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The Big & Dandy 'Memory and Psychedelics' Thread

Mjäll said:
It's really hard to say since I've been using them through a period of mental development, late teens.
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This

B9 said:
I use too many other substances to be able to comment objectively.
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and this.

A lot of bluelighters in PD are going to have trouble isolating the variables of what is causing memory changes of all sorts. I don't get the people that are still developing who happen to be potheads that like to do polydrug binges citing exactly what caused their "Post-psychedelia" problems.

I am one of them minus the direct claims. I am so much different than when I was a young teen way back, but I also used to be a young teen. Since then, lifestyle choices, social setting, added experiences, and probably the many different long term psych/dis/etc binges I have been on have melded into who I am today. (Along with plenty of other factors I can't even think of that probably do play in.)

The answer on this one just seems tough to me.
 
absolutely..... i blame psilocybin.... or mabe phencyclidine... who knows these things. all i know im not the genius i once was
 
Its practically impossible to say how a drug has affected your memory if the change is small or subtle because there is no control group of a "you" who hasn't taken the drug to compare with.

That being said, my gut impression is that:

Tryptamine Psychedelics (Psilocin, DMT, LSD etc.): Little to no effect on short- or long-term memory even after extended use, although I have "recovered" many previously forgotten memories (usually of childhood) while tripping.

Phenethylamine and Amphetamine Psychedelics: While these do seem to feel somewhat more toxic than their tryptamine counterparts, I have not found any noticeable changes in memory that I would attribute to these chemicals.

Dissociative Psychedelics (Ketamine, DXM, etc.): Mild impairment of short-term memory after 2+ year period of moderate use. Occasional effect of "recovered memories" also experienced with this class of drugs.

Again, this is just my (educated) guess at how these chemicals have affected my memory; It is difficult to determine the effect on memory with certainty especially because there have been few periods when I have used only one class of psychedelic without touching any of the others.
 
the only part of my memory thats effected is the memory of the actual trip

which is often really cloudy

and the next day i find myself cloudy if i dont get enough sleep, with is usually the case if its acid, with the long duration
 
Remembering experiences

Wasn't sure if I should post this in the BDD Thread or not. Sorry if so :)

Referring to DMT, What I'm wondering is this, has Anyone found a way to effectively remember the experience? I know the whole thing is a chore since so much happens so quickly but maybe just a little more than almost nothing. I seem to start forgetting as soon as I start the landing sequence and it kind of sucks. My last experience (3rd breakthrough) i was able to sit back and not be flabbergasted or scared in the slightest the entire time. Which I know helps alot.

So anyone have any tips? *crosses fingers*
 
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trips were especially hard for me to remember in the begining. I would only remember what was like a photograph of something instead of a whole sequence of events. But when I would take it I would be all anxious and overly nervous about what was going to happen. Like you said then I learned to take it and forget about and relax and then it was much more enjoyable and seemed more subtle, and its because I wasn't all worked up about it. Plus that is one of those drugs that the mood you are in when you take it can and will determine how your trip is, IMO.
Edit: I'm reffering to acid though, I just saw the dxm bit at the start of your post. Sorry, don't know how I missed that.
 
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um I tend to begin drawing and writing some stuff down as I am coming down after few minutes and it pieces things together but my most significant breakthrough on this compound is something unforgettable so its like that for me, maybe that will help or not i dunno but happy space travels. peace.
 
I can recall the majority of all my trips pretty much 100%. The stronger the trip the bigger impression it will leave on my memory. I can remember the strongest trips very well(some of them happened almost 2 years ago). I do have a much stronger memory than most people. The only thing that will make me forget things that happen while tripping is if I start consuming alcohol. I think like others said that over time it will become easier and easier to remember minute details. As for tips you could just try to generally train your memory and besides that you could write things down during the trip.
 
