New Study Suggests Magic Mushrooms 'Reset' the Depressed Mind
Immediately following treatment with psilocybin, patients reported a decrease in depressive symptoms, such as improvements in mood and stress relief.
Magic mushrooms may effectively “reset” the activity of key brain circuits known to play a role in depression, the latest study to highlight the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics suggests.
Only recently have scientists been able to study psilocybin in the laboratory as Magic Mushroom have been categorized by the US federal government as a Schedule 1 substance, also known as 'controlled substances'.
Schedule 1
The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical treatment use in the U.S.
There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or substance under medical supervision.
No prescriptions may be written for Schedule I substances, and they are not readily available for clinical use.
Drugs / Substances listed in DEA Schedule 1 include:
- Heroin (diacetylmorphine)
- LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide)
- Marijuana (cannabis, THC)
- Mescaline (Peyote)
- MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or “ecstasy”)
- GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid)
- Ecstasy (MDMA or 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine)
- Psilocybin
- Methaqualone (Quaalude)
- Khat (Cathinone)
- Bath Salts (3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone or MDPV)
Source: drugs.com
Psychedelics have shown promising results in the treatment of depression and addictions in a number of clinical trials over the last decade. Imperial College London researchers used psilocybin – the psychoactive compound that occurs naturally in magic mushrooms – to treat a small number of patients with depression, monitoring their brain function, before and after.
In 2016, two landmark US studies involving advanced cancer patients and psilocybin treatments found that depression and anxiety were reduced with a single dosage of psilocybin for up to 8 moths.
Recently a new study published in the journal Scientific Report adds more weight to the notion that psilocybin could be an effective treatment for depression and anxiety with patients reporting they felt relief from their fears almost immediately.
Patient Reactions
The results from the small sample sized study are encouraging showing that:
“Several of our patients described feeling ‘reset’ after the treatment and often used computer analogies. For example, one said he felt like his brain had been ‘defragged’ like a computer hard drive, and another said he felt ‘rebooted’.
“Psilocybin may be giving these individuals the temporary ‘kick start’ they need to break out of their depressive states and these imaging results do tentatively support a ‘reset’ analogy. Similar brain effects to these have been seen with electroconvulsive therapy.”
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Immediately following treatment with psilocybin, patients reported a decrease in depressive symptoms, such as improvements in mood and stress relief.
MRI imaging revealed reduced blood flow in areas of the brain, including the amygdala, a small, almond-shaped region of the brain known to be involved in processing emotional responses, stress and fear.
The authors believe the findings provide a new window into what happens in the brains of people after they have ‘come down’ from a psychedelic, with an initial disintegration of brain networks during the drug ‘trip’ followed by a re-integration afterwards.
See the full study here
Implications
This is more great news but it still is frustrating to see that the US government / DEA / FDA continue to classify natural plants and fungi as Schedule 1 substances that has prevented scientific examination of potential medical benefits of any substance. Instead, people are incarcerated for simply possessing marijuana while pharmaceutical companies make obscene profits from antidepressants and synthetic opiates.
The authors currently plan to test psilocybin against a leading antidepressant in a trial set to start early next year.
I'm going to go ahead an call it now. Imho, I truly believe that psilocybin will blow away any and all the antidepressants and psychotropic pharmaceuticals on the market in terms of lasting effectiveness and minimal side effects and harm.
Several years ago, psilocybin (as well as regular exercise) helped relieve my depression and anxiety. Though I exercised nearly everyday, I only ingested magic mushrooms once and the results were immediate. I was able to detach myself from my stress and fears and gained an entirely different perception of my situation. I truly believe that psilocybin has great medicinal potential and could be very effective in treating PTSD along with depression and anxiety.
[Warning: I'm not advocating that you run out and defrag your mind with magic mushrooms... but if I did I would encourage inexperienced users to start with small doses and to make sure to trip with someone that you love and respect.]
I'm glad to learn you had good experience on psylocybin mushroom.
I've done more than 5 heroic doses of magic mushroom in my life 5+ grams and many other lesser doses.
I've lost contact with the daily reality for more than 3 hours straight on more than 3 occasions. I must admit those moment where the most enlightening moments of my life. They were at the same time the most frightening and inexplicable.
