Considering the anti-drug stance of our culture as a whole, the widespread use of pharmaceuticals seems hypocritical. But afterall, society is not anti-drug per se, but frowns upon the use of drugs for hedonistic purposes. But i'm not here to argue about drug law, but to say that a class of drugs usually frowned upon in psychedelic circels are, in fact absolut necessary for many, many people. I'm talking abouut psychopharmaceuticals here - anxiolytics and anti-depressants to be precice.

It is not my aim to start a discussion about certain drugs like prozac, or certain classes of drugs like SSRIs or Benzos. We all know, that many of these drugs are not perfect and carry many side effects and risks. I'm also not favouring "100% natural" drugs. It is silly to believe that they are more benign just because they weren't created by men. The general mistrust many of us place in menmade drugs is perhaps more a sign of a lack of self-respect in regards to our own heritage than anything.

What i'm talking about is the fact that many people are taking these drugs to help them go through life and it seems like an easy way to fix things. I had the same opinion for quite a while, but now i lean towards the other end of the spectrum.

The Reason for this is our culture in general, and the many ways life can fault us.

See, i'm not complaining, but some people are able to attain certain ways of thinking, feeling and handling social situations which makes them more capable of dealing with the Problems life throws at us. I believe that if you are not equipped with certain "patterns of thinking", you are in many cases "shit out of luck" as they say. Psychedelics are great in the way that they give you the chance to restructure your mind, and to correct some of your faulty behaviours. But how do you get through the day if so much crap is thrown at you at an ever increasing rate? It's as if the game of life, so to speak, increases in difficulty as time progresses. But what if the players skills does not increase?

Let me state it bluntly: The chances of a premature "Game over" increases dramatically. And yes, by this i mean Suicide. Wouldn't you "cheat" if you knew that your life were at stake?

Anxiolytics and anti-depressants are here to help those who are weak and can't just handle our high-anxiety high-stress culture. You do not even have to have a memory of a youth misspent ...for some people the bomb explodes later in life. It's no competition.

The reason for my musings is my re-connection with Kava Kava. It gave me a new perspective, showed me how life can be with decreases levels of anxiety. It's a whole new life. A life everyone deserves. It is natural and beautiful. I want to experience it more often, catch my breath. Buy some time to build a more stable foundation. Life is too short to not take drastic measures. And then some people complain, that Kava "shrinks the bloodvessels in the liver".

I'd rather have a not so perfect liver in body than a bullet.

I've actually been having the same thoughts lately because of certaint changes in my life. I've been drinking kava for half a year ow and it has greatly diminished 80% of my anxiety and paranoia towards the game of life. I found that if I drink kava atleast once a week all the time It must have a long half life or some sort of long term effects because it cures my anxiety and paranoia if I keep that up.
But recently with some changes in my life it's been a lil more stressfull and I haven't had the time to make kava in certaint situations and so I've been pondering the idea of getting anxiolic drugs to help me. But that wld be against my whole plant way of life and plus I used to abuse the crap out of them when I was younger. So I understand what you meet by it being taboo in our realm of society to take that cheat because we have the sense that our psychs and other plants shld do the job.
I decided against it for now and have bought some kava extract and kava candies for when I don't have kava made and need to rele take something for my anxiety but if it does keep staying this bad I'll have to do what I feel I shldnt and take som pharmaceuticals to help me get through this period of life.

Thought about it some more.
First of all, i'm not entirely certain if i want to spend my time in a kava haze which offers decreased anxiety levels but also a altered state of consciousness. Perhaps one just has to accept this new state of mind as the new permanent one and move from there.

Then, I've read about men who are spending money on cosmetic surgery. The author argued, that the "quick fix" it offers is very congruent with the way the "civilized men" sees his body as a tool to manage life. And as a tool that needs to be managed. But are we really to blame for wanting basic security, and the satisfaction of most basic needs? Even though I want to give myself more time, to be more "whole", i don't see it happening soon, as I need constant help and attention as a social and emotionally retarded person.

Idk I don't find myself to be in a haze. I drink it once a week and it has good enough effects to last me all week generally unless something difficult arises but I do need the help from it and don't find myself being in a different state of consciousness prolly because it evens me out from the anxiety.

Great thread Obliguhl! I have definitely found that the attitude amongst the psychonaut community is anti-pharmaceutical. As you stated, they can have massive side effects and be destructive when misused, just like any drug really. I was on mirtazapine (a tetracyclic antidepressant that works on noradrenaline and serotonin) for about five years and came off them at the start of last year. I was taking them mainly for anxiety related to obsessive thought patterns, triggered by repressed grief that came from a low dose LSD session.

