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smallfruit
Stranger


Registered: 05/02/23
Posts: 8
Last seen: 8 months, 20 days
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Longterm effects of Psilocybin on the Developing Brain
#28306588 - 05/04/23 02:39 PM (8 months, 21 days ago) |
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I have asked this already once (diffrently) and got mixed answers:
The first 20 Answers were about as follows:
"I wouldnt take it as a Minor, we dont have enough studys on the longterm effects of mushrooms on the developing Brain. Dont take them, they mess up your perception of reality (not particularrily in a bad way) and you dont even have that yet.. Just dont it might damage you" (not giving any examples)
The next few were like the first few but with some of:
"Some Indigenous Tribes give them to 3 year olds" or "In some Indigenous Tribes you get them as your steppingstone into manhood/womanhood, so you are gonna be fine" and "I took way more than normal Doses at your age (18>) and am fine now"
Some were just straight up rude and telling me to get paychosis and fuck off etc.
I Talked to some other people that answere more reasonably:
"Mushrooms build on the knowledge you have. It is all about your level of Maturity (also we dont know if it can damage you). So if you are mature enough, research enough and do it safely, go ahead" (i heard that on joe rogan i think too)
Now, i took 1.5 gt 2 weeks ago and it was very nice, i even went outside and there were alot of people in the park but i was fine, (i know that is not for everybody) but i am interested if there are any studies on this topic, especially on developing brains. I heard there were some with lsd and mdma but its obviously not the same.
Now i see why i couldnt find studies on it: You cant just give drugs to minors, of course, but there are, as i mentioned, Tribes and People that do, now there could be studies done on their Brains, right?
Any other studies, research or knowledge on longterm effects of mushrooms, not just on the developing brain is very welcome.
-------------------- just small fruits sadly
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AllThingsMushroom
mushroom-er



Registered: 01/18/23
Posts: 165
Loc: 10.0.0.1
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Re: Longterm effects of Psilocybin on the Developing Brain [Re: smallfruit]
#28306617 - 05/04/23 03:15 PM (8 months, 21 days ago) |
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I don't think Mushrooms are bad at all... in some countries mushroom or psilocybin isn't considering a drug but a healing medicine.
I think about it like this: From the day you were born till right now your brain is develop the way society formatted the educational system. Your brain is develop the way your parents wanted to format you, it can be with morals, without morals, with beliefs, or without beliefs etc. Unlike animals we can't leave our nest until we are 18yrs or even 21yrs old, so life experience (for some) doesn't really come till after high school. Life experience help develop your brain but by that time you begin to questions things you learn and things that were taught to you which sometimes puts you in a mind state of confusion. Now you are in a state where you don't know what's real and what's fake so you begin to follow trends (talking about only SOME PPL not ALL) and at this point you can be brainwash into believing in something that does not exist or not believing in something that does exist.
in short words -- mushrooms help escape the matrix's it help in thinking outside of your comfort thought. It's not bad for the brain who said the brain doesn't need to be altar? tested? how far can you go into your consciousness before losing it?
The human brain is a powerful instrument.
-------------------- DRAWING LIFE! "Noob doing noob shit"
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TheStallionMang
Do U know who yur fuckin with?


Registered: 10/18/17
Posts: 4,527
Loc:
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Re: Longterm effects of Psilocybin on the Developing Brain [Re: AllThingsMushroom]
#28306620 - 05/04/23 03:18 PM (8 months, 21 days ago) |
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Your question implies you are either underage yourself or thinking of giving them to someone who is
Either way...
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smallfruit
Stranger


Registered: 05/02/23
Posts: 8
Last seen: 8 months, 20 days
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Re: Longterm effects of Psilocybin on the Developing Brain [Re: TheStallionMang]
#28307083 - 05/04/23 11:15 PM (8 months, 20 days ago) |
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I am underage myself and the topic interests me alot. Also as i mentioned i already took them and fine. Almost no single-line answer will or would stop me.
-------------------- just small fruits sadly
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nooneman


