Using psychedelics to treat mental health disorders

There’ve been plenty of attempts. But honestly? Big Pharma just didn't see the money in it. A cured patient equals zero profit... nothing...

Now you've got Ibogaine being used to pull junkies off the heavy stuff. And back in the day, Ecstasy was actually being looked at for treating mental issues. It fell off the map because nobody was interested in making a buck from it. Meanwhile, you look at places in Latin America where tribes have been using mushrooms, cacti, and all sorts of stuff for millennia to cleanse themselves of evil spirits...

It's all done through rituals. Obviously.

Let's be real—everyone knows by now that the standard medical approach to mental health isn't getting any actual results. It’s high time we start looking at some "new" old methods.

What she’s saying about Ibogaine is just one example of how much potential hallucinogens really have. Addiction is a brutal disease. Or more accurately, a psychological disorder. Just like schizophrenia... it's all the same stuff. And so on...

Anyway, anyone else here actually interested in this field?

Bradley Fisher20 said:Schizophrenia? It's the exact same thing.

And what does schizophrenia 😕 have to do with anything I'm asking about? 🙂

Schizophrenia is such a massive buzzword these days. Everyone's jumping on the bandwagon with it, which is why I brought it up. Plus, I’m convinced there’s a way to handle it. Or at least, you can learn how to live with that specific edge before it spirals into full-blown schizophrenia... if you're in the right environment. Trying to shake it once it hits? That's a much harder fight, especially later on. But honestly, that's not even the main point here...

Bradley Fisher20 said:Right now, Ibogaine is being used to help people kick hard drugs for good.

When she talks about Ibogaine, she’s just pointing out the massive potential of hallucinogens. Look, addiction isn't some minor habit—it's a brutal disease. More accurately? It's a mental disorder. Just like schizophrenia, you know? Same ballpark. And so on and so forth.

Anyway, anyone else interested in diving into this territory?

Well, if you're only looking at it from one specific angle, sure. But honestly, I don't know how much you actually know about Ibogaine—it's definitely not some harmless little pill, and the effects aren't always positive. In fact, the side effects can be downright nasty...
If you actually want a real discussion, why don't you walk me through your hypothesis a bit more?

Bradley Fisher20 said:. Just like schizophrenia. And so on.

Just like what? 😕

Bradley Fisher20 said:"Schizophrenia" is just a massive buzzword used by everyone to sell something. That’s why I brought it up. Plus, there's a real chance it can be managed—basically learning how to live with that specific mental line before it spirals into full-blown schizophrenia. If you have the right environment, sure. Getting out of that state once it hits is much harder, especially in the later stages. But that's beside the point here.

Man... what do you mean "getting out of" schizophrenia?🙄 What are you even talking about? In mild cases, people might manage to scrape by, but only with constant therapy, and that's about it.

I was actually horrified watching the movie "A Beautiful Mind." It wasn't because of the filmmaking, but because of how disturbingly accurate the symptoms and the progression of the illness were.

Sophia Johnson43 said:if you're only looking at it from one angle. i don't know how much you actually know about Ibogaine, but it isn't harmless and its effects aren't always good, and the consequences can be more than nasty...
so go ahead and explain your hypothesis if you actually want a discussion.

haha. "Schizophrenia" is such a commercialized term. If I hadn't brought it up, this whole thread would've just sunk to the bottom. anyway, how much do YOU actually know about Ibogaine? What do you mean by "harmless"? Of course it’s not harmless. Nothing is. Not even cytostatics. But look, we're talking about something that—according to some data—has cured people of addiction in 30% of cases. That is an incredible success rate, especially since mainstream American medicine hasn't managed to cure anyone of addiction. So yeah, 30% is way higher than 0%.

It's something you shouldn't just ignore. Especially if someone is working in psychiatry, psychotherapy, or anything like that.

Schizophrenia was the bait. Good bait. I'm interested in schizophrenia too, but I can't exactly sit here and claim I know everything or that I can cure it. But looking at the data, it seems to me that psychedelics have a great foundation for being used in treating—or masking—the negative side effects of schizophrenia. Now I'm gonna rattle off some parameters that might or might not hold water...

To me, schizophrenia is basically just a plain old personality split. But it's a split that keeps that trend going. It doesn't allow for a re-"synthesis" of consciousness. It reminds me of what happens when someone finally snaps after overdoing it on dangerous drugs. Just a basic split. In the early stages, it can definitely blend into a healthy personality. But because people don't know how to deal with it—mostly because they get zero support from the people around them—they fall into this cycle that eventually totally wrecks them. A good shaman could definitely help a young schizophrenic avoid snapping 🙂. These are just some ideas I have about the whole thing. All rights reserved.

