Magic mushrooms: Can they offer a cure for depression?

[Buce]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36247599

[Steven]

I have depression.   Seriously I am glad that I don't. If cures/ameliorations can be found from non-large drug company sources, then why not use them? cf Aspirin, Penicillin and others. 

[Wymsey]

Talking is the best policy.

 

Mention to those that you care about and vice versa in how you feel; opening up and revealing your situation can open more doors than taking drugs that are a majority of the time only beneficial in the short-term.

 

Just feel Doctors/GP's are just giving out medication suffering from it, just to cut the number of people down in the queue to talk to 'mental' health professionals.

[lianne81]

Talking is the best policy.

 

Mention to those that you care about and vice versa in how you feel; opening up and revealing your situation can open more doors than taking drugs that are a majority of the time only beneficial in the short-term.

 

Just feel Doctors/GP's are just giving out medication suffering from it, just to cut the number of people down in the queue to talk to 'mental' health professionals.

Have to agree with Whymeswold talking is the best answer it is hard as first but it is the better option.

 

Medication/drugs just a quick fix you need face your problems head on to really put them behind you. x 

[Haydos]

Talking is the best policy.

 

Mention to those that you care about and vice versa in how you feel; opening up and revealing your situation can open more doors than taking drugs that are a majority of the time only beneficial in the short-term.

 

Just feel Doctors/GP's are just giving out medication suffering from it, just to cut the number of people down in the queue to talk to 'mental' health professionals.

 

These types of drugs can open your mind and change the way you view stuff. Obviously a lot of it is anecdotal but if it's helping people out of a depressive state then fair play.

 

Sometimes talking just doesn't cut it. It's hard enough to get your GP to take you seriously still.

[lianne81]

These types of drugs can open your mind and change the way you view stuff. Obviously a lot of it is anecdotal but if it's helping people out of a depressive state then fair play.

 

Sometimes talking just doesn't cut it. It's hard enough to get your GP to take you seriously still.

Sometimes talking does not cut it to start with , but with taking drugs/medication you end up wanting them for good because once off them your problems will still be there. x 

[Buce]

Talking is fine for some, but sometimes depression has no obvious source - hence alternative therapies like ECT may be effective.

My own experience of Mushrooms is a positive one; admittedly, I had them recreationally rather than as a treatment for depression, but it felt like my mind had had a Spring Clean afterwards.

[lianne81]

I do not talk either I used to drink and do drugs to forget things but that put me in a worse place so now do nothing. It is hard but I would advise people try and face things head on , I know that is hypercritical because I don't but I think it is the best option x 

[Bellend Sebastian]

I'd agree that anything that can give someone a temporarily different perspective could possibly help an individual's situation, but I doubt we'll be seeing a move to encouraging people with mental health problems to be taking hallucinogens, I'd have thought that could cause as many problems as it solves.

 

in my experience with substances, be it weed, other drugs, alcohol or whatever, is that there is a sweet spot with all this stuff (usually after consuming very modest amounts) where you actually feel quite nice in a way that is probably quite helpful.  The problem is that people rarely seem to want to stop there and they just consume more and more until they're out of it, and all you're doing then is disconnecting yourself from reality, which I suppose might be a comfort for some but isn't going to fix anything

[Haydos]

Sometimes talking does not cut it to start with , but with taking drugs/medication you end up wanting them for good because once off them your problems will still be there. x 

 

Mushrooms/LSD would be slightly different imo, they're not drugs that you rely on a high for. Like I said above, they can change outlooks, thought processes and perspective from a one off use. There's potential uses there.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

Where do I get some?

[FerrisBueller]

Read 'Acid Test' by Tom Shroder, it may change your outlook on how LSD/Shrooms are viewed and how they can be used

[Dodgy Bob]

I've read about studies with similar results from ecstasy as well. I wonder if it's not the drug, but rather the jolt; the doing and feeling of something that's completely new and exciting, that gets the results.

I tried shrooms a few years back and they did nothing to me, just gave me a slight glow and some pupil dilation and that was it. Could have easily gone to work and nobody would have noticed.

I've always wanted to try LSD, but the older I get the more worried I get that my mind is only one bad trip away from proper insanity.

[Buce]

One of my friends is a Clinical Psychiatrist, and we were discussing this topic a while back.

