What I Learned from Hallucinogens

Dr. Oliver Sacks talks about how hallucinogenic drugs helped him empathize with his patients.
HALLUCINATIONS, Dr. Sacks's new book, available now!
www.oliversacks.com/books/hallucinations/
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[@michaelthomheadley]

I love how his first comment is that he felt more empathy towards his patients and what they were going trough. Very selfless perspective

[@BushyHairedStranger]

Look up the word Psychotomimetic. Research of Hallucinogens(in the late 1940’s through the 1950’s)were used just for this purpose, to assist therapists-Psychologists, Professionals in mental health care, to understand what it was like being “insane” or more specifically schizophrenic so they could empathize with their patients. Dr. Max Rinkel and Dr. Robert Hyde both worked at Boston psychopathic hospital in 1948-1950 they used LSD in their research.

[@robertmotyka133]

My favourite hallucination is to hear Mr Sacks voice while I read his books. It feels like he tells me them directly person to person. I've been reading "Musicophilia" recently.

[@curtdawe]

Dr. Sacks, I first heard your TED talk on Charles Bonnet syndrome.You had your audience as well as myself, totally spellbound by your talk. You have such a professional caring and respect for your patients and for people in general. I have the feeling that anyone you come into contact with, is blessed with your presence. Thanks for being such a great example of what doctors and caring people really are.

[@irishelk3]

I only got his book, the Oaxaca journal a few months before he died, a very easy and enjoyable read packed with knowledge.

[@a3axon]

Almost done reading the man who mistook his wife for a hat, I would recommend it to anyone!

[@Cyberphreak135]

meth withdraw gave me the worst suicidal feelings / beleif that everybody is out to get me... It gets worse everytime.... I can empathize with schizophrnics and the severly depressed in a way I didnt beleive was even emotionally possable now

[@Doriesep6622]

+Joseph Gregory Try to hold on. Can you come off meth now? Try Tolle and Haisch for some kind of spiritual life. Take care of your body. Best wishes.

[@nuttynoah5342]

When you try to get away from meth,try to do another drug that is way less dangerous than meth.like weed.

[@brickfacemortar4432]

"People don't want other people to get high, because if you get high, you might see the falsity of the fabric of the society we live in."..... Ken Kesey

[@derrickcox4233]

Another dummy that apparently didn't understand what Oliver Sacks said in this video.

[@HPoelzig]

When I was 17 in 1971 I ate two hits of Orange Sunshine at a party and later thought I had permanently lost my mind. Nothing has scared me that bad since.

[@BushyHairedStranger]

This feeling of losing ones mind when high on Hallucinogens is 100% avoidable. Set & Setting and being with a totally trusted friend who has experienced ego death can really help assuage the outcome of the fear response. It happens far more often in recreational drug use than any other way hallucinogens are used(research). and it can be difficult to navigate while experiencing it. Many people who have experienced this phenomenon have committed suicide out of fear of being schizophrenic forever afterward. Those experiences of going insane or dying are almost always the gateway to incredible epiphany snd self awareness, learning. The usefulness of that terror can be illuminating if navigated properly.

[@kontekzt]

can't wait to read this book

[@parhy4562]

Holy shit it's Dr. Sack

[@caramason56]

Brilliant

[@SuperWidemouth]

He's now 80 fukin' years old??! Amazing...

[@morgellonbetancor1453]

QUE GRAN FORTUNA QUE OTROS LO HAGAN NO TENGO ESE PLACER BUENOS DIAS

[@than217]

RIP :(

[@myr940]

shit i didnt know..and the other day i was so happy that a being like him exists. He still does and will exist in my heart and the univerce

[@dwdeclare1965]

yea, geometrical colors and patterns floating all around. it's like walking through a 3-d kandinsky. "motion being split up into a series of separate stills." no doubt, like duchamp's nude descending a staircase. good ol' psilocybin...it'll turn your evening into an exploration of the theories of modern art.

[@jennyhughes4474]

If I hadn't experimented with LSD when young the experiences I had after brain injury (eg sound-vision synaesthesia, walls/floor flowing/moving, people/things looking different, heightened sense of smell) would have been FAR more terrifying. Because I had already experienced these things (different/altered reality/perception) I had info I could use (tools) to help me. I'm not advocating that everyone should go and try LSD but wish to merely point out that I was thankful I had because others who suffer brain injury or these type of experiences are so scared, turn to doctors who themselves describe antidepressants etc. (strong mind-altering drugs,ha ha to 'cure' an altered mind = brain) or passed onto psychiatrists who do the same: a 'mental health problem' and 'curable' with pharmaceutical drugs such as antipsychotics/major tranquilisers. Oddly these drugs - and antidepressants doled out like candy by GPs & psychiatric nurses, often using LOTS of pressure techniques on us to get us to take them) are legal although they cause massive amounts of injury and deaths. VERY strange world: doctors & nurses can make us take THEIR drugs but what may be OUR choice of medication (eg marijuana) is illegal. Alcohol & tobacco are restricted and highly taxed to deter the poor - and therefore 'unable to think for themselves (make 'bad judgements') as the rich are allowed to do - from partaking of these pleasures. NO statistics (are there?) on the morbidity and deaths caused by PHARMACEUTICAL drugs (nor of the many but hidden injuries caused by surgical/anaesthetic procedures eg intubation, diathermy, unnecessary operations), odd that, wonder why that might be = an oversight/accident? Data please: morbidity/deaths caused by marijuana, alcohol (including to others eg dangerous driving while drunk - oh but INSURERS pay, not the state?), by doctors/state via 'healthcare'/psychiatrists, by lies/hidden info by pharma companies...

