How LSD Affects Psychotherapy

Pollan mentions the idea that it is difficult to try a drug like psilocybin unless it has been proven to work and is not legal. I do not like the idea of opting for treatments that have yet to be proven successful. However, many of the patients in Pollan’s article do not mind that it has not been proven to work. Unlike the majority of the patients in Pollan’s article, I am not suffering from a terminal illness and therefore I do not feel pushed enough or like I have exhausted all my options. Pollan proposes the possibility of psychedelics to treat people with severe anxiety or addictions (38). If I were to ever reach a point of my life where I had a terminal illness, unmanageable anxiety, or an addiction, I would not be opposed to trying psychedelics if they have been

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide or LSD is a hallucinogenic drug that can be taken orally, injected or even absorbed through the skin. Once LSD has entered the body, it starts to take effects on the levels of serotonin in the brain which can cause; hallucinations, mood change, and even sensory distortion. After taking LSD, the effects on the brain usually last from 6 to 9 hours depending on multiple factors; the dosage of LSD taken, the subject taking LSD, and even the user 's mood can affect the duration of LSD use. LSD is a non-lethal, non-addictive, and a non-habit forming drug that has little to no effect on the long-term health of an individual. However, LSD has been illegal since the 1960 's. Not only did availability of LSD become scarce with the criminalization of the substance, but the legislation also put a halt on the research of the chemical as well. Much of the way LSD interacts with the brain has been left unknown. This derivative from the rye fungus Ergot has been the source of controversy that has left many people wondering why LSD has been classified as a drug that is just as dangerous to use as heroin. It becomes difficult for an individual to understand how legislation could criminalize a chemical without completely understanding how it functions and affects people. LSD should be legalized for scientific, medical and recreational usage.

In his article “Psychedelic Psychotherapy: The Ethics of Medicine for the Soul,” Brian Anderson supports the use of psychedelics in transpersonal psychotherapy, a new field of mental illness treatment using psychology instead of medicine. More specifically, he recalls from scientific studies that psychedelics are capable of altering a person’s states of consciousness. According to Anderson,

While psychedelics can create a profound sense of distortion from reality urging the importance of putting yourself in a the right setting with the right people, there is little evidence that links psychedelics to toxic effects on the brain or body. So much so that researchers from the EmmaSofia organization in Oslo Norway claim that psychedelics are no more dangerous than common activities including playing soccer or riding a bike (Krebs, 2015). Psychedelic substances are known for altering your perception of reality, which could be dangerous if you’re somewhere that presents physical risks, but research suggests the psychedelics themselves do no damage physically. Not only are the psychedelics safe but they also provide therapeutic

LSD has many effects on the body and the mind for example “An hour later Stanley thought he had gone insane. His head was filled with terrifying visions and his body seemed to tumble through time and space. Then his mind snapped and sent him into a frenzy of rage. "They told me the next day that I broke down the door and ran down the hall screaming," Stanley recalled” (Linda Hunt).

Drugs have an effect both good and bad, opening the mind, but also harming it in the meanwhile. Natural highs such as meditation and lucid dreaming give a similar psychedelic experience and putting your mind in a different reality. The mind can do amazing things, but just as easily be harmed.

In 2009 University of California and Harvard began research once again for medical uses and chronic headaches. So far reports show that when used correctly all patients report emotional ease and none have reported panic or delusion. (Medical Uses for LSD, 8). According to “Medical Daily”, LSD shows a positive trend in reducing anxiety in just two sessions. What’s more, it seems that now that LSD is being regulated better no studies are finding the ill side-effects of the 1950s. Prescribing LSD to combat alcoholism is proving to be very successful (Science Daily). The effects last several months with the patient not drinking. Scientists believe that repeated doses coupled with standard alcoholism treatments will give a sustained cure.

