LSD curing depression/Social anxiety?

Up until I tried LSD I was extremely anti-social and felt anxiety when I was around a lot of people but afterwards I'm way more outgoing and social. :sunny:

I'm asking if maybe anyone else has experienced something like this? I think it had something to do with the revelations I had while I was tripping and how they made me believe we were all one.

If so I have a friend who doesnt get out much because he's utterly afraid of talking to anybody other than me and his family...I want him to try it out and see if it might help.

Thanks for reading

-Peace-

 

No LSD makes me more socially closed off after, it very well may help with depression though.

 

To me it's been sort of the opposite, but I think that's more from my cannabis intake. I have heard of this working for some people, though.

 

Different drugs affect people differently... I know lsd was always a fun drug for me, and I had ZERO anxiety issues when I was on it... However... something that was even more amazing was extasy...

Social anxiety totally disappeared, mood swings stabalized, paranoia disappeared, anger disappeared... leaving a happy level headed person behind who never experienced such prior to it.... until it wore off...

 

I have social anxiety, it was bad enough at it's worst that I had to drop out of university for 2 years. LSD helped me get over much of it, get back into school, and graduate . Short term, LSD can make it worse, because it depletes serotonin, dopamine, and other brain chemicals due to it's mechanism of action, so in the days following a trip you may feel a little down, strung out, and this of course exacerbates anxiety / social isolation. However in the long run it can give you life changing epiphanies that have real world implications, like in my case. I feel without LSD I would be 50lbs heavier right now, unemployed, high school degree, depressed, much more closed-minded . . . etc

I think your friend should definitely look into it OP. Just remember it can take many exposures in different doses, sets and settings before the right things click into place strongly enough. Tripping is an organic process.

 

I would probably be dead without it,as I was a dangerous alcoholic. But if he tries this--you should be there to guide him and make sure set and setting are amenable to a learning experience and not some trip where he can get overwhelmed by his surroundings or "get lost". I've had to remind some travelers that they have taken it--and it will be OK. They usually just immediately said something like--"oh yeah--right" and were back and ready to continue in a more productive way.

 

Lord knows it saved my life. I would probably have killed myself years ago if it haden't been for the intervention of psychedelic drugs to my youthful folly of philsophy. Although it doesn't work for everyone, it's certainly an option to take very seriously. Just make sure your friend is aware of what it does of course. Wouldn't want a person to be under the impression that LSD gives you visions of brilliant lights and colors and makes you aware of the presence of a One thing that sounds like God, without knowing that it also is nonsense and absurdist to the extreme, that does not sit well with certain peoples sense of humor... A lot of times it's not very funny at all, though this of course doesn't usually occur with low doses.

 

Dude I don't know about that. I got that feeling as one thing with my experience and I feel a little more open with people because I feel were of the same nature no matter what we do.... But you could really screw up his life... has he done weed? I think that could help with less of any potential side effect, cas LSD could screw with him for awhile and make him feel more outcasted from such a unique experience.

I've been pretty depressed, and LSD helped, and didn't. I got sent into another world, then I came back to old life. I'm bored with normal life in a sense, my ambition increased, which means I have high expectations of life now... But in a way that's kind of good. But the experience was most certainly one I learned more from than I could have done in a year sober. I think it's something everyone should try at least once in their lives.

At the same time tho, if your set on doing this LSD thing to help him. PLEASE BE THERE WITH HIM, and warn him ahead of time, I think if he were to read up on it he could have a better experience.

 

Wow really cool responses to come home to. Thanks for the input.

So I showed him this page just to see what he thought a few minutes ago and he thinks that just by having the courage to try something new in general might help with the social anxiety. The stories about it saving people's lives is pretty interesting too. He said it gave him some hope as far as his possible* depression goes.

& Yea-Black Lotus-he's smoked weed and it makes him feel extremely anti-social around new people so as of a few months ago he quit. But yea, I'll definitely show him what I read up on before my first trip just so he has a general idea of what to expect...I mean he's done shrooms a few times and he had a good time on those. Hasn't had a bad trip yet.

I'm going to definitely be there when he does it but should I be a trip-sitter and just be straight or should I trip with him? He says I should but I'm not 100% sure that I should because the first time I tripped right before my peak we had a fire in our building and had to run out with hella cops, an ambulance, and a firetruck...lol if I didnt have my friend Jb there I would've started crying because it was so intense to imagine what was going on inside and (knowing it could cause a bad trip) she instantly took me and my other friend C (also tripping) to a Safeway where we sat around staring at magazines until they all left.

I know this wont happen again but I feel like just the 2 of us tripping could turn sour if things get bad and nobody is there to calm us. I'm sort of confident in my ability to control my trip and just ride the wave but after only tripping twice...well that's not much to go off of haha.

Any suggestions or thoughts?


Oh and another quick question...Does anybody else feel more normal or clear when they trip than when they aren't tripping? When I started to peak it felt like (metaphorically speaking) splashing cold water on my face during a hot day and I had this overwhelming feeling of clarity and it just felt normal.

-Peace-

 

The following days of a trip, after I've rested, ate some food, and cleaned myself up it's definitely something that heightens your mood especially the first trip. And since you've mentioned your friend has already tried shrooms twice I feel it's worth a shot if you be smart and prepare reasonably.