[@simonfolkard8027]

Care to back up this claim about antidepressants causing injury and death-they save more lives than often credited.They're often not pleasant treatments,but then nor is severe depression.

[@davidgrahamscott]

+Simon Folkard and psychedelics can actually help with depression

[@jennyhughes4474]

+Simon Folkard care to back up your claim antidepressants 'save more lives'? I tried paroxetine = made me FAR more anxious, shaky, insomnia PLUS dreadful injury (hopefully not permanent) to nerves round bladder and groin. Was POISONED: mega thirst, 3 days to flush it all out, 3 days in the bin, did nothing else. WHO counts the REAL risks/effects versus the supposed benefits? Can we TRUST what they say???

[@simonfolkard8027]

+Jenny Hughes Paroxetine cannot poison your bladder

[@jennyhughes4474]

That isn't what I said! I think it damaged my nerves (including those to genital area) plus made me TERRIBLY thirsty = my body needed LOADS of water to flush it out - I think. It took me 3 days of HELL to get it almost out of my system. What lasting damage though?

[@patrickboudreau3846]

The brain is the very foundation of the experience of a human life. A jewel that should be treated with extreme care and respect. Are you certain that playing with these drugs are worth the risk just to experience a high ? I think it’s the wrong path to choose.

[@fred8097]

That you think it’s ‘just a high’ indicates that you don’t know what you’re talking about. These experiences are not simply aberrative, as anyone who goes through them with an open mind and the right setting will immediately appreciate. And their physiological and even psychiatric risks are minimal compared to what GPs now prescribe without second thought. It’s good to be sceptical and cautious, but don’t dismiss what you don’t understand.

[@staphinfection]

He also experimented with stimulants when he was a med student, most likely methamphetamines or meth, which everyone thinks is so bad and if you do it once you'll be a tweaker and lose your family, house, money, teeth, blah blah blah. But it's just a ploy to get you to not do drugs. And I agree, most people should NOT do drugs, but some should definitely try and experiment. JUST REMEMBER, MODERATION IS KEY!!!

[@brickfacemortar4432]

I agree with both of you. I took LSD and talked with god others take LSD and watch cartoons all night. I am not sure what is in us that makes us so different. My parents both smoked ciggys and drank all the time I want neither. What are we and what makes "us". I know we are our own creators but there are other things a foot.

[@archilonshadowheart7]

Well even Methamphetamines were prescribed orally to people like Bob Dylan and so on. But dangerous? hmmm i don't know they used to prescribe 5mg oral methamphetamine pills in the early to mid sixties and i have a friend who iv's 200mg every 2 weeks without upping the dose or changing the quality or the time of application. which seems extreme. but my point is not that hes getting away with it for now, without a desperate addiction, my point is if thats how hes doing on 200mg iv how bad can 5mg orally really be? or is it stigma and the high dose iv users and smokers who are giving it a worse name than it deserves?

[@staphinfection]

I have a theory about your dreams, but I'm no doctor. I have had amazing vivid dreams all my life. I suspect that you have had vivid dreams most of your life, but just never knew it because you were a different type of sleeper before lipitor and your heart condition. I attribute vivid dreams to being woken up during deep sleep. I am a light-deep sleeper. I can sleep anywhere at anytime, but often wake up at the slightest movement or sound. When I'm drunk or really tired, I don't have dreams.

[@deadheaders86]

Agreed. The best part of dreaming is the recall. Where else did airplanes and skyscrapers come from? There is a problem with dream scapes manifesting in the real world though.

[@slumpgawd4031]

What if someone blind took hallucinogens

[@SylviabombsmithUjhy75bd34]

In which talk/article did Sam mention this guy? IMO, one should not need to use the same drugs as their patients in order to understand/help them. The hallmark of an effective counsellor is one who can identify the issues of the patient, and implement a strategy that will be effective for that patient.

[@ianharo2040]

11 year old comment. How can one form an understanding of a specific subject if they willfully remain ignorant?

[@SylviabombsmithUjhy75bd34]

@@ianharo2040 perhaps they cant....we can never fully capture or perfectly understand the experience of another..

