stupid first world problems you're dealing with

[dingformung]

9 minutes ago, Extralife said:

Oh good. I’ve been on the fence but your testimony has inspired me to try it.

Yeah sure, if you're interested you should inform yourself about the substance and its risks and try it out if you can do so safely. Luckily there is a lot of safety information publicly available.

[YEK]

24 minutes ago, dingformung said:

Ketamine has a different application but is useful as well. Only tried it two times in lower doses for fun, made me feel a bit like I was more hovering than walking but I feel I didn't get the full spectrum of the effects because the dose was too low. It's got a bit of a bad reputation because people use it irresponsibly at parties and then look like zombies made from rubber. It's not that dangerous, though.

Yeah I've heard it's not that bad for you. Never tried it. I had a fucked up dream back in the day when I was sick and I think I had too much cough syrup and was told my experience was similar to a k trip. 

[markedone]

@drillkickeryoure super young my dude.  and from the sounds of it i'd say there is indeed good reason to change your habits. im just 30 but my hangovers got way worse through my 20s to the point where i gave up hard alcohol last year. i feel way better without it and I had to do it cold turkey to truly convince myself that i no longer wanted it in my life.  because for a few years i was in a cycle of "oh just one mezcal" but then it is harder to control after that and I would end up hungover.  my situation is different but maybe theres something there.

another piece of advice i've utilized in the past few years is that I find it really healthy to have conversations with people older (and younger) than me in a casual social way; it has a way of widening your perspective.  for me that has been through rock climbing.  i know its tough with covid and all to find such interactions.  but i find it inspiring to climb with 50 year old who treat their body like they are younger, and I think that makes their spirit / perspective younger as well.

[dingformung]

13 minutes ago, yekker said:

Yeah I've heard it's not that bad for you. Never tried it. I had a fucked up dream back in the day when I was sick and I think I had too much cough syrup and was told my experience was similar to a k trip. 

It's about how you use it, I think. I mean, you can use it in a wrong way and then it's bad for you. Probably won't kill you, though, more like give you a really unpleasant trip or something. Or maybe it can kill you, dunno - it's googleable

[Cryptowen]

1 hour ago, Enthusiast said:

Running is the thing

plus one on this. personally the best thing i've found for combating recursive bad habits is to instantiate good habits. it takes some effort to get the flow flowing in the opposite direction, but once it is it basically feels like the same energy. exercise etc can feel just as addictive as anything else, but  in a way where you're constantly feeling better about life instead of worse

also ketamine creeps me out. i feel like it brings out the cult leader/member tendencies in people. fun to dance on tho

[YEK]

1 hour ago, dingformung said:

It's about how you use it, I think. I mean, you can use it in a wrong way and then it's bad for you. Probably won't kill you, though, more like give you a really unpleasant trip or something. Or maybe it can kill you, dunno - it's googleable

I certainly wouldn't want to inject it...

[ignatius]

24 minutes ago, yekker said:

I certainly wouldn't want to inject it...

ketamine is fine in moderation i think. but people who make it a habit or get addicted if that's possible.. can have all sorts of problems after many many years of k-holes. saw one of those Drugs Inc. episodes about ketamine and they interviewed a guy who'd done it every day for years or something and developed non cancerous tumors in his bladder and urethra. 100+ tumors. so he went to the bathroom to tinkle countless times every day and his bladder was essentially useless and only held like 5 drops of pee.  he was miserable.  

granted.. there's some sensationalism in the presentation. the tumor bladder guy starts about 34 minutes in. 

still, it's probably beneficial for some people to do it once in a while or whatever.. like the mushrooms for depression type benefits or just a bit of dissociation now and then. 

 

[dingformung]

7 hours ago, yekker said:

I certainly wouldn't want to inject it...

Yeah, me neither. I'm not scared of needles or anything but the idea of putting a needle in my veins for a non medical purpose seems weird to me, and more like something junkies would do (though I'm sure there are people who aren't junkies and still prefer an injection - weirdos) but I think it's one of those drugs that you can take whatever way you like: Eat it, snort it, even take it rectally. If you think that drinking alcohol every week is okay you can as well use ketamine occasionally, it's a less primitive drug. Alcohol consumption means drinking dissolvent, it's on the same level as sniffing glue or getting dizzy from hitting your head with a hammer. Ketamine is a bit better in that regard, just don't use too often.

