Psychedelics addiction

[Charlotte]

@zambize ??

[outlandish]

Psychedelics aren't really addictive. In fact, they're anti-addictive and are used to treat addictions!

It is possible to misuse or abuse psychedelics of course, however @Gladius it doesn't sound to me like you're pushing that at all. Listen to your gut and heart on this, you'll know when it's too much.

I agree that once a month is a good guideline, once every two weeks sort of max. There are times in certain people's lives when they might feel the call to experiment at even higher frequency for short periods, and you can do that without negative consequence if you're respectful to yourself with the dosages, allowing rest, reflection. On the whole though, most psychedelics will be more rewarding if you give time for the magic to come back.

A good rule of thumb is to make sure you've sufficiently integrated the previous trip before diving into the next. This might mean that you've made some changes in your life that you observed were necessary during your trip, or just that you've processed the previous trip sufficiently to move on. 

 

 

[passerby]

i read ram das say that people get caught in the trap of 'chasing the experience' of psychedelics. which is in itself a form of materialism. or something like that.

[SgtPepper]

11 hours ago, Charlotte said:

No but they can still abuse it for the wrong reason's no? 

They could, but five times a year does not seem like abuse to me, even if they go on trips cause they're bored.

Addiction is some serious stuff. Addiction to me is like prostituting yourself for drugs, or NEEDing liquor in the morning. but that's just me, maybe I've seen too many movies/documentaries.

Psychedelics have a really low addiction potential and they're just super strong experientially and on the mind, I am not sure how someone could get addicted from my personal experience. 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2018 by SgtPepper

[Charlotte]

@SgtPepper appreciate your reply. 

I'm not referring to addiction, I'm referring to abuse. Let's say someone binge eats 5 times a year... But on the time they binge it could be unhealthy and toxic?

[SgtPepper]

8 minutes ago, Charlotte said:

@SgtPepper appreciate your reply. 

I'm not referring to addiction, I'm referring to abuse. Let's say someone binge eats 5 times a year... But on the time they binge it could be unhealthy and toxic?

That's a good distinction to make. Like the dose versus the frequency. In that case, I will agree that would be abuse of food in that context and I can generalize that to alcohol, as one would be abusing their natural limits and their body.

with psychedelics, I would not worry about the tendency or possibility of abusing or overdoing a psychedelic substance in terms of dose cause in my experience, psychedelics do not incentivize that. 

I appreciate your reply as well.

[Shadowraix]

You gotta really look at your own case. You may find yourself using more or less over time but its not about some number. A number won't tell you much. But look at what the impact is. Is the frequency having a positive or negative impact on you? You could drop once a year and it still have a negative result. Your body will tell you, just gotta learn to listen to it.

For me I just follow my desire when it pops up to do psychs instead of doing it every opportunity like I used to in fear of it being my last time. I do it much less frequently but the quality of each trip is always very beneficial.

[zambize]

1 minute ago, Shadowraix said:

You gotta really look at your own case. You may find yourself using more or less over time but its not about some number. A number won't tell you much. But look at what the impact is. Is the frequency having a positive or negative impact on you? You could drop once a year and it still have a negative result. Your body will tell you, just gotta learn to listen to it.

For me I just follow my desire when it pops up to do psychs instead of doing it every opportunity like I used to in fear of it being my last time. I do it much less frequently but the quality of each trip is always very beneficial.

I absolutely agree, I think there is a certain intuition that arises when you are ready for another experience

[Charlotte]

@SgtPepper Interesting. I personally think dosage does matter... Especially if your a newbie ?

[Forestluv]

For the mind-body, physical/mental addiction risk is very low. Psychedelics don't trigger the mesolimbic reward system like addictive substances do. As well, they have very low habit-forming potential. There is extensive anectodal experiences online and several studies conducted that support this low ranking. 

After a few trips, one can be excited and intrigued about the novelty of the experiences, yet this isn't addiction. I can imagine someone getting overzealous and tripping a bit too much recreationally - which interferes with their life. Yet, psychedelics are soooo much easier to moderate or discontinue compared to alcohol, cannabis, nicotine or caffeine.

