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Health The Big & Dandy Bipolar Disorder & Psychedelics Thread

E

enkephalin

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 1, 2002
Messages
41
I have a friend who suffers from bi polar and he wants to fry on mushrooms. Could his disorder raise the chance of him having a bad trip or because he is bi polar should he just stay away from mushrooms for the possibilty that it could increase his instability?
Thanks
 
Bipolar is the same as Manic Depressive, right?
I know for a fact that cannabis is said to be therapeutic to many Bipolar individuals and I've also read that Mushrooms are therapeutic to OCD sufferers...
I'm not sure about Bipolar and mushrooms, though I just read a report on Erowid that claimed they mushrooms were helpful, not harmful to this particular individual's Bipolar disorder, I would still do more research before you decide...
You also should consider what medications he may be on for his Bipolar...
[ 28 January 2003: Message edited by: BlueDeer ]
 
While psychedelics can be used to treat all kinds of illness, including bipolar, this needs to be done under the care of someone trained in this type of treatment.
Taking psychedelics when you have ANY mental illness is like playing russian roulette with more than one chamber loaded.
 
Taking psychedelics when you have ANY mental illness is like playing russian roulette with more than one chamber loaded.
Although one should be careful when taking Psychedelic Drugs if they suffer from any kind of mental illness, I believe it's generally "Psychotic Disorders" like Schizophrenia where the real chance of mental harm exists...
From all I've read, with educated use, I don't believe the risk of harm is much with "Mood and Anxiety Disorders", while the therapeutic potential is much greater...
I should know, I've suffered my whole life with OCD and a very bad social anxiety/phobia problem and have found that Psychedelics have been nothing but therapeutic (while addictive drugs have only done harm, which is why I recently made a decision to completely abstain from them)
(I just did a search on Google and found the following info on different types of Mental illness) -
Psychotic Disorders: A group of diseases characterized by disturbed or bizarre thinking and behavior, extreme withdrawal, and hallucinations. Schizophrenia is one type of psychotic disorder.
Mood and Anxiety Disorders: This group of impairments can range from intermittently debilitating to severely handicapping. The major disorders of this type include: bipolar affective (manic-depressive) disorder; depression; obsessive-compulsive disorder; panic disorder; phobias; and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Organic Brain Disorders: Illnesses such as brain tumors, hardening of the arteries, and injuries can cause mental illness. Types of organic mental disorders include delirium and intoxication syndromes.
Personality Disorders: These disorders are defined by long term patterns of behavior and coping difficulties. There are 11 personality disorders, including paranoia, borderline, passive-aggressive, dependent, and antisocial.
While psychedelics can be used to treat all kinds of illness, including bipolar, this needs to be done under the care of someone trained in this type of treatment.
Absolutely, it would be best pursued under the care of a trained Psychologist, unfortunately with the Drug War and all, it's generally not a possibility for most people...
[ 28 January 2003: Message edited by: BlueDeer ]
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Psychedelics like shrooms and acid tend to be fairly safe for bipolar people to use -- certainly much better than stimulants or downers.
 
Fairnymph, do you have a source to back that up? I beleive you, I am just curious as to what all it says :) . With heavy pot use, I have noticed more sporatic ups and downs but maybe it was interfering with his medications. Also, he has done adderall a few times and I didn't notice any obvious negative effects, but I didn't really pay too much attention to it.
 
All I have to say is -be- -careful-.
Have a controlled environment.
My brother is bi-polar, and when he gets to the negative pole, its just...bad. if the substance made your friend hit the negative pole, it'll be near impossible to talk him down. I can't even talk my brother down while he's sober. :p
Either way. Be careful. I would say its probably best not to use said substance, but I have no scientific backing. So. Yeah. That's my opinion :)
Shii
[ 28 January 2003: Message edited by: Shiido ]
 
i have been diagnosed with bipolar as well as other things and i have done mushrooms several times, never with any problems. my personal opinion is that it should be fine, as long as he is in a comfortable envyroment with people he can be open with and trust..if the envyroment is bad everything could go wrong..
 