You’re throwing two different topics at me here, and honestly, both of them are massive, complicated subjects in their own right 😉

Regarding Ibogaine—look, it isn't some brand-new discovery (at least not for us over here in the States).
People have been flirting with the idea of using it to treat hardcore addicts (especially heroin users) for decades now. And if you know anything about anthropology, you probably already know that certain tribes in Africa have been using the root in their rituals for ages, just in a more "low-key" way.
A few years back, I did a deep dive into Ibogaine research, and most of what I stumbled upon suggested that maybe just one—possibly two—sessions could be enough to completely kill someone's craving for drugs. That idea absolutely blew my mind! I had to dig deeper to see if there was any truth to it. It turns out that among people using this hallucinogenic stuff, the majority ended up relapsing within the first month.
What I do know for sure is that a "session" absolutely has to be supervised. There is a very real danger of someone "losing themselves" or totally disconnecting from reality—I’m not entirely sure what the actual percentage of risk is, though, so if you happen to have any data on that, please let me know 🙂. Now, there’s also some chemical trickery involved that acts as a risk factor, but I’ll be honest—I can't quite remember the specifics (some doctor was trying to explain it to me—as much as she could, given my aging brain—but it went right over my head 😉).
Besides, Ibogaine stimulates the central nervous system, and if the dose is too high, you're looking at potential seizures, paralysis, or even respiratory arrest.

So, the bottom line for me is that this seems like something that needs a lot more serious study, even if we should definitely be considering it as a potential treatment option.
Bradley Fisher20, if you’ve got more intel on this, please, lay it on us 🙂

Come on, just admit you were actually interested in the schizophrenia stuff 😉.
As for Ibogaine, I don't know man. It's been ages since I looked into it. Just did a quick surf online and apparently, it’s nothing special. Dammit, I forgot the link...

Regarding how it works, it's not bad. For the first part of methadone detox, it hits pretty hard. They say over 90% of people don't even feel the craving for drugs for more than three days. The second part of getting clean is when you actually have to offer a better alternative. And that's where Ibogaine alone can't save you. It's just a tool. That's where we fall into those shamanic "guru" vibes that only hippies usually go for. But why can't this start using actual scientific methods? Why hasn't it become real science yet?

And about the schizophrenia thing... I honestly think psychedelics would only help doctors who realize that behaviorism isn't the holy grail 🙂.

Bradley Fisher20 said:Come on, just admit you were actually interested in the schizophrenia aspect.😉.

Look, I'll give you that—the idea of using psychedelics was definitely what pulled me in.😉

Bradley Fisher20 said:When it comes to how it actually works, it’s not bad at all. For the first part—that methadone-heavy phase of detoxing—it hits incredibly hard. They claim over 90% of people don't even feel the urge for drugs for more than three days. But then there's the second stage of getting clean, where you actually have to provide a better alternative for the brain to latch onto. And that's where Ibogaine can't do the heavy lifting on its own. It’s just a tool, right? This is where we run into those "shamanic" vibes that you usually only see with those alternative practitioners. But seriously, why can't this start being applied through actual scientific methods? Why hasn't it become real science yet?

If I remember correctly, it’s supposedly easier to quit something like heroin directly rather than trying to kick a methadone habit—though they describe that transition as something totally vague and hard to pin down.
Unfortunately, I only know one guy who tried Ibogaine (up in Canada) and it didn't really do anything for him... maybe lasted a few days at most.
Anyway, I'm with you on this—we need to learn more before we just toss the whole concept aside. And let's be real, methadone isn't exactly a "choice" anyone makes willingly. I know plenty of people hooked on it, but I don't honestly know anyone who successfully transitioned off via standard weaning methods. Maybe the catch is that proper psychotherapy is often completely missing from the equation...

Bradley Fisher20 said:As for the schizophrenia stuff, I honestly think psychedelics would mostly just help doctors who are tired of pretending behaviorism is the holy grail.🙂.

That is a completely different conversation. Over here, they almost exclusively use psychodynamic-oriented therapies (if they use therapy at all) alongside medication. Personally, though? I bet even behaviorism would be a step up.🙄

Psychedelics for mental health treatment? Are you insane!? Not in a million years... Someone who is already struggling mentally gets handed some numbing agent, or just one more burden to carry—addiction! All these psychotropic drugs are basically just brain rape. Sure, go ahead. It helps people stay a walking corpse, but actually heal?

Schizophrenia is just losing your grip on both your internal and external reality.

A split personality, sure, but Sophia Johnson43, what exactly is splitting? There has to be something there, some "constituent parts"... where does it all stem from? Be consistent and look past the symptoms. Maybe follow it all the way back to some dark root cause?

