Reddit reviews LSD Psychotherapy (The Healing Potential Potential of Psychedelic Medicine)

PSA: Separate from this fellow's family history, he is describing an unresolved BPM II experience. Depression, anxiety, depersonalization, suicidal thoughts, and malaise can all stem from such an experience, whether or not you have a family history of mental health issues.

To learn more about the BPM model of the LSD experience get yourself a copy of LSD Psychotherapy by Dr. Stan Grof. The feeling of "infinite moment" and "no escape" are very typical of the BPM II stage of an acid trip, though with the help of a guide or trained psychedelic therapist, there is an escape, and it is 100x as liberating as this guy's unfortunate experience was debilitating.

If you would really like to learn more on the subject, LSD Psychotherapy by S. Grof is probably the single best resource available for the thereputic use of LSD. Grof has done so much extensive research in this area that Albert Hoffman, the father of LSD, considered Grof the godfather of LSD.

The short answer to your question: set and setting. There's always going to be a possibility of a bad trip no matter what, but that can be minimized by having a positive and prepared mindset followed by a comfortable setting for the experience. A positive and prepared mindset meaning: knowing what to expect, where you are going to be, who you are going to be with, etc. Plan your trip out ahead of time and stick to the plan, if at all possible. More importantly, only trip if you feel like you are 100% ready. Psychedelics tend to magnify all of your senses, thoughts and feelings at the time, even latent ones.

My perspective on drugs: I like them. I think they can be valuable tools and provide wonderful experiences.

I currently have a good reading list I'm working through for a planned project that will require a lot of LSD. I'm interested in LSD and MDMA psychotherapy to help solve some deep-seated problems (you have no idea how far from normal I am) and for general self-improvement. Fascinating subject, particularly the works by Stanislav Grof.

The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys: http://www.amazon.com/The-Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic/dp/1594774021

LSD Psychotherapy: Exploring the Frontiers of the Hidden Mind
http://www.amazon.com/Psychotherapy-Healing-Potential-Psychedelic-Medicine/dp/0979862205

LSD: Doorway to the Numinous: The Groundbreaking Psychedelic Research into Realms of the Human Unconscious
http://www.amazon.com/LSD-Numinous-Groundbreaking-Psychedelic-Unconscious/dp/1594772827

Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures
http://www.amazon.com/Tripping-Anthology-True-Life-Psychedelic-Adventures/dp/0140195742

The Doors of Perception: Heaven and Hell
http://www.amazon.com/The-Doors-Perception-Thinking-Classics/dp/1907590099

Through the Gateway of the Heart (about MDMA)
http://www.maps.org/gateway/

Thanatos To Eros, 35 Years of Psychedelic Exploration
http://www.maps.org/t2e/

Had to do a lot of searching and reading just to find what was worth reading, avoiding pseudoscience and quasi-religion. Oi, this is going to be a lot of work, but that's probably what it will take to sort out the trainwreck of my mind.

One normal part of the psychedelic experience is that your normal, superficial, routine concept of your "self", your "ego" melts away. What arises in its place is very unique to the individual but it should be understood as being a manifestation of the person's subconscious.

In the process of the individual ego melting away a person will often look at their own arms and see them ageing before their eyes, looking in the mirror feels like looking at a stranger, and your thoughts become increasingly distant and begin to feel as though they're not your own. Your body feels as though it is being crushed under the earth, thrown around by the waves of the sea, and obliterated to atoms. Following this one typically experiences a period of pure transcendence of ego or selfhood, which, depending on how well one psychologically tolerates this state, can be as short as a click of the fingers or as long as the time taken to eat a meal.

After this, the experience of ego or selfhood that takes form into the peak of the LSD experience is what Stanislav Grof, the renowned LSD researcher, describes as perinatal and transpersonal experiences which can include regressing into ones' past lives, an identification with the cosmos or nature, or with animals, spirits, etc., and one's body begins to appear to oneself in any of a myriad potential forms. People often report the sensation of phantom body parts which may actually appear to the person when one looks at them. The appearance of other people begins to shift, and your mind's subconscious projections begin to manifest in how you actually see people and things in the real world. Faces and bodies become horribly grotesque and distorted with the appearance of other people, objects and animals. This can stabilise to a less-grotesque form if one is able to abide calmly in the state, but it can also turn into an absolute nightmare to the uninitiated or those without an appropriate guide or sitter.

As the drug starts to wear off, the mind feels itself re-entering the normal world and this forms what's often seen as the "rebirth" aspect of the psychedelic experience, where one re-enters the human world with the insights into the mind gained during the experience.

There's a lot more to it than this, but given that people like Grof have written entire textbooks attempting to describe the nature of the psychedelic experience and its therapeutic value, it's not really possible to describe a trip in a way that does it justice like this.

The short answer is yes, it could really help. However the long answer is: it's complicated--especially for someone in your situation.

