Psychedelics are greatly popular in the community of people who think with different perspectives related to consciousness and spirituality. Psychedelics have been used experimentally to mimic psychosis and put forth mind control. The word Psychedelic derived from the Greek word for ‘mind-manifesting’. Its use goes back centuries in many cultures, and they are still utilized in some religious ceremonies. These psychedelics are known as Serotonergic Hallucinogens in scientific terms and they are powerful psychoactive substances that alter perceptions, mood and affect several cognitive processes. They include chemicals such as Acid or LSD and plants, such as peyote and magic mushrooms.

There are numerous studies about the benefits and drawbacks of using psychedelics but a new study focuses on how psychedelic drugs can reroute people out of psychological dead ends. Some researchers have shed light in a scientific review paper published in the Journal Psychopharmacology, on a state of mind that they believe can help people out of psychological crises, and it's reached by tripping on psychedelics. In this report, Robin Carhart-Harris, one of the world's most prominent psychedelic medicine researcher, explains this “pivotal mental state”, which can be achieved with the use of psychedelic drugs, and it provides a unique opportunity for psychological transformation.

A psychological crisis is an event in life that an individual perceives as stressful to the extent that any normal coping strategies are insufficient. Carhart-Harris, the head of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, wrote the paper. This new report has compared the pivotal mental states of coming out of a psychological crisis to rowing down a river and coming to a separation. Means, when somebody reaches a pivotal point of stress, where something needs to change, that's where it matters what you do with that window of escape and where you go with that. The pivotal mental stress serves as a significant evolutionary function that can start the psychological transformation of any person. And because the transformations can be fulfilled through the act of tripping, Carhart Harris proposes this idea could provide a look into an idealistic future, where psychedelics are routinely utilized to reroute people out of psychological crises.

According to the Psychopharmacology Journal's report, the psychological crises can be seen less as emergencies and more as new openings for development and growth. This concept of using psychedelics to reroute people out of psychological crises is strengthened by several emerging types of research. The recently developed Relaxed Beliefs Under Psychedelics (REBUS) model proposes that psychedelics relax parts of the brain, enabling for data to flow from the bottom up to join conscious awareness and overcome rooted cerebral networks of the brain. The officials of the United Kingdom have authorized the first clinical trial of the use of the ‘spirit molecule’, a psychedelic to treat depression. Carhart-Harris has outlined an evolution of several researchers that perhaps knowledgeable with psychedelic experiences such as being happier with loved ones, drinking less alcohol and being much more delighted. However, the researcher warns that irresponsible trips can similarly lead to severe breakouts from reality, delusions and even self-injurious behavior, mostly if one takes the wrong path to use psychedelics.

Carhart-Harris explains that “Humans have a pre-existing capability to have naturally occurring psychedelic-like experiences through which we change our views and behavior in major ways. But psychedelics are a particularly reliable gateway to exciting experiences that herald a psychological fresh start akin to rebirth”. People who are fighting with depression are often hiding away and then after treatment with naturally-appearing psychoactive elements like magic mushrooms, they feel like a different person and it's not like they are flying high, which is often shown in movies, but there is frequently a common satisfaction and peace, and a healthy shine. The researchers say that this report aims to help explain what psychedelics do to people, positively. According to Carhart-Harris, “People can already imagine what it might be like to have a spiritual epiphany. Maybe they have gone through a period of psychological crisis that seemed to reach a tipping point. And that then led them to radically shift their perspective on things and all their behavior or their life”.

This concept of using psychedelics to reroute people out of psychological crises is strengthened by several emerging types of research. According to the report, rather than tripping with an injection of drugs to stop psychological crises, what if people use natural psychedelics with calming music and supportive words. With our flexible brain, free from long-held beliefs and specifically open to new concepts, it's a moment for lifting people out of decaying states of mind in the psychological crises.

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Reference -

• www.journals.sagepub.com
• www.sciencedirect.com
• www.pharmaceutical-journal.com
• www.frontiersin.org