Ayahuasca and mental health

[IAwaska]

Hi.

There seems to be growing anecdotes of ayahuasca being helpful to mental health. This may be of interest:

My journey with a life altering drug: Ayahuasca http://www.elle.com/beauty/health-fitness/advice/a14193/ayahuasca-drug

Ayahuasca can change your life as long as youre willing to puke your guts out http://www.laweekly.com/news/ayahua...s-youre-willing-to-puke-your-guts-out-4137305

Ayahuasca will make you cry vomit and feel amazing http://www.vice.com/read/ayahuasca-will-make-you-cry-vomit-and-feel-amazing-918

Ayahuasca hollywoods hip heavy hallucinogen http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ayahuasca-hollywoods-hip-heavy-hallucinogen-825957

Ayahuasca completely transformed my life http://reset.me/story/ayahuasca-completely-transformed-life/

Peru: Hell and back http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0603/features/peru.html


Depressed patients find relief hallucinogenic ayahuasca http://www.medicaldaily.com/depressed-patients-find-relief-hallucinogenic-ayahuasca-328944

Psychedelic brew called ayahuasca shows promise treating recurrent depression http://www.psypost.org/2016/03/psyc...s-promise-treating-recurrent-depression-41668

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

It's quiet as it's kept, but a lot of people have horrible and confusing experiences with Ayahuasca, and come out worse with the experience than they were before they ever ingested it.

Or the Ayahuasca makes their mental illness even worse than before. For some people it just becomes a substitute addiction/escape from reality for them. The fact that a lot of the places people go in countries where Ayahuasca is legal for religious purposes wind up being basically expensive cults, and fake 'shamans' leading people in Ayahuasca ceremonies.

I also know people who fully believe that what they experience on Ayahuasca is more real than reality itself, and the drug has residual effects for them such as random actual hallucinations akin to psychosis when they are not on it.

You also have people who take Ayahuasca on their own or with random people who are not guides or shamans, and people who pretend to be shamans giving it to people and conducting ceremonies as mentioned in the one article you posted.

A friend of mine who is sadly no longer alive, was involved in Ayahuasca ceremonies but he grew up in that culture, and he said how the majority of Westerners who take Ayahuasca should not be taking it, that it's not a cure for mental illness or personal problems, that it's not just another high or something to be used recreationally, and that the abuse of a sacred plant mixture by the McKenna brothers and celebrities does not help.

 

[IamMe90]

It's quiet as it's kept, but a lot of people have horrible and confusing experiences with Ayahuasca, and come out worse with the experience than they were before they ever ingested it.

Or the Ayahuasca makes their mental illness even worse than before. For some people it just becomes a substitute addiction/escape from reality for them. The fact that a lot of the places people go in countries where Ayahuasca is legal for religious purposes wind up being basically expensive cults, and fake 'shamans' leading people in Ayahuasca ceremonies.

I also know people who fully believe that what they experience on Ayahuasca is more real than reality itself, and the drug has residual effects for them such as random actual hallucinations akin to psychosis when they are not on it.

You also have people who take Ayahuasca on their own or with random people who are not guides or shamans, and people who pretend to be shamans giving it to people and conducting ceremonies as mentioned in the one article you posted.

A friend of mine who is sadly no longer alive, was involved in Ayahuasca ceremonies but he grew up in that culture, and he said how the majority of Westerners who take Ayahuasca should not be taking it, that it's not a cure for mental illness or personal problems, that it's not just another high or something to be used recreationally, and that the abuse of a sacred plant mixture by the McKenna brothers and celebrities does not help.

Ayahuasca is just another psychedelic experience. An intense one, to be sure, but many of us have had nightmarishly intense trips on a variety of psychedelic drugs and these effects don't manifest in us.

The kind of people you're talking about sound predisposed toward mysticism and cult/hive mind psychology. I wouldn't infer broad generalizations about the potential for lasting negative side effects in ayahuasca in the average user of psychedelics from such a sample.

No disrespect, but ayahuasca is a drug concoction that's been used safely, by a great variety of people, for a very long time, and your posts comes off as a little hysteric to me.

That being said, anyone who plans on trying it should take extreme precaution in ensuring the right set and setting, and I agree that going to a foreign country and relying on a complete stranger to guide the experience is not necessarily wise. And, it is certainly not a panacea for life's problems, addiction, or depression.