A Steem Introduction will be following shortly, but in the meantime I am posting a recent idea have I have exploring and seems to be a trending lately.
Please note I am not a doctor. I am only someone who some education in this area, I have a serious obsession with understanding all things science including biological, and medical. My thoughts and insights should never be used over that of a medical doctor. And for gosh sakes if you have to ask should if you should see a Doctor…go see one!
It is very likely you know someone close to you who has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), or some other type of stressed induced mental health issue that is related to the family of trauma and stress related disorders. If these people have received an official diagnosis they likely have also received treatment.
Traditional treatments include cognitive therapy, exposure therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Other psychotherapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) are also used. Some of these therapies might come in individual therapy, group therapy, or both. Medicines may be used for Antidepressants, Anti-anxiety medications or prazosin can be used. And these treatments have varying degrees of effectiveness on a person by person basis.
Non tradition treatments includes biofeedback, acupuncture, yoga, meditation and even chiropractic. Often some of these non-traditional treatments are used as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The are also more fringe types of treatments used that are not licenses or approved by any professional groups. One of these therapies that is getting the attention of alternative and traditional medical groups is microdosing.
Using a measure very small dosage of psychedelic drug at scheduled times with measured impacts combined with therapy. The medication used is usually LSD, Psilocybin, or MDMA, but could be LSD, Magic Mushrooms (Psilocybin), Peyote, PCP, Salvia, or MDMA. Researchers are working on what works better for what conditions but also this can vary from person to person as well. MDMA is generally more used for people dealing with a greater depression or social anxiety components while LSD is used more for strong PTSD patients who are having a difficult time progressing past their PTSD onset incident. The dosages are 1/10 to 1/100 of a moderate dosage for someone who might use that same drug recreationally.
People who have been treated in this manner have reported greater feelings of peace, relaxation, they have also noted increased creative output, more physical energy, and increases in emotional stability. Most who do this treatment gain a better and healthy sense of self.
There are some legitimate concerns with microdosing that should be noted:
Patient A meets with a psychiatrist and is prescribed a micro dosage of 10 mg of LSD.
Day 1: Patient takes micro dosage
Day 2: Patient meets with psychiatrist for observations and discussion
Day 3: Patient takes a day off
Day 4: Patient takes micro dosage
Day 5: Day off
Day 6: Patient takes micro dosage
Day 7: Day off
The patient follows this routine for 8-10 weeks and dosage or frequency might be adjusted by a psychiatrist during treatment.
There are a number initiatives that are going forward on this new therapy. Researchers are slowing conducting clinical trials of different conditions, dosages, and drugs. Albert Hofmann the inventor of LSD believes that microdosing has a bright future.
Microdosing is proving to be an effective tool in helping to treat a range of medical conditions especially stress related disorders like PTSD and also GAD. While most evidence is still considered ancillary by the scientific community there are clinical trials under way that should help to shed light on the future of micro dosing.