Yeah, it’s about those chaotic psychological forces breaking loose and seizing control of the conscious mind. The trigger is unknown; it depends on a mix of individual internal and external factors.

But there are known methods for balancing and harmonizing the psyche, and in my opinion, chemical substances definitely aren't one of them.

Here’s a little joke for you: Two behavioral psychologists run into each other on the street and greet one another like this: "I see that you are doing great! But how am I doing?"

On a more serious note, I’ve been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. If anyone here is actually interested in hearing about it, I can give you my firsthand account of what it was like when I was stuck in that "purple phase."

shadowgardener12 said:Split personality? Sure, fine—but Sophia Johnson43, what exactly is splitting? For a personality to fracture, there has to be some kind of underlying structure, some "constituent parts" involved, right? Where does that even originate? Look, just be consistent here and try to take a step beyond the symptoms—maybe we should be looking all the way back at the dark, root cause of it all?

😕 😕
I think... yeah, I’m actually with you on this one. And if my memory serves me right—which it usually does—I haven't even touched on schizophrenia yet. Like I said right at the jump, that's a whole other massive topic for another day.
What I'm really focused on here is Ibogaine and how it can actually be used to treat heavy drug addiction.

Well, yeah, I recall reading somewhere that it can actually be used quite successfully—I think I saw an article about it in the New York Times or one of those major papers about a year ago...

And man, it’s a powerful hallucinogen... though, as for those specific percentages, who's really to say?

They’d probably say the exact same thing about LSD—that a patient might just get lost in it forever... but my gut tells me this stuff hits a lot harder than LSD does..

Regarding those rituals, I've heard (and hey, now we could just be listening to some crazy warlock's tall tales) that you can practically travel back to the moment of your own birth or uncover memories you thought were gone for good.. almost like a deep state of hypnosis.

It’s entirely possible those are just legends, but I suspect it carries way more weight than LSD, mushrooms, or even peyote...

But for the time being, it's mostly just happening over in places like Vermont, within these parts...

No123 said:Check out this joke: Two behavioral psychologists run into each other on the street and greet one another like this: "I see you're doing great! But how am I doing?"

So, I’ve been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and if anyone’s actually curious, I can give you the firsthand account of what it was really like for me when I was going through that "purple phase."

Spill it. 🙂

Bradley Fisher20, walk us through your theory.

