I’ve dealt with depression for the better half of my life. I tried SSRIs for a decade with moderate results — they definitely helped, but more so in a way where the depression felt manageable than feeling really happy. I went off them at the beginning of the year to experiment with managing the depression other ways: therapy, meditation, exercise.
One day I got to work and noticed that for the first time in a while, I was feeling really happy. In a way where I realized that other times I thought I was happy, I was really just not-too-sad. This was what actual happiness felt like. I was kind of surprised, but thought “wow, I guess the meditation and exercise are finally paying off? It must be that… nothing else has been different recently…”
And then I remembered that I’d tried shrooms for the first time the day before.
So far, trips seem to pretty reliably have this effect for maybe 1-2 weeks. I suspect I’m also seeing some more durable benefits beyond that, but a little harder to be sure.
One day I got to work and noticed that for the first time in a while, I was feeling really happy. In a way where I realized that other times I thought I was happy, I was really just not-too-sad. This was what actual happiness felt like. I was kind of surprised, but thought “wow, I guess the meditation and exercise are finally paying off? It must be that… nothing else has been different recently…”
And then I remembered that I’d tried shrooms for the first time the day before.
So far, trips seem to pretty reliably have this effect for maybe 1-2 weeks. I suspect I’m also seeing some more durable benefits beyond that, but a little harder to be sure.