It is rare, but does happen, that using psychedelic drugs can trigger a psychotic episode. Even though it is rare, this is a such a bad outcome that it’s worth taking into consideration.
My layperson’s understanding of the risks and tradeoffs right now is as follows: I think that used as a treatment for a concrete and difficult problem like PTSD, psychedelic drugs seem like immensely useful tools that should be used much more.
But for just general self-improvement or self-actualization, using psychedelic drugs feels to me like “picking up pennies in front of a steamroller”—it will be fairly good for most people most of the time, with a huge tail risk.
I don’t think it’s well understood when, why, or how often this happens. I wish it were better understood, as I suspect it’s specific people who are at risk and most people can use psychedelics safely. But from where I sit it seems like a -EV bet absent better information about your own brain.
It is rare, but does happen, that using psychedelic drugs can trigger a psychotic episode. Even though it is rare, this is a such a bad outcome that it’s worth taking into consideration.
My layperson’s understanding of the risks and tradeoffs right now is as follows: I think that used as a treatment for a concrete and difficult problem like PTSD, psychedelic drugs seem like immensely useful tools that should be used much more.
But for just general self-improvement or self-actualization, using psychedelic drugs feels to me like “picking up pennies in front of a steamroller”—it will be fairly good for most people most of the time, with a huge tail risk.
I don’t think it’s well understood when, why, or how often this happens. I wish it were better understood, as I suspect it’s specific people who are at risk and most people can use psychedelics safely. But from where I sit it seems like a -EV bet absent better information about your own brain.