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A comment on Psilocybin Bests SSRI for Major Depression in First Long-Term Comparison. Parent comment

Re:Psilocybin Bests SSRI for Major Depression in First Long-... by fsckboy on Sunday October 13, 2024 @02:46PM (#41830475)
sounds like a reasonable hypothesis, that people who are unhappy with their emotional/mental state might be more attracted to altering it, or might experience results they consider more positive.

how do our brains decide to do anything, like eat ice cream? "hey, I loved that last time". We know that drugs are not experienced as universally positive because many people who try them in college do not go on use them throughout their adult lives.

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Re:Psilocybin Bests SSRI for Major Depression in First Long-... by asveikau on Sunday October 13, 2024 @10:02PM (#41833521)
But the part you miss is that it works. This is anecdotal for now but people are looking at evaluating that more objectively.

It's not even a stretch if you squint at this. The currently accepted treatment is SSRIs, the second S standing for serotonin. Psychedelics work on serotonin receptors. Why would it be surprising that if you tweak your serotonin receptors, you get treatment for depression? Again, this is not true of alcohol or cannabis.

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