Zofia Krajewska’s Post

Black box warnings are everywhere these days. It shows how common major safety concerns have become, especially for medications targeting depression and anxiety. Most antidepressant medications like SSRIs now contain a suicide warning, and anti-anxiety medications using benzodiazpines have an addiction warning. Adverse events can also occur with psychedelics, and just this week, an FDA advisory committee rejected MDMA for the treatment of PTSD, with many reviewers commenting on the lack of safety data. Indeed safety issues and side effects can be found with behavioral interventions too, like psychotherapy and even meditation. Given this context, it is no wonder that the 1st float study funded by the NIH is focused on safety. The results were published this week and make a compelling argument for the safety of floatation therapy in individuals with clinical depression and anxiety, including PTSD. There were no serious adverse events, minimal negative side effects, and numerous positive side effects. Here are the 10 most commonly reported side effects from the study. If floating were a pill, everyone would take it! The study, along with a repository of all the other peer-reviewed clinical float research can be found at https://lnkd.in/eY9xH_Je #PTSDAwarenessMonth

Psychedelics in Recovery (PIR) is excited to announce the launch of a new project, "PIR Forum Presents: The Lab" Starting tomorrow, January 4th, then weekly on Thursdays in January at 5:30 pm PST (zoom link in the comments). The Lab will be open to PIR members and guests to discuss the nature of addiction and recovery in the light of current research and our own experience. In January our topic will be, “how can we safely approach the use of substances as recovering addicts?” Some further questions we hope might be inspired and addressed by January’s topic: 1) Is “abstinence from all psychoactive substances” essential to my recovery process, or can I learn to safely use some of them moderately? Which ones, and why? 2) What are the potential risks and benefits of abstinence vs moderate use? 3) If I think I can moderate, what information would enable me do so safely, without falling back into addictive behavior? 4) How does the advice that AA and other 12-step- substance programs offer compared to other sources we might humbly offer our fellows from our research and personal experience? 5) At PIR “We do not sell or promote the use of any substances” but we do, as our “Guiding Principles” puts it, “educate ourselves and make informed decisions.” Informed decisions about what? The Lab will be a space to engage in a process of collective learning through each person’s unique set of experiences—and with the best science and analysis we currently have available thrown into the mix. Transcripts will be written up and then made available to readers, so there will be ample opportunities to pitch in to the work. We invite all PIR members and guests to bring your questions, experience and expertise into service to the many like us who have come to PIR, struggling to navigate these questions ourselves, often without a guide. With your contributions in the Lab we hope to glean enough wise and worthy material to write/edit a guidebook. Professionals in the field are especially encouraged to attend our labs. We will respect each member’s boundaries for confidentiality and anonymity.

Treatment with psychedelic medicine has been used for centuries to practice spirituality and being in touch with oneself. For years, science and spirituality have remained separate due to the lack of concrete evidence supporting the effectiveness of psychedelic treatment. However, case studies from many people experiencing “trips” for the first time support the notion that microdosing certain psychedelics, like LSD or psilocybin, can change a person’s entire perspective on life for the better. “How to Change Your Mind” by Michael Pollan discusses the history of psychedelic treatment in the US and how it has been impacted by legal policies and skepticism by scientists and psychologists. Despite this, psychedelic therapy has shown promise for treating long-term symptoms of conditions like addiction or PTSD, even with one small microdose. With openness and curiosity, more scientists have committed to conducting clinical trials to study the effectiveness of psychedelics for treating a wide variety of physical and mental health conditions. Our goal as a research clinic is to intersect science and spirituality by using psychedelic therapy, which we believe will pave the way for remarkable shifts in how we treat patients. Disclaimer: You may want to consider your individual mental health needs with a licensed medical professional. This page is not meant to give you medical advice as it does not replace a provider client relationship. #howtochangeyourmind #psychology #psychedelic

FIRST NIH-FUNDED FLOAT STUDY JUST RELEASED! LINK BELOW ⬇ Please share with the world!! Black box warnings are everywhere these days. It shows how common major safety concerns have become, especially for medications targeting depression and anxiety. Most antidepressant medications like SSRIs now contain a suicide warning, and anti-anxiety medications using benzodiazepines have an addiction warning. Adverse events can also occur with psychedelics, and just this week, an FDA advisory committee rejected MDMA for the treatment of PTSD, with many reviewers commenting on the lack of safety data. Indeed safety issues and side effects can be found with behavioral interventions too, like psychotherapy and even meditation. Given this context, it is no wonder that the 1st float study funded by the NIH is focused on safety. The results were published today and make a compelling argument for the safety of floatation therapy in individuals with clinical depression and anxiety, including PTSD. There were no serious adverse events, minimal negative side effects, and numerous positive side effects. If floating were a pill, everyone would take it! The study is open access and freely available to read and share online at: https://lnkd.in/gN8nPrc7 #PTSDAwarenessMonth