A drug according to Levinthal, (2012) is a chemical substance that, when taken into the body, alters the structure or functioning of the body in some way. Hallucinogen is a class of drugs which affects an individual’s perception, sensation, and emotions by disrupting the regular operation of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. While the use of Hallucinogens a form of therapy is a controversial topic and it does have it merits this paper examines the use of hallucinogens

The 1960s was a highly influential and cultural changing revolutionary time and LSD helped break through uptight conservative new and lifestyle. It is apparent that the use of LSD has evolved since its inception from a psychiatric drug to a recreational drug that gained its popularity during the 1960s counterculture. Without Albert Hofmann’s amazing discovery of LSD and its leaking about into the public, the Psychedelic Revolution of LSD would have never been born and bring about all the amazing change it came with to society. LSD is known as the drug that played a significant role in the 1960s counterculture, making it a subculture in its own entirety. This subcenter culture was the epitome of experimentation, rebellion, and the emergence

“Love not war” was a phrase often used by the early hippies. The hippies in the 1960’s were rebelling against government and war, caused by the social unrest that they felt, which ultimately helped create a looser style of living for the modern day Americans. The reason that hippies came to be in this time of age is because society was very strict and many people didn’t support the government. The effects that the hippies had on present day American culture is substantial. They changed the way people dressed, the way people acted, the way people wore their hair, and the type of music that became popular.

     LSD has always been a center of controversy in American society, often times because peoplehave been miseducated about its effects or exposed to media bias. Its physiological effects onthe brain and body have become more and more apparent in the last few decades when research in neuroscience peaked. The psychological effects of LSD have been often difficult to describe and document very well -- they were first discovered on April 16, 1943 by research chemist Albert Hofmann when a small amount of the drug soaked through his fingers during a routine synthesis. He experienced an imaginative dream-like state for a duration of about 2-3 hours. Since then, a great

For thousands of years people have spoke of all types of visions. Whether the visions were from religious groups, Indian tribes, or self proclaimed prophets; all types of people have seen things. This was more than likely occurring with the help of different types of hallucinogens. Hallucinogens have been around since the beginning of time. Some mushrooms, cactus flowers, and even different types of mold are all able to produce hallucinogenic effects. However, it was only within the last century that man actually started to produce his own. LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide-25, is a relatively new substance in society. All known effects show LSD, or acid, as the harmful drug most people know it as. There are people who believe

This is wrong because getting addicted to a psychedelic is almost zero to impossible. Psychedelics tend to build quite a fast tolerance, increasing the dosage doesn’t give much of an effect because people simply don’t feel the need to constantly be on the substance like cocaine, methamphetamine, crack, krokodil and noz users begin to get after being sober for a while. Cravings and withdrawals begin to occur to the user and fortunately, Psychedelics is one of those substances that doesn’t have any connection with withdrawal or addiction. Is it possible that one of “ the greatest threat facing the country today is possibly going to be more dangerous than the Vietnam war? Is it possible that these psychedelic drugs that are labeled as one of the most destructive and dangerous substances out there can actually make everyone’s life better? Over the past decades since the substance was first synthesized it’s be shown that psychedelics actually might be the opposite from being harmful. Scientists claim to have discovered hallucinogens can help sick people and erase possible alcohol

Dr. David Nutt is a Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London. Notably, he was one of England’s drug advisors until he got fired for his findings and proposals concerning his research. He discovered that psychedelic drugs such as LSD and Ecstasy were less harmful than alcohol. Due to government officials claiming that he wanted to change drug policies, he was let go. On an interview with ReasonTV, he discusses his newer research which includes brain imaging while a subject is on LSD. He explains his findings, specifically that neural connectivity increases during a psychedelic experience, which indicated that it could be a potential treatment for mental disorders. When asked why to pursue psychedelics when pharmaceuticals

It is no secret that drug use has the ability to completely alter a person’s state of consciousness, whether it be through extreme euphoria, increased hyperactivity, pain relief or psychedelic hallucinations. Although many drugs are used for medical purposes, the global issue of recreational drug use is now being fronted as an extremely serious matter that is steadily on the uprise. Recreational drug use is often associated with negativity, addiction and as having serious physical and mental repercussions. One of the few class of drugs that is often associated with both positive and negative connotations are hallucinogens, otherwise known as “psychedelics”, which have powerful altering effects on ones sense of perception, brain function