Alchemica

I've devoted quite a bit of time to researching succulents so would like to share the love. Can spare a couple (2) packs [Edit: one left] of free mixed succulents to the first couple of people interested (reply here and I'll get back to you) 1. Sceletium tortuosum cuttings 2. Sceletium emarcidum cuttings 3. Delosperma bosseranum mature plants 4. Delosperma echinatum cuttings 5. Trichodiadema stellatum cuttings 6. Lampranthus spectabilis (red) cuttings 7. Mesembryanthemum (Aptenia) cordifolium (purple) true form seedlings/cuttings. Can also include others including Aptenia haeckeliana if interested 8. maybe some Lampranthus aureus cutting No WA/TAS Something like this: Some of them can be a challenge to root up but see how you go. Only express interest if you're dedicated and keen please. I'll include postage.

Don't think I have any M. crystallinum seed left from when I grew it and I found it hard to propagate from cuttings as it's so fleshy but it's pretty easy to grow from seed so I'd personally just grab some cheap seeds eg Ice plant seeds | The Seed Collection

Nice summary, well done. As another area that's been researched (and patented): We also see immunological benefits, ultra-potent blockade of proinflammatory markers like TNF-α at pM levels (sub-psychoactive doses) with some 5-HT2AR agonists like (R)-DOI which is promising on many levels, it plays a key role in inflammation, its production and signaling contribute to many inflammation related diseases. TNF-α and TNF-α receptor-mediated inflammatory pathways have been strongly implicated in a number of diseases including atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, type II diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, and septicemia (e.g., Reimold, 2002; Popa et al., 2007; Williams et al., 2007). Significantly, TNF-α and other cytokine induced inflammatory pathways also have been linked to psychiatric conditions such as depression and bipolar disorder (Dunn et al., 2005; Kim et al., 2007), as well as schizophrenia (Saetre et al., 2007), and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and stroke (Tweedie et al., 2007). US9642819B2 - Low dosage serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonist to suppress inflammation - Google Patents

Either overexpression of 5-HT2Rs with increased binding density or an altered regional expression of 5-HT2s seems to be common. There are polymorphisms of the 5-HT2A gene that can lead to changes in the density of those receptors but it more likely seems to be a complex interplay of genetics, environment and life-experiences that shape such an outcome [1]. There's likely epigenetic effects where adverse trauma could be transmitted transgenerationally, leading to an impact on, in part, the serotonin system. Not easily, it would likely only be if you're part of a special research study such would be possible Depending how potent an antagonist it is of the 5-HT2A receptor. Often as a "washout" a period of greater than 5 half-lives is used to estimate the practically total elimination of a drug and the cessation of it's pharmacological effects "Starting from a steady state, 5 half-lives will remove 97% or a drug; whereas 10 half-lives will remove 99.9% of a drug"

Things like ketanserin have been used as 5-HT2AR antagonists to block/attenuate the 'psychotomimetic' effects of psychedelics but interestingly, the combined effects of a 5-HT2AR antagonist and classical hallucinogens seems to retain some of the therapeutically beneficial effects ie antidepressant and some neural effects [1] so it's likely there would be attenuation of the hallucinogenic effects by sandomigran, particularly with a less potent agonist like mescaline (cyproheptadine which is related is OTC and probably would do the same). Similarly, olanzapine with decent affinity to 5-HT2ARs (along with D2Rs) seems to be used by some as an antipsychotic 'trip kill' [2] and is often conventional medicine's go to, to attenuate a bad trip/psychotic reactions. That said other schools of thought suggest the trip should not be aborted with such and instead benzodiazepines used as an anxiolytic to support a less anxiety-provoking reaction and social support be used more. Mescaline is quite a 'shotgun' pharmacologically, with diverse binding profiles aside from 5-HT2 agonism ie adrenergic affinity etc. The stimulant effects from adrenergic etc activity might be somewhat attenuated by the antihistaminergic activity of sandomigran. ie Mescaline has strong affinity [3] to 4.00 Alpha2C, 3.97 5ht2b, 3.61 5ht1a, 3.44 Imidazoline1, 3.16 5ht1e, 2.92 Alpha2A receptors much more so than 5-HT2ARs.' Serotonin antagonists particularly 5-HT2 antagonists seem to be used in depression (think things like mirtazapine, which has that as a partial mechanism of action) as antagonism of the 5-HT2 receptor can have some pro-dopaminergic effects. Similarly, there are some PET studies linking depression and suicidality to overly high densities of 5-HT2 receptors, and it is thought one of the therapeutic effects of 5-HT2A agonists on depression (so too SSRIs) is to downregulate the excessively dense level of 5-HT2Rs, a similar outcome can be achieved through 5-HT2 antagonism. The density (Bmax) of 5-HT2A receptors was significantly higher (by 39%) in depressed patients than in controls. Suicidal patients had significantly higher Bmax values than controls or non-suicidal patients. [4] Not personal experience but I've heard of people using feverfew which has some evidence base for use. You might want to consider such.

