youtube about HPPD

So I made a youtube video sharing my opinions and thoughts about HPPD.

You can watch it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tzfjmxeZxM


I don't so much make this thread to discuss my HPPD video. But rather to say, if you have some time, you should make a youtube video sharing some thoughts about psychedellics, trying to get across a more positive understanding of something related to them. You know not enough positive stories of psychedellics are represented on youtube. I mean yes, tons of McKenna is on there, but having real people, doing them right now, sharing current thoughts about them right now would be a good thing.

Theres alot of people on this forum who I have found can share some incredibly good and positive thoughts about the subject, I think some of the best psychedelic minds of the web are actually centered right here in this forum. Which is awesome, it's why I come back so much. But this is kind of a small a forum, I'd personally like to see some of you try to say some things to a bigger audience. You know theres many discussions we have on here where, we type and type, and for me, come to some great new thoughts and then it just dissipates into old threads, and that feels kind of sad. If you feel like a good thought comes to you, why not push it up into a bigger domain of human communication with your face and voice behind it to give it a little more impact?

Youtube is quickly becoming, it already is, but it's like the most popular communications medium right now. With all the comments and the video responses, it's almost like a forum, but everyone in America is participating on it. There has never before been a forum, a single website, that all of America could go to and openly participate in. I think the psychedelic community should represent themselves a little more through it.

I mean not to turn this into a, lets go out and take over youtube thing. But we are sitting in a place in time and space where the psychedelic user is under incredible discrimination. If theres some central hub of communication I think it would do the psychedelic community good, on many fronts, to make positive mark on it. I mean right now you type in LSD on youtube and get a bunch of retarded videos, old propaganda films, outdated shit. A couple excerpts of Leary, but the majority of it is just nonsense. That could very easily be turned around if just a small percentage of talks on here got translated into well-spoken youtube videos, it'd leave quite a bigger ripple on the human collective.

and with that don't do it just cause I said to. Do it cause you think it's a good idea too.... if you do at all

Just wanted to share that thought.

 

that is pretty good..
There is alot of things your saying I talk about to others that dont do psychedelics.
To figure out what they see..

 

bro... i really enjoy listenin to you. i dont agree with everything you say but I think you raise some really important points.

I disagree that the tv has changed the mechanisms of our eyeball.. but I agree with the fact that as soon as the camera was invented, a whole new revolution of thinking has occured.. and introduced a whole concept of 'how the world really is' compared to our experience.. which was once the foremost identifier of 'reality'.

I also disagree that dreams come from the pineal gland.. or that the brain emits light.. but the idea that the pineal gland is a 'sensor' organ suggests that there could be some significant influence over our consciousness from this organ that we cannot properly comprahend due to its internality in our brain and the fact that it would not be responding to external environment.

i like what you say at the end about percieving reality as it is instead of through words or concepts.. and 'seeing' your art more before it occurs.. that stuff is great.. but most people dont really have the concentration or dedication to make use of such aspects of hpp'd'.

but yeh... hppd would not really have been anything describable before camera.. it would have just seemed like reality was less rigid and more suggestive

 

good idea but it's trippy your lips don't match the words

 

HPPD is yet another sad attempt at labeling a subjective state of perception as a disorder by the medical minds. Of all the people I've spoken with who claim to have perpetual visual distortions throughout sober living, maybe 3 have negative feelings about it.
As for contributing to the advancement of a psychedelic community, I cant say thats something Im interested in. I, like all of you, come here to share my experience, express my thoughts, and read others accounts. Despite my large post count here, my position as a moderator, and over obsession with psychedelic drugs (and all psychoactive drugs), I am not exactly a community type of guy and am rarely comfortable taking psychedelics with large groups of people no matter how intertwined our intentions are.
To be honest, other than the legal reprocussions that can come from being caught with these chemicals, I quite enjoy the way things are now. I find humour in the ignorance of mankind and the whole love thing never vibed me with me during these mental journeys.
To me, it's all about a balance, and I dont think it will ever be possible to integrate psychedelic drugs into an established modern society. They are too weird, too magical, and too frightening to ever become something which brings our species together on a large scale. Some of us use them for spiritual insight, others for discovering the nature of the mind, and some to enhance artwork, or music creativity, or just to make our frustrating repetitive mechanical lives more interesting for a few hours.
Having them used in either clinical or even spiritual settings might be a goal for some of you, but I can not see myself getting into that kind of setting. I can barely stand concerts and festivals as soon as the peak sets in, no matter how great the sense of freedom and acceptance.
As long as my mushrooms grow in the forest, I'll be content. I appluad anyone's efforts at bringing these drugs to the limelight but that is not my interest nor my intent behind my posts here. It's too much of a personal journey, that Id much rather enjoy in the company of cats and butterflys and dandelions.

