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tuesdaynightlast Friday at 1:55 PM3 repliesview on HN

I don't have depression, but the first time I used psychedelics was so emotional helpful that I strongly suggested for depressed friends. I corrected that mistake hours later, after realizing that the risks are low, but life changing if it happens. However, I will never forget that feeling. I've used it again in the following years, but the results faded and it became boring for me.


Replies

rjxclast Friday at 2:20 PM

What are the low-but-life-changing risks?

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Aurornislast Friday at 3:08 PM

> after realizing that the risks are low, but life changing if it happens.

I think these risks are more common than was previously discussed on the internet. For a long time reports of very negative experiences were dismissed, laughed at, downplayed, waved away as symptoms of something else, or excused as something positive but mysterious.

It’s becoming more acceptable for people to discuss their negative experiences and not get downvoted or attacked for sharing them.

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FollowingTheDaolast Friday at 2:22 PM

Many people say the first time they use Prozac that it was so helpful they recommended to their friends but then after a while it wore off.

How do you think psychedelics work? They activate the serotonin 2a receptor. It’s nothing but a different drug that effects serotonin. Except it does it more intensely but like all these drugs that act on receptors they wear off because of something what’s called receptor density changes.

For 70 years, we’ve been trying to manipulate receptors into making people feel good. It’s a losing proposition and it’s time to. We changed our thinking. For instance, if these people do have serotonin deficiencies, which is still possibly the case, what is it? That’s causing these deficiencies? Is it low, zinc, low B6, genetics, infection? There’s so many other things that we know that this could be, but we don’t try it.

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