We as people all need one thing to heal our pains and fears. Something of comfort, in which will cure us or make us forget of those feelings that hurt or scare, even if it is only for a while. No one has the same healer, but it does give all a similar sensation of peace in one’s self. As an individual I consider my healers to truly be music and soccer. In the article “The Trip Treatment” by Michael Pollan, he speaks of the effects participants get from the psychedelic drug with the intention of helping them lose the fear of death. A fear that can be assumed hits us all at a certain point in our lives. When it comes to reading an article like this, it makes me think “what heals me?” When I have a fear or when I am stressed, what gets me through it? Is it a drug? Or is it anything else? To answer these questions, to be honest it was not hard …show more content…
My soothers would be music and soccer. They affect me in a positive way that take away my fear and pain. These two items help me forget of all the bad comes in life, it helps me cope with the fears I have over the future. They make me feel okay and forget that anything can go wrong. When listening to music I lose sense of the real world and focus on the lyrics. Other times, when I am feeling down some songs just pump me up to motivate myself to get up and do something with my life. Soccer relieves all the stress, it is the perfect time to let it all out. The adrenaline rushing through my veins causing me to play like it was the last game ever. Once on the field it is like I am already healed, as my focus is on the ball and the game. All fear is gone, all emotional pain is gone. It’s just me, the game, and the beautiful sound called music. Although, others may not have the same options of healing as me they still may describe a similar reaction with their choice of
A largely debated topic in today's society is whether or not psychedelic drugs should be legalized for medicinal purposes and if they should, how this legalization would affect the communities in which they’re being prominently medicinally used. Although many scientists have argued that psychedelics pose a mental health risk, closer examination shows that communities would have a significantly lower depression rate if certain psychedelics were legalized. Now to fully understand how psychedelics could be beneficial or the opposite thereof, you’ll need to understand how they work and what they are. What a psychedelic drug is, the immediate effects, both mentally and physically, and how communities might benefit and function with the sudden use of these drugs.
Psychedelic drugs were an icon of the 1960s, its role embedded within the rising counterculture in response to the economic, social, and political turmoil throughout the United States. As a means to impose a central power and control social order, federal authorities were quick to ban the recreational and medical use of psychedelic drugs without consideration of its potential benefits. The recent state laws on the legalization of marijuana in Oregon and Colorado with others soon to follow, is a sure sign of an eventual collective shift in the perceptions of psychedelic drugs. Not only does Daniel Pinchbeck document his reflections on the personal consumption of psychedelic drugs in his unconventional novel Breaking Open the Head, he also advances several assertions on modern Western society in his exploration of polarized attitudes on this controversial topic.
While the cognoscenti had the benefit of tuned-in physicians, other psychedelic pioneers took their first trips as part of CIA-controlled research studies.
Psychedelic drugs affect more then creativity, they are also known to have the ability to increase the users sense of spirituality and religion. In the academic journal, “Voice of The Psychonauts,” author Levente Moro explores the correlation between spirituality, and psychedelic drug use. He claims that when psychedelic drugs are taken in a “supportive” environment they have the ability to induce “deeply meaningful religious revelations and spiritual awakenings” (Moro et al. 190). Psychedelic drug use in hopes of spiritual revelations is not new, and has actually been going on for hundreds of years. The Native American Church has been known to traditionally use psychedelic drugs for spiritual experiences (Moro et al. 190). Some Mexican tribes are also known to ingest psilocybin mushrooms in order to induce religious awakenings (Moro et al. 190). To further prove his argument, Levente Moro conducted an online survey amongst 667 random people. His results suggested that people still take psychedelic drugs in order to have religious experiences, even though it is looked down upon in certain religious groups (Moro et al. 195). Levente Moro is not the only one interested in psychedelic drugs and religion. Many other scientists have also examined this theory. In the article, “Values and Beliefs of Psychedelic Drug Users,” author Michael Lerner also discusses the relationship between psychedelic drug use and spirituality. Lerner also believes that when psychedelic drugs are taken with the correct mindset, they have the ability to increase ones sense of religion. In order to test his theory, Michael Lerner had 183 volunteers fill out a questionnaire. Even though he conducted the survey amongst people from all over the world...
Hallucinogens are a class of drugs that share a vast history, and were used for spiritual and religious practices since the prime of early civilization. They are referenced in the Hindu holy book, Rig Veda, the healing rituals of the Aztecs of Pre-Columbian Mexico, and are often attributed to the illicit practices of those prosecuted during the Salem Witch Trials. The first synthetic hallucinogens were discovered by a Swiss chemist named Albert Hoffman in 1938, and were originally manufactured to psychiatrists to help their patients access repressed emotions. Other uses considered for early hallucinogens included ingestion by doctors to better understand schizophrenic patients, and as an antibiotic. Their recreational use peaked in the 1960s, but began to decline after they were declared illegal in 1966, except in Native American churches where hallucinogens continued to be used as a spiritual tool. Though their popularity is not as prevalent as it had been in the “hippie movement”, their use continues to be recorded within a minority of the high school and college aged population.
