LSD was in the news!
Some New Research On LSD
I'm not sure that I've talked about it much on my blog here, but I love LSD.
It's not every day that LSD trends on Facebook. And hell, since discovering Steemit, it's not every day that I visit Facebook!
So when I got on Facebook today to send a friend of mine a message, I was excited to find that a piece of news based on a study of LSD was trending.
Yeah, No Shit!
Anybody who has taken a strong dose of LSD knows that it affects semantic networks.
But, I know scientists are in the business of stating the obvious at times. With that in mind, I pulled a few of the articles that people had posted.
"Results showed that while LSD does not affect reaction times," explains lead author Neiloufar Family, "people under LSD made more mistakes that were similar in meaning to the pictures they saw." For example, when people saw a picture of a car, they would accidentally say 'bus' or 'train' more often under LSD than under placebo. This indicates that LSD seems to effect the mind's semantic networks, or how words and concepts are stored in relation to each other. When LSD makes the network activation stronger, more words from the same family of meanings come to mind.
The results from this experiment can lead to a better understanding of the neurobiological basis of semantic network activation. Neiloufar Family explains further implication: "These findings are relevant for the renewed exploration of psychedelic psychotherapy, which are being developed for depression and other mental illnesses. The effects of LSD on language can result in a cascade of associations that allow quicker access to far away concepts stored in the mind."
(http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-08-lsd-effects-language.html)
I wanted to add a little bit of context from the subjective experience of an experienced user.
Often times the wrong name for a thing will come to mind. And usually, as shown in the study, it will be a different thing of the same "type." In the example given by the lead scientist in the study, a car might be misidentified as a bus.
But what I want to point out is that people under the influence of substances such as LSD don't think cars are busses. If I could give an example of my own thought process.
That's a bus
Well, it's really a car. I said bus, but I know it's a car I just said the wrong word.
They're similar because they both get people places.
But busses get a lot more people places at once.
Also people pay for cars up front and then pay for gas as they go, but people pay for busses when they get on and it takes them where they go.
And people who have money tend to get cars, but people with less money hop on busses.
By now the scientist has flipped over to the next slide.
That's a cat!
Cats are so pretty!
No wait, it's a dog!
Long internal dialogue about the difference between dogs and cats.
And so on...
In my experience, psychoactive substances such as LSD and psiloscybin blur the lines in between things in such a way that we are able to gain insight into their similarities. On a practical level, it might seem like distinguishing a bus from a car is a pretty big deal... but allowing yourself the time to reflect on the role they play in our lives is important too.
Mostly I just thought it was cool that the news was talking about LSD, but one thing kind of bugged me.
Rawstory picked up the study, and for some reason inserted the following:
It is colorless and odorless but has a slight bitter taste.
Emphasis is my own... because that's absolutely false. LSD is actually tasteless. Any taste that one might experience when taking LSD are due to either impurities and byproducts of the production process, which are nearly nonexistent when produced by a skilled chemist.
I don't see why journalists feel the need to insert this kind of thing... but I digress...
https://steemit.com/hidden-gems/@dragonslayer109/daily-pick-of-hidden-gems-31 this is where I will be featuring your post today
Strong bitter taste is not the big problem, unless what you take is a real LSD, not other acids (big hello to Shulgin) which can be much harder to trip on - that's why mushrooms are safer and more predictable in my opinion.
Interesting description of the language effect. I've never taken any drugs other than the occasional acetaminophen or ibuprofen, antibiotics and lorazepam for panic attacks a few times (nor do I intend to try any) but it has always fascinated me to hear people's experiences on LSD and other psychotropic (is that the right word?) drugs.
Well, in my understanding "psychotropic" is more like a level of psychoactivity. It exists somewhere along along a spectrum. I would consider psychotropic to be somewhat milder than psychedelic (ie, LSD or psilocybin beyond threshold).