MDMA is a more dangerous drug than ketamine, imo, because it can fuck up your serotonin system if you take it too frequently and make you depressive on a chemical level.

[Limo]

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t understand the allure of drugs, but in the end all you’re doing is throwing a wrench in a well functioning machine and marveling at the sparks that fly off it.

 

9 hours ago, Cryptowen said:

Running is the thing

 

Also this. It takes a while for it to become enjoyable, though. I’d say that happens when you can do 10k or so. Anything less is just a chore, IMHO.

[dingformung]

26 minutes ago, rhmilo said:

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t understand the allure of drugs, but in the end all you’re doing is throwing a wrench in a well functioning machine and marveling at the sparks that fly off it.

It really depends on the substance (they can be completely different things) and on your condition. Your description definitely applies to alcohol, which acts on all brain parts including the ones that are responsible for vital functions, or probably any other dirty drug for that matter, to some extend. Some substances act in a very specific and predictable way, though.

Psychedelics have the ability to improve your "well functioning machine" and can heal you if you're sick, if used in the right way (all objective sources seem to indicate that). It's more like disassembling the machine, cleaning it, oiling it, and putting it back together.

There are huge risks as well.

Edited February 5, 2021 by dingformung

[cichlisuite]

Just my opinion:

Psychedelics, in order to gain anything healing and positive from them, you need to have a sort of open mind, or a supple mind. The dissociative effect can bear no fruit in individuals who are afraid to get their sub-conscious unveiled. In some cases, having a good guide can offset that, but it's no guarantee. I personally believe that taking psychedelic drugs is a journey that takes place after the trip, in the afterglow, and weeks, months, years after that, without repeating the session. The trip itself is an act of stepping over the threshold, and if you're perceptive, one session is enough to fill you with food for thought and soul long after the physical effects have worn out. It's like getting to know the old world you're used to with new eyes, or a new perspective. It broadens the perception, and if you carry that with you, the trip gives you an experience that becomes a sort of tool (for a lack of a better word) for dealing with everyday life. And once you "mastered" the "first level", you can go back and take another trip, however, the second trip must have its baseline above the previous, or the experience will be nothing new and pointless.

Btw, I agree that sports, or any outdoor activity is absolutely best for one's well being, you just have to find a way to do it, so it works best for you. And sometimes it will feel a chore at the thought of it. But once you beat that initial lazy-self, you'd be always happy you did it. I love nature and exploring new places, so a bike ride or a hike into unknown satisfies me most, and overcoming self-limitation with the prize of soothing in the beauty of nature is something of a meditation act.

[Limo]

1 hour ago, dingformung said:

It really depends on the substance (they can be completely different things) and on your condition. Your description definitely applies to alcohol, which acts on all brain parts including the ones that are responsible for vital functions, or probably any other dirty drug for that matter, to some extend. Some substances act in a very specific and predictable way, though.

Psychedelics have the ability to improve your "well functioning machine" and can heal you if you're sick, if used in the right way (all objective sources seem to indicate that). It's more like disassembling the machine, cleaning it, oiling it, and putting it back together.

There are huge risks as well.

Not sure how psychedelics improve a well functioning brain. There is some evidence that they improve poorly functioning ones but because it’s really difficult to quantify this sort of stuff, the science on this is immature at best.

We are nowhere near where we know enough about how the machine works that we can safely take it apart, clean it up and put it together again.

And the more we *do* learn, the more questionable drug use becomes. The evolution of alcohol from “fun and good for your circulation system” to “ really messes with your brain and causes all sorts of cancer” is almost complete. And I know a woman who studies the endocannabinoid system who says the more she learns about how that works and how important it is, the less urge she feels to try out marijuana.

 

[milkface]

10 hours ago, ignatius said:

ketamine is fine in moderation i think. but people who make it a habit or get addicted if that's possible.. can have all sorts of problems after many many years of k-holes. saw one of those Drugs Inc. episodes about ketamine and they interviewed a guy who'd done it every day for years or something and developed non cancerous tumors in his bladder and urethra. 100+ tumors. so he went to the bathroom to tinkle countless times every day and his bladder was essentially useless and only held like 5 drops of pee.  he was miserable. 

i have a friend who had to have a catheter inserted for that exact reaason

[dingformung]

5 minutes ago, rhmilo said:

Not sure how psychedelics improve a well functioning brain. There is some evidence that they improve poorly functioning ones but because it’s really difficult to quantify this sort of stuff, the science on this is immature at best.

