DMT and depression

[omega-scar]

SWIM has a friend who has been suffering from major depressive disorder for quite some time and this person, who is not taking any sort of medication at the moment anymore, confirmed to SWIM that she would like to try DMT if she would have the opportunity. Now that SWIM has succesfully extracted some DMT, he thinks about sharing it with a friend or two, but is really concerned about doing more harm than good. Would DMT probably have a positive or negative effect on a really depressed person ? SWIM read somewhere (erowid maybe?) that it is not advisable for people with major psychiatric disorders to try psychedelics. On the other hand, the DMT molecule is very similar (structurally) to serotonin and most modern antidepressants target this receptor in the brain... I know this forum isn't meant for medical advice but i was wondering what would be the opinion of some of you who are more experienced with DMT and using it for longer periods of time (SWIM only did it a couple of times and no breakthrough yet)
Thanx.

 

[۩]

I've suffered from depression a lot of my life and know what it takes to get out of that hole.
You need roots, you need to be confident in your position in life, or at least be able to accept your situation and be able to support yourself.
Once you have roots, a good diet, and exercise will fortify your "happiness"

The spice will BLAST the most divine, cosmic love through every cell of your body. It will feel better than anything you've ever felt before.
It can go both ways.
Exploring hyperspace can be ultimately gratifying, and it can also become the most stressful thing you've ever tried to wrap your head around
because to the new explorer, hyperspace makes VERY LITTLE SENSE.

Harmala alkaloids are scientifically proven to grow more sites for seratonin to bind to.
These are found in Syrian Rue, Passiflora, Banisteriopsis Caapi, Bai ji li, etc.
These alkaloids///plant spirits ALONE, + combined with the spice, have the power to reset your central nervous system,
giving you a clean slate
and allowing you to recreate your psyche.

It takes some serious work. This is just what I know about the subject...and these are all just MY opinions...
this kind of work is totally subjective. Take all of this with a grain of salt.

 

[jamie]

Honestly...this is not a good question to try to answer from responces on an internet forum..depression is sort of an ambigous term in some ways..depression can have many different causes and IMO psychedelics can be great for some forms of it..

But psychedelics may just bring alot of shit to the surface that they are refusing to deal with..planting it all right there in the moment for them to see and work through..but that canbe painful and difficult..and if they dont know much about trad healignwith entheogens and their use in psychotherapy, they might not accept what is being presented to them and fight it and try to block it out..

Really to me its about weather or not they will choose to accept what comes up and work with it or simply flee in fear...which could leave them evenmore devistated and plunge them into a cycle of self denial..if they do choose to take any entheogen id suggest they do some reading first so that they know FOR THEMSELVES what they are getting themselves into..

Ayahuasca might be better for this as well.

 

[jamie]

I want to add that i would mention to your friend that if they think that DMT is going to be a magic bullet washing away their negative feelings..they are wrong. Depression is something from inside YOU..DMT wont simply take that away..it might ilumiate that however..and intenify it as well..so that you can see it for what it really is..and put it into context..

If they are not willing to accept responcibility for how they feel...and just want DMT as some sort of antidepressant than i wouldn't give it to them. If they can understand the psychotheraputic use of these things and accept that before they do it..than they might just get some real work done.

There may also be a chemical side to the depression as well..like seratonin depletion..this is where caapi can help and why i think aya is the best route for that.

 

[omega-scar]

SWIM's friend doesn't want to do it hoping to solve the depression. SWIM just happends to know about her depression and also knows this person would be willing to try the DMT experience. So, it was his dilemma if he should or not share DMT with this person, not wanting to further aggravate the condition.

 

[jamie]

well..i mean..they are depressed either way..if theydont want to accept what might come up and arent willling to go there and deal wth it..DMT is a BAD idea..

 

[foreversearching]

I also suffer from depression and it has had no negative effects. Actually I do not feel the need for meds and on the average day I feel better than I used to. Spice is capable of so many things and I think that spiritual healing is one. There is no cause or reason for depression as a disease and I really do believe this is a way to combat it.

It took awhile for me though so don't feel bad if you weren't able to give them a healing session.