Registered: 04/24/09
Posts: 14,555
Loc: Utah
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Re: Longterm effects of Psilocybin on the Developing Brain [Re: smallfruit]
#28307135 - 05/05/23 01:20 AM (8 months, 20 days ago) |
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Giving underage kids drugs is obviously damaging to them, no matter what the drug. Alcohol, weed, whatever, don't do it, it fucks with their development. Do you honestly think that a drug as profoundly mind altering as a psychedelic would have no impact on the developing mind? That's crazy, of course it would, kids are like sponges.
Nothing good comes from giving kids drugs, in fact it's a form of abuse. It hurts their development and their minds, and hurts them potentially for the rest of their lives. That's not even mentioning the danger from them doing something stupid under the influence. Waiting until you're 21 is no big deal, those years fly by so fast you won't even remember them.
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Rhizomorph
Psychedelic Researcher



Registered: 04/24/20
Posts: 785
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Re: Longterm effects of Psilocybin on the Developing Brain [Re: smallfruit]
#28330439 - 05/22/23 07:50 PM (8 months, 2 days ago) |
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I'm studying psychology and research psychedelics for therapeutic purposes. From the conversations I've had with psychologists/supervisors, it seems the issue is less about the biochemical effects psychedelics have on the adolescent/developing brain, but more to do with personality shifts.
Keep in mind the brain's development occurs in phasic stages, each with corresponding behavioural tasks that constructs our personality.
Given that psychedelics are non-toxic, non-addictive, etc. and don't elicit long-term functional changes or deficits in brain regions, I don't think psychedelics pose any risk of permanent changes or damage to neural development.
However, there is a very real risk of hindering personality development, which relates to how children undergo future neural development. Adolescents' brains exist in a high state of entropy, suggestibility, or flexibility; this is what helps them to learn quickly. Psychedelics do a very similar thing and the combination can be a state of hyper-entropy that can be very confusing, emotionally distressing, etc. to those with developing brains.
This neural chaos can be challenging to psychologically integrate into a healthy worldview (especially an immature one) and could result in behavioural impulsivity, or challenges relating to others, among other behavioural issues, if I had to guess. Adolescents already have such a massive burden to try to comprehend the complexities of the world, and psychedelics can blunt the process through which they do so.
Psychedelics may not damage the brain physically, but they will expose adolescents to experiences that can be overwhelming to their very immature worldview & perception of themselves. Insofar as the brain is impaired, it will be due to the corresponding beliefs and emotions which may make it challenging to achieve the developmental task at a given age (e.g., making friends, meeting self-esteem needs, becoming independent). Each of these tasks produces important brain changes so it could be suggested that psychedelics could impair the brain by preventing personality-related behaviours and beliefs that are key to biochemical development.
All that is to say adolescents & kids probably don't need psychedelics. They are still learning to self-regulate and develop a superego (the executive "self" that regulates behaviour and comprehends complex aspects of cohabiting with others). Will they be detrimental? Probably not, especially compared to most other psychoactive classes of drugs.. But, they probably won't be that beneficial vs. the benefits adults can witness and the risks are still present.
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Currently, there is little research in this area, however. Perhaps it is possible for some adolescents to take psychedelics and healthily develop personality-wise. Some Indigenous cultures in South America have included adolescents in ceremonial uses of psychedelics and it appears their specific community model(s) allow for effective support and integration of these experiences. But this is a surface-level understanding of these communities.
It is worth approaching from a culturally-informed lens by taking culture, community, family, and especially religion into account.
But, this is not empirically validated and simply appears this way on the surface. We can learn a lot from the advanced knowledge (ways of knowing/epistemologies) of shamanistic practices, but some (not all)of the specific groups in question are also casting spells on each other and "soul stealing" in the Amazon, so the validity using these cultures as a model applicable to the West may not be entirely appropriate.
The point is that we need more research but we likely won't see that research for some time because we can't ethically give underage people psychedelics. All the preliminary literature points towards it being unsafe (personality-wise, to be specific).
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If someone you know is an adolescent who has or is using psychedelics, I would have an honest conversation with them about the risks to their personality development, and try to encourage lower-risk use via a social "container" in case they do decide to use psychedelics (or any drugs for that matter); Harm Reduction should be practiced by encouraging kids to tell us when they are using drugs and putting rules in place such as "you must always tell me when you use them", "don't sell them", talk with them about sourcing (not from strangers), etc. etc. I.e., don't judge them for using, but try to mitigate harm where you can; remember that you can't force kids to not use drugs, you can only strongly discourage it while being emotionally warm and having honest conversations when they inevitably do decide to use drugs. That way they can trust you and reach out to you so you can go get them if they get into trouble.
Hopefully your honest and warm (trusting) approach will incentivize them to delay their use until later and when they do use drugs, they will have the resources you've provided to develop a lower-risk relationship with them (less insecurity due to the trust you have established + a solid drug education to work off when they do pull the trigger so they know how to make more appropriate risk-assessments).
If you are/were an adolescent who used psychedelics, know that your brain is certainly not damaged in any way. All your motivational & emotional centers of the brain, etc. are likely unaffected. Personality-wise, I encourage finding ways to integrate and unpack the experience(s) to understand it/them so it doesn't wildly shift your personality in any concerning or confusing directions. Most people probably work this out by the time they get into middle adulthood regardless though.
Hope this helps!
Edited by Rhizomorph (05/27/23 05:23 PM)
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Rhizomorph
Psychedelic Researcher