Wondering if anyone has personally used AI (DALL-E etc) to portray the more 'uplifted'/transcendent levels of consciousness or unfolding of spiritual transformations, personal spiritual insights etc, particularly if you're art inept like me? Be keen to see what you've generated via such if you have played around with such, it almost gives a creative visual outlet for portraying such to those who are normally verbosely language-tied in their worldviews Here's some of my attempts

Aptenia cordifolia (A Zulu traditional medicine) Please note: this plant contains oxalates. While it may be safe in the right doses and prepared correctly, please do not use medicinally unless you are skilled in using it. But you can grow it! This is a plant that got me through real dark times. Today I give a plant to a "Grow Free Box". I found after fermentation ca. 15g was active and antidepressant with a different quality, more groundedly hearty than Kanna. It was really nice, so much so I made a full spectrum ethanol extract of the fermented material. "Aptenia cordifolia is a species of succulent plant in the iceplant family known by the common names heartleaf iceplant and baby sun rose. Native to southern Africa, this species has become widely known as an ornamental plant." Growing Aptenia cordifolia Aptenia cordifolia is a well-known groundcover. It is an ideal plant for coastal gardens as it tolerates sea spray and grows in sandy soil. It can be used in rockeries or outcrops, terraced slopes and along roadside embankments. It requires full sun or semi-shade; it can be planted underneath trees. If grown in unfavourable conditions, the plant will die. Aptenia cordifolia is easily grown from seed and cuttings. Sow seed in summer. The plant can be divided and runners can be planted directly into the ground. Before planting, prepare the garden bed by digging over the soil; add compost and a slow-release fertilizer. Once established it requires less water. Trim or prune the plant to maintain its shape. The plant can become weedy. Aptenia's Medicine: Aptenia cordifolia is used medicinally as an anti-inflammatory, as a dressing (poultice) and deodorant. The plant is also used as a love and good luck charm. Zulu medicinal uses include making a mild enema for babies; the black powder is used for vaccination and against witchcraft (sorcery). Burnt stems and leaves are applied to aching joints. "Aptenia cordifolia is used by Zulu healers in S. Africa as one of their important medicinal plants. The leaves may be infused to relieve sore throat and perspiration; the herb is also anxiolytic, and acts as an antiinflammatory when applied externally.Interestingly, a black powder prepared from the plant is reputedly endowed with magical properties, and used to protect against sorcery (Van Wyk & Gericke 2000, Van Wyk et al. 1997) Prepared in the same manner as Sceletium spp., this common and attractive ornamental plant has been found to have similar effect to S. tortuosum, but is of lower potency (pers. comms.)... The plant contains mesembrine-type alkaloids which have antidepressant effects through serotonin and other pathways and may be superior to SSRIs currently used to treat depression. Aptenia cordifolia may contain significant levels of mesembrine-type alkaloids, as compared to other Aizoaceae, though still only 13.6% of the levels found in Sceletium tortuosum. Mesembrine [c. 9.7% of the extract], 4'-O-demethylmesembranol [c. 14.4% of extract] and three unidentified compounds were observed; 2 of these, comprising c.4.8% of the extract, appear to be indoles (Smith, M.T. et. al. 1998)" It is worth considering that perhaps some of the alkaloids identified by Smith et al. as being present in Aptenia samples (4’-Odemethylmesembrenol, mesembrine and mesembrenone) may have been mis-identified, more recent analysis presence of the mesembrine-type of mesembrane alkaloids 4,5-dihydro-4’-O-methylsceletenone and 4’-O-methylsceletenone [1] The phytochemical screening of the ethanolic extract of the leaves of A. cordifolia, which was a strong antiinflammatory, revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavanoids, tannins, phenols, saponins and steroids. Aside from mesembrine-type alkaloids and unidentified indole alkaloids, ferulic acid, 3,4-dimethoxy-dihydrocinnamic acid were isolated as well as the corresponding Me and Et esters respectively. Also identified were pinoresinol and syringaresinol, respectively. Oxyneolignans such as apteniol G were discovered. It's listed as a 'safe plant' on databases and suggested as being safe for consumption by multiple sources.

Been trying to find answers to whether Bobinsana bark should be treated as a potential MAOI due to possible β-carbolines or if the modern guides are correct in stating: Here's some very preliminary TLC results and a write-up Bobinsana.pdf If anyone has input that would be appreciated.

My white sage has gotten to a decent size. Let me know if anyone can use free white sage - I tend to bundle it into smudge-thingos but can do loose leaf etc

Thanks for the interest. All done for now.

Have two spare baggies of fresh D bosseranum I can put in an envelope no cost for interested people (No WA/Tas) First two to get in contact - will send ASAP The phytochemistry of this plant is from my understanding unknown but some find it superior to the Sceletiums While some find Sceletium to be "short acting, created anxiety and far too much stimulation", one preliminary report using D. bosseranum "two days of relief from my depression was over. It was a totally transparent experience that was all me. No depressive crash after this was over. It was like being lifted out of depression on angel wings, and just as gently dropped off back in my normal state of being two days later." D. bosseranum is currently used in a similar way to Sceletium species (Kanna/Kougoed), the unfermented dried tuber is used, as well as the fermented whole plant (aerial and underground parts together). [herbalistics]

Can now offer quite a few free larger plants if anyone's interested:

Thanks for sharing. I've found the same for lots of botanicals, oddly if I request something like a Trichocereus flower or plant sometimes something comes back that's passible. Putting in things like 'Sceletium tortuosum' was no good but more broadly 'Mesembryanthemum' sort of worked.

I feel the succulent dimension holds an interesting element in potentially having more therapeutically useful "in the real world" dimensions than more commonly touted plant medicines for their often more gentle but occasionally empathogenic edge. Also, the combination of often pro-cognitive (PDE4 inhibition seen with mesembrine-type alkaloids) with potent antidepressant effects meets an unmet demand. Part 1: Background and 'citizen analysis' using readily available materials Some Aizoaceae have been analysed [1]: I wanted to see if it was feasible to get some rough idea of the phytochemistry of a plant using only readily available materials eg. making it suitable for citizen science. I've been curious about simple TLC and paper chromatography as tools, particularly how feasible 'citizen TLC analysis' of plants is using a suitable paper, readily available solvent systems and simple visualisation techniques, compared to more conventional TLC. Can simple maceration of a medicinal plant in a readily available benignish solvent, concentration, spotting on common craft materials, developing the plate and OTC visualisation give some rough idea of the phytochemistry of a medicinal plant? Sceletium has in the past been analysed via conventional TLC [2, 3] and more advanced techniques [4] It took about 30 trials to find a readily available solvent system and semi-suitable paper - after many failed attempts, I found an 'etch art paper' that seemed the best I could find. I'm still to follow up with confirmation on silica TLC plates but it seems to give *a very rough idea* Sceletium tortuosum (unfermented) was used as a reference. This gives a main compound Rf = 0.5-0.54 on the craft paper. I particularly wanted to research D. bosseranum and Trichodiadema stellatum Method: Sample preparation: Samples were dehydrated at 70 deg. C and powdered. The samples were macerated in isopropanol. If no phenolic constituents were expected, NaOH q.s. was used to basify, otherwise basified with ammonia solution. The isopropanol solutions were concentrated to a small sample. Samples were spotted onto a plate, either a suitable craft paper, or silica gel plates. Acetone was used to elute the plate and I2 vapour (from OTC tincture) used as a visualisation technique. Crude technique - Craft Paper Note: this technique is limited in effectiveness and I suggest if you're that keen to play around with something like this, I'd suggest you just stick with silica gel plates to save A LOT of hassle. Delosperma bosseranum Sceletium tortuosum (unfermented) was compared to D. bosseranum. A compound with the same Rf as Sceletium was noted along with other constituents. Trichodiadema stellatum (syn. barbatum) Sceletium tortuosum (unfermented) was compared to D. bosseranum. A compound with the same Rf as Sceletium was noted along with other constituents. Mesembryanthemum cordifolium (syn. Aptenia cordifolia) This has been studied and seems to contain 4,5-dihydro-4’-O-methylsceletenone and 4’-O-methylsceletenone along with flavanoids, tannins, phenols, saponins, and cinnamic acid derivatives (and esters) The characteristic Sceletium constituent was absent in these but other different compounds were present. Will follow up with more conventional silica TLC which will hopefully have more easily reproducible results

