Hi Folks,

My mum is feeling kinda down again, she's been down the ssri route before and doesn't want to use them again.

She saw this article: https://news.sky.com/sto...-study-suggests-12588258

Good to see such things making a dent in the mainstream, however reading it I get the impression it's not talking about micro dosing but more proper psychedelic doses for full positive effects, something she isn't keen on doing, she did try mushrooms and acid in the 80's but doesn't want to be dealing with full trips and all they entail.

I have good clean acid was thinking maybe could microdose that, or maybe mushrooms as I can get them my friend has loads of liberty caps.

I also saw in the UK, and have read of a lot of veterans in the US using ketamine at specialist clinics to deal with PTSD and depression etc. She seemed pretty open to this as ketamine gives me some afterglow and always feel great after a session plus its pretty short acting compared to shrroms and acid plus I think its typically easier to deal with compared to proper tripping psychologically. I did recently have a sample of racemic ketamine was so clean and smooth and felt great so leaning that way as it stands.

This also got me thinking about ibogaine tinctures, I remember years ago Maya were selling them and I'm pretty sure there were reports of people getting that nor-ibogaine goodness without the rigmarole of flooding iboga, obviously that's out of the question lol

She works five days a week so she can't be bothered with exercising, her diet isn't too terrible, could be better but was also thinking basic supplements like I take. Isn't maca supposed to be a good one for depression?? I'm going to ask a few contacts about these herbs/supplements who are more knowledgable than me. She also has trouble sleeping, I've suggested melatonin in the past but anytime we look on eBay etc. its always super expensive or it's a mixture of things, though this is something I will try investigate properly as I'm sure this would help overall well being.

I did just hear today and pretty busy but thought id pop on here and ask, surprised at her openness to the ketamine so it must be pretty serious if she's reaching out to me and asking such things.

She drinks too much alcohol maybe twice a month like occasional nights out or when its holidays or special occasions she goes over the top with red wine. I drink like that takes 3 days to recover so I think this is a contributory factor tbh.

Any advice, thoughts or pointers would be greatly appreciated thanks

I'm sorry for your mum. Psychedelics can be a catalyst for change but they are not the change in themselves. I think this applies to ketamine too. It opens up a window, where you have more freedom to act, but if nothing changes in your life, depression is very likely to come back.

Alcohol is terrible fuel for depression. It's very difficult to get off habitual drinking if you don't have strong motivation. Psychedelics can help to see that, but they don't take away the pain.

It's a terrible loop when you feel tired, don't have the energy to be physically active, seek remedy from chemical substances and maybe from food with poor nutritional value too.

Could you perhaps help your mum to go for a walk sometimes? Doing something that makes you feel physically good and is healthy may help to break the cycle. It often takes someone to help with the first steps.

To piggyback Tomtegubbe, it will be helpful if she can have someone to process and integrate her experiences with in order to manifest a trajectory of lasting change. Either someone who is broad minded and level headed or a therapist of some kind may be appropriate. Depending on the kind(s) of depression, severity and intensity will dictate depth of experiences, frequency, and type of therapy that is most appropriate for the context and situation. Depression functions on many different spectrums. Some types for example can be remedy with hard work over time. Other more severe forms may be lifelong.

Exercise is good for our bodies and minds. It allows us a mind/body connection as well as benefits from good blood flow and endorphin release.

Wishing you and your mother the best.

One love

I would recommend microdosing harmalas. It can be a healthy habit to start the ball rolling.

Hi folks, apologies for the delay I've not had internet access the last few days.

She brushes off excercise and wont do it as in focused stretches and excercises at home, only the last 4 years I've got into it but it doesn't make any difference as she is pretty active tbh, she works on her feet 5 days a week and now the good weather is coming in here she walks home from work most days, she does get a lot of light excercise in tbh i.e walking and going out to places, walking the dog etc. She got a bike last year but unlike my step dad didn't get into it and maintain it so has never got that big dopamine whack actual excercising brings.

I mentioned some of the things you guys mentioned today as not seen her since before this post and she said look, I've had this for 25 years.

As voidmatrix mentioned it's like a spectrum, and with her it comes and goes, it's not debilitating at all though I think the alcohol use, which is very intermittent tbh like football games, holidays and nights out, she drinks red wine like anytime I drink that with her I'm fucked for 3 days as I don't normally, but it's habit etc. working life wants to let loose or whatever with a nice meal.

I totally agree with ketamine or the like being a stop gap and short lasting but shes totally fine with something like that. She took citalopram for 6 months said it was great, worked but never cured anything end of the day.

I've always wanted to try microdosing iboga and think coule try it with her. My friend said microdosing mushrooms is pretty unpredictable unlike acid, and I can get good pure clean acid so thinking microdosing them and occasional ketamine doses. That said I told her tonight the times I get the proper afterglow and feel great is the times when I've took a proper dose, like any psychedelic. I've had minimal experience with microdosing acid, and this was from unreliable sources tbh. Though my friend is very positive about microdosing acid, she tried it two years ago but the acid was weak and from unreliable sources, was acid but not the dosages they claimed and I've not revisited microdosins.

Jungle heart, when you say harmalas do you mean harmala crystals? I always thoght microdosing aya was a waste of good cappi but I'd never considered harmalas, I've asked last few years about microdosing cappi when it came up in passing and it was always met with scepticism. Any pointers be great.

Sorry again for delay, really appreciate the input thanks.

In my experience microdosing mushrooms is not unpredictable whatsoever. I guess it depends on what you are calling a microdose. 1g of fruit bodies is not a microdose try about a quarter of that. In my experience mushrooms have a longer lasting effect than other methods, lasting up to months. LSD treatment can last weeks. Ive been using sublingual harmaline and vaporized DMT twice a week lately.

I honestly dont understand why we don't use DMT to introduce people to psychedelic compounds more often. A micro dose can have very light effects and it is short lasting. The first timers #1 freak out is based on the idea they will never came down. With DMT its over very quickly. Im not saying give your mom a breakthrough dose the first time either.

Thanks for the info and feedback appreciated. Do you extract your own harmaline? Dmt would be a no go I've told her about my experiences in the past, maybe ask her about low doses but doubt she'd be up for it tbh.