The only problem would lie with if your friend is taking prescriptions for his disorder. When i was on prozac and i ate mushrooms, the trip was greatly decreased... it was shorter, less visuals, and less body high? How do i know this? Cause ive eaten the same mushrooms while on prozac and while off of it... the differences in the trip were remarkable.
 
A word of caution on your classification of bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is NOT the same as regular depression, and is much more complicated than a mood/anxiety disorder.
When a person is running toward the positive pole of their cycle the drugs used to control the symtpoms are anti-psychotics, the same type of medication used to control schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.
To say bipolar is unrelated or doesn't confer the same risks as a psychotic disorder is extremely mistaken. Bipolar is depression/mania in alternating cycles and as such it is NOT safe to indulge in psychedelic use in an uncontrolled setting.
Perhaps you can take these drugs and come out okay. Perhaps not. Is it worth the greatly magnified risk to your mental health?
 
Being a person who suffers from Bipolar myself i would like to share something on this subject. I have only done shrooms once and it wasnt too long ago...im on lithium and welbutrin. Before i was medicated my moods would change literally in seconds. Most of my trip was great and without any problem. In my belief Bipolar is one of the closest things you can get to schizophrenia. At one time in my trip i had 5 dif people talking to me which made me feel i was entering another world whenever i cued on one person. This made me feel like i was in fact schizophrenic. At that time i got up went in a room by myself and calmed down. In my opinion shrooming for Bipolar people is safe as long as you know your limits and know when to get up when you start to feel you are going to swing or freak out. I think it all depends on your surrounding DONT shroom around asshole "friends" who think it is hilarious how you become confused and dont seem to understand the severity of the situation. i can definately see how shrooms can send you into EXTREMELY rapid and srong cycles. just be safe and some-what aware and you should be fine
 
your friend should be fine, but I suggest he does it during a depressed rather than manic stage
ocd is always made worse for me when I use psychs
[ 30 January 2003: Message edited by: purplegel1 ]
 
does anyone else get bad anxiety while on shrooms? ive done them maybe 3 or 4 times, and it seems to happen almost everytime with me. is there a way to stop or calm this? what causes this? i do have a depressive disorder (not yet diagnosed, but i think it may be manic depression or bi-polar disorder) and im sure that has something to do with it. any suggestions of things to do while shrooming that will keep my mind from getting so panic-y?
 
Bipolar disorder and psychedelics (mega-merged)

I have this friend who is Bi-Polar should i be worried if he starts using psychadelics? with this harm him mentally? :p
 
Move to Dark Side

I'd recommend this gets kicked over to dark side, as this is a serious issue over someone taking psychedelics with problems, specifically mental problems.
Psychedelics are powerful, especially in an uncontrolled environment, and is this person on medication?
It's some issues to think about.
I wouldn't actively give this person psychedelics.
Again, I would seek advice in the Dark Side.
 
I am bi-polar and have done MANY psychedelic drugs in my day, and I have never encountered any serious problems.
 
While bipolar people should be extremely careful with all drug use, psychedelics are MUCH, MUCH safer for them than stimulants or downers.
 
^^^

Totally agreed.

I was diagnosed as an acute bi-polar before I even tried drugs.

Prozac, imipramine, and halcyon I took by prescription but felt even more out of it with those. Mood swings became more intense with them cause they made me too tired to do anything.

Psychedelics and marijuana cured my panic attacks and gave me hope to live through my suicidal tendancies.

After I went through a period with Meth, my mood swings were back in full swing.

For those who have mood swings, beware of the upper/downer syndrome. It's fun to get into but nasty to get out of.
 
I have Touretts Syndrome, Obsessive Complusive Disorder, Neurosis, and symptoms of Hypocondria. I've never had a problem; then again, I'm not bi-polar, nor is my experience in psychedellics very great.
 
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