In contrast to a lot of medical situations where GP's suggest the drug to the patient, I researched and decided on mirtazapine by my own accord. The doc was pretty surprised and stunned that a patient was suggesting the drug of choice, ha ha! Anyway, the mirtazapine worked great as an anxiety dampener so I could work through the issues in a controllable way until I felt ready to live life medicine free... I don't regret a thing but am glad to be off them now.

Like you stated, I think in the right situation, and when suicide might seem like the only option, pharmaceuticals are not necessarily a bad thing and can be quite helpful with responsible use. What I am against is doctors handing out scripts to anyone with a slight inkling of stress (that can most likely be dealt with by natural means and methodology) and then lining the pockets of Big Pharma.

Also, a lot of modern medicines are great at reducing symptoms but sooner or later the root problem needs fixing and pharmaceuticals can't fix that... They only provide the training wheels to make the therapy of fixing the mind easier to cope with, something too many doctors don't deal with or help their patients with.

I agree that the anti-pharmaceutical stance adopted by many psychonauts seems prevalent,and, IMO, could be regarded as unwarranted smugness/elitism on their part.For a populace such as ours, with a so-called 'expanded' consciousness the attitude towards pharmaceuticals seems, IMO, incongruous with the heightened sense of compassion/awareness we attribute to ourselves.


I also think that the modern way of living simply serves to expose the inherent weaknesses we all have been gifted by our parents which hitherto have been kept from exposure to the light of day when we lived a less frantic and pressured existence.Of course, for some, the stressors of life even when not severe can be enough to make psychological woes evident but like a reed swaying in the breeze, we all will snap if the breeze becomes stormy.

The reasons why for example antidepressants serve a useful role (IME/O) is in part related to the fact that they will work quicker (and more cost-effectively) than the psychological approaches which admittedly would be a better approach but are costly, protracted and demand more of the patient than taking a pill(s) daily.This also sheds light on why doctors prescribe them for a shit life 'syndrome' when the magnitude of the symptoms cannot really be classed as 'sufficiently' severe.This is pragmatism, with all its clear faults.

The issues of suicide has been mentioned and its recognised that in some patients with severe depression their mental state is such that in their misery they lack the motivation to do the act, but once their mood lifts a little with the introduction of antidepressants, their risk of suicide actually increases as they regain a degree of volition and motivation.This observation makes the timing of the introduction of medication somewhat tricky.

Ultimately, each of our minds are flawed and most of us live with the cracks adequately; its when the cracks expand under whatever pressure (discernible or not) that the job of repairing it needs to start.And this should be with the most appropriate tool readily available irrespective of whether its natural or not.IMO.

To quote myself and rephrase it, what I meant to say is I'm against doctors that push scripts on patients that might just be going through a regular down point or stress in life and would most likely deal with it okay on there own terms (though not always). If the patient is the one requesting it then that is their choice to make and is fine if they are informed of the possible side effects, addiction potential, etc.

I hope that clarifies things

Great reply Corpus!

The lifesaving power of these substances is generally being underestimated. If doctors push these pills on everybody who´s going through a bit of a difficult time, that´s their fault. Ofcourse that´s just irresponsible, just like giving people who´re realy instable a pill without paying any further attention. Research has repeatedly shown that a combination of therapy and medication is far more effective than either therapy or medication alone. These med´s are just to get the brain up and running again, so people can WORK on their problems. Corpus callosum has mentioned that people who´re in serious misery lack the energy or motivation to do anything about their situation. When the brain starts functioning again like it should, proper guidance can be of great help and importance. If some people would have gotten therapy/guidance of some sort, in addition of just the pills they where proscribed, that would have probably prevented many suicides.

I very much agree with this polytrip. I found when I was on the meds it definitely helped create a space so I could work on my problems and also carry on with my normal duties of life. It wasn't a cake walk but neither is a lot of things in life and I feel better for having walked that path and feel like I found myself at a deeper level for having been through it.

For some people they can cope with the problems with therapy alone or meditation or whatever but there will always be a need for meds for the people that can't cope on sheer will alone. Of course, I think psychedelic therapy with a trained professional like Stanislav Grof would be ideal but we don't live in an ideal world.

On a side note I found mindfulness meditation a powerful ally in learning to accept and not hang onto any negative, anxiety producing thoughts.