[@ianharo2711]

@SylviabombsmithUjhy75bd34 that is indeed true. But the actions taken in order to at least understand a portion of it. That is something someone who is not willfully ignorant will do

[@SylviabombsmithUjhy75bd34]

@@ianharo2711 yes of course we can TRY to fully understand another person, the point I was making is that this is not possible. We can only reach an approximation of another's experience...But yes I also consider it worthwhile to attempt to TRY and understand, so I think we both agree here...u silly goose

[@No9Nando]

He sounds like Terry Pratchett

[@wakkowarner8810]

I'm addicted to psychedelics. LSD, shrooms, and DMT. How do psychedelics help me block my pain? Or is it more of an I don't like myself and want to escape using psychedelics type of thing? I know it is an addiction because when I try to stop using psychedelics, I get an intense craving for them and start using them? I usually use an insanely high does when I use them. At least 15g of shroom, 1mg or more of LSD, and at least 100mg of DMT. I don't know what I am trying to do, or why I am craving them. Right now I want to do a thumbprint, 10mg or more of LSD, but I keep talking myself out of it; I know I'll eventually cave in and do it. How does one stop a psychedelics addiction, since psychedelics are supposed to break addictive behavior not make people crave to keep using them? I need some help. I'm hoping someone on KZbin can help me figure out why I am going down the path I am going down, and how I can turn my life around.

[@CharlotteWeb100]

You won't get much help or advice on KZbin that I promise! Get yourself to the doctor and be honest, upfront and totally out with everything so they get you referred to the right people and places.

[@HD-le8wl]

You're not addicted. You're creating and conforming to dependancy based on frustration. You may not like yourself, but, your probably more repulsed by who you don't want to be and most definitely, you are bored with your environment. The more rabbit holes you dig and venture down, the greater the confirmation bias you will suffer.

[@wakkowarner8810]

Hawkeye The Noo I don't think I hate myself. I love myself. I think it is I'm bore with my environment and want excitement. Having high functioning autism and living in a predictable environment drives me to use psychedelics to find novelty. In my real environment I can predict most things. On a trip everything I see is new and awesome. I really need to find a non drug way to get some randomness in my life, I just don't know how to do that.

[@HD-le8wl]

Wakko Warner​ Of course, psyches are the purest form of escapism, and a predictable and non stimulating environment will force you to 'go travelling'. Have you considered why your waking life is boring? How to act in this environment? Am I being who I want to be? What are my responsibilities? Do you feel you have a passion? Can you apply this passion? If not, how will you apply this passion? What is a time flying cost effective stimulus you can invest in?(for some it's books, driving, computer games, painting, music, sports, cooking, building, researching, exploring) Have you created a plan and checklist of what you want, need and when? Depending on your age, then, you may not have considered these questions. Then again, depending on your experiences, you still may not have asked yourself these questions. I'm not going to reassure you that a bright picture will appear and that everything will be fine when you stop using, you will find things tedious and frustrating, but, it's how you react and direct your actions for you own self benefit that will make you happier. All you really have to do is program yourself to new thoughts and feelings which will result in actions. Thought is the electrical charge in the quantum field and feeling is the magnetic charge in the quantum field, so in essence, thought send signals out and feeling draws the event back. When you combine these two, you move into a state of being, this is when 'things' respond to who we are, not what we are thinking or what we are being but who we are being and who we are. These 'things' only organise events equal to who you are being. Your body is the unconscious objective mind, it doesn't know the difference between an experience in your life that produces an emotion and an emotion that you fabricate by thought alone, it just gets the signal based on what you react and feel to. So as you keep embracing the same emotions, which are a memory of the past, you will never create a new future because in order to create a new personal reality, you have to change how you think, act and feel. Most people try to create a new personal reality as the same person, that never works. I can expand on this more but it would be more beneficial if you sought out the information yourself. Seek out, "Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself" by Dr JD.

[@wakkowarner8810]

Hawkeye The Noo I bought some of the books you told me about. I hope they help me discover the meaning of my life.

[@deadheaders86]

Coffee and beer destroyed my life.

[@freya5902]

Really?

[@deadheaders86]

@@freya5902 Yes and no. They were the only substances I used in these last few years, and once I cut them out my anxiety and depression, respectively, disappeared. Caffeine is a stimulant, and alcohol is a depressant. I managed to be very productive at work and at home, but it was like burning a candle at both ends. Zero headaches, better diet, more fit, clear head. I advise anyone to drop both for a few months just to see. I hesitate to start any former vice up again.

[@Averyunknownpoet]

but for some people amphetamines are only some kind of gruesome stuff & they are eagerly awaiting the end of the effects...?

[@RealiveProds]

All the so-called "recreational drugs" are far less dangerous than most of the pharmaceutical junk out there.

[@tzahilavi3295]

lsd

[@kariwattsup]

Oliver has a black aura around himself here. I've not seen in any other interview I've seen of him. Interesting....

[@jackycola63]

kariwattsup wtf Dude even if you can See "auras" its not possible through a Screen or monitor. Learn you shit

[@Betoven81]

YFI

[@christopherhamilton3621]

LOL!!!!!’