[cess11]

"Thirdly; this particular drug is not just mind altering, it is life altering."

Why do you think that? In my experience most people that have used LSD changed little in their lives because of it. Looking back at the sixties, a lot of the people who dosed heavily then went on to work for the man or otherwise become very ordinary citizens.

[zelon88]

That's true, and those people probably went on to live happier, more full, more wholesome lives than if they had never taken LSD.

The first time I took LSD it unlocked a level of thinking that I was not capable of before. For example, other people's perspectives. I fell down such a deep rabbit hole of contemplating other people's feelings and perspectives that I could literally (in that moment) FEEL other people's feelings. Obviously that is the drugs talking, and it didn't really happen like that. But in the same way that I really did see the wood grain in my coffee table bubbling like a witches cauldron, I also really did have a deep, meaningful, impactful thinking session about other people's perspective.

So when you "come down" you kind of get to keep that fullness of appreciation. The need to now consider other people is there, and your brain is fully aware how important it is now. The experience of appreciating things deeply stays with you somehow.

[neom]

You don't believe there are people out there who can feel other peoples feelings without drugs?

[zelon88]

I can't tell if this is ad hominem or not. Obviously empathy exists, but this is a much, much different level of empathy.

I think that if someone has experienced this drug they would have had the permanent, noticable shift in thinking and perception that I described. That shift would have precluded them from thinking someone without first hand experience could relate. I could sit here trying to explain the experience for hours what experience could do for them in 10 minutes.

[neom]

I am talking about feeling other peoples feelings, you walk into a room and someone in that room feels your feeling literally as if it was theirs. Not empathy. I presume you are either unaware this is a thing or, don't believe this is a thing? It's typically one of the two. Some people have it strongly, some people don't seem to have it at all. Emotional Contagion is a good book although I don't think that is what it is, there is also this but I also don't think this is what it is https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15217330/ - I have know one person who has what you described happening to a high enough degree she struggles in public, although you'd never really be able to tell except she is a bit "odd" I guess.

[cess11]

Why do you think that?

What you're describing is one small part of becoming an adult, to start thinking about other people and caring about how they see the world. How old were you at the time? Did you grow up in an environment where your gender/class/whatever is taught to keep feelings hidden in public? Is there some other reason you weren't taught as a kid that it is important to be considerate and caring?

Such experiences can be quite deceptive, you know. One of my first LSD dealers thought he was being empathetic while tripping but he actually just ruminated on his own views and reinforced his own misconceptions about other people. The experience also gave him a feeling of superiority dressed up as self-perceived wisdom. At raves I met other people affected in the same way, and I found them rather insufferable. MDMA as well as other 5-HT2a-agonists can have a similar effect unless paired with therapeutic activities and careful self-reflection.