Jun 15, 2021
9:18:22pm
9:18:22pm
Recently re-connected with an old girlfriend who had/has serious depression
problems. Here is what she wrote me (I have no experience with it myself):
"The plant medicine retreat was conducted by a Shaman from Columbia who grows the plants and makes and administers Ayahuasca. Have you heard of it? I didn't experiment with psychedelics when I was in California in the 70s, but this was a seriously life changing experience. I was so suicidal for so long that my psychiatrist, neurologist and family doctor all agreed that I needed to try something pretty drastic. <son>, being the nifty little neuroscientist he is, did a bunch of research on it before he let his mom go off to the outlying areas of Costa Rica to drink weird medicines. He explained to me that my brain, with PTSD, was like a sled path in icy snow. When I would take my sled to the top of the hill, it would automatically go down that same path worn in the snow every time. The weirdest things set off my PTSD re: <son>'s death, but I always responded the same way: Like a crazy person. Ayahuasca, Psilocybin, Ketamine actually reprogram the brain by opening new pathways to other areas of the brain to give the "sled" more options. There are times where my sled still wants to go down that old icy path, especially if I can't reach one of the kids or someone close to me dies, but <son> is really cued in now and will tell me I am headed down that path so I can stop and push myself down another path. SO, I am alive! I am on nasal Ketamine for really bad times (lots of deaths, suicides, abuse etc <where she="" works="">) and it keeps me from withdrawing again. In some ways, COVID was a good time for me to work on my new sled paths. The intense effects of the medicine lasted for about 8 months after the retreat. Now I have to work on things with my doctors a little more, but I am so much better. I have some residual effects from the strokes, but very little, actually. I don't think I will see patients again because I don't trust my brain completely (darn thing betrayed me!), but I was a good Medical Director while I was there."</where></son></son></son>
"The plant medicine retreat was conducted by a Shaman from Columbia who grows the plants and makes and administers Ayahuasca. Have you heard of it? I didn't experiment with psychedelics when I was in California in the 70s, but this was a seriously life changing experience. I was so suicidal for so long that my psychiatrist, neurologist and family doctor all agreed that I needed to try something pretty drastic. <son>, being the nifty little neuroscientist he is, did a bunch of research on it before he let his mom go off to the outlying areas of Costa Rica to drink weird medicines. He explained to me that my brain, with PTSD, was like a sled path in icy snow. When I would take my sled to the top of the hill, it would automatically go down that same path worn in the snow every time. The weirdest things set off my PTSD re: <son>'s death, but I always responded the same way: Like a crazy person. Ayahuasca, Psilocybin, Ketamine actually reprogram the brain by opening new pathways to other areas of the brain to give the "sled" more options. There are times where my sled still wants to go down that old icy path, especially if I can't reach one of the kids or someone close to me dies, but <son> is really cued in now and will tell me I am headed down that path so I can stop and push myself down another path. SO, I am alive! I am on nasal Ketamine for really bad times (lots of deaths, suicides, abuse etc <where she="" works="">) and it keeps me from withdrawing again. In some ways, COVID was a good time for me to work on my new sled paths. The intense effects of the medicine lasted for about 8 months after the retreat. Now I have to work on things with my doctors a little more, but I am so much better. I have some residual effects from the strokes, but very little, actually. I don't think I will see patients again because I don't trust my brain completely (darn thing betrayed me!), but I was a good Medical Director while I was there."</where></son></son></son>
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- JoMax
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- May 3, 2024
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I wish I had something I could offer up besides my best wishes but know you are not alone and many others have been
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