This is more or less how it went... I lived through the war back in '91, and I was perfectly fine until 1996, when I finally sought military medical care because my mental health was spiraling. I was plagued by restless dreams and couldn't catch a wink of sleep. The doctor diagnosed me with PTSD, which led to a two-month hospital stay where I was prescribed 1 mg of Xanax three times a day. After being discharged, I felt fantastic—better than ever, actually—so I stopped taking the pills altogether. I genuinely thought I was cured. I’d go to the local pool every single day and swim for an hour and a half straight without stopping; I could have gone longer, but honestly, I didn't even know what to think about while swimming, everything just felt perfect. Then one day, I stumbled upon that ancient IMF forum and started posting there. Back then, there were no moderators, and people were posting all sorts of intense stuff about the war. Some guy named Uzdanica kept uploading various war photos, and it really started getting under my skin. The atmosphere on the forum began to mirror the tension I felt when the war first broke out in '91. I felt like I was reliving 1991 all over again. I actually had this paranoid sensation that someone could see me right through the computer monitor. My head was a total mess; the internet, the TV, and reality all bled together. I couldn't tell what was real anymore. I felt like I was being watched, like I was being wiretapped. While I was driving, I started interpreting every license plate as some kind of coded message. For instance, "BJ" meant *run*, "CJ" meant *wait more*, and "BO" meant *no illness*—though "BO" felt good considering my handle was AlBundy. I would drive aimlessly around the outskirts of Indianapolis, trailing cars that looked suspicious to me. I was hallucinating, too. In Djakovo, I saw a massive sturgeon on a restaurant advertisement—something I'd seen online—but that sign didn't actually exist in the real world. At night, I’d drive endlessly through Naperville, Belize, Djakovo, Aljamás, Erdut, and Vukovar, and one night I even made it all the way to Washington, D.C. When I drove into D.C., I had this overwhelming feeling that the police were waiting for me. But as I reached the edge of the city, the entire road looked like it had been defaced with black hieroglyphics. At certain spots, I saw dead chickens scattered on the pavement; I swerved my car to avoid them because I was terrified that hitting them would bring some kind of curse upon me. I drove through a hilly residential area just outside Washington, D.C., before heading down into the city center. I ended up at a perimeter wall, got out of the car, walked the whole length of it, reading names inscribed there, until a lightbulb suddenly went off in my head telling me I had to go home. So I got back in the car to head back, but I couldn't find a way out of the city. I pulled up to the entrances of three different hospitals, wondering why on earth I was there, before turning around and leaving. Then the police pulled me over. They were checking something over their radio, but eventually, they let me go. I asked them for directions back to Indianapolis, they pointed the way, and I took off. I was tailing a car, matching its speed, when suddenly a foul stench filled my vehicle. The faster I stepped on the gas, the worse it smelled; the slower I went, the better. To me, that was a sign that following that car was wrong. Once that car disappeared from view, the smell vanished instantly. I rolled back into Indianapolis around 6:00 AM. I slept for a bit, then headed to the pool. While I was swimming, I found myself singing: *"Fly, bird of golden wings... my homeland calls me, and for her I shall die..."* Suddenly, I started feeling terrible at the pool. It felt like a spy nest; I felt like my life was in immediate danger. I rushed home, grabbed my Czech pistol, loaded one round in the chamber and 15 in the magazine and spare clip, and headed back to the pool in the middle of the night. I was hunting for spies. The pool was so packed with people that I realized if I started shooting, I’d definitely kill someone. But since no one looked suspicious, I just went home. For a few days, I wandered the city carrying a gun. I felt like there was a sniper watching me constantly, ready to take my shot at any second, but honestly, I didn't care. Since my phone and washing machine were being repaired at home, I became convinced someone had installed listening devices in them. I tossed the phone in the trash and loaded the washing machine onto my trailer to haul it to a local landfill. There was an empty tractor trailer parked there, and I thought it was specifically placed there for people to dump trash in. I threw the washer into the trailer and headed home. On the way, I saw a tractor missing a front wheel. Thinking, *why do I need a spare tire in my car?* (my car was brand new, not even a year old), I turned around, went back to the trailer, and dumped my spare tire in there. I figured if I got a flat, I could just grab someone else's car off the side of the road. Suddenly, it hit me: I am invincible. I can't even die, so why do I need a gun? I left it at home and stopped carrying it. I also felt like I could control the weather; even in November, it felt like spring to me. I’d drive around in short sleeves. I truly believed I was Jesus—that I could raise the dead and that I had to die to save humanity, only to rise again. One morning, while driving through the city, things got weird. The parking lots were completely empty. At a red light, I eased off the gas for a split second, then floored it straight into oncoming traffic. After slamming into two cars, I climbed out of my vehicle and started shouting at the intersection. I had this feeling that I had actually died, yet here I was, alive. I tried to get into someone else's car, but the driver locked the doors. A police officer approached me and demanded to know why I was making such a scene. Right then and there, I ripped the hat off his head and told him, "You don't work for the police department anymore. You're fired." The officer actually started shaking with fear, so I just handed him his hat back. Then, a civilian rushed up and punched me square in the head (I later found out he was special ops). That's when the fight with the police started. Actually, they beat me. I ended up in a psychiatric ward, strapped to a bed for a month. From the moment I arrived, I was suspicious of one patient in my room; he looked too much like a cop, and I was convinced they had planted him there specifically to watch me. After I was released, everything felt "off"—the sound of the streetcars, the idea of going back on the forums... it was all too much. I went through a rotation of medications: Leponex, then later Moditen, Akineton, and Amyzol. I couldn't sleep, my heart was racing like crazy, and I had these brain tremors. Eventually, things stabilized. It's been three years now and I feel great. I just take one Rispolept in the morning and nothing else. Three months ago, my doctor changed my diagnosis; it's no longer PTSD, but paranoid schizophrenia. Looking back, I have no idea how it all happened or why I didn't realize sooner that something was seriously wrong. And yeah, during that whole period, the color purple seemed suspicious to me—which is why I call it my "purple phase." So, that's basically the story. If anyone has questions, I'm here.🙂

Besides psychotropic meds, what kind of psychotherapy have you gone through?

Did you find it actually helpful?

There was absolutely no psychotherapy involved here. My routine consisted solely of check-ups every month. I would sit down, tell the doctor exactly how I was feeling and what was running through my head, and based on that, they would tweak my medication until we finally hit the sweet spot. Now? I feel fantastic. The psychotic symptoms are gone, and I’m not dealing with any side effects from the Risperdal anymore. It’s been a little over three years since that whole ordeal happened.

Honestly, someone should have strongly suggested psychotherapy for you! 😲 😲 😲

What can I even say? Not a single soul there mentioned the word "psychotherapy." Honestly, I walked out feeling like I was just some massive burden to them, like they were practically counting the seconds until I finally left the room. And don't even get me started on the therapist—the guy’s actually decent, I guess. But my ex? He had the nerve to flat-out demand $6,000 from me just to sort out my paperwork so I could qualify for my military retirement 😲 which, quite frankly, sent me absolutely ballistic.