 

gotta love those dandelions

 

They make a great salad
And dont forget the micromusic

 

D:

 

you got some really good points - points i've gone over with myself by never really attempt to publicize them.

i think i need a couple of more intense trips to gain those epiphany haha

 

Absolutely wonderfully put, bravo.

For those interested, I wrote a paper on HPPD for my psych class. The same class I wrote the paper about Ketamine for, which can be found in the Synthetic Drugs forum.

[FONT=&quot] Despite the relatively recent prohibition of and stigma against psychoactive drugs, the history of their use is at least as old as human recorded history, and probably older. Terrence McKenna, a staunch proponent of the responsible use of psychedelic drugs, even went as far as postulate that the catalyst for human evolution was one lucky ape’s accidental psilocybin experience. While it is unlikely that McKenna’s explanation of our species’ origins is correct, it is equally undeniable that altered states of consciousness played a large role in our cultural development. In fact, they continue to do so despite the millions of dollars being spent to prevent people from acquiring them.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Many human societies feature a figure known as a shaman. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines a Shaman as “a person who acts as intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds, using magic to cure illness, foretell the future, control spiritual forces, etc.” They were the spiritual and religious leaders of their community, and often offered advice and played a pivotal role in social rites such as a person’s coming of age. Since exploring the “natural and supernatural worlds” and what lies between was part of the Shaman’s duty, they often induced altered states of consciousness in themselves. Of course, they lacked the understanding of such alterations that modern Westerners have. The plants they used were seen as a literal way of exploring the supernatural world. The Mazatec Indians of modern day Mexico used a plant called Salvia divinorum for spiritual purposes. Some hypothesized that the ancient Greek Elysian mysteries involved ingesting ergot, or another plant that contained chemical analogs to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Even today, many Native Americans partake in the ritual use of peyote, which contains mescaline. And a variety of mushrooms have been shown to induce alterations in consciousness, the most well known belonging to the genus Psilocybe. However, many people are unaware that an even more common mushroom contains psychoactive chemicals and has a long history of use: Amanita muscaria. Many cultures have hosted “mushroom cults” that worshipped these fungi and ingested them in order to gain wisdom and insight.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Today there exist a wide variety of hallucinogenic drugs, some natural and some synthetic. Most of them are illegal in the United States, partially due to the residual Puritanism that has blessed our society since the New World was “discovered” by the Europeans. But there are legitimate concerns about the use of hallucinogenic drugs, such as the actions a person may take under the influence. There is also a small chance of developing Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder, or HPPD. Essentially, HPPD is the persistence of the hallucinatory state after the effects of the drug that induced it should have worn off. It is not difficult to see how this could be problematic and distressful for the individuals affected by the disorder. Unfortunately, very little is known about HPPD. There are a variety of reasons for this. It is notoriously difficult to study the neurological mechanisms of the brain. The task is daunting enough as it is, and the difficulties are compounded by the fact that a prerequisite for an HPPD diagnosis is the use of hallucinogens. Since most of them are illegal, people are often reluctant to report their use of them honestly. This makes it difficult to diagnose a person with HPPD, because if they have it and lie about whether they’ve taken any hallucinatory drugs, they will never be diagnosed properly unless they come clean or are caught in their lie. Basic research requires money, and it is difficult to get funding to research HPPD because of the controversy regarding recreational drug use. Another reason it’s difficult to diagnose HPPD is that all other disorders must be ruled out first. Since drug use can lead to the development of schizophrenia (in genetically vulnerable individuals) and other disorders, the task of distinguishing between HPPD and another disorder with similar symptoms that was still caused by drug use is difficult. One must rely on the patient’s description of the symptoms. It is not likely that HPPD will be mistaken for schizophrenia, or vice-versa, unless the patient lies about his or her drug use. This is because we now know that the symptoms of schizophrenia and very different from the effects of many hallucinogens.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Since research on HPPD is so sparse, the best way to understand the neurological aspects of the disorder is to understand the pharmacological mechanisms used by hallucinogens. There are three core types of hallucinogens: Lysergic acid derivates such as LSD, phenlyalkyamines such as mescaline, and indolealkylamines such as psilocybin. (Carvey 1998: 359) The perceptual alterations induced by LSD include “Kaleidoscopic alterations in colors, shapes, and sizes … Hallucinations in all senses … afterimages on moving objects … synesthesias [the crossing of senses] … enhanced auditory sense.” (Carvey) Since many of these alterations coincide with the symptoms of HPPD, it is reasonable to assume the cause of HPPD is the same as the neurological mechanisms that result in an LSD “trip.” LSD is a selective postsynaptic 5HT (serotonin) agonist. There are a variety of 5HT receptors, but not all of them are involved in LSD induced hallucinations. It is postulated that LSD affects 5HT2 receptors, but given the complexity of the serotonergic system, this is but a tentative guess. We are slightly more confident that LSD affects the “neocortex, limbic structures and brainstem, where 5HT2 receptors are more dense.” (Carvey) Even more ambiguous is the role of dopamine in drug induced hallucinations. Some amphetamines are capable of inducing hallucinations, which indicates excessive dopamine can be a cause for hallucinations. However, dopamine antagonists do not inhibit the hallucinations induced by LSD, so that neurotransmitter cannot be responsible for them.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] One explanation for HPPD is “a reduced capacity to inhibit after images.” (Carvey 366) In order for novel stimuli to be perceived affectively, the nervous system must inhibit the activity brought about by old stimuli; without said inhibition, “current sensations entering the system will be co-interpreted with those that occurred just moments ago.” This is a likely explanation for the “trail” effect often seen in users of hallucinogens and people suffering from HPPD. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Given the dearth of information regarding HPPD, it is understandably difficult to treat. One of the most effective methods doesn’t involve medication at all: the psychological habituation of the visuals. The idea is to have the person become so used to the hallucinations that they scarcely even notice them, let alone become distressed because of them. Pharmacological treatments for the disorder have met with less success. An atypical antipsychotic called Risperidone has actually exacerbated some patient’s HPPD. It is a dopamine antagonist, but it also affects some serotonin receptors, including 5HT2C and 5HT2A, the same receptor subtype LSD affects.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] HPPD affects a very small percentage of drug users. It is unknown whether some individuals have a genetic vulnerability, but the likelihood of HPPD increases as the dose and frequency of use increases. But people have become afflicted with HPPD after a single use. It is unfortunate that so little is known about the disorder, because we are incapable of knowing what to fix if we don’t know what’s broken.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Works Cited[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risperidone#Pharmacology[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Drug Action in the Central Nervous System[/FONT][FONT=&quot] – Paul M. Carvey[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Clinical Guide to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Disorders[/FONT][FONT=&quot] – Michael B. First and Allan Tasman.[/FONT]

