to engage with the experience instead of trying to talk yourself out of it, and help you integrate it afterwards.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How Safe Is Ayahuasca? Large-Scale Study Explores – Techn... by IIAOPSW on Friday November 18, 2022 @07:38AM (#33653734)

This reads like the psychedelic equivalent of "true Communism has never been tried." You're saying psychedelics always have whatever emotional effect, and if they seemingly don't well its your fault for putting up a defense mechanism, or actually it did work but you don't remember.

Why are you rationalizing this? How are you so sure that there really aren't people who simply don't get major distortions to their emotional state, and that there isn't anything wrong with them?

[ Parent | on HN ]