October 2021 – Music List

What does Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD conjure up for you? War veterans back from their battles abroad? Perhaps. But you don’t have to fight overseas to experience trauma. There are natural disasters, loss of loved ones, and many other experiences that can leave a permanent mark of emotional distress. PTSD sufferers often relive the trauma, experience anxiety, drug abuse and insomnia. Unfortunately, current medications are not very effective in treating this condition.

MDMA Found to be Effective in Treating PTSD

But a recent, pretty startling discovery has provided PTSD sufferers with some hope: MDMA, or the drug known on the street as ecstasy, was found to be very effective in treating PTSD for the long term. The first study showed such strong improvements in the patient’s well being that the effect was over 3 times stronger than that required to achieve statistical significance. The second study repeated the treatment and followed up with the patients for a period of two years. Even after two years, over 80% of the patients still showed significant improvement.

The Study

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded phase II trials MDMA (aka Ecstasy or Molly) in November, 2016, and the drug has now been approved for phase III testing in the treatment acute post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although there is strong consideration for the legalization medical MDMA, the prescription process would be far more restrictive when compared to other prescription narcotics. In limited trials, patients suffered from PTSD received a dose MDMA in a controlled environment and then participated in extensive talk-therapy. According to the resolved research, more than two-thirds patients who participated in phase II trials have sustained remission PTSD symptoms.

A total 80 licensed therapists have been tasked with participating in the FDA’s phase III testing. Of those is NYU’s director addiction medicine, Stephen Ross. Ross has setup what he calls a “dosing room” in which he administers MDMA to patients and then engages them with talk-therapy for 8 consecutive hours. If the FDA ultimately approves MDMA for medicinal use, it will only be available in a residential program. It will not be available through a pharmacy with a prescription.

Treatment Setting is Very Important

MDMA can be dangerous. At higher doses, it can cause a life-threatening rise in body temperature or hyperthermia, dehydration as well as a deadly collection of symptoms known as Seratonin Syndrome. It is also a disinhibitory, euphoric and slightly hallucinogenic drug so the treatment setting is very important.

But if the drug is taken in small doses under clinical supervision, it holds great promise for many sufferers of PTSD.

People go for a dose of magic mushrooms when they want to solve a problem or to have a spiritual experience. It has been used for ailments ranging from addictions to phobias, and it has worked in most situations. So, how does a chemical know what you want? WIM Scientific Laboratories will discuss what you need to know about the importance of set and setting when ingesting psilocybin.

Importance of The Set and Setting

The set and setting represent the physical, mental, and environmental context in which you are having the psychedelic experience. Coined by Norman Zinberg, this term has become widely accepted in the fields of psychedelic research and neuroscience. Let us delve into them one by one.

The Set

The ‘set’ is short for the mindset you enter the experience with. To understand it better, let’s call it the mental and physical state you bring with yourself. Psychedelics affect your perceptions and senses by enhancing them to a degree unbeknownst to you. You emotions and state of mind will be amplified; so if you go in stressing about what will happen, there is a chance that those emotions will overcome you.

These substances are known to make you introspect about your deepest problems, especially whatever is bothering you in the moment. If you want to avoid such a thing, stay calm and ride the wave. Let the shrooms take you on an adventure, it knows what it’s doing. You can make a list of things you want to think about when you’re at the peak of the experience—you will notice your thought patterns changing.

Another important thing is to be physically healthy. If you feel that your health isn’t up to the mark, wait for a better time to take a psilocybin dose.

The Setting

The other aspect that has the ability to change your experience is the setting; the physical location of your choosing. If you have an indoor, familiar and safe place to have your experience at, you will be able to relax and be yourself. Make sure you start out in a predictable environment, and then you can step out to the garden or terrace when you feel in control. Make sure there is always a safe place to go to if you feel negative emotion coming in.

The best thing about the setting is that it can completely transform your experience. For instance, if you are feeling like some anxiety is coming in, just put on a fun song and focus on it. You will find that your energies are very easily redirected.

Avoid crowded environments or people you don’t know well. For first-timers, it is ideal to have a trip sitter; a sober person to act as a sort of guide. This should be someone who has macrodosed before and knows the drill.

Stay Safe!

Before heading into an experience of a lifetime, make sure you follow these guidelines to be safe. And always test your mushrooms with an Ehrlich Reagent testing kit, good luck!

Radical Remedy: MDMA for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder