remedies for 'brainfriedness'

[totemgoat]

i'm interested to hear if you guys and girls have heard any ways of medicating such a predicament.

after a whole lot of irresponsibly excessive messing with their seretonin receptors, i couldn't even count the number of people who have come to deal with that 'not-like-i-was' feeling on a day to day basis.

many say they have found a certain enlightened state out of it, however the vast majority seem to wish they could at least minimize the symptoms, e.g. inability to focus on objects in vision, stumbling sentence structure, memory loss.

are nootropics a viable possibility, or are they not quite suited to the task?

anything else you can think of would be much appreciated, the topic interests me greatly.

cheers,

TG

[qualia]

piracetam can reverse the effects of alcohol related dementia, so maybe it'll work for this?

[gtarman]

I tried weed more than a few times back in the day, and haven't really gone near it since for this precise reason - it fogged me up and fuzzed me out something chronic, if you'll pardon the pun.

I'm no scientist, but I'm a big believer in nutrition and also meditation when it comes to this stuff. Meditation isn't something I recommend for "mystical" purposes, but because it literally trains your brain (via neuroplasticity I think) to be calm, to master controlling your attention, improve your clarity of mind and a host of other good stuff. Proper nutrition is important too - I recommend reading a book called "The Brain Diet" by Alan Logan.

That, along with time and a healthy lifestyle should at the very least help a little (a book I like that discusses lifestyle as it relates to mental health is called "The Depression Cure" by Stephen Ilardi).

Edited August 30, 2012 by gtarman

[Jonny Deformed]

Nutrition, coupled with a shower and some sleep...

[incognito]

Nangs.

[bogfrog]

I would look into a bit of chinese herbalism.. I don't know any off the top of my head but I remember reading about heaps of different plants and fungi being used as brain tonics.

Gotu kola is supposed to keep you sharp, 2 leaves per day.

And theres that 'kumbyasha' (unsure of spelling) mushroom you can grow in a tub in the hot water cupboard for its health-giving benefits.

Could be worth looking into. If any damage can be remedied, it'll have to be attempted now, rather than later in life.

Best of luck fighting the fuzzy fumbles. If you find anything sensational, let us know!

[klip247]

Passionflower and St John's Wort both brewed together to make a tea are a good combination or 30g of Passionflower to a liter of water and dividing a few doses of that for drinking during the day also seems to help, I'm unsure if there are any quick fixes to that sort of damage though.

The initial step is realizing that there is indeed a problem present, then the next step would be to stop using such drugs as they will just do more damage, then as gtarman has advised us, meditation and nutrition are key ingredients to the recovery process.

If you are religious or mystically inclined, prayers are in my opinion useful, there are other more esoteric practices that can be found throughout the various religious systems of the East and West, yet you have to have the time, patience and interest to go through this route.

[bogfrog]

Gingko bibliola would be great company with st johns wort and passionflower tea too.

[El Presidente Hillbillios]

Red creaming soda followed by snakes or gummi bears

[shortly]

The inability to focus on objects in vision, stumbling sentence structure, memory loss.seems to be becoming more and more common among ppl who have never intentional or unintentional messed with their serotonin receptors, i kinda suspect it could be a result of nutrient imbalances thanks to a ANZFA approved diet. Industry studies say its safe so it must be.

[IndianDreaming]

I'm a fan of:

• Take a break from whatever it was you were doing - this is essential, and do it well past the 'I feel ok now, I can have another go' point
  
• Healthy eating (vital greens in the morning, banana/fruits snacks, lentils/chickpeas/mungbeans/puy, vegetable soups, fresh fish - nothing processed)
  
• Exercise (and you actually have to do it <- This is the best, but I can't manage to maintain it. stretching, walking, riding, skip rope - anything - but pick one and do it.)
  
• Change your environment to suit health and repair (Clean your house, throw out rubbish, change your daily routines, get rid of 'party triggers', change the music you listen to)
  
• Some use of passionflower, ginkgo and st johns is good but not too often, use it to change your state of mind then in that changed state - try to 'remember it', not 'rely on it'
  
• I've also been humming and singing to myself - which I've found to be quite soothing
  

 

Last night I had a great idea: A 'Tea Bath' by candle light

It had: 10 chamomile teabags in it, 8 drops of ylang-ylang, 5 drops lavender <- HOT (best thing ever - I really enjoyed it)

Tonight, I'm going to grab 20-30 eucy leaves, about 1 cup of malaleuca leaves, 1 handfull of lavender, crushed, tied up in a sock and soak in that!

I'm sure you could use many herbs, but it never occured to me till last night to soak in 'Tea' - I've been watering my plants with chamomile and decided, 'Hey! I'll water myself with it' - Best decision I've made in years.

Also - chatting with people - like the people on SAB

Edit: Just worked out how to use bullet points

Edited August 30, 2012 by IndianDreaming

[Sallubrious]

Nutrition, coupled with a shower and some sleep...

 

The inability to focus on objects in vision, stumbling sentence structure, memory loss.seems to be becoming more and more common among ppl who have never intentional or unintentional messed with their serotonin receptors, i kinda suspect it could be a result of nutrient imbalances thanks to a ANZFA approved diet. Industry studies say its safe so it must be.

 

I'd tend to think it was at least partly due to nutrition too, if not entirely.

Our modern diet is totally wrong when compared to our ancestors. our cells just can't function properly on a modern diet.

Our ratio of essential fatty acids is totally wrong these days and that impedes the electrical function of all our cells.

A large part of our brain function is dependent on electrical impulses, so the problem often becomes obvious there first.

A quote from the Budwig center website http://www.budwigcen...ig-protocol.php

Our diets often lack the highly unsaturated fatty acids and contain an excess of man made oils known as trans fats (or partially hydrogenated oils). We are referring to the cooking oils sold in grocery stores. Most extract the oil from corn, sunflowers, plants, etc by using extreme heat and chemicals. They are no longer alive but dead oils that cause death to the user. They also are very tough (dead) oils in that they have a 20-year shelf life. These oils get into our cell membranes and destroy the electrical charge. Without the charge, our cells start to suffocate due to a lack of oxygen.

From Dr Budwig's book Flax oil as a true aid against arthritis, heart infarction, cancer and other diseases

Such fats which interfere with the electron-exchange taking

place in the living, body because they act like insulating tar on

the conductivity of electrons, also deaden the vital functions

at the very commencement of their effectiveness—for

example, in the organ and active growth centers as well as

for the body in general

 

[CβL]

To sum things up - it's the really obvious things that need to be done. Diet, exercise, learning, mindfulness practice - looking after yourself. Really simple (= not hard to understand), yet difficult to put into practice.

But once you start and put real effort and dedication to it, I'm sure you'll come out better and will enjoy it.

Secondly, I'm firmly of the belief that you cannot increase the utility of your mind without training it via new information. So this is things like reading, studying/practicing music, learning, painting, etc.

Lastly, the way to do anything new is to go carefully, surely, and quickly (in that order, all 3 adhered to). If you leap right into something (without proper planning), you're more likely to elastically quit, and then you will lose all of your motivation and end up sad and bitter.

[Halcyon Daze]

Steamed veggies, hot black tea, long sleeps.

[whitewind]

Some fantastic comments here, I might even print off IndianDreamings post and laminate it for my wall! With border pictures of chamomile and candles. The only thing I might add, something which works wonders for me, is to spend at least one day a week going off into the bush - into wilderness where possible, even if it means a little journey - and go to a place where you can spend time with yourself. Meditation doesn't work too well for me, but I find if I do this the results are as good as or better than meditation seems to be for others. Spending time with nature like this can be almost psychedelic, your mind is totally in tune with it's environment (especially over time) and it can see the universe as it truly is. Once you can bring that into your everyday life, and adjust your everyday life so it can be like that, you will feel like a completely different person - totally in tune with the universe.

[PhoenixSon]

5-htp

[IndianDreaming]

^ 1000 posts whitewind! And a good one too - bushwalks are amazing.

