Discussion
I tried reading this guys book but it just seems like nonsense. Have you ever tried psychedelics?
I really want to read ‘how to change your mind’
Nah, grew up around alcoholics and a drug user (different types of drugs, but still) so I’m completely put off of both. Also too afraid it would have me relive moments with the monsters from my past 🫂 i only dip into that drawer when making art, listening to music or writing. The possible loss of control of that drawer scares me a lot. I think he’s right, it’s definitely not for everyone, and I think we’ve all got something dark, so I suppose you’d have to be willing to possibly face it again. That being said, I’m definitely open to it being a drug of choice that works for others who use it and do their due diligence. What about you? 🫂
There was a podcast I listened to where a bitcoiner talked about his experience going to Mexico (I think) and taking a psychedelic. It was done in this hospital setting and they were monitoring him trying to make sure he has a “safe trip.” But he had a bad reaction to it and got super paranoid. He thought they were aliens or something and that they were going to kill him. He started planning his escape while they were trying to keep him there long enough for the trip to end so he doesn’t hurt himself. I don’t remember the episode title but i believe it was on what Bitcoin did. It was pretty funny but in the end, after he came to his senses, he had a new and profound appreciation for life. The problem is that people who try psychedelics misattribute where their benefits are coming from. Our brains are like balances, if you push down on one side of the scale, then the other side goes up. But it can’t stay that way, it has to return to equilibrium. And the balance is regulated by dopamine. If you press down on the pleasure side, then your sensitivity to pain will increase. If you press down on pain, then your sensitivity to pleasure will increase. This is why food tastes so much better after being hungry for a really long time. And this is why eating the same delicious ice cream starts to make you nauseous after the 3rd bowl. People often say that the most difficult life experiences were the most beneficial to them. This is what I think is happening to people that take psychedelics like ayahuasca and have intense trips. They’re basically inducing a lot of discomfort which raises their sensitivity to pleasure. That’s why they feel so much better after the trip ends. Looking at the sky becomes a pleasurable experience. A refugee of war that survives and finds a new home will appreciate the little things in life. While someone who was pampered his whole life will have his day ruined if the internet goes down for an hour. In modern society, we are so addicted to dopamine that any discomfort is extremely intolerable and this makes us need higher levels of stimulation and pleasure just to feel content. So our baseline for happiness keeps increasing because our dopamine sensitivity is fried. Dopamine is the human equivalent of a difficulty adjustment. And you can create discomfort in your own life to raise your sensitivity for pleasure by doing things like taking a cold shower, working out, sitting in silence, meditating, etc. A runner’s high is a good example of this. Running puts your body under a lot of discomfort but there are people who reach a state of bliss after running for a long time. Their brains have adapted to the discomfort and become highly sensitive to dopamine. Pretty crazy but that’s what is happening. This is also why sex is a better experience after you delay it. The tension is uncomfortable and makes your dopamine more sensitive, so when you finally have sex it feels a lot better. Your brain is constantly trying to find equilibrium with dopamine levels. In some cases, you can argue that depression is the result of low dopamine sensitivity. Psychedelics can be helpful at making a dramatic change in that dopamine balance because the experience is so intense and uncomfortable. And once you start it, you can’t stop. Someone that tries to do a cold plunge has the option of exiting at anytime. But the psychedelic experience has to be completed. If you have brainrot from dopamine maxing on TikTok, junk food, and porn with no self discipline, then a psychedelic might be a quick shortcut to reset your brain chemistry. But it’s not necessary if you can just put yourself in uncomfortable situations that are not dangerous. And if you go back to the same unbalanced dopamine maxing lifestyle, your problems will eventually return. That’s my understanding of psychedelics.
Paragraphs please 😂 but I do agree.
I get a lot out of struggle and I build it into my life. In exercise. In endeavor. Even in recreation. Purposely create difficult situations that make me struggle and upon completion really appreciate what I have. It’s a hack for me.
It’s a powerful hack. People don’t understand how much better they’ll feel after taking a miserable cold shower.
Paragraphs next time 😅
this is just the stretching argument retooled.
actual life is more complicated man.
How so?
"They’re basically inducing a lot of discomfort which raises their sensitivity to pleasure"
as if psychedelics were just dopamine prompts/antagonists.
like stretching is just being uncomfortable and then being comfortable again.
extremely simplistic.
I completely agree, and I find it so cringe whenever I hear people talk about psychedelics on podcasts.
It's like they're so oblivious to the fact that yes obviously doing drugs makes you feel something very intensely, but so what? That's nothing new. And yet they go on and on about metaphysical effects as if it's actually real, rather than just as you say, putting their body through something very unnatural and coming out the other side with a bit of a reset perspective.
But to be fair, I do subscribe to the idea that every plant on the planet is the exact right medicine for something, it's just a question of knowing which medicine to use for a particular illness. And obviously you don't take medicine every day, or when you don't need it, or a for a disease that you don't have.
So I will say fair play to them, if you've found the right medicine to take for a particular condition and it helps, amazing. But I think too many people self prescribe that medicine to themselves just to feel good, and that is simply drug abuse, nothing more.
Like weed, yes it stimulates your dopamine receptors like crazy, and that is definitely the required treatment (in tiny moderation) for something. But it's not a healthy lifestyle, as you'll just burn out your dopamine receptors and they'll be harder and harder to activate (literally hardened). And then you'll never ever more extreme stimulation to feel anything.
But people who are addicted will get angry when you tell them that, because they are literally dependent on the substance to boost their dopamine levels, so they get angry if they feel their dependency might be taken away from them.
Anyway bit of rant, but hopefully you see what I mean. Yes it's all useful and medicinal for something, but that doesn't mean that everyone should just be self prescribing dopamine hits to themselves as if that's a healthy way to go through life.
Well said! I have a few friends that have been smoking weed every day for 10 years but “can quit weed anytime” because it’s totally not addicting 😂
But yeah I agree there is a time and place for everything. I think an ayuahsca trip can be really helpful for someone that is really fucked up. But it’s not this magical thing that fixes your life and gives you purpose. Some people I know take shrooms weekly and still have crippling anxiety and other problems because it’s being used irresponsibly.