I completely agree, in my youth I also did my fair share of different dosages and have had some of the most life changing and profound experiences of my entire life!
That's the vast majority of what people experience according to some previous study.
Although I have not done stuff like that, I find that I having really lucid dreams is also a great experience and can open your mind.
Specifically, if I want to have a really lucid crazy kind of dream I just eat a lot of spicy food before I go to bed. The chemical reactions in your stomach affect your brain and for most people if you eat something before you go to bed you will have more vivid and interesting dreams. I have found that when I do this I can actually control what happens in the dream(like I am aware it is a dream type thing). I read somewhere about the hot sauce and spicy factor that it makes it more intense.
The vast majority of the time I do this I remember the dreams after waking up and can still recall the dreams weeks and years later(almost like I actually experienced the dream in real life).
It is pretty neat and you should try it sometime!
One of the re-occurring dreams I have from doing this is that I am backwards in time working at a retail store(a previous job I had when I was younger). Only the problem is that I don't have any pants to wear to work for some reason, in this dreamworld you have to show up to work or you will get in HUGE trouble. So I have to go to work with no pants on. I help customers normally and it is quite busy. Some customers don't even notice I am not wearing pants too, and just interact with me likes its normal. I show them where products are and explain the products and do normal things. But then the dream gets crazier as time goes on.
It starts going to also not having a shirt on or no shoes. Then some customers get mad at me and call me lazy for not wearing clothes and stuff like that. I ask the boss if I can go home and they tell me something absurd like "you should have been more responsible and we are busy so you can't go home to get clothes." That particular dream usually ends with having too many customers to wait on and eventually I am almost naked(but not exposed in for those parts). I then cannot wait on all the customers and just quit the job in frustration, usually at that point I wake up and have to use the toilet in real life.
:)
Spicy food tend to make me unable to sleep.
I had some lucid dreams but very few of them and for very short length.
Ahh I guess it is different for everyone. I love eating spicy food and have it almost daily :)
Psychonaut you. I find it a shame that our culture does not allow individuals a easy avenue to experience the 5g+ trip. With a day or needed in planing and trusted friends, and the source, its something so many of us have never done. I applaud you sir on your adventures!
It's not the substance that are banned but the states that those substances put us in so to speak and it's a shame as you said.
Well even the state mushrooms put you in. Taking small amounts like a micro dose is something that no one would ever notice you had taken, or even have a way to test it. Luckly all of these substances leave your body clean
heroic is a beautiful adjective
see this pics
https://steemit.com/animal/@zaaalim/animals-love-to-sweet-girls-amazing-pictures-must-see
I too was fortunate enough to spend one summer taking multiple trips to psychedelic school with an infinite supply of 'Teacher' mushrooms.
Time spent surrounded by nature and good friends... the abundance of joy gave me tears of laughter many times.
DMT is not for the unsound mind, compacting a 3/4 hour mushroom journey into only a few minutes. Scared me a few times, amazed me on others!
TS you darkhorse! 😁👍🏾👌🏽
I did a small dose of ayahusca but I never smoked DMT.
Being outside of the states/canada, ayahusca isn't as accessible.
And these days, I prefer 2/3 beers. :)
My friend had a very similar experience. Which scared me from trying anything. lol
Life is scary. Did your friend kept a positive feeling toward their experience?
Oh wow.., that's freaky .....
This is crazy!! Talking about drugs is a kinda taboo in where I'm living, but if it's true I think more people should know about this!!
Indeed they should, but the powers that be and governments don't like the idea of people taking substances that might raise their consciousness. They prefer people to consume 'legal' drugs like alcohol that dumb people down, or anti-depressants that have less effect than mushrooms on depression and cause serious side effects.
Great point @jimbobbill :) Best wishes, - @splendorhub
I think that a lot of drugs are illegal without any scientific evidence, Marijuana is illegal because they threaten certain industries such as pharmaceuticals, alcohol, paper, textiles and more.
People should be free to discuss these things, especially when science is on our side ;)
I think (from memory) it was Henry T Ford that designed and built a car that both ran and had many components made from hemp. At the time this was considered a huge threat by the extremely powerful oil industry, as such they were hugely instrumental in it's prohibition.
Also Hearst bought forests to supply pulp for his papers, and didn't want the competition so used his paper to push propaganda on The People.
