Psychedelics and OCD

[Nathanial.Dread]

There seems to be at least a certain amount of overlap between the mental processes and disorders that psychedelic medicine can treat and those that are routinely prescribed SSRIs. Depression, PTSD, and anxiety are all treated by SSRIs, and I have read multiple experience reports across the web from people who found relief from their problems after a particularly positive Ayahuasca or psilocybin trip.

OCD, however, is often treated with SSRIs, and I've never heard anything about psychedelics having an effect on symptom presentation in one way or another.

Does anyone have any information on this?

Blessings
~ND

 

[Creo]

There are anecdotal reports that iboga helps with ocd.

Here's one from erowid: Low Dose Giving High effect

 

[Warrior]

I have a pet theory about how OCD might be helped by ayahuasca or a psilocybin ego death. I've known a few people with severe OCD, and from what I've been able to observe is that they are seekers at heart without any direction in their actions. They are purifying without knowing why, trying to understand root concepts through number symbolism, and so on.

I think if the context is right (with a therapeutic guide/sitter), giving a mystical experience to someone that has suffered from OCD for a long time would give them enough to see beyond that which has clouded them before. I like to think of OCD behavior patterns as fixed action patterns (FAPs), and like any routine behaviors, a solid ego death tends to be a hard reset for everything in life.

This is all speculation, but a few years ago while extremely depressed I developed some OCD tendencies around my life routines. I was doing all sorts of things before leaving the house everyday that were completely unnecessary and ruined entire chunks of my day. It was bad enough to affect employment in a terrible way. I was 'stuck' in this abstract sense. Now, after feeling better for a long while, combined with a few months of psychedelic exploration, all of it is gone... For the first time in my life I can let go of all of it. But then again, take this with a grain of salt. I may have neuroscience research experience, and have lived through a mental health crisis in the middle of that (and found some incredibly helpful therapists along the way), but this is merely opinion AND n=1.

 

[Global]

I'm not OCD (or if I am, it's in the most minute of ways), and so while I can't necessarily put myself in their shoes (and I know how different people can be OCD in different ways) I have essentially two scenarios playing out in my head for an OCD person who takes DMT. In one scenario, the mathematical precision, well defined spatial relationships, potential neat and orderliness of hyperspace might call to the OCD person. Perhaps it removes him so far from the real world that he gets momentary relief from his OCD where his typical thought patterns cannot intrude. Perhaps breaking the cycle so to speak is enough to create long-lasting therapeutic benefits.

Then on the other hand, in the other scenario DMT could hit you with the sheer wacky, silliness with nonsensical geometries, and goofy disorder, and I don't know how an OCD person would handle that. Perhaps this scenario could also potentially be therapeutic, but who knows. I'm just freely speculating.

 

[DreaMTripper]

Just like warrior I have been 'stuck' before and had anxiety and depression and with this what I believe a form of OCD in that I would have repetitive thoughts about a past close relationship I would go round and round in circles in my head trying to analyse why such and such happened and couldnt seem to break it. Also rerunning and replaying conversations from various past situations and repeating them differently.
Day in day out sometimes all day.

When I discovered DMT and to a lesser extent mescaline cactus it broke this cycle somehow for long enough to give me a break and a fresh perspective that prompted me to envision and plan a good future for myself rather than being locked in the past rerunning events.
My time then was spent thinking about where I would travel to how and what I might do and who I might meet.
Its complicated as before this I developed what I would still call a positive controlled dihydrocodeine and kratom habit and then used ketamine on a regular weekend basis (One nights steady usage was enough to remedy a weeks depression symptoms but this wasnt why I started using it in the first place it started off as a purely recreational thing) In my clear DMT reflective state of mind I realised my dhc and kratom habit had to stop as it wasnt bettering myself merely treating the symptoms.
I have never seen a therapist and my a'level psychology education had no bearing other than assurance that I want losing the plot. I have no doubt it was purely the DMT that enabled this cycle to be broken.

Whether this was because I had realised a bigger picture and had mentally reset because of the ego death and clarity of thought in the afterglow or whether it was a rebalancing of neurotransmitters or not I dont know , probably all of the above.
I also used dmt therapeauticaly in low doses for some time after with great results. An incredibly multifaceted molecule in my opinion.