The highest risks of psychedelics come from inexperience, disreputable dealers, and not respecting the substance. . . It is the newbie that doesn't "feel anything" 45min. after taking 100ug LSD, so takes 200ug more. Someone who eyeballs their dose of 5-meo-dmt. A newbie who has never meditated or done any introspective work that finds themselves over their head as they lose control of reality at a concert - and freaking out.

I would tell newbies to consider entering psychedelics like you would scuba diving. Trying to scuba dive on your own, without any training and knowledge is reckless and dangerous - as it is with psychedelics. Do research, start small, integrate lessons and get experience before diving into ego death and breakthrough experiences.

To the op - I concur with others regarding once a month usage - coupled to integration with meditation, contemplative journaling etc. I did twice a month for about 6 months - I found it to be unsustainable.

[zambize]

17 minutes ago, Serotoninluv said:

For the mind-body, physical/mental addiction risk is very low. Psychedelics don't trigger the mesolimbic reward system like addictive substances do. As well, they have very low habit-forming potential. There is extensive anectodal experiences online and several studies conducted that support this low ranking. 

After a few trips, one can be excited and intrigued about the novelty of the experiences, yet this isn't addiction. I can imagine someone getting overzealous and tripping a bit too much recreationally - which interferes with their life. Yet, psychedelics are soooo much easier to moderate or discontinue compared to alcohol, cannabis, nicotine or caffeine.

The highest risks of psychedelics come from inexperience, disreputable dealers, and not respecting the substance. . . It is the newbie that doesn't "feel anything" 45min. after taking 100ug LSD, so takes 200ug more. Someone who eyeballs their dose of 5-meo-dmt. A newbie who has never meditated or done any introspective work that finds themselves over their head as they lose control of reality at a concert - and freaking out.

I would tell newbies to consider entering psychedelics like you would scuba diving. Trying to scuba dive on your own, without any training and knowledge is reckless and dangerous - as it is with psychedelics. Do research, start small, integrate lessons and get experience before diving into ego death and breakthrough experiences.

To the op - I concur with others regarding once a month usage - coupled to integration with meditation, contemplative journaling etc. I did twice a month for about 6 months - I found it to be unsustainable.

I agree with everything you've said, just want to add that you don't have to trip balls each time.  I found a quarter tab easily gets my ol' brain tingling and just rattling off insights.  It's certainly a much milder experience, but then it just peaks for a few hours lightly and you can do a three hour meditation during the peak, and then the rest of the day is pretty normal or a light light high.  You won't feel mentally drained the next day either

[Forestluv]

11 minutes ago, zambize said:

I agree with everything you've said, just want to add that you don't have to trip balls each time.  I found a quarter tab easily gets my ol' brain tingling and just rattling off insights.  It's certainly a much milder experience, but then it just peaks for a few hours lightly and you can do a three hour meditation during the peak, and then the rest of the day is pretty normal or a light light high.  You won't feel mentally drained the next day either

Thank you, that is a great point. I've also found mini doses, or weaker psychedelics like Al-lad, to yield insights. My sensitivity has increased over time. A quarter tab can send me into a nondual reality and it is much less intense on the mind-body.

As well, many people have found microdosing helpful. 

[tentacion]

I'm really bad at finding psychedelics where i'm living and my friend who is a previous psychedelic user refuses to get me some lol. But I'm planning to travel to amsterdam soon and eat 10g magic truffles and do that every 4 month for the rest of my life, the goal is to eventually eat 30-40g and get a breaktrough and ego-death experience. I'm really doing it for the sake of Truth and God or pure consciousness, which I'm burning to know, see, realize, become, whatever it is and however it happens.

[SgtPepper]

12 hours ago, Charlotte said:

@SgtPepper Interesting. I personally think dosage does matter... Especially if your a newbie ?

It definitely does, I meant that, in my experience, using psychedelic substances isn't going to encourage or incentivize somebody to ingest higher dosages. A person who takes 3g of mushrooms and experiences a subjectively intense trip, isn't going to come out of that and say, "Okay next time I will do 5g."

I could've been more clear