It might be a case by case basis (evryones chemistry is different) but it definately seems as if ssri's almost completely offset any of the effects of dmt.Which is unfortunate because swims girl is doing good mentally w/ her new meds.Is it worth her getting off them so she can explore the world of psychedelia and possibly have an adverse effect on her mental health or are there alternatives (like the one mentioned above)where she can get the best of both worlds.Going to research further.

I'd say if she has reached stability and a general ok ness with the ssri then it would not be worth giving up sanity for hyperspace.

Interesting. I certainly wont argue with first hand experience, and in no way discount the claims made here. I personally take a low dose of an SSRI myself for panic / anxiety (neither of the two listed above however), and have no issues getting effects from regular doses of spice, mushrooms, or other Psycs. Every SSRI acts differently on every individual, so perhaps, as has been previously stated here, it's just a matter of finding what works best for the specific individual, for mental stability and recreational travel.

benzyme - I am totally with you on the mass-marketing crisis of the pharm industry, especially when it comes to children. I think a lot of extraordinary talent is lost by feeding our children meds, simply because they don't "fit into the norm" of behavioral patterns.

its most likely the SSRI effecting the DMT trip. this kind of thing has been reported with these types of substances and SSRI.

about SSRI safety. SWIM was put on them for only a couple months when SWIM was much younger and after realizing they were drastically altering SWIMS personality SWIM decided to get off them against the psychiatrists wishes and SWIM suffered depression for years after. SWIM is convinced this depression was a long term side effect of the SSRI but has no way of proving it. SWIM just knows before he took it SWIM was fine just dealing with some other issues and after major depression like SWIM never experienced in SWIMs life. SWIM also learned that you can cure your depression without such drugs. it is possible it just takes work and time. be careful and realize doctors are being trained more and more by big pharma all the time.

^ As well as decreased libido, difficulties maintaining an errection and achieving orgasm, increased agression, and sometimes homicidal/suicidal thoughts.

SSRI's are evil and have caused many a depressed person to slip over the edge. I'm sure they have helped many as well, but if there were safer and more effective treatments out there I would highly suggest looking into them.

Ayahuasca has been proven to be quite effective at eliminating depression. Instead of dulling the 5-HT receptors (like SSRI's do) it increases their numbers and how well they bind.

I'm not suggesting anyone drop their meds. SSRI's do have withdrawl symptoms...dropping them without tapering is a sure fire way to depression and bad times (and ammo for the therapist to say "see, they were working!"....but there are other treatments for depression out there that do work. Tricyclics for example are a great alternative.

Sure, if the wrong SSRI's are given to the wrong person, and / or for the wrong reasons, any or all of these side effects are possible. In the right circumstances however, SSRI's can and have helped many live a better life and suffer none of these side effects.

With all due respect acolon_5, there is a person on this site who states that DMT is evil as well. Most of our replies state something to the effect of "perhaps DMT just isn't for you..." I'm not promoting the use / abuse of SSRI's here, but one should be careful about being hypocritical. IMO the indiscriminate over-prescribing of SSRI's and mis-diagnosis is more of a problem than the drugs themselves. Ultimately, only the individual can decide what does or doesn't work for them.