I've been busy expanding on this research, hopefully it's of interest/inspiration to others: So far the research extends to: Citizen TLC Phytochemical Screening of Diverse Mesembryanthemums https://pdfhost.io/v/gugGrtnCj_ Phytochemistry of Aptenia https://pdfhost.io/v/dq6SpR9nM_aptenia Citizen TLC analysis of marketed commercial Sceletium tortuosum products: https://pdfhost.io/v/SVvI3PQwb_TLC_commercial_sceletium_produc Using TLC to guide discovery of hypothetical new Kanna substitutes https://pdfhost.io/v/A4u.08qVQ_kanna_substitutes_TLC Utilising yeasts to encourage the bioconversion of mesembrine-type alkaloids https://pdfhost.io/v/cgI1KIK~l_yeasts_to_encourage_bioconversi Initial TLC study of an uncharacterised Sceletium ('Little Karoo') https://pdfhost.io/v/.ASjnTMdo_Initial_TLC_study_of_an_unchara

Bought myself a new ally, a Magnolia grandiflora tree. The flower contains liriodenine, anonaine, dehydroremerine (0.52% total alkaloids) Leaf from the flowering plant contains anonaine, remerine, liriodenine and rutine (0.54 % total alkaloids) It also contains essential oils 0.58 % Anonaine, the principle leaf alkaloid displayed affinity of 0.8 µM, the same order as the reference compounds nomifensine (0.2 µM), but more potent than amineptine and dexamphetamine at DAT. The oxoaporphine liriodenine was virtually devoid of activity as a dopamine reuptake inhibitor. It also has affinity for 5-HT1A and α1 adrenergic receptor affinity. Although not overly potent, studies suggest they are α1A antagonists, as is demonstrated by the vasorelaxant responses. The flowers are edible and said to have an exquisite flavour and are used as a spice and condiment. My flowers were dried and aged on the plant so lost most of that but still interesting flavours. Volatile constituents are mainly monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids. Look forward to a tea from the fresh flowers. Interestingly, the crude extract of the seeds contains 10% 4-O-methylhonokiol. It is also found in the bark. This is a potent CB2 receptor ligand which readily crosses the blood brain barrier and attenuates memory impairment. In addition to anonaine, liriodenine etc, the leaves contain sesquiterpene lactones like parthenolide which has intriguing activity but low bioactivity. Please be aware that the toxicity of the leaf material is unestablished while the constituents are more characterised. Well the Magnolia flower tea was interesting tastewise maybe a slight subjective uplift. Something spiritual to it but I wanted more DAT/5-HT1A action. Chewed through a whole flower as tea. Wanted to develop a bit of a relationship with this plant, see if it could be a good functional motivational aid, so I tried 2 tsp dried leaf material on top. Struggling to find info on doses but the same alkaloids at 5-10mg/kg in mice exhibited antidepressant activity. For me, the upper alkaloid dose would be about 80mg alkaloids in human equivalent doses. Interesting resonance, seems somewhat useful for doing things. Soft energetic resonance, seems superior to lotus/lily. Not really stimulatory but functional it seems. 3 tsp of crushed dried leaf: need all the uplift I can get. There's something but it's not pushy stimulant wise, feels clean, a focusing energy but soft. Started another day with leaves 17g dried, ~ 90mg alkaloids. I had to have an early sleep on it, it seems to have some waves of calming sedation for me anyway. Then it picked up into something more 'wanna do stuff'. Followed that up the next day with 17g and I had quite a good day. I tend to find stimulants calming and de-scattering so results may vary. I do like the magnolia leaf at decent doses but I'm going to leave my experiments there, let my ally grow before I find it too useful. Wouldn't say it's going to make a magnolia crack but still interesting. If I find a large M. grandiflora, I might make magnolia leaf extract, the tea is quite unpleasant and it would be nice to have a concentrated extract. Anyone done any trials themselves?