Wesson, Donald R. "Psychedelic Drugs, Hippie Counterculture, Speed And Phenobarbital Treatment Of Sedative-Hypnotic Dependence: A Journey To The Haight Ashbury In The Sixties." Journal Of Psychoactive Drugs 2 (2011): 153. Academic OneFile. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
The two videos that I like the most from this class was the ted talk name “America’s native prisoners of war” by Aaron Huey, and the documentary “When Your Hands are tied” by Mia Boccella and Marley Shebala. These two videos brought my attention because in the first video which is the ted talk the author of the video is an outsider of the society that he is trying to represent he did not go through the experience that the native people that he is trying to defend went through. In the documentary when your hands are tied this is a little bit more personal I think because this is a documentary where people from the tribe and people that went through all this obstacles are trying to heal themselves.
While hallucinogenic drugs have been used for centuries, it was not until the discovery by Western society of their mind-altering properties (Hofmann 1959; Stoll 1947; Delgado, Pedro L; Moreno, Francisco A) that these compounds began to be more widely used for treatment of mental disorders (see Abraham, Aldridge & Gogia 1996; Strassman 1995; Neill 1987; McGlothlin & Arnold 1971; Freedman 1968; Delgado, Pedro L; Moreno, Francisco A). Hallucinates are derived from plants or the fungus that grows on plants, the first recorded hallucination was a tossup between mental issues that were then used for a political push or the ergotamine during the Salem witch trails in 1962, far after that Albert Hofmann became the creator of LSD from ergotamine a chemical from the fungus ergot, in Switzerland 1938. From that time LSD has played a part in history, studies have shown that much has changed in the half-century since LSD was first used by psychiatrists and then found widespread recreational use in the 1960's and 70's. Modern psychiatry has embraced drugs that affect the same brain molecules that are tweaked by hallucinogens (Blakeslee,
"Psychedelic 60's: Foreword." University of Virginia Library. 16 Dec. 2009. Web. 29 May 2010. .
It is said that everybody has their own type of medicine that works for them, however on certain occasions not all of these medicines are prescribed and many strongly oppose for this type of medicine to be used. John Lennon was one of the many who used un-prescribed medicine. Lennon and many others agree that the use of hallucinogenic drugs peacefully cleared their mind and made them understand what they meant to the world and connected them to everything around them in a deeper level. Which lead to the creation of the well-known Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. quote “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimension’s”. No medicine had ever helped them achieve that inner peace and understanding that they were looking for until they tried hallucinogens in a medicinal way. After what is known as the “hippie era” Hallucinogenic drugs were made illegal and societies view went from the drug that made a person peaceful and lovable to the drug that was repugnant and awfully dangerous. Although hallucinogens are considered dangerous drugs not to be dabbled with by the average person, it has recently been proven to work as a successful therapy proving that they are safe and raising the question if they should be recognized as a way of therapy.
48) "we never got the habit of happiness as others know it. It was always as if
“Of all the Buddhist groups in America, those focusing on meditation have been most attractive to young people from the drug scene, and it is these groups that have taken the strongest stand against drug use. The psychological literature as well as the literature on Zen abounds in descriptions of the altered states of consciousness experienced under the influence of LSD-25 and other hallucinogenic drugs. Descriptions of these drug-induced states often compare them with the experience of satori or enlightenment which may result from Buddhist meditation. Frequently the opinion is expressed that, under certain circumstances, the LSD experience is a satori experience. ”
Modern medicine is the combination of modern technologies and ancient practices. Along with technological advance in medical equipment and treatment, using music to connect to patients is still a reliable practice. Throughout the history of healing practices, music has been used as a remedy. Music is so groundbreaking in the fact that it actually has the ability to affect human beings in so many ways. Music is a huge advantage in a treatment plan as it is calming, strengthening and it can be used for both the physically and mentally ill.
Hallucinogens or psychedelics are mind-altering drugs, which affect the mind’s perceptions, causing bizarre, unpredictable behavior, and severe, sensory disturbances that may place users at risk of serious injuries or death. Hallucinogens powerfully affect the brain, distorting the way our five senses work and changes our impressions of time and space. People who use these drugs a lot may have a hard time concentrating, communicating, or telling the difference between reality and illusion. Hallucinogens cause people to experience - you guessed it - hallucinations, imagined experiences that seem real. The word "hallucinate" comes from Latin words meaning, "to wander in the mind."
...ith someone, let out a good cry or engage in some kind of exercise, I notice the pain subsides. I believe these strategies will continue to help me in the future. These strategies will not only help me live a more fulfilling life, but they will also help me to not let stress interfere with my daily life such as going to work and interacting with my children.