Supportive context more strongly associated with 5-MeO occasioned mystical experiences (Study)

[Bancopuma]

Interesting study showing that people who use 5-MeO in a supportive context are much more likely to report mystical-type experiences (with the enduring benefits associated with the latter) than people who use it in a non supportive context. I'm sure we're all well aware of the importance of set and setting when it comes to psychedelic use, and even when using a substance as powerful as 5-MeO where one may well transcend both their set and setting, this still very much applies.

Study:

Sepeda et al. (2019) Inhaled 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine: Supportive context associated with positive acute and enduring effects. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, DOI: 10.1556/2054.2019.033.

Full paper can be accessed at:

Inhaled 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine: Supportive context associated with positive acute and enduring effects

Background and aims 5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a potent, short-acting psychedelic that produces strong hallucinogenic effects. The association between the context (i.e., set and setting) of 5-MeO-DMT use and the acute and enduring effects of the substance is unknown...

akademiai.com

 

[null24]

Hmmm. I am not sure about this one. It seems that simply by giving the substance within a framework that supports a mystical experience, then of course one is more susceptible to have one. I'm likely missing the point, if it is to simply posit that it is possible to have mystical experiences on 5meoDMT, but at the risk of sounding contrary, the study doesn't seem to be adding anything to the literature or conversation. Maybe this is the scientific process, but it seems like there is a lot of "clutter" in the psychedelic research-sphere.

 

[Bancopuma]

I don't think the setting was such that it was designed specifically to produce mystical experiences, just that it was supportive, and that mystical experiences were much more likely in a supportive setting than without one. 5-MeO-DMT has already been found to occasion mystical experiences with dependable reliability, but being able to substantially increases the odds of experiencing one through using the substance in a supportive compared to a non-supportive setting is an interesting and valuable (if perhaps obvious) finding, given that it is the mystical type experiences psychedelics can occasion that are acting as key mediators for many of the enduring long-term benefits reported, including both in clinical populations (such as sufferers of addiction, depression and existential anxiety), as well as among "healthy normals". I found this interesting as I've had a wide variety of reactions to 5-MeO, some sublime, serene, light filled and blissful, others chaotic and terrifying. So in the future I will take more care over setting and context around its usage. During peak experiences with it I have transcended both set and setting, so I found it interesting that the latter still exerts such a powerful influence over the experience.