Really sad that some people think they can control other people. They can't; but, they'll continue to try.
You are correct, Ford had a hemp vehicle design ready for mass manufacture. However, William Hearst and co (folks heavily invested in the success of the cotton and timber industries) saw to it that marijuana was slandered as dangerous, unholy, etc. So they created mainstream PR campaigns (Hearst owned MSM) saying that it was Devil's smoke and only inferior individuals smoke it and they also influenced the government to make marijuana (and hemp) illegal.
Great info @libertyteeth & @maven360 It's amazing the subversion techniques that have been brought against the population in order to keep the power within the clammy hands of the few. I think it was also a viable crop in terms of using it as engine oil, it leaves no residue and pretty much zero emissions. It also grows really quickly and in the right conditions hemp will grow four times a year, which made it a serious competitor. So they went for the dirty polluting oil instead of the clean hemp oil (which is also very kind on car engines) and then later on attached the guilt of the pollution onto the general public and now tax us vast sums of money for the privilege. What a different world this could be eh?
Aggreed!! I love what you Terrence and every other speaker and sharer of the truth is doing!!
Im here to upvote, spreading the love and word about this as well. More people need to know we need civic change on these subjects.
Reguardless if you are for or against the drug or topic it is always good to be properly informed. Not everything that is as the masses make them seen. Thinking like an indiviual is the best thing you can do for yourself.
@ramengirl i agreed with you..
" Psychedelic substances have been used for thousands of years for religious and therapeutic purposes." Its amazing how much they really unlock parts of our mind that we had no idea of.
Great post and particularly interesting to me at the moment. I posted a couple of days ago about finding some magic mushrooms while walking on Dartmoor.
https://steemit.com/life/@jimbobbill/liberty-cap-magic-mushrooms-everywhere-on-dartmoor-but-unfortunately-it-s-illegal-in-the-uk-to-pick-them
I've not tried them before and have been wanting to for a while. There was a comment left about how consuming 10 mushrooms a day had some real beneficial effects (such as described in your post).
It's a shame it's illegal to pick the mushrooms in the UK or I might have tried a small dose of them tonight for the first time ;-).
Can Magic Mushrooms unlock depression? The answer is no. It's not the mushroom that unlocks depression, it's the patient. The mushroom just shows them the key.
I have probably done them once in the last 10 years... and the one time was magical. The thing about mushrooms is I do not find them to be addicting. The change in your thinking patterns and perception of yourself and the world are very beneficial. I think every adult should try it at least once under the right conditions. It can really change your life.
This is picking season isn't it? :)
mushrooms are the type of drug that will make you want to quit all drugs
I might have to agree with you!
That is exactly why I want to try them. I tried a control dose based on information from Erowid about a year ago to make sure I wasn't alergic or anything (I might be too sensible in my old age) and I am definately going to do some soon.
It is indeed picking season now. I was walking around for about an hour with a friend and we weren't looking particularly hard and we could easily have picked 100-150 schrooms in that time if it wasn't for my respect for the law ;-)
Think of it as scientific research ;)
Also, I have to make a correction I had a mushroom shake in Thailand about 2 years ago... that was wild but in a strange country it can be quite uncomfortable. I much prefer taking them in familiar surroundings... but obviously I'm open to randomness.
100-150!! Thats a good party for group of people. I really think they should be shared!! Even on low dosages its amazing what it does to the body. Please pick them if you can. Coming from some one who was looking for 4 years before he found any. They are rare and worth the tast!!
Is it the same as with LSD and Nbome? I mean perception changing
No, each different strand of mushroom will bring its own personality as well.
There is way better things to consider. What to do if you don't have money to buy mushrooms ? Do nothing, sleep well, try think more positively, do something small, find someone who is in the same situation that you have, pretend to be happy - smile, jumping etc
Its been a few years since i tried any mushrooms. It does give you a different perspective on life. Ive always been interested in DMT. Never got to try it tho. Mushrooms are long an intense. DMT is a natural chemical found in tbe brain and when its taken it only last 15-20 minutes.
It's about 2 minutes if you smoke it, and oh my bejesus, don't nothing come close to the things you see!
Yes, I'm also curious about DMT and Ayahuasca! Those 15-20 minutes must be beyond anything I can imagine, probably not even comparable to shrooms.
