[anon192831]

It's not just hitting the vacuum tube. If one just trips for the sake of tripping, then there is not much to be gained except for several hours of happy serotonin hits in the brain.

However, what we know about psychs is that there is a huge release of BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) and a shutdown of the DMN.

The BDNF enables a ton of new neural connections to be built. It's like you have about 6-8 hours of a period where your brain plasticity goes back to that of an infant, just absorbing everything. So in this accelerated learning state, it's possible to work through one's emotions.

So it makes sense to prepare for several weeks to receive therapy and to outline goals and memories to revisit to process them during this heightened period. Then when the drug wears off, you're still left with the new neural connectivity and perspectives and the other benefits that were derived from the session.

Rather than hitting the vacuum tube, this is more like re-running the radio scanner in your car to find radio stations when you've moved over to a new city and the old radio stations are now out of range while one isn't tuned to the current set of radio stations.

[cc81]

>If one just trips for the sake of tripping, then there is not much to be gained except for several hours of happy serotonin hits in the brain.

Which is perfectly ok and probably preferable for most who waste trips by thinking that you must think deep and just get uncomfortable.

And while obviously there are results where people make large changes my own experience about those people is that a lot of insights are like New Years Eves resolutions said when drunk and happy; the change or insight goes away when a short time has passed.

[carapace]

> So it makes sense to prepare for several weeks to receive therapy and to outline goals and memories to revisit to process them during this heightened period. Then when the drug wears off, you're still left with the new neural connectivity and perspectives and the other benefits that were derived from the session.

The you're describing sounds great. All I'm saying is, a sweat lodge (for example) can take the place of the drug. The "magic" is in the "set and setting" not the pill.

[_lacroix]

Yes, I would be very curious as to your sources for this. I did medically supervised psychedelic treatment; I found the setting rather unpleasant because it took place in a doctor's office and one of the many anxieties I was treating was a lifelong phobia of germs and anything medical. This was a far cry from a sweat lodge or from recreational psychedelic experiences I've had with friends in nature etc. I did not enjoy all of my trips and some were hardly even reflective experiences because they caused me so much anxiety in the moment, yet I got massive psychological benefits from them nonetheless.

[mistermann]

I'm curious what you base this opinion on. Are you just describing your personal experience, or are you saying this applies to everyone?

[_lacroix]

This is how my doctor explained psychedelic therapy to me - it triggers a massive release in BDNF that stimulates neuroplasticity, which allows for long term changes to occur. The trip itself can be a catalyst for reflective experiences that help with the growth of positive new neural circuitry but it is by no means the most important aspect of the treatment. In the case of ketamine, which is what I did, the release of BDNF continues for hours after the trip ends.