As far as tripping partners go, my second time I dropped I had to "trip sit" a friend whom took 4 hits, a high dose for him, and I, 2 doses which is manageable for me. I continually kept tabs on him and when he was really out of it at some points, nothing is more comforting than getting someone who hasn't spoken a word in hours to relax and enjoy the trip.

I was also with two girls that time and the group setting made everyone feel safe. I tripped with 3 people my first time and it was the perfect dynamic. If you have another close friend who is not unfamiliar with Acid and you both trip sit your friend, I can't see anything going horribly wrong. Unless of course your trip is interrupted by fire alarms again.

 

Here you go, 5: words from people who've taken a lot of psychedelics for a lot of years and devoted huge energy to guiding and healing: http://www.maps.org/secretchief/sctoc.html

Most people who are serious about guiding would say do it straight. Others say take a low sensitizing dose (enough to be sensitive to and resonant with the other person's trip).

Like others, I've had remarkable healing experiences with LSD. Wise attention to set and setting increases the likelihood of positive vs. negative experience.

 

for some people it could help, and for others it could hurt

if you really wanted to do things the safe way, therapy and maybe meditation would be a better route

also, just hanging out with people that can accept that he has social anxiety could help. if he feels like he can tell people around him that he has anxiety, he'll probably feel less anxiety

 

I liked what thismoment said. If he said what I think he did. So maybe try just doing one hit, while he's doing like 2-3 or whatever. (If he's done shrooms he might even be interested in more) that way you can relate to him a lot, and you'll be more in control if something were to happen.

That's an epic story btw!! the building on fire!! haha that would have been insane!

 

Haha once again thanks for the responses. It's getting him really excited and in a pretty good mood overall. I just keep telling him to be really excited for the 22nd :sunny:

lol yea Black_Lotus I kept saying, "omg it's fate! we were meant to go outside and explore the world!" right after we started to appreciate the street lights/different 'waves' & colors in Seattle. haha good times.

But I'm definitely going to take that advice and just do like 2 depending on this new batch..when I did 4 I had trouble speaking clearly after a while (but I could write like a poet for some reason) so 2 should be legit.

He plans on buying 3-4 but we're going to have him do 2 at first and see how that is. But since it's a new batch we're going to wait this weekend out and ask some friends what they thought of it.

Oh and thanks a lot for that link thismoment. Now I have something cool to check out tonight :2thumbsup:

-Peace-

 

Well,my opinion is that you should not take any while he is on a first trip. Why take the chance that some unforseen event could take place with no one straight? If set and setting are comfortable for him-say-a place where there will be no interuptions-(people not involved showing up in the "middle" of a trip can be extremely disconcerting,particularly for a first timer)--music is available and he is safe,then If I were you ,I would just attend him and let his mind run where it wants to go. But be there if he needs you. I have no idea what the current status is on LSD purity. All I know is what I remember about what I took in the 60s-70s-and it was REALLY mind bending. Anyway,that's my opinion. Remember Murphy's Law.

 

Keep in mind that THC is verified as being able to induce the most hellacious panic attacks and paranoia. People given pure THC with no other cannabinoids (sp)almost ALWAYS have a very unpleasant experience and paranoia and panick attacks. So good your friend quite smoking.
LSD not so much.

I think weed/THC is probably one of the most underrated substances in regards to inducing "bad trips" with or without psychedelics. By far my worst anxiety and almost delusional paranoid thoughts have always been from weed. The most agonizing self-inspections have always come from mushrooms, The Great Accuser, I call 'em.

We all know that LSD therapy was making great strides before the plug on research was pulled.

Found this as I was perusing my links today;
"Could an Acid Trip Cure Your OCD?"
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/ju...-cure-your-ocd/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C=

 

That is because "weed" covers a lot of variety... To start with there are actually multiple different plants, plus the multitude of crosses between them as well as bred mutations... Then there is the fact that how it is grown, harvested, cured, and treated afterwards can have a dramatic effect on what it does to someone. Then of course there is the fact that indivuduals react different to different aspects of it...

A person who is experienced in smoking identified weed and paying attention to it all, can from a simple look, describe what effect the bud will have on them and how it will effect the typical person.

Any type of bad trip from weed, is usually from smoking the wrong type for you, minus cases of tampering and such.

 

Yup, been smoking for 38 years now, totally understand what your saying, but....
Has to do with the ratio's of THC to other cannabinoids.

I personally prefer Indica's over Sativa's because Sativa's tend to put me in the "paranoid" state more readily than Indica's do.
But I also love the psychedelic effects of a high THC content sativa. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.

Studies using pure THC are another matter, with most people having a very unpleasant time with it. One of the reasons synthetics by the pharmaceutical companies have failed miserably when compared to the natural product. There is something special about the mix of THC and other cannabanoids that they just can't mimic synthetically.

 

try early harvested indica...

 

You mean before the THC starts to degrade into other cannabinoids?

I have and I love really super fresh weed, the most psychedelic of all
Also have had it when it was picked, cured, wrapped up in sticks and transported across the ocean, so about 9 months passed before I got to sample it. Damn good but hella stony.

Back to the topic at hand, Yes psychedelic therapy can and does do wonders, but are you really qualified to lead your friend on such a journey? I guess that depends on just how severe his anxiety and other issues are.
I would advise a cautious approach.