Registered: 04/24/20
Posts: 785
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Re: Longterm effects of Psilocybin on the Developing Brain [Re: smallfruit] 1
#28330461 - 05/22/23 08:10 PM (8 months, 2 days ago) |
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Quote:
smallfruit said: I am underage myself and the topic interests me alot. Also as i mentioned i already took them and fine. Almost no single-line answer will or would stop me.
If I could go back to my first psychedelic experience at age 16 I would definitely tell my younger self to wait until I was an adult.
Psychedelics are magical but the adolescent brain is wired to be in a rush to experience things.
I won't lie to you like most of the drug educators people your age are exposed to. Psychedelics are profound, and I certainly don't think you should blunt your interest in them.
But, I might encourage putting it on the back burner for a few years until you have learned adult-ways of seeing the world; ways of seeing that are only possible once the brain has developed (not due to anything personal). Psychedelics are way more fascinating when we can understand them from a comprehensive adult framework that has done the personal learning needed to understand them (and ourselves within the experiences). This is simply impossible as an adolescent and so you won't reap the same benefits and may look back when you're 20 and wish you could be experiencing them for the first time (I know I do!)
I am a retired psychedelic cheer-leader precisely because I got too excited about them as a kid; the line between a healthy level of enthusiasm and being uninterested with regards to the psychedelic enigma is impossible to recognize when the brain is still trying to figure out what a healthy level of enthusiasm is period.
You probably won't experience too serious of harms, but you may be limiting your potential by focusing on psychedelics when you could be doing adolescent shit like being an asshole to your friends or whatever the hell you crazy fuckers like to do
Smart & self-aware adolescents will - for the most part - recognize the neurological limitations of their awareness and ground themselves in the conventional sphere before venturing out to try psychedelics. If you feel you've already done this, then I won't tell you what to do, but I hope you take my considerations seriously as someone whose been eating and researching psychedelics since I was 16 (I'm now in my mid-20s), regardless of what you choose to do 
Do or don't eat all the drugs you want to, I don't care. But I hope you are recognizing your own limitations at your age, the risks, and overall are staying safe and happy That's what this whole experience called life is about. I'm pretty mesmerized by it all too.
Edited by Rhizomorph (05/27/23 05:27 PM)
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