She told me that clinical trials in the Sixties showed some remarkable results in the treatment of a range of psychological issues. Patients were given large doses of either LSD or MDMA. The belief is that the drugs allow different parts of the mind that don't usually communicate, to do so. Why this is therapeutic is unclear and requires further research. Unfortunately, Western drug prohibition means that this research isn't taking place.

[Samilktray]

Has anyone ever tried shrooms? I'm not remotely depressed but it's always been on my bucket list

[Bryn]

Talking is the best policy.

Mention to those that you care about and vice versa in how you feel; opening up and revealing your situation can open more doors than taking drugs that are a majority of the time only beneficial in the short-term.

Just feel Doctors/GP's are just giving out medication suffering from it, just to cut the number of people down in the queue to talk to 'mental' health professionals.

This is dross, the guidelines are clear, I don't know a single doctor that would not refer, or more commonly these days advise self referral, for interpersonal therapy. People often don't go, or can't get an appointment because of nonexistent funding for MH, which is out of their control.

[sphericalfox]

This is dross, the guidelines are clear, I don't know a single doctor that would not refer, or more commonly these days advise self referral, for interpersonal therapy. People often don't go, or can't get an appointment because of nonexistent funding for MH, which is out of their control.

 

Pharma is cheaper and more profitable.

 

Saying all that, your GP is not going to give you a script for a bag of 'shrooms from Boots, so you can trip balls all day. It'll be incidental doses with cognitive therapy and support, but that would be less profitable, and possibly being in a pharma'd stupor is in some ways better for those who make decisions on your behalf, and know what's in your best interest.

[lifted*fox]

MDMA, mushrooms, LSD and weed could all potentially have life-changing results for people with depression. Obviously administered in the right dose and right setting.

 

There are plenty of drugs out there which could save people years of pain / suffering and addiction to horrible man-made painkillers / opiates, etc. 

 

The problem is, none of these things are currently taxable and our government is too far up the backsides of all the big pharmaceutical companies who provide a lot of funding to ensure their manufactured drugs remain the only way for people to medicate. 

 

You only have to look at the success some states in America are having with the legalisation of weed - people are able to medicate themselves using a drug that GROWS NATURALLY in the ground instead of fisting handfuls of prescription pills into their face every day. Not only that but the millions they're making in tax is being put into schools, housing the homeless, drug education. 

 

Still, the UK government won't EVER change their stance whilst they fear the loss of votes from the uneducated Daily Mail reading middle-class public of this country. People are scared because the media has made them scared - the media controlled by our government.

 

It's time people woke up - but you only have to see people moaning about weed in the #HAVINAPARTY thread on the football forum to see that isn't going to happen any time soon. Yes, it can get you high, but it can also provide relief for a whole host of illnesses, both physical and mental.

 

WAKE UP and get educated instead of repeating what you read in the papers. 

[Rincewind]

I'm not sure 'cure' is the right word. Maybe control is a better one. I have no experience of it but I do know people that suffer from it. I have not seen them at their lowest as I see them mainly when they are with others which helps. Outwardly they are cheerful but have mood swings and take medication. From what I heard the medicine is a lifelong thing. I would imagine they work in the  same way as mushrooms would. But they are both not a permanent solution as depression comes in many forms and has no one reason for all.

[casablancas]

I'm a psychiatric nurse,a qualified drugs worker and an independent non medical prescriber. I've worked in various inpatient settings ranging from high secure to intensive care. In my experiences legal highs, weed and substances that lead the user to loose touch with reality have much to answer for. I've seen more people hospitalised long term through use of substances then 'enduring mental illness'

The ease that these substances are acquired and the ease at which people use them seeking a quick fix with no knowledge of what may come. I advocate talking therapies as a first line however access to these are next to impossible. Gp's are between a rock and hard place they cannot get people the access to help they need believe me I've been a part of referral processes and know the frustrations. So in the short term they'll p/x fluoxetine aka 'Prozac' which again they get slated for. Should I be in this position needing help my first steps would be lifestyle ... Diet and exercise as I'm sure people have mentioned should be the first thing to look at. Having a stron support network is paramount, opening up an discussing mental health problems takes such a load off the sufferers ahoulders.

[lifted*fox]

 In my experiences legal highs, weed and substances that lead the user to loose touch with reality have much to answer for.