To get the best effect you shouldn't be on certain medications. Many meds will dull a psychedelic experience. Some mix badly and can make you feel very sick. It's tough to know how you will respond.

The tricky part is that off your meds, you are more susceptible to mania/depression anxiety, etc., which itself might complicate your trip.

In an alternate reality someone like you should be evaluated by a doctor who can determine what meds you are taking may interfere, or should be removed due to improvements from the LSD, and work with you to step down. You should have counseling before you trip, a trained professional present to guide you, and counseling sessions in between. You should have several trips at building intensity over the course of several weeks or months.

Psychedelics are a tool, a catalyst, a teacher. But you have to do the inner work. The learning and the healing. That's why sick people need a program of healing, therapy, diet/exercise, carefully controlled meds, etc to get the most out of psychedelic medicines.

This is the safe way to do psychedelic therapy with people with pre existing mental illness and a history of medication.

I treated my bipolar with psychedelics and it helped a lot, but I wish I had more guidance and structure. Doing it on your own might really help you, but it also might not.

My advice is if you are interested, go to Amazon and look up some books. Do research. You have to be your own shaman and psychiatrist with this stuff, so learn as much as you can.

LSD Psychotherapy https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0979862205/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506105089&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=lsd+psychotherapy&dpPl=1&dpID=512SI51Jk3L&ref=plSrch

Psychedelic Healing https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1594772509/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_of_15?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VZ888GJ11QSTBM8B9MTA

Acid Test https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0147516374/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_of_22?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ABDPQHSAZR5QJA1A02Q0

A Really Good Day is about microdosing https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0451494091/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_of_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=H660FJWZ0YXV9CXPRYRW

Hope this helps.

Got to meet him at his most recent book signing for this, which explains and illustrates through art in relatively simple terms Grof's contributions to the structure of the psyche (transpersonal and perinatal psychology).

Edit: even more scientific is LSD Psychotherapy, where summarizes the research that has been done and explains in detail his thousands of hours of experience sitting in LSD assisted psychotherapy sessions.

Psychedelic therapy

The "Why" Book: Pollan's How to Change Your Mind

The "What" Book: MAPS's A Manual for MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy in the Treatment of PTSD (alternatives would be this treatment protocol from Phase 2 MDMA trials and Grof's LSD Psychotherapy)

The "How" Book: R. Coleman's Psychedelic Psychotherapy: A User-friendly Guide for Psychedelic Drug-assisted Psychotherapy (the runner up would be Fadiman's The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide)

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X-posted from this post on the EA forum: Cash prizes for the best arguments against psychedelics being an EA cause area

MAPS and all the research they've been conducting for years disagree with you. Stanislav Grof and his decades of practice disagree as well.

You're being downvoted for a reason, and that reason is that you're wrong.

LSD Psychotherapy by Stanislav Grof

Hey :) I think what could possibly help you is if you got an inside to what is LSD doing to your mind. If you would see what went wrong maybe it would help solve the problem. There is a really good book about what is LSD and how it alters your mind. The book is: Stanislav Grof : LSD psychotherapy. (http://www.amazon.com/Psychotherapy-Healing-Potential-Psychedelic-Medicine/dp/0979862205)
I really advise you to read it, maybe to even contact Grof if he can help :D Love :)

> The doctors say it triggered...

That's possible. Triggering is a possible effect of consciousness expansion. Then some things emerge from sub consciousness and stay in half-consciousness affecting a person. It's like driving a car, you can kill many people, but still a car can be useful.

When I first took mushrooms it was on a street with other people and I freaked out so much I was running around and shouting, my friends were convinced I am crazy. I also went to the hospital but by that time shrooms let me go )))

So that's why I am saying "set and setting" is super important, these are not party drugs. They will show you the fake game that you are playing, and if you don't understand why you are playing and love yourself no matter what you can reject it and auto regulate it by falling in denial. Kind of a general description of crazy people.

Anyway the power is there, so my advice is

• learn about Stan Grof and LSD Psychotherapy .
  
  
• learn how to do the trips. The links that I gave before etc. Main points - must be safe, quiet place - zero interruptions, may be a companion/sitter with you experienced in this who is not taking it. You need to be super relaxed do some meditation before etc. You use voice recorder, draw pictures, write and later ponder over it when the effect stops.
  
  
• I always have panic after 3 hours on shrooms and I take 2-3 beers. Unless you have some weird allergies it is safe. DMT is different, it doesn't give panics afterwards but sometimes scary in the middle. I didn't take beer but I think it is safe. Timothy Leary is also saying about some safe tranquilizers.
  
  
• Start with small amounts, like 30% of recommended doze. But the idea is to go to 2x, 3x
  
  
• Remember - we are all crazy already )))
  
  HTH ;)
  

http://www.amazon.com/Psychotherapy-Healing-Potential-Psychedelic-Medicine/dp/0979862205