I've been re-exploring this in my research lately. All in all, even I'm now hesitant to explore this one personally due to odd effects longer-term on lowering dopamine and the fact that it has not been widely used/marketed by others suggests there may be need for caution Exploring the Magnoliaceae.pdf anonaine-final.pdf I came to the conclusion:

I have Scutellaria lateriflora and S. baicalensis seedlings if they are of use to you (can spare one of each), just get them a bit bigger on the heat mat before they'd be good to send. I'll keep you in the loop. They tend to die back, the S. lateriflora in particular down here over winter so getting them a bit bigger on the heat mat will help them along Otherwise I've ordered from Skullcap seeds (happyvalleyseeds.com.au) Skullcap Baical seeds (happyvalleyseeds.com.au)

While the Sceletium has been showing continued promise for modulating mood and other dimensions, I've been experiencing significant and quite debilitating catatonic features for a long time and poor sleep quality but was personally hesitant to initiate the conventional lorazepam benzodiazepine therapy for catatonia due to the addictive nature of BZDs and past issues with addiction. Decided to try higher dose baicalin extract and akin to the rapid resolution of catatonia seen with a lorazepam-challenge, there was robust rapid acute resolution of the catatonic features, agitation and somewhat improved sleep quality. Just able to feel slightly chill for once. Very early days but it seems to be quite useful and also stabilising for one's mental state. The improvement of catatonic features was noted on second dose etc but as the features have been ingrained quite heavily, there's occasional return of posturing etc Subjective downsides: - waking up in the morning is harder, significant cognitive clouding etc (anything even slightly sedative does this to me) - reduced CNS arousal negatively impacts mental state The baicalin also shows diverse additional features over lorazepam that intrigue me and are relevant to my situation. Found about 1/2 tsp of 85% baicalin was sufficient S. baicalensis and it's primary active constituent baicalin has diverse pharmacological properties. In particular, baicalin seems to have promising CNS activity [1]. Antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like properties (the latter mediated through the activation of benzodiazepine binding site of GABAA receptors) Inhibits prolyl oligopeptidase dose-dependently, having potential benefits for schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, and related neuropsychiatric diseases [2]. Can potentially be used to treat dopaminergic dysfunction-associated CNS diseases (incl. neurodegenerative and ADHD). It's able to protect dopaminergic neurons and modulate brain dopamine levels, thus serving as a potentially effective novel treatment for ADHD [3]. In schizophrenia, addition of baicalin (1.5g/day) to atypical antipsychotics led to greater improvements in both primary and secondary negative symptoms than those treated with antipsychotics alone - seems to have efficacy for predominant negative symptoms and in improving cognitive function [4]. Able to facilitate remyelination in various models of CNS disorders and suppress neuroinflammation [5] Baicalin can: - pass through the blood–brain barrier - stimulate neurogenesis - promote neural differentiation and inhibit neuronal apoptosis - inhibit neuroinflammation and oxidative stress - promote CNS myelin repair Shown to be relatively nontoxic when given orally