[Anodyne]

i'm interested to hear if you guys and girls have heard any ways of medicating such a predicament.

after a whole lot of irresponsibly excessive messing with their seretonin receptors, i couldn't even count the number of people who have come to deal with that 'not-like-i-was' feeling on a day to day basis.

 

Could you be more specific? Lots of drugs affect various serotonin receptors. Are we talking tryptamines? Phenethylamines? More obscure classes? You're getting good advice for general healthy livin', but if you're talking about particular neurotoxic effects, you might get better advice by narrowing the field a little.

[Auxin]

• Take a break from whatever it was you were doing - this is essential, and do it well past the 'I feel ok now, I can have another go' point

   

 

 

This is probably the most essential bit and its not a days thing or a weeks thing, it can literally take years.

The integration phase of psychedelics and even pot is essential and if either is chronically abused it can take a long time to balance back out. I've been there.

So yeah, eat greens and meditate and take Rhodiola if you want- but most importantly stay away from the sugar cubes for a year or three!

[Thelema]

wha? I thought this discussion was about " depression as a cure" I thought I stood a chance, since I'm depressed.

[totemgoat]

i'm sorry to hear that thelema, i actually consider depression to be an even worse ailment that what we're discussing.

maybe start up a thread?

with the amount of great advice i've gotten i highly recommend it.

Could you be more specific? Lots of drugs affect various serotonin receptors. Are we talking tryptamines? Phenethylamines? More obscure classes? You're getting good advice for general healthy livin', but if you're talking about particular neurotoxic effects, you might get better advice by narrowing the field a little.

 

i'm talking mostly LSD and the NBOMe family Anodyne.

5-HT2A & B receptors i'm guessing?

many thanks everyone!

and don't stop now, i'm still hungry for more info haha.

[DarkSpark]

5-htp

 

And vitamin b6

[goneski]

i'm talking mostly LSD and the NBOMe family Anodyne.

5-HT2A & B receptors i'm guessing?

 

I've found cutting back to only indulging 1-2 times per year has worked over the last couple of years.

I've actually been completely sober (well, not including caffeine, nicotine, etc) and haven't had alcohol or anything for over a year.

My mind is reasonably sharp -- compared to how it has been.

If you overdo it and it starts impacting you, then I always found it's no longer fun / exciting / interesting.. Better off cutting back and saving it for

special occasions.

I think it also depends on your lifestyle, the work you do, etc.

I know some people who every weekend (or even more often) get completely scatter brained, yet still function fine..

But their level of functioning may not be quite as demanding as other people..

Edited September 2, 2012 by SYNeR

[Anodyne]

i'm talking mostly LSD and the NBOMe family Anodyne.

 

Ah right, my bad. When you said "serotonin" & "brainfried", my mind automatically went to MDMA.

There's not enough info around yet about the NBOMe's, and more opinions than facts about LSD. The more general advice is probably exactly what's called for here.

[totemgoat]

on a slightly different train of thought, does anyone know what exactly causes these feelings?

precisely, i'm interested to hear why vit. B6 and 5-HTP have been recommended.

if 5-HTP metabolizes to 5-HT, could its usefulness be related to a depletion of seretonin in the patient's brain?

i have enough evidence in these cases to attribute at least most of the symptoms to drug use, whether or not nutrition does play a role, however, i think healthy eating is always a good idea so i will definitely keep that in mind.

Ah right, my bad. When you said "serotonin" & "brainfried", my mind automatically went to MDMA.

There's not enough info around yet about the NBOMe's, and more opinions than facts about LSD. The more general advice is probably exactly what's called for here.

 

i would love to hear what you have to say about MDMA regardless, Anodyne.

even if it doesn't precisely affect my situation, i'm sure someone, if not myself, will use the information.

keep it up guys, i'm still keen to hear more ideas/thoughts/hypotheses about anything relating to this 'mental deconditioning'.

thanks,

TG

Edited September 2, 2012 by totemgoat