We are nowhere near where we know enough about how the machine works that we can safely take it apart, clean it up and put it together again.

And the more we *do* learn, the more questionable drug use becomes. The evolution of alcohol from “fun and good for your circulation system” to “ really messes with your brain and causes all sorts of cancer” is almost complete. And I know a woman who studies the endocannabinoid system who says the more she learns about how that works and how important it is, the less urge she feels to try out marijuana.

 

I would view psychedelics as something separate from recreational drugs like alcohol or weed, it's a different thing. Yes, weed can mess up the endocannabinoid system if you don't take breaks and it takes your system around 4 weeks to fully go back to normal from what I've read, so that should be avoided.

Psychedelics, from how I understand it, deactivate the default mode network temporarily and open up your perception for things that are beyond your perceptional filters and routinised patterns that are important for everyday life (and that some people confuse with the "self") and let you access the full experience of your consciousness. When the effects wear off the DMN is restored but in a more continuous way which can be seen in imaging procedures.

But yeah, there are other ways to modulate the default mode network, too. From Wiki:

Quote

The default mode network (DMN) may be modulated by the following interventions and processes:

• Acupuncture – Deactivation of the limbic brain areas and the DMN.^[43] It has been suggested that this is due to the pain response.^[44]
• Meditation – Structural changes in areas of the DMN such as the temporoparietal junction, posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus have been found in meditation practitioners.^[45] There is reduced activation and reduced functional connectivity of the DMN in long-term practitioners.^[45] Various forms of nondirective meditation, including Transcendental Meditation^[46] and Acem Meditation,^[47] have been found to activate the DMN.
• Sleeping and resting wakefulness
  • Resting wakefulness – Functional connectivity between nodes of the DMN is strong.^[48]
  • Onset of sleep – Decrease in connectivity between the DMN and the task-positive network.^[48]
  • Stage N2 of NREM sleep – Decrease in connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex.^[48]
  • Stage N3 of NREM sleep – Further decrease in connectivity between the PCC and MPFC.^[48]
  • REM sleep – Possible increase in connectivity between nodes of the DMN.^[48]
• Sleep deprivation – Functional connectivity between nodes of the DMN in their resting-state is usually strong, but sleep deprivation results in a decrease in connectivity within the DMN.^[49] Recent studies suggest a decrease in connectivity between the DMN and the task-positive network as a result of sleep loss.^[50]
• Psychedelic drugs – Reduced blood flow to the PCC and mPFC was observed under the administration of psilocybin. These two areas are considered to be the main nodes of the DMN.^[51] One study on the effects of LSD demonstrated that the drug desynchronizes brain activity within the DMN; the activity of the brain regions that constitute the DMN becomes less correlated.^[52]
• Deep brain stimulation – Alterations in brain activity with deep brain stimulation may be used to balance resting state networks.^[53]
• Psychotherapy – In PTSD, the abnormalities in the default mode network normalize in individuals who respond to psychotherapy interventions.^[54][55]
• Antidepressants – Abnormalities in DMN connectivity are reduced following treatment with antidepressant medications in PTSD.^[55]
• Physical Activity and Exercise – Physical Activity, and more likely Aerobic Training, may alter the DMN. In addition, sports experts are showing networks differences, notably of the DMN.^[56][57][58]

 

[dcom]

Bandcamp Friday + following a lot of Bandcamp artists & labels = a tsunami of emails.

[MadameChaos]

2 hours ago, cichlisuite said:

Just my opinion:

Psychedelics, in order to gain anything healing and positive from them, you need to have a sort of open mind, or a supple mind. The dissociative effect can bear no fruit in individuals who are afraid to get their sub-conscious unveiled. In some cases, having a good guide can offset that, but it's no guarantee. I personally believe that taking psychedelic drugs is a journey that takes place after the trip, in the afterglow, and weeks, months, years after that, without repeating the session. The trip itself is an act of stepping over the threshold, and if you're perceptive, one session is enough to fill you with food for thought and soul long after the physical effects have worn out. It's like getting to know the old world you're used to with new eyes, or a new perspective. It broadens the perception, and if you carry that with you, the trip gives you an experience that becomes a sort of tool (for a lack of a better word) for dealing with everyday life. And once you "mastered" the "first level", you can go back and take another trip, however, the second trip must have its baseline above the previous, or the experience will be nothing new and pointless.