Mushies X 100! Incredible minding boggling experience, that has to be seen to be believed!
My cousin had a little bit about 3 years ago. I was 20 at the time and was a little scared to try it. Looking back i regret it. At the time i wasnt really informed well on it. Now that i know alot about it I'm gonna give it a try next time it comes around. The only thing is that might be a few years before i get another opportunity.
I want to try it now, too. My friend recently typed a post about how official laws and propaganda put lies and misinformation on such substances and he got success, 30 bucks from start for the post)
So you better trust yourself, man, have a nice day!
Ayahuasca Has DMT its active ingredient from a root. when combined with another leaf you get a nasty tasting tea you drink then throw up...but the onset is as easy more slow ride that last hours and allows more thinking than the fast smoked or injected DMT.
I have not tried it but really look forward to it one day!!
time is the last thing you'll be worried about. When you die your brain releases DMT. So when u take DMT it is the closest experience to death you will come to. You will literally face every problem you have ever gone through.
Any compound that can reset imprinting and allow us to think through our blocks can be helpful. The most powerful way to use these helpers is to increase consciousness while using them and learn to work more with the mind and self as the shifts in perception occur - in other words, to use them as a tuning fork rather than a crutch.
There's a reason why the mushrooms are often bright red on the forest floor.. It's to draw our attention them and to invite our curiosity into take a nice journey.. in the 'for-rest' that's.. for rest ;)
Awesome analogy with a "tuning fork", and i agree that there are many ways to reach a higher state of mind than simply ingesting magic mushrooms. I think they should be considered a tool for those who are unable to break out of their mental box.
Imprinting is also an interesting way to look at this. I read a book on brain placticity a few years ago about how people create certain pathways in the brain. The book explored ways to disrupt old (negative) pathways and build new ones. It might be similar to what you've mentioned here.
Thanks for commenting :)
Yes, a tool for those who need them in the moment. A decent approach might be to take them once a year in a sacred way and to intend to evolve to a state that simply doesn't gain any benefit from them any more.
Imprinting is a topic I am still exploring, but the essence is that our electromagnetic self can become shaped and disrupted by certain experiences and decisions, such that we become 'stuck' in those limited and un-natural patterns until we understand how to clear them and go ahead to do that. Clearing imprints requires a combination of emotional expression and changes of thinking.
You are welcome! This area is really my main field of interest. -:)
It is because the paychadelics desolve the ego. As you enter a place where no expectations can be matched. The unknown can show us how there is more to life than we think.
You know what, I took psilocybin in 1997 in college.... it changed my way of thinking overnight. The following week it made me look at the world in a different way. I quit college and my job the following weeks.
It was weird and it changed my life. Till this day, I am totally Free.
Yeah man, shrooms are definitely transformational and we're never quite the same anymore after the experience, certainly in a positive way ;)
Wow...really?! This is such a dramatic change. And hopefully for the best! Best wishes @stackin!
I really think if we are legally able to more openly use natural remedies, like mushrooms, we would be able to heal patients much quicker. Even if natural things have side effects, they are better to deal with compared to all of the arti
I had a interesting experience in the sense that I felt as though my senses has wires going to my brain, and that one was unplugged from where it normally goes, and plugged into a new slot temporarily.
I had my sight plugged into my ears and my ears plugged into my sight. Seeing sounds, hearing vision, and feeling smells. Just an absolute confusion of senses. While this may seem meaningless, I had come to the understanding that what I had felt, was not fake, but rather a different way of perceiving the same thing. After the experience, a true sense of enlightenment, perspective, and stillness. If taken responsibly, can be a effective treatment to find meaning and purpose within yourself.
The term for that is synesthesia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia
I like how you described it in terms of plugs.
Oh wow that is so cool! Thank
LOL, now that is a crazy trip... but i can relate to having felt some sort of epiphany or enlightenment that is difficult to express in words.
I read about this actually and I'm not surprised. I'm a big advocate for the govt to get its head out of its ass and make it easier for doctors and scientists to study what other positive uses possible with naturally occuring "drugs" such as shrooms and marijuana. Is anyone surprised they don't want this to cut into the profits of the prescription pill companies. I'm glad you put a warning at the bottom of the post haha I'm too old now but I used to trip balls off of magic mushrooms in my teens :)