Tell your friends. Let’s change the narrative around mental health, one float at a time. #REST #floatlife #float #floattherapy #floating #selfcare #wellness #spalifestyle #spa #Tucson #BearDown #uofa #isolation #metime #emotionalwellness #mentalhealth #recovery #epsom #healthandwellness #mensmentalhealth #endthestigma #interoception

You are Nature. Not your diagnosis. Here at Conscious Psych, we start by untangling the myths, lies, and deceptions, that we have been told through various sources, including the internet, the news, television programming, and other sources of media. We start by empowering ourselves with the knowledge of the truth. And once you know something, you can’t, unknow it. Once you see something, you can’t unsee it. So, if you have found yourself in the throes of our current mental health system, labeled with some psychiatric condition, and were told that you needed a drug for life because of some “theory“ (at best, the chemical imbalance theory is just that – a theory. The very definition of a theory, is something that has not been proven in science), I’m here to tell you to just consider, that there is another way. I wish someone would’ve told my parents that there was another way. It’s too late for them. Their time has passed. But it’s not too late for you. Let me help you unveil more psychiatric truths so you can get to the root cause of your mental and physical struggles. I do this through a process I call Soul Composting which uses lifestyle medicine as a foundation to safely taper psychiatric drugs. The link is in my bio. And feel free to DM me here if you have any questions. The world needs your medicine. And this requires you to be sober. Even from, and maybe even especially from—psychiatric drugs. #thereisanotherway #holisticpsychiatry #holisticmentalhealth #mentalhealthcrisis #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthtrailblazers #stayconscious

The future is now: Psychotherapy is discovering new treatment forms. Australia has started to use MDMA for the treatment of PTSD. The therapy should be assisted with VR in the future

There are New Ways to Treat Depression Effectively! Millions of people receiving treatment for depression are in an exhausting cycle, experiencing periods of temporary relief followed by waves of debilitating symptoms. It seems like a never-ending battle against despair. The current psychiatric model falls short in providing effective solutions for chronic and treatment-resistant depression. This is where our innovative residential program steps in. Our revolutionary approach integrates Functional Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine, and Metabolic Psychiatry-driven nutrition, targeting the root causes of depression and offering new hope to those who have long battled this condition. We are excited to announce our upcoming 30-day Residential Program, starting August 30, followed by a 15-day at-home integration phase. We have only 15 spots available and we are offering substantial scholarships to qualifying participants. Be part of this change; let's transform the future of mental health treatments together. Please support us by referring potential participants, spreading the word in your networks, and reposting this message. Thank You! Learn more at: https://lnkd.in/efmahg-N #Depression, #DepressionTreatments, #DepressionRecovery, #FunctionalMedicine, #MetabolicPsychiatry, #LifestyleMedicine, #MentalHealthCare, #DepressionResidentialTreatment, #HealingDepression, #MentalHealthRetreat, #DepressionRetreat

Article: The future of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for eating disorder recovery Eating disorders are serious psychiatric conditions with significant physical and emotional impacts, yet treatment options remain limited. Ketamine, known for its rapid antidepressant effects, is now being explored as a potential treatment for eating disorders. While research is still in its early stages and primarily focused on anorexia nervosa, initial studies show promising results. Ketamine therapy may offer hope for those who have not responded to traditional treatments, providing a new avenue for healing in the journey towards recovery from eating disorders. You can read the whole articles by the National Library of Medicine and Smithsonian here: Smithsonian: https://buff.ly/3G5Tan8 National Library of Medicine: https://buff.ly/3P3bsKt #EatingDisorders #KetamineTherapy #HopeForRecovery 🌱💫

Let's talk about mushrooms and hallucinogenic components! We all know "magic mushrooms" and their recreational effects. But is there more to it? Recent research has shown promising results in the therapeutic application of psilocybin for conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addiction. This psychedelic compound has demonstrated the ability to induce shifts in consciousness, leading to transformative experiences and long-lasting positive outcomes.. But all this is still very new. So, we asked an expert to give us his opinion on a recent study showing some of the positive effects of the drug. With this in mind, I'm bringing you a News and Views by Robert Gerlai reflecting on the effects that psilocybin, from psychedelic mushrooms, have on zebrafish behavior and its antidepressant effects! https://lnkd.in/eazA8Emy