Feeling depressed? Get stoned.

[Rum]

My last few LSD experiences were very distressing indeed. I doubt anyone here will take Feck's advice too literally, but as far as I am concerned it would be the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with your mind.

[Brian Peacock]

I always found doing it outdoors during the daytime was always way better, calmer, more profound, more manageable, than doing it indoors at night after the pub.

[Rum]

After the pub is bad!!

[Brian Peacock]

And don't do a heroic dose late on christmas eve so that gravy becomes profoundly fascinating at the family dinner table the next day and your folks think you're having a psychotic episode. Top tip there kids - you can have that one for free.

[Rum]

I was similarly waylaid by a patch of lichen on a garden wall as I recall.

[L'Emmerdeur]

It's like PCP/Angel Dust. The high comes from a permanent brain fry. Life long flashbacks and damage to short term memory, happier has side effects...when you use magic mushrooms to attain it.

http://hallucinogens.com/psilocybin/dan ... mushrooms/

That page cites no sources at all for the assertion that "If a person continues to abuse magic mushrooms, they may end up having permanent brain damage." None of the sources it does cite support that statement. I looked for long-term effects of psilocybin and was unable to find anything that supported the statement that repeated use of mushrooms containing psilocybin can or may result in "permanent brain damage," but maybe you will be able to find something. What I did find:

'Study: Psilocybin Mushrooms Stimulate Growth Of New Brain Cells'

Psychedelic mushrooms already have a reputation for helping people open their minds and broaden their perspective on the world. They have shown an ability to combat mental disorders like depression and anxiety. Now, research is showing that the magic mushrooms can actually help physically rebuild a damaged brain.

In a study conducted by the University of South Florida and published in 2013 in the Experimental Brain Research journal, researchers measured the effects of mushrooms on mice that had been conditioned to fear certain stimuli.

The results were striking: Not only could psilocybin, the main active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, help them get over their fear, it promoted cell growth and regeneration in their brains.

'"Magic Mushrooms" May Permanently Alter Personality'

Just one strong dose of hallucinogenic mushrooms can alter a person's personality for more than a year and perhaps permanently, a new study finds.

People given psilocybin, the compound in "magic mushrooms" that causes hallucinations and feelings of transcendence, demonstrated a more "open" personality after their experience, an effect that persisted for at least 14 months. Openness is a psychological term referring to an appreciation for new experiences. People who are more open tend to have broad imaginations and value emotion, art and curiosity.

This personality warp is unusual, said study researcher Katherine MacLean, because personality rarely changes much after the age of 25 or 30. (In fact, one recent study found that by first grade our personalities are set pretty much for life.)

"This is one of the first studies to show that you actually can change adult personality," said MacLean, a postdoctoral researcher at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The root of the change seems to be not the drug itself, MacLean told LiveScience, but the mystical experiences that psilocybin often triggers. These profound, transcendent feelings feel no less real to people for being chemically induced, she said.

"Many years later, people are saying it was one of the most profound experiences of their life," MacLean said. "If you think about it in that context, it's not that surprising that it might be permanent."

'How Magic Mushrooms Change Your Brain'

Psilocybin is a chemical found in magic mushrooms that causes the user to experience a sensory overload of saturated colors and patterns. Recent research has found that this effect happens because the brain becomes “hyperconnected” and allows for increased communication between different regions. It is hoped that this ability can be manipulated in order to manufacture drugs to treat neurological conditions. The paper was published in an open access format in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface with Giovanni Petri of Italy’s ISI Foundation serving as lead author.

The chemical works by binding the same receptors in the brain as the neurotransmitter serotonin. This allows the drug to alter mood. While many people have a happy, meaningful experience, some can have a “bad trip” and experience extreme paranoia Prior studies have found that that getting high on psilocybin doesn’t just create a colorful, psychedelic experience for a couple of hours; it can cause neurological changes that last over a year. These changes resulted in a personality that was more open to the creative arts and became happier, even 14 months after receiving the psilocybin.

Though previous research surmised that psilocybin decreased brain activity, the current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to see what was really going on. The study used 15 participants with prior positive experiences with hallucinogens to avoid a bad trip inside the enclosed machine. Some of the participants received psilocybin, while the other half received a saline placebo.

Surprisingly, the researchers saw that upon receiving psilocybin, the brain actually re-organized connections and linked previously unconnected regions of the brain. These connections were not random, but appeared very organized and stable. Once the drug wore off, the connections returned to normal.

[Svartalf]

Do depressed people sleep more than nondepressed?

I sure spend a lot of time in bed when I'm depressed, whether I'm actualy sleeping is something else altogether

[Svartalf]

Drugs are not the answer, but at least you no longer care about the question.

depends which drugs, I recall benzos doing that to me back in '91.... but it has not been much the case with other drugs I've been prescribed. Can't speak for the illegal kind, since I never tried them.

