The author of the article states, “They say that one night of ayahuasca is like ten years seeing a psychiatrist.” Really? How so? How does it benefit you to relive some of your worst experiences in such a state? I for one don’t want to think about any of them anymore than I’ve already done - not the burn to my left arm with boiling water at age two, the motorcycle hitting me at age nine, the sexual abuse by the person I was supposed to trust the most, not my daughter kissing the curb with her cheek and facing the possibility of the left zigomatic bone being fractured…not watching a friend OD…or the rest. I could go on.
I’ve experimented with various drugs in my past – including LSD in the 1970s and 80s. That I enjoyed, for the most part, but this sound absolutely horrid. No thanks. Not ever, for me.
Actually, what is scary about DMT is not reliving horrific experiences, but reliving benign experiences and realizing from an objective perspective that you wronged others and never thought twice about it.
This is why Ayahuasca is a very effective tool for overcoming drug addiction. You relive those times you wronged others in pursuit of your own satisfaction.
DMT is a tool for self-awareness and growth. Truth is, most people are comfortable in their mental cocoons and do not want to see their ugly side. Thus they proclaim with self-righteous indignation how psychedelics will fry your brain, ignorant of the fact that responsible use by people with the mental fortitude to handle the trip leads to tremendous improvement as a human being.
The thing is though, how does one control what is actually relived? There are no guarantees, after all. Will I relive my boyfriend’s son’s stroke at age 18 and all the agony and pain it caused – to him and all of the people who love him? The months that we all worried about the uncertainty of his recovery and future. Or will I relive, like you wrote above, “those times you wronged others in pursuit of your own satisfaction.”(?) How does it work? Even with LSD there’s an aspect of your own thought control. I guess apart from the phycical effects of this drug - you know, the stomach pains, puking, crapping, etc, I’d rather not experiment with something so…so…uncertain. But that’s just me.
You’re right, psychedelics are crazy. You can’t predict what will happen, so it’s a little like playing craps. On occasion, you win big, but often the luck of the draw will haunt you. I guess part of it is learning to take it all in stride, kinda like life itself.
Are there drugs to shut down a psychadelic high if it turns too hellish? I remember in fear & loathing in Las Vegas Thompson’s character mentions something about using antipsychotics to come down from a drug high. I wonder if benzos, anti-cholinergics and anti-psychotics can stop the trip or at least knock you out until your body metabolizes the drug.
Of course with Ayahuasca you could choke on your own vomit if you pass out.
Once upon a time I’d have clonazepam available as an “emergency exit” from really bad acid trips; who wants to be miserable for ten hours? And it would just sort of chill you out, or knock you out, until the acid trip was over. But yeah, I don’t think I’d risk that with something that’s likely to cause vomiting.