 

in future, dont reference wikipedia!
its got real references at the bottom of the page

 

If the brain doesn't emit light, where does the illumination of the internal space and vision come from then? I'd agree that the brain isn't the source of light, but certainly it must be what routes the light into visual formation.

And it's not so much that I think the dreams come from the pineal glande. But that rather, you see them through the pineal glande. I meant that as very literal, the pineal glande is a third eyeball, it physiologically is an eyeball in the center of your head. And I didn't think that just off of medical jargon, the middle point in my head is where I focus energy on in meditation to intensify visuals. Like I can feel it right in the middle of my head, thats the central point of internal vision.

As for the TV. It might of gone back way farther than TV to when the mind started to develop into concrete vision. I mean, it easily could of gone all the way back to just the first observational drawing. But like all things, vision had to develop out of necessity. The eyeball, I don't believe started out as rigid, it couldn't have, it had develop. Even if this goes all the way back to cave man paintings, or even if it had absolutely nothing to do with paintings or cameras. There was a point where the contents of our visual perception were not set down in stone, it was still developing, still taking into account that which would offer evolutionary advantage. And like biology itself, our visual perception had to of started kind of squishy and unrigid. Even if it's not possible to know the exact causes of the development of the eye, the way we see today is still something we learned over years of evolutionary development. I only pay particular attention to cameras and TV in that because, those are things that seem to hold the human mind most rigid and disallowing of explorations in visual perception.

 

I don't know if I'd so much wanna popularize psychedellics as I would rather just like to see the subject become more open. Theres a stigma to it's discussion. I find even in some of my friends that I know, theres a fear to say what is believed to be crazy by someone elses standards. But thats prolly just due to my current position and placement on earth right now.

I don't think they will ever become integrated either. It will only ever be a small percentage that circles around them.

 

I hear ya Ry. I guess Im just a smile and nod type when it comes to psychedelics.

 

routes light?
The nerves in your eye are excited by photons. They absorb the photons, which interact with certain proteins.. changing their electrical state, which results in a formational change of the molecule, which leads to a change of the function of the cell, which leads to an electrical potential change on the nerve.. and at that point, the light is no longer important at all in vision.

Similar nerves, which contain photo-sensitive proteins, have been found in the pineal gland.

what they are there for.. is unknown by science. most accepted interpretation is as a sort of 'appendix'-like aspect

possibly it receives light from other parts of the brain.. except no parts of the brain have been shown to emit visible light (within the range of the photoreceptive cells)

 

Could it be an old evolutionary feature that no longer serves a purpose? The earliest forms of vision involved organs that were able to sense the presence or absence of light, and nothing more.

 

Theories include - detecting the presence of the sun (since the pineal gland is intimately related with sleep cycles) from general/non directional light

 

But have they actually managed to stick an electrode into the pineal glande of a living being to see if any sort of photonic activity is occuring? Somehow light is still getting to us even in pitch black, it has to be coming from an internal source.

I'm thinking if thought activity is electrical, if the brain operates on electrical energy, there has to be some light given off from it, somehow.

 

What light is getting to us in pitch black?

 

If I say the light of creation, would you laugh?