[rainbow]

Drugs are not the answer, but at least you no longer care about the question.

depends which drugs, I recall benzos doing that to me back in '91.... but it has not been much the case with other drugs I've been prescribed. Can't speak for the illegal kind, since I never tried them.

Benzodiazepines are very good for short term interventions, but tend to be prescribed for chronic anxiety. Then dependence is often an issue. Low dose tramadol can work quite well, but at higher doses it is very nasty.

[Scot Dutchy]

Drugs are not the answer, but at least you no longer care about the question.

depends which drugs, I recall benzos doing that to me back in '91.... but it has not been much the case with other drugs I've been prescribed. Can't speak for the illegal kind, since I never tried them.

Benzodiazepines are very good for short term interventions, but tend to be prescribed for chronic anxiety. Then dependence is often an issue. Low dose tramadol can work quite well, but at higher doses it is very nasty.

I used Tramadol after my knee replacement surgery. I had already used up my morphine dosage. Tramadol gave peace but being a zombie was not the way I wanted to live so I dropped it as fast as possible.

[Rum]

Drugs are not the answer, but at least you no longer care about the question.

depends which drugs, I recall benzos doing that to me back in '91.... but it has not been much the case with other drugs I've been prescribed. Can't speak for the illegal kind, since I never tried them.

Benzodiazepines are very good for short term interventions, but tend to be prescribed for chronic anxiety. Then dependence is often an issue. Low dose tramadol can work quite well, but at higher doses it is very nasty.

Beware is my advice. I was prescribed benzos when I was going through a difficult divorce in my early 30s - just before it was realised quite how addictive they were. The particularly nasty brand I was prescribed were called Ativan.

I was on them for two years - criminal in my view - and was of course hooked. My GP belatedly realised what was happening and tried to reduce the dosage but it didn't work and in the end I locked myself in my house with two bottles of whiskey and cold turkeyed it for the whole weekend. The walls melted and I had other hallucinations. One of the most dreadful experiences of my life.

They are a lot more cautious in prescribing them these days - quite rightly.

[Svartalf]

Drugs are not the answer, but at least you no longer care about the question.

depends which drugs, I recall benzos doing that to me back in '91.... but it has not been much the case with other drugs I've been prescribed. Can't speak for the illegal kind, since I never tried them.

Benzodiazepines are very good for short term interventions, but tend to be prescribed for chronic anxiety. Then dependence is often an issue. Low dose tramadol can work quite well, but at higher doses it is very nasty.

Tamadol is not a benzo, it's an opioid, and it never made me feel euphoric or anything, it just made the pain in my wrist bearable.
as for benzo, I was specifically thinking of lexomil/bromazepam and analogous substances... that was in the 90s, I've forgotten the exact substnaces, but for one.
Benzos are not all bad, xanax is excellent to deal with my anxiety attacks. but I take it only when needed, so I don't think I'm hooked as tha attacksare not a daily occurrence.

[Svartalf]

Drugs are not the answer, but at least you no longer care about the question.

depends which drugs, I recall benzos doing that to me back in '91.... but it has not been much the case with other drugs I've been prescribed. Can't speak for the illegal kind, since I never tried them.

Benzodiazepines are very good for short term interventions, but tend to be prescribed for chronic anxiety. Then dependence is often an issue. Low dose tramadol can work quite well, but at higher doses it is very nasty.

Beware is my advice. I was prescribed benzos when I was going through a difficult divorce in my early 30s - just before it was realised quite how addictive they were. The particularly nasty brand I was prescribed were called Ativan.

I was on them for two years - criminal in my view - and was of course hooked. My GP belatedly realised what was happening and tried to reduce the dosage but it didn't work and in the end I locked myself in my house with two bottles of whiskey and cold turkeyed it for the whole weekend. The walls melted and I had other hallucinations. One of the most dreadful experiences of my life.

They are a lot more cautious in prescribing them these days - quite rightly.

I hear you, Ativan (Temesta here, Lorazepam to the pharmacists) is a real zombie drug, only next to valium and rohypnol in that category.

[mistermack]

Benzos are not all bad, xanax is excellent to deal with my anxiety attacks. but I take it only when needed, so I don't think I'm hooked as tha attacksare not a daily occurrence.

Do you think it would help at the dentist? I absolutely hate the dentist these days. Not because I'm scared of any of the treatment, I'm scared of panicking. ( Ludicrous, but that's how it goes ).

Might be worth asking the doctor, if you rate it. I very rarely use any drugs, even for headaches, as I don't like the thought of getting dependent on them. But twice a year would be fairly safe, I would have thought.

[pErvinalia]

My last few LSD experiences were very distressing indeed. I doubt anyone here will take Feck's advice too literally, but as far as I am concerned it would be the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with your mind.

Yeah, I don't expect I would ever come back.