Lately I've been comparing the subjective efficacy of S. tortuosum as an antidepressant vs high dose SSRIs and interestingly that has opened up a dimension where I've seen it's a personally effective tool for encouraging psycho-social-spiritual personal growth and deeper self-inquiry Case Study - The Subjective Clinical, Psychotherapeutic and Spiritual Benefits of Sceletium tortuosum in severe mental illness.pdf Full write up: The concept that beyond the antidepressant and anxiolytic effects with cognitive enhancement noted in clinical studies, there may be some merits for psychotherapeutic use has been suggested by Nigel Gericke where he states it may have benefits for • facilitating psychotherapy • facilitating meditative and spiritual states I've noted: - Prosocial and emotional enhancements - encourages a feeling mode, anxiolysis facilitates direct and open communication with others - Contact with the present moment as 'still', improved cognitive clarity and suppression of mind chatter opens a state more conducive to learning a more meditative state - Acute mood improvements suppress downward negative emotional spirals of anger, blame, self-hatred etc into a more accepting embrace of peaceful acceptance of the moment - Feelings of some elements of spirituality, eg embrace of more self-transcendent states, gentle ego-dissolution, positive emotions encourage a more open mental process of appreciating beauty, the uplift of emotions and cognitive fluidity can broaden-and-build mental states of openness to experience, more profound shifts in mental state can encourage consideration of the Divine in one's life It's been interesting simply freeing my way of feeling and thinking a bit, the Kanna seemingly serving as a mild empathogenic ego-dissolution tool that is dose-dependently gentle in action, which has clinical merits over more rapid and robust ego-dissolution seen with 5-HT2AR agonists etc (personally more in line with an empathogenic action), particularly for fragile mental states that may be susceptible to more pathological hallucinations. It's also very emotionally friendly as in it encourages a heart-centred way of thinking, feeling and being Some subjective clinical benefits I've observed in the reasonably short time period: Gradual but robust improvement in mood which is once again quite dose dependent. Greater cognitive clarity, reductions in cognitive complaints, intrusive lines of thinking and improved time that I can focus on tasks, improved receptiveness to the world around me, rather than being stuck in my own mind A sense of pleasure and enjoyment, currently fairly restricted to very simple activities like movement and dance, 'drumming', feeling rhythm more deeply but very gradually a return to enjoyment of more mundane everyday tasks, cooking, mowing the lawn This embrace of the now as more pleasurable, valued and meaningful has somewhat hindered the desire for more goal-directed tasks but I still feel it's personally valuable to have an improved hedonic baseline in the moment that is not so dependent on goal-directed activity Improved emotional tone and states of feeling over obsessive analytical thinking Reductions in sensorimotor stereotypies and aberrant ASD related behavious which are slowly being embraced by a more free flowing way of movement through life. Whereas I always felt held down by life, I've been able to hold my head higher and put my chin up and be more comfortable in myself and that is slowly reflected in my body posture Transient states of self-transcendence and spiritual moments, from embracing a more present moment way of thinking to even embracing an all-loving sense of something greater than me in the universe, or higher power particularly within nature. I've felt there be this all-encompassing sense of light in the darkness, the need to pray and hold myself in devotion to such etc. Robust anxiolysis and greater inner calm and peacefulness in my mind, rather than being at war with myself which is slowly reflecting in my ability to have more positive social relationships Reductions in positive symptoms - AVHs have drastically reduced in intensity (despite resisting conventional antipsychotics) from harsh, persecutory and denigratory to a generally more absent status and slowly less pathological self-talk has become softer, quieter and easier to deal with Reductions in agitation and catatonic posturing A sense of stronger healthier self-concept and self-empowerment, the ability to be more in control of my mental state rather than 'driven by pathology' I've found that quite often it's our mind's own rigidity and ego barriers that are constraining our consciousness to realms of pain and suffering. A heavily ingrained 'allegiance to pain and suffering' seems to be one of the significant cognitive biases that our brains can be pinned down into low states of consciousness by. By simply loosening those cognitive constraints in a more loving, gentle, kind and spiritualised direction, rigid loops of dysfunctional thinking patterns can slowly be loosened or literally blown away, freeing up new ways of thinking that may be less fear-based, pathological, freer, more loving and kinder to ourselves and others While there is the need to pathologise some aspects of mental functioning, too heavy an ingrained thought pattern of pathology and 'biomedical fixing' constrains you to a dimension where it is always heavy and dark. If you see the beauty, feel the love and peace, cultivate the compassion and kindness towards yourself you can seemingly slowly slay the demons in your mind - I like the line "the monsters in my head are scared of love". It's not an overnight process and it takes lots of repetition to stabilise a more positive growth mentality but it's worth it, and slowly that inner work has the chance to make life more easy to deal with each day I was inspired to create this "Devotion to the Heart and Light' by some of the experiences

