So I've just come out of a hole experience on DCK yesterday which included a great deal of ego dissolution and it got me wondering more about the comparison of this effect between dissociatives and psychedelics
Over the years I've become pretty familiar with the ego dissolution induced by dissociatives. For me this is a pretty common effect during a deep hole experience. My sense of things becomes less tied to any notion of individual identity and seems more universal or `cosmic.' I may know in some abstract way that my body is somehow facilitating my experience but it seems so disconnected that it becomes more of an academic point than something really felt. Sometimes This feeling will manifest itself with thoughts of being dead which is another common theme I see cropping up in reports of ego dissolution/death.
Despite this I've never really had a strong ego dissolving experience on psychedelics. Even when I've gone fairly deep on drugs like DPT I've always kept one foot firmly planted in the standard conceptions of self. I think this is mostly due to the tendency to redose dissociatives which can lead to accidental strong experiences whereas psychedelics you more or less take your entire dose at the beginning for maximum effectiveness.
Can people who have had experiences with ego dissolution on psychedelics and dissociatves comment on the similarities/differences between the two? Are they the same effect mediated via different mechanisms or is there anything different to the experience?
For example with dissocaitves I never experience fear to a great degree even though some part of me registers that it is an extreme experience. Fear almost doesn't make sense in that state. However, dissociatives are very anxiolytic for me whereas psychedelics are anxiogenic so I'm curious if that carries over the the more extreme states one can reach.
I'm also interested in comparisons to ego dissolution induced via other drugs or other non-substance related practices. Is it all the same experience or are there different shades of it?
Over the years I've become pretty familiar with the ego dissolution induced by dissociatives. For me this is a pretty common effect during a deep hole experience. My sense of things becomes less tied to any notion of individual identity and seems more universal or `cosmic.' I may know in some abstract way that my body is somehow facilitating my experience but it seems so disconnected that it becomes more of an academic point than something really felt. Sometimes This feeling will manifest itself with thoughts of being dead which is another common theme I see cropping up in reports of ego dissolution/death.
Despite this I've never really had a strong ego dissolving experience on psychedelics. Even when I've gone fairly deep on drugs like DPT I've always kept one foot firmly planted in the standard conceptions of self. I think this is mostly due to the tendency to redose dissociatives which can lead to accidental strong experiences whereas psychedelics you more or less take your entire dose at the beginning for maximum effectiveness.
Can people who have had experiences with ego dissolution on psychedelics and dissociatves comment on the similarities/differences between the two? Are they the same effect mediated via different mechanisms or is there anything different to the experience?
For example with dissocaitves I never experience fear to a great degree even though some part of me registers that it is an extreme experience. Fear almost doesn't make sense in that state. However, dissociatives are very anxiolytic for me whereas psychedelics are anxiogenic so I'm curious if that carries over the the more extreme states one can reach.
I'm also interested in comparisons to ego dissolution induced via other drugs or other non-substance related practices. Is it all the same experience or are there different shades of it?
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