^with most other longer acting things I keep a journal throughout the experience and afterwards write as much as I can. It's nice to look back on old journeys. With other shorter acting things such as DMT and Sally that is impossible. What I'm wondering here is a way to integrate those short experinces before the landing sequence begins. Good luck haha. I usually have a great memory but obviously it's harder when psychedelics are involved.
 
I remember alot of from my first breakthrough.. but i know there was also alot i don't remember ;) One thing i learned from my past experience's with DMT, you have to forget.. in order to come back.. once you realize the paradoxical nature of reality.
 
Have a friend record you on video camera, and start talking all about it as soon as you come back, just blah blah blah everything you experienced with great detail. Watch it again, document it, and you're ok. If you have a dream journal, it's allowed to be part of your dream journal, so put it in there.


I have a strange question if anyone knows the answer. You know how if you make a habit of poking yourself whenever you feel you might be dreaming, and you begin to do it in your dreams and finding out when you're dreaming and go lucid.... can you do that on DMT? is there any possibility of that at all? or is your body literally completely gone that you have nothing to poke?
 
I don't think there's a B&D but I do recall a pretty recent discussion about psychedelics and memory, someone may wanna merge these eventually or link to the other discussion? Meh, I'm lazy :)

To briefly rehash my theoretical approach: psychoanalysis teaches us that memory formation and recall is closely tied to mental state at the time being remembered. Essentially, the further one is right now from the mental state one is trying to recall, the more distorted the resulting memory recollection is likely to be. If you're tripping balls and your basic conception of reality and your place within it is altered, it can be very hard to imprint memories that make sense later without a lot of conscious effort to integrate and retain your experiences. It may be easy to reduce the experience to symbolic terms - I watched this movie, then listened to this music in that room, and I saw imagery that looked like this - but to actually integrate and recall the more meaningful aspects of the experience takes a lot of work. Of course, some experiences are so transformative that they do not seem difficult to recall at all -it's certainly far from impossible to do, but there is a natural resistance to the most valuable aspects of psychedelic memories that is difficult to overcome without being aware of it and taking conscious efforts to do so.

I've yet to taste DMT, but is it really that much like dreaming that you'd need a test to remind yourself that it's not real? From reports I've read and other tryptamines I've tried, it sounds like either you've got full-on ego death and such concerns are temporarily rendered meaningless as you explore an alternative mode of being, or you are awestruck by the intense experience you are having, fully aware that it is wonderful and novel. Does it have a more K-like aspect of extreme dissociation from your own presence in the experience, then?
 
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If I want to write something I will usually start writing as soon as I am physically able. Even if you remeber one small bit, the act of thinking it through and writing about it opens up some of the connections and semantics at work during the trip, and my memory starts to spit out dribs and drabs of experience. I'm sure I never bother to try and get the whole thing - its kind of like trying to get an elephant into a Austin Mini. Strike while the iron is hot. I do notice that for a few days, odd memories will continue to bubble up and provide amusement/interest.
Some people focus on various emotionally significant objects or thoughts, and the reinteraction with these after the experience has passed can unlock areas of memory.
Your mileage may vary - Peace - Pipp
 
solistus said:
I've yet to taste DMT, but is it really that much like dreaming that you'd need a test to remind yourself that it's not real? From reports I've read and other tryptamines I've tried, it sounds like either you've got full-on ego death and such concerns are temporarily rendered meaningless as you explore an alternative mode of being, or you are awestruck by the intense experience you are having, fully aware that it is wonderful and novel. Does it have a more K-like aspect of extreme dissociation from your own presence in the experience, then?
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Unfortunately I've never tried K to answer that question with any credibility ;)

For me, the breakthrough on DMT consisted of an almost instant transportation from self into the infinite consciousness, 'time' was stretched to a singularity and you no longer existed as an individual but as a collective, eternity is realized and due reflection is allowed before the will to forget is reached.

We die to remember, what we live to forget
 
Yeah, well, there's a new remembering a level 6 salvia experience thread in the forum right now, too. You'll never merge them all! Tee hee <poke> snickersnicker... <poke>.
 
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