Interesting, I guess it makes sense there are sort of different "levels" pf psychoactivity, but I've never thought of that before. Thanks for explaining man :)
Well, LSD does "rewire" the brain, the positive effect of it, is that you connect things you couldn't connect before or didn't think of where similar, thereby expanding your knowledge and improving memory.
I love me some LSD. ;)
A real eye-opener, mostly the third eye.
Stay trippy my friend. :)
I saw that article trending, too. That type of information always fascinates me, and sometimes makes me wonder if I should try something (or makes me glad I didn't). I've never done hallucinogens. Once, in college, there was an opportunity with a group of friends, but I backed out at the last minute. I was concerned about having a "bad trip." But, I know plenty of people who HAVE tried it, and their stories run the gamut from mild to wild.
I've never had a "bad trip," nor has anybody I know. I feel like it's a bit of an urban myth, to be honest. To be sure, you're pretty vulnerable when under the influence of a substance as powerful as LSD. And in the event of a "perfect storm" kind of situation, I'm sure it can be terrible.... But that being said, those situations are few and far between. Nearly every trip has its share of unpleasant moments, but usually they are passing and you can learn from them.
That being said, I am not providing medical or psychiatric advice and I take no responsibility for the consequences of anybody else's use of psychedelics. ;)
But the FUD about it is mostly bullshit.
I think maybe my parents were trying to scare me out of trying it when I was young. They both grew up in the 1960's, and I KNOW my dad, at least, did LSD and a bunch of other things (my mom claims to have not partaken, merely observed). They told me stories when I was little about people who did LSD once and lost their minds, never to be sane again. When I had the opportunity to try it in college, the big reason I backed out was I kept hearing that in the back of my mind...."You'll go crazy, and be crazy forever." They swore it happened to people they knew. :)
I would be more willing to try 'shrooms, as I've heard from many friends who have tried them that the trip is pretty mild, and I've also read they can have medicinal benefits.
Yeah, that's silly. :)
The only people I've ever known to have long lasting negative effects from psychedelics were people who simply did way too much of them, very frequently, over a long period of time--or people who had underlying mental illness that was exacerbated.
Otherwise stable people who take LSD or mushrooms almost universally report only positive experiences and beneficial long term effects.
That's good to know. :)
Those stories you're told when you're really little can have a lasting impression, even when you're older and know them to likely be extreme exaggerations. Like, one of the guys my parents referred to as going insane from doing LSD was a Vietnam vet who really was probably suffering from PTSD. I remember him coming around when I was really little, like before Kindergarten, and he freaked me out. I didn't find out until I was grown that he'd been in 'Nam. See, THAT makes way more sense than "he did LSD and went crazy."
Interestingly, they never told me any stories to dissuade me or my brother from trying weed. In fact, they never even mentioned weed. I only found out it was a thing when I was a freshman in college and some of my friends started doing it (shows you how sheltered I was). I also recently found out my dad continued smoking weed until I was 13....I always thought it was cigarettes!
So, I guess for my parents, regarding their kids, LSD=bad, and weed=OK. :)
Well, who is the better advocate on LSD, but it's inventor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Hofmann
who lived to 102. He was a remarkable man, even included in "100 greatest living geniuses" In a video, I watched about him he even said to take EX with his with his wife when they were pensioners.
What other drugs do you use? I eat edibles a few times a week to help me sleep, partake in MDMA maybe 2-3 times a year, and have basically never tried anything else. I hate painkillers, never want to touch cocaine, but I'm open to other mind altering drugs such as DMT, LSD, acid, mushrooms, and the like. Any recommendations for someone who wants to try them occasionally and see what happens? Particularly for an extreme left brained individual such as myself.
I would recommend to prepare playlist with your favorite chilly music before, also a bottle of water to refresh, and better take it in a daytime, ecpesially if you have a possibility to go on a nature - that can be really wonderfull expirience. And have a person you like near you, it can be comforting!
Mainly I'd just say be in safe surroundings where you feel comfortable and you should be around people that you trust.
Psychodelic Psychotherapy
Psycho Psycho
Delic Therapy
Deli Therapy
FOOOOOOD!!
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