Efficacy and Safety of Psilocybin in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression(jamanetwork.com)

26 pointsby cpncrunch5 hours ago2 comments

JKCalhoun3 hours ago
I've always wondered if one dose of LSD could have been responsible for a fundamental change in my mind. There were other things of course going on in those college years, but I can say wth certainty that I became a very different person at some point in those early to mid twenties.
It's such that I have wondered if those I know who suffer various emotional issues might not benefit from a hallucinogenic trip—perhaps a rewiring of the mind.
- tryagainian2 hours ago
  Unfortunately life isn’t a triple-bling placebo controlled study.
  There isn’t a cohort consisting entirely of otherwise identical yous we can use to retrospectively assess the outcomes of single-changes.
  And besides, it’s not like one or any number of psychedelic experiences, results in a perfect human experience free of suffering or what have you.
  - pattilupone2 hours ago
    I could use a triple-bling study...
    tryagainianan hour ago
    Every Friday night after work, happy hour starts at 6.
- Aurornis41 minutes ago
  > but I can say wth certainty that I became a very different person at some point in those early to mid twenties.
  Early to mid twenties is where people definitely leave their teen years, by definition.
  Everyone becomes a different person around this time. Maybe your experience was mixed in there, but becoming a very different person around that age happens to a lot of people without psychedelics.
- crtified2 hours ago
  It may simply be that the intense disruption of a 5 hour long experience of chemically-induced novel pleasures - in people who'd long forgotten any form of enjoyment at all - while also being under special attention from caring professionals, is Very Nice Indeed. And that very nice experiences are the most direct salve that exists, when it comes to ameliorating a lifetime of unpleasant ones.
  "I can say wth certainty that I became a very different person at some point in those early to mid twenties" - not to discount that, but I do suspect many developing adults (LSD or not) might make similar claims about distinct periods of mental change as they work their way into early adulthood.
  - larodian hour ago
    There’s more evidence it is than it’s not. And, yes, even people who have been super stubbornly against psychedelics only very seldom come to regret taking some. Which you cannot say for other recreational or sedating stuff at all.
    According to the GPTs, the LSD ranks the bottom in the chart of ‘damage done to your organism’ while alcohol tops it every time.
    crtifiedan hour ago
    While using GPTs to explore my own bias, I liked the re-phrasing "the chemical opens a window so that the profoundly human experience of care, safety, and novel emotion can finally get through to a brain that had walled itself off".
    Highlighting how the human experience is an intrinsic part of the benefit seen, but not the only part.
    (and I totally agree with you, alcohol is one of the strongest and also one of the less pleasant - both in withdrawal and in long term health impact, not to mention social harm - recreational things that I or people-that-I-know-well have ever tried)
- colechristensen2 hours ago
  > I can say wth certainty that I became a very different person at some point in those early to mid twenties
  Let's be fair, most people do.
N_Lens35 minutes ago
[dead]