snowdaytoday
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2013
- Messages
- 71
Just an idea I had
I imagine the disposition to "test self by doing risky things" is especially relevant to becoming a psychedelics enthusiast. That, paired with strong novelty seeking tendencies, is what I think most often distinguishes the group from people who frequently use a variety of other drug classes but tend to shy away from psychedelics. Individualistic and exploratory tendencies could probably get safely tacked onto the list as well. Enthusiasts are probably a lot more likely to be designer drug guinea pigs for all drug classes for these same reasons, as the "hobby" offers an adventure in novel states of consciousness regardless of whether the experiences are psychedelic or not. That's why discussion of all sorts of novel drugs get started in Psychedelics Discussion here rather than Other Drugs, for instance. We like the idea of pioneering, and the sense of meaning often derived from the associated risks. There's a Bluelight-linked study/survey right now looking into motivations for novel designer drug usage that I'm betting will reach similar conclusions.Compared to respondents with no lifetime use of any psychedelic, respondents with lifetime use of any psychedelic were more likely to be younger, male, white, Native American, or more than one race, have somewhat higher income and more education, not be married, like to test self by doing risky things, experienced an extremely stressful event, and to have used all classes of illicit drugs.
There's certainly a correlation between particular personality traits and being the sort of lifers that have haunted these forums for years *ahem!*. A large recent study, Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study, states it this way:
I imagine the disposition to "test self by doing risky things" is especially relevant to becoming a psychedelics enthusiast. That, paired with strong novelty seeking tendencies, is what I think most often distinguishes the group from people who frequently use a variety of other drug classes but tend to shy away from psychedelics. Individualistic and exploratory tendencies could probably get safely tacked onto the list as well. Enthusiasts are probably a lot more likely to be designer drug guinea pigs for all drug classes for these same reasons, as the "hobby" offers an adventure in novel states of consciousness regardless of whether the experiences are psychedelic or not. That's why discussion of all sorts of novel drugs get started in Psychedelics Discussion here rather than Other Drugs, for instance. We like the idea of pioneering, and the sense of meaning often derived from the associated risks. There's a Bluelight-linked study/survey right now looking into motivations for novel designer drug usage that I'm betting will reach similar conclusions.
^ ^ Agree with this. I think most psychedelic enthusiasts are 'risk takers', which apparently is related to genetics to a large dgree. Most people I know that have no desire to take psychs are fearful of the unpredicable impacts on their minds. It's like they are comfortable with the reality they have and see no reason to change it. Me on the other hand, I feel like an 'explorer'. I love to push those boundaries because some of the richest experiences in my life have come from stepping out of the box. Heck, I'd have signed up for Mars One if I was younger! As a tangent to that - one of the things that really appeals to me about a group of people starting a base on Mars is that.....all Government law goes out the window! You can start a new culture from scratch, based on whatever ideals the group believes in. Alas, I think my supply of psychs would run out up there and Nasa is unlikely to resupply......
If I had to define the most likely psychedelic user I'd prob say male and a loner.