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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Jimmyboy on January 9, 2007, at 14:19:28
Thought this was interesting
http://www.anxietyinsights.info/magic_mushrooms_could_help_anxiety_disorders_and_depression.htm
Wondering if anyone had any experiences or comments on this..JB
Posted by nolvas on January 9, 2007, at 15:22:24
In reply to Controversial treatment for depression/anxiety, posted by Jimmyboy on January 9, 2007, at 14:19:28
I would be extremely wary of using hallucinogens as a treatment for anxiety. A bad trip is especially bad for someone suffering an anxiety disorder. Imagine 12 or even 24 hours of pure hell and there's nothing you can do to stop it. In 1996 my friends and I picked over the course of a few months several thousand magic mushrooms (active component psilocybin). A few of us suffered some pretty intense and terrible bad trips, usually our own fault though. My friend took 300 mushrooms and had an amazing trip, then as soon as he came down he took approx another 300 and had to be hospitalised, he was shutting and opening his eyes and didn't know if they were closed or open, was just totally freaked out and petrified. It took him 3 months to recover.
I would advise extreme caution if anyone wants to experiment with mushrooms.
Posted by Declan on January 9, 2007, at 17:58:57
In reply to Controversial treatment for depression/anxiety, posted by Jimmyboy on January 9, 2007, at 14:19:28
There are certainly times when a trip is followed by a deep sense of resolution and sanity.
Anyway that happened to me once.
It didn't last very long though.
These chemicals deserve a lot of respect, especially from the vulnerable.
Posted by blueberry1 on January 10, 2007, at 18:35:06
In reply to Controversial treatment for depression/anxiety, posted by Jimmyboy on January 9, 2007, at 14:19:28
I would not trust a hallucinogenic mushroom for anxiety or depression. Too likely to cause paranoia. And too difficult to get the doses right. Not to mention variations in power from shroom to shroom or batch to batch.
Mushrooms do have respectable power. The popular mushroom in healthfood stores called Reishi is calming to the mind. Helps cause relaxation and slows down a racing mind. I read somewhere about a doctor who prescribes st johns wort, but that he always combines it with Reishi. He said st johns wort alone is not usually good enough for anxiety or bipolar depression, and that Reishi gives it the power it lacks. Good for overall anxiety. For energy and pep there is Cordyceps.
Posted by Declan on January 10, 2007, at 20:10:26
In reply to Re: Controversial treatment for depression/anxiety, posted by blueberry1 on January 10, 2007, at 18:35:06
Really Blueberry?
The interesting thing in this is that reishi is said to lower IgE and therefore settles down the immune system.
Maybe there is a connection with mood, as was said on the main board?
Posted by Declan on January 10, 2007, at 22:38:31
In reply to Controversial treatment for depression/anxiety, posted by Jimmyboy on January 9, 2007, at 14:19:28
101 today (apparently).
LSD and Hydergine.
Posted by fayeroe on January 11, 2007, at 16:38:42
In reply to Controversial treatment for depression/anxiety, posted by Jimmyboy on January 9, 2007, at 14:19:28
hi, JB....i'm a photographer and have been working on a book on Indian rodeo. i am very familiar with mushrooms.
this is not something that a person wants to try for anxiety and depression. i'm very close to a lot of Navajoes and they never, ever use mushrooms (peyote) unless it is closely supervised.
i've been offered opportunities several times and it was always going to be heavily supervised by several medicine men.
i haven't done it and probably won't and i certainly don't think it is something to be taken lightly........
Posted by teejay on January 11, 2007, at 19:24:53
In reply to Controversial treatment for depression/anxiety, posted by Jimmyboy on January 9, 2007, at 14:19:28
A fascinating article jimmyboy, thanks for posting it.
I too am in the camp which says don't mess with these things. I took them lots of times in my youth but now with my mental health as it is, I just don't think the outcome could be predicted.
I recall a bad trip I had once. I'd done plenty of magic mushrooms one night and was watching the film "rollerball" with bert reynolds. I recall seeing the scene in the showers where he is being beaten senseless. It was hilarious, or so I thought at the time then all of a sudden I realised I was laughing at this guy getting beaten and it sent me into a right bad trip. Horrible experience.
TJ
Posted by Jimmyboy on January 12, 2007, at 16:47:55
In reply to Re: Controversial treatment for depression/anxiety, posted by teejay on January 11, 2007, at 19:24:53
Thanks for the replies, I actually was not considering or promoting mushrooms for anyone mentally ill, I just thought it was an interesting article. I too had tried them when I was younger. The thing that struck me when I took them , was
1. That it was amazing how such a small amount of substance can turn you senses and world upside down
2. That everything was deep and amazing, only to be let down when you come off of them and realize how mundane and everyday your new "insights" were.
Gracias
JB
Posted by fayeroe on January 12, 2007, at 18:32:25
In reply to Re: Controversial treatment for depression/anxiety, posted by Jimmyboy on January 12, 2007, at 16:47:55
i didn't think that you meant people should use them, i just threw my info in in case someone who was naive about them would know they are serious......thanks, pat
Posted by linkadge on January 13, 2007, at 21:54:00
In reply to Re: Controversial treatment for depression/anxiety » Jimmyboy, posted by fayeroe on January 12, 2007, at 18:32:25
Psychedellic compounds may have utility in obsessive compusive disorders.
If you block the 5-ht2a/c receptors, then SSRI's usually loose their antiobsesive qualities.
A number of hallucinogens are potent 5-ht2a/c receptor agonists. Esp mescaline.
People with OCD lack insight. There is a problem with overactivation of the frontal cortex, and underactivation of the parietal lobes (awareness).
The two work on kind of a yin-yang. Typically the frontal cortex disenguages and the paretal lobes kick in, upon completion of a task, to asess the overall significance of the action, without this shift, the action never seems complete.Im theory, the psychedellics can help ocd by activating gabaergic currents in the frontal cortex via 5-ht2a/c, and by activating the paretial lobes, to restore the delicate ballance between the two.
Anyhow, psychedellic experiences are not restricted to psychedellics. Just like there are endogenious amphetamines, there are endogenious psychedellics like tryptamine.The use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors are mildly psychedellic in that they potentiate the activity of tryptamine.
Perhaps the higher efficacy of the MAOI's in OCD has to do with their potentiation of trace amines like the serotonin agonist tryptamine?
Linkadge
Posted by Quintal on January 15, 2007, at 16:23:45
In reply to Re: Controversial treatment for depression/anxiety, posted by linkadge on January 13, 2007, at 21:54:00
I'd wondered that myself linkadge. I assume endogenous psychedelic compounds like DMT might be slightly activated by a powerful MAOI.
I have an Amanita Pantherina mushroom in my cupboard but I'm wary of using it. One of the active ingredients, muscimol, is a GABA-A agonist similar to zolpidem (Ambien) which can induce lucid dream-like hallucinations too (I've had them myself featuring elves).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscimol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZolpidemPsilocybin mushrooms can also help with body dysmorphic disorder:
http://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/references/journal/1996_haynes_kr_1.shtml
Q
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