 

[Felnik]

i think spice has had a positive impact on my depression overall. it doesn't happen over night it takes time .
I must say that the Ayahuasca vine has the real healing properties. it can be an amazing way, when combined with spice to work through your stuff. The vine has a teacher element that seems to gently show you things from your past that you never even thought about before or even considered as being a problem. I've been attempting to use it to help cure my depression. I've made a commitment to it and i think its working for the most part i am feeling better than i ever have. Sometimes it feels like a condensed therapy session. Someitmes its about facing your fears and discovering your fears are unfounded and have been holding you back.

Its definitely not for everyone it can be unpredictable sometimes . And can be the very wrong thing to do sometimes.
its very powerful stuff try not to forget that fact.

I don't recommend it to anyone thats in a bad or negative headspace or has any kind of mental issues beyond basic depression. also bad to mix with any kind of anti depression meds
thats my 2 cents

 

[88]

Excuse the long post here, but this is kind of close to my heart.

I get seriously depressed for long periods - it's been a feature of my life since I can remember. Proper crippling depression - when getting out of bed or walking is like pulling a monster truck up kilimanjaro when you're wearing ice skates.

I've never taken meds for it, because sometimes, being depressed us the only rational response to a shitty situation, and I've always believed with any illness or malady of the soul that you have to address the cause rather than the symptom. The cause for me was a lack of control over my own life, and an absence of meaning and purpose.

Before I went Inside the first time, I'd been in an eight month spiral downwards, and I could see absolutely no way out; there was a lot of bad shit going on in my life, and I was on the verge of throwing in the towel. And the Spice has changed everything. I haven't been depressed since. Things that brought me down don't bother me; I've found what I've been searching for. Things I've been studying and researching for 20 years or more suddenly make sense, have a new context and relevance that has lifted me out of the swamp.

But that's me. I made that decision by myself, though when Lord Swimming Haw Haw went in the first time, it was with his oldest and closest friend who was exploring this world already. They talked about it for ages before going In. It was like a parched desert waiting for rain - before Swim Morrison took that first suck on the bong, he absolutely knew it was what he wanted to do; he craved it, and had no problem surrendering and letting go.

Elvis Swimming Presley and his dear friend took truck loads of LSD, MDMA, shrooms and whatever else was going 15 - 20 years ago, and so was familiar with the psychedelic landscape. He'd read all the books, Huxley, Hunter S, Electric Kool Aid, Neuropharmacology For Idiots, Casteneda ... studied Buddhism, Hinduism, the Bible, read the Gnostic texts, Zen koans, Tao ... studied Zero Point energy, collective intelligence, you name it. He was SO fucking ready for hyperspace. It was like being home on trip #2. Straight up.

It's not a magic cure for everyone - lots of people have had some hairy moments Inside. There's an old saying - what you need is not always what you want - and in hyperspace, that can manifest in a very disturbing way. I'm no doctor or head shrinker; I don't think anyone should go In unless they're ready to give up everything.

 

[LoveTheUniverse]

Enlightening post 88! It's something I'm looking at working through by experimenting with psychedelics... I haven't had the chance to try DMT (yet) & I've heard Ayahuasca can be great working with depression (though, unfortunately MAOI & SSRI's apparently aren't a great mix) so I'm looking to achieve something similar to what you've described in time.

Interested in hearing other opinions/stories regarding this topic.

 

[88]

I haven't tried Ayahuasca ... and I'm not going to until I'm completely ready. SWIM likes to smoke it because, no matter what comes up, you're back in twenty minutes.

 

[Jin]

depends if your friend has a fair experience of other psychadelics as well , i would not personally recommend this as a starting psychadelic , no doubt the experience is more beautiful and short , if your friend has had fair number of experiences with LSD and mescline or mushrooms before and seems to enjoy it then it would be a good idea to proceed with DMT or Salvia as these two substances are true hallucinogens unlike pschadelics (lsd,mescline,mushrooms) , so can be quite overwhelming to the uninitiated

 

[omega-scar]

Thanks for the replies everyone. SWIM was also thinking that DMT is very unlikely to aggravate depression symptoms but wanted some opinions from people who had done it more than a couple of times in low doses, like SWIM