Btw, I agree that sports, or any outdoor activity is absolutely best for one's well being, you just have to find a way to do it, so it works best for you. And sometimes it will feel a chore at the thought of it. But once you beat that initial lazy-self, you'd be always happy you did it. I love nature and exploring new places, so a bike ride or a hike into unknown satisfies me most, and overcoming self-limitation with the prize of soothing in the beauty of nature is something of a meditation act.

I think one thing that's really useful about tripping and taking other drugs that expand your perception, is the tendency for this kind of substance to make you feel connected to the world outside your limited perception. One of the most problematic elements of depression, is the feelings of isolation and loneliness, so the experience of feeling super-connected to the world outside yourself if only for an hour or so, can having an extreme effect for a really long time. Similarly being out in nature can put you in touch with those kind of feelings. To summarise, go and trip in the woods! Safely of course. 

[Zephyr_Nova]

Mushrooms tend to have the reverse effect of making me feel trapped in my mind.  Definitely envious of people who can do these things and have it be a fun, illuminating journey.  Do love me some ecstasy, but fentanyl put an end to that.

[Braintree]

LSD 100% helped my depression.

[manmower]

11 hours ago, dcom said:

Bandcamp Friday + following a lot of Bandcamp artists & labels = a tsunami of emails.

Bandcamp Friday + buying a bunch of stuff from one artist's discography = Oh hi we'll do the payment in three steps because you're buying from three different entities none of which are the artist themselves.

[dingformung]

6 hours ago, toaoaoad said:

And most importantly do it with someone else, someone you feel safe with, who knows you pretty well and how to help if you start freaking out, ideally someone who has tripped before and knows what it's like. 

That other person should probably also trip (on a lower dose), otherwise they don't know what's happening and may be a disturbance to the trip.

6 hours ago, toaoaoad said:

I've heard a lot of positive things in recent years about micro-dosing LSD and mushrooms. Haven't tried it myself but I think it's an interesting idea.

I'm very sceptical about this idea and it sounds like a waste of the substance to only ever take so much that you don't feel anything. I mean, what's the point of taking LSD if you don't feel anything, isn't that missing the point?

[zkom]

I've been planning to buy new eyeglasses for over a year and my plan was to get them from Tallinn where they are cheaper than in Finland but with the pandemic fucking up all travel that has been postponed more and more. So I'm thinking of getting them from Helsinki but oh fuck I hate shopping for eyeglasses. The whole process is such a pain in the ass from finding the right frames that end up costing a ton to the eyesight test to waiting for weeks to finally get the fucking glasses. I'm pissed off before I even started.

[dcom]

10 hours ago, manmower said:

Bandcamp Friday + buying a bunch of stuff from one artist's discography = Oh hi we'll do the payment in three steps because you're buying from three different entities none of which are the artist themselves.

That's a problem when you pay with PayPal, if you put a card on file with Bandcamp, they can do the payment processing themselves for all the purchases. But yeah, I don't understand why they've done it like that; there's bound to be a reason, but they're not telling - I've asked.

[manmower]

Yeah, to clarify, the FWP's not in the minor inconvenience but in the uncertainty about how much of your money is actually going to the artist.

[dcom]

6 minutes ago, manmower said:

Yeah, to clarify, the FWP's not in the minor inconvenience but in the uncertainty about how much of your money is actually going to the artist.

https://bandcamp.com/pricing ?

Ah, but you mean that when there's a label/publisher between the artist and the money...

Edited February 6, 2021 by dcom

[manmower]

8 minutes ago, dcom said:

https://bandcamp.com/pricing ?

Ah, but you mean that when there's a label/publisher between the artist and the money...

Exactly, I think Bandcamp Friday can be a little bit misleading like that.

That's not to say labels don't deserve support of course.