How to benefit from psychedelic therapy
Have you been researching psychedelics for a while, or have you just newly begun your due diligence? Are you seeking alternative answers to traditional therapy methods or an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs? Or are you seeking a more spiritual approach? Let's dive into the fundamentals of how psychedelics work to give you more context to the subject. As always, we recommend doing research before approaching a psychedelic experience. Educating ourselves is an integral part of the journey and essential to achieving the desired outcome.
How do psychedelics work compared to pharmaceutical drugs?
Psychedelic substances like psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA don't have the same effects as classical pharmaceutical drugs, given to achieve a stabilizing effect – such as reduction in anxiety, depression, or pain. (An exemption can be micro-dosing with LSD or psilocybin, which I will write more in-depth about in separate blog content). Instead, psychedelics work in a way that can help you along the way to a better, richer, and more liberated life by confronting you with the elements you need to address to develop as a person – to gain empowering insights about yourself and the world surrounding you.
It is typical human behavior to choose evasive maneuvers and create compensational strategies to avoid discomfort as much as possible —either within ourselves or in our social environments (where most problems seem to occur). This strategy might work for a while—even for decades—and even if we don't suffer directly, it will reduce or stop us from personal development.
How can psychedelics help us?
Psychedelics help us to break these patterns, in addition to opening up for a whole range of other phenomena. This process can be far from comfortable, and we recommend that beginners do this with an experienced "trip sitter." In that way, we can prevent you from doing unnecessary harm to yourself. In addition to knowledge about the experiences you might face during a psychedelic journey, the "trip sitter" must contribute to inner peace. In that way, the person can ensure that whatever is coming up in your psychedelic journey is normal and won't do you any harm. We never recommend doing psychedelics with a person you don't trust completely.
Altered states of consciousness.
Most of us have experienced altered states of consciousness through alcohol. Others have tried smoking weed, marihuana, or other drugs. If you have practiced meditation or hypnosis, there is a chance you have experienced unusual things in a state between sleep or wakefulness. On a general level, the more conscious relationship you have with these altered states and the potential they can have in terms of new thoughts and perspectives, the more prepared you are to "go with the flow" and embrace the potential in a psychedelic journey.
How is psychedelics different from a drug experience?
When it comes to drug experiences, these are typically conditions that add something from the outside of us: In the form of peace or calmness on one side of the spectrum or energy and alertness on the other side of the spectrum. Or as temporary false self-confidence. With psychedelics, on the other hand, a veil is drawn to the side, so what's already within us can emerge and become an object of a conscious experience. That's the primary reason why a traditional experience with drugs doesn't necessarily prepare you for a psychedelic experience or the potential such an experience can provide. The essential part is the conscious relationship we have to the experiences: Who am I when I drink alcohol, daydream, or meditate? What is emerging, and what is more the background?
Increased consciousness & awareness.
What makes psychedelic experiences truly special is that our consciousness and awareness about what's going on is significantly increased in comparison to other drug experiences, where we become less aware of what's going on inside of us or around us at the moment.
Getting to know the potential in altered states of consciousness is a matter of experience; even if you gain life-altering experiences and insights the first time you try psychedelics, there is always more to learn about how to leverage these states.