 

Legal highs are exponentially more dangerous than their illegal, supposedly 'more damaging' counterparts and only exist because we continue to try and fight a 'war on drugs' that doesn't work. 

 

I'm sure you've seen more people hospitalised through alcohol than anything else yet nobody cares about that because it's legal and taxable. 

 

Our government's drug advisory board reclassified all common drugs in an effort to expose how badly wrong we've got our classifications and alcohol was classified to a B. Our government has chosen to ignore the advice of it's advisory board to the point that respected doctors and scientists have LEFT the panel because their findings based on actual fact and research is consistently overlooked. 

 

The whole thing is a farce. 

[sphericalfox]

I'm a psychiatric nurse,a qualified drugs worker and an independent non medical prescriber. I've worked in various inpatient settings ranging from high secure to intensive care. In my experiences legal highs, weed and substances that lead the user to loose touch with reality have much to answer for. I've seen more people hospitalised long term through use of substances then 'enduring mental illness'

The ease that these substances are acquired and the ease at which people use them seeking a quick fix with no knowledge of what may come. I advocate talking therapies as a first line however access to these are next to impossible. Gp's are between a rock and hard place they cannot get people the access to help they need believe me I've been a part of referral processes and know the frustrations. So in the short term they'll p/x fluoxetine aka 'Prozac' which again they get slated for. Should I be in this position needing help my first steps would be lifestyle ... Diet and exercise as I'm sure people have mentioned should be the first thing to look at. Having a stron support network is paramount, opening up an discussing mental health problems takes such a load off the sufferers ahoulders.

 

Have you actually stated that legal highs and weed are in the same category as substances that lead a user to lose touch with reality, and are suggesting that the ease in which both are accessible are to blame for enduring mental illnesses? I just want to be clear.

[Bryn]

Pharma is cheaper and more profitable.

Saying all that, your GP is not going to give you a script for a bag of 'shrooms from Boots, so you can trip balls all day. It'll be incidental doses with cognitive therapy and support, but that would be less profitable, and possibly being in a pharma'd stupor is in some ways better for those who make decisions on your behalf, and know what's in your best interest.

What on earth are you on about? GPs get paid a tariff based in adhering to evidence based practice, they don't get paid by pharmaceutical companies. The companies can send reps around and stuff but the GPs can broadly on prescribe what they're permitted to by their CCG and NICE guidance.

Furthermore, we use SSRIs as a first line, they don't induce the type psychoactive effects you seem to be implying at the doses we use. You really think someone on 10 to 40mg of citalopram is dosed up to the eyeballs to the extent they no longer have capacity to make decisions for themselves? Have you any idea of the magnitude of what you're suggesting?

[casablancas]

Have you actually stated that legal highs and weed are in the same category as substances that lead a user to lose touch with reality, and are suggesting that the ease in which both are accessible are to blame for enduring mental illnesses? I just want to be clear.

I've seen hundreds of people detained under section 2 subsequently 3 following a drug induced psychoses. I've seen patients become completely absorbed in their psychosis a particular chap jumps to mind when I was in medium secure. Poor fellow had access to legal highs whilst in jail. He was one of the most tormented and psychotic people ive nursed. He was a very dangerous person to be around and measures were needed to ensure safety of himself and the other service users. So yeah I am saying that in my experience both legal high and cannabas use can result in people loosing touch with relality (psychotic)? In response to your second point the ease of access to them and a generations desire not to abstain despite the risks has resulted in rehospitalisation in numerous cases ive been involved with. With every instance of a drug induced paychosis (have a gander at the nice guidelines) the person suffering has an increased risk of not fully recovering thus the enduring mental illness. I think as a societal group we lack involving carers, ive seen families torn apart which could possibly have been avoided if services involved supported carers as well as the service user.

[casablancas]

What on earth are you on about? GPs get paid a tariff based in adhering to evidence based practice, they don't get paid by pharmaceutical companies. The companies can send reps around and stuff but the GPs can broadly on prescribe what they're permitted to by their CCG and NICE guidance.

Furthermore, we use SSRIs as a first line, they don't induce the type psychoactive effects you seem to be implying at the doses we use. You really think someone on 10 to 40mg of citalopram is dosed up to the eyeballs to the extent they no longer have capacity to make decisions for themselves? Have you any idea of the magnitude of what you're suggesting?

A well balanced argument you seem pretty clued up dude.