Currently I'm finding I still have to not expect the kanna to do all the heavy lifting mood wise, it's really a tool that opens a potentiality for better states but without following through with behavioural activation/valued action you rapidly can sink back into the abyss. With a disability, I find the whole movement/dance/loosing your sh*t aspect nicely therapeutic to couple with the kanna as it's cognitively non-demanding and easily achievable behavioural activation at home that is not dependent on others. It's a sense of aliveness to life. Other areas I'm focusing on are: Connection. Improving some social engagements Independence. Gaining small steps of growth in self-care and independence doing very simple tasks myself Meaningful Pursuits Growth - for me, currently just trying to be content, happy "Dance is a pleasurable and captivating activity that involves motor, cognitive, visuospatial, social, and emotional engagement. Although practiced for thousands of years in rituals and as a leisure activity, the long-term effects of systematic dance on cognition, and brain structure and function are not well understood." Currently, there is increasing interest in dance as a therapeutic intervention for various clinical groups, ranging from developmental disorders, to neurological disorders such as schizophrenia (Martin et al., 2016) and mood disorder, neuromotor disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, to dementia prevention and management. Movement Medicine The efficacy of dance lies in its cognitive-affective-sensorimotor power to effect change’ and includes all aspects of the body-heartmind-spirit continuum. This continuum includes, transcends and bridges movement between the self, humanity, the world and divinity While for some it seem effortless, for some people it actually takes as much (or even more) courage and effort to choose an attitude of happiness, pleasure and gratitude as it does to let go of difficult emotions. It often requires an active choice, which needs to be renewed and renewed, instead of unconsciously and habitually emphasising struggle, suffering and hardship. It offers qualities such as: - being wholly present in the moment - an absence of thoughts - a sense of expansion or dissolving into the cosmos - distortion of time and space; experiences of non-duality - and a lost sense of self or ego If one can keep dancing through fear, the unknown, anxiety, avoidance and resistance, and eventually come out ‘on the other side’. Life seemingly becomes easier, and therefore they are willing to ‘invest’ in that reward. ‘Surviving’ these challenges often eventually results in increased self-confidence through knowing from experience that one is able to handle more than one initially thought. This is comparable to a ‘spiritual emergence’. Through the embodied experience of this cycle of descent, crisis and emergence, spirituality becomes a lived and living experience, rather than an abstract, external, metaphysical and transcendent concept Both the ‘feel-good feelings’ and the reward of emerging from a ‘dark night of the soul’ seem to stimulate happiness and well-being in general. One can consciously make an effort to increase and spread this zest for life. The psychological "holdings" in the body as the result of traumas, poor posture, or stress can be released, lulling the person into a "hookup" [peaceful, meditative state]:- given the choice between old painful "holdings" and new, freer movements, the unconscious will automatically choose the latter By moving the body, restrictive patterns can be changed, promoting relaxation and mental clarity. Also exploring therapeutic Drumming: Normally I'm an extreme stereotypic stimmer (flapping), which is one thing that kind of has no 'end result of health' associated with it, you can get worked up/modulate arousal levels but it doesn't have any personal sense of peace, connection, healing etc associated with it. The next level lately has been to embrace super unco 'drumming', which I've tried to get into a long time ago but I couldn't even manage to sense rhythm back then where my head was. Lately, I've been trying it again, learning to crank some techno and kill the rhythm fast as I can (starting just simply, tapping a table). I can attest, it does something quite nice to your mental-emotional-spiritual state, particularly at high bpm. Found it therapeutic enough that I want to ingrain it as a new habit over flapping, so whipped up a $0 drum from an old indoor planter and made it more interesting (second pic). "Drumming produces an altered state of consciousness and an experience of a rush of energy from the vibrations, with physical stimulation producing emotional release" My $0 drum It's able to calm one down and help a person deal with stress in their lives. “Drumming helps them to experience a kind of peacefulness and provides a spiritual learning context [potential to access a “higher power” and reestablish connections with their “natural selves.”]. Learning to 'drum' leads to positive changes in brain function and behaviour among those with mental illness [1] autistic people [2] and in addiction [3]. Improvements in: - hedonia (natural pleasurable experiences) - agency - accomplishment - engagement (focus and flow) - defining the self/self-awareness - produces the sense of connectedness - improved synchronicity between brain regions responsible for inhibitory control, which prevents impulsivity. - improvements to social skills and social well-being - reduces hyperactivity and attentional difficulties - enhances hypnotic susceptibility, increases relaxation, and induces shamanic experiences - release of emotional trauma - addresses self-centeredness, isolation, and alienation - enhanced sensorimotor coordination and integration [1] https://doi.org/10.1080%2F17482631.2018.1484219 [2] https://neurosciencenews.com/drumming-asd-attention-20802/ [3] https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.93.4.647 "

True but mood was too low to not quickly implement something as an option for mood enhancement. I wouldn't be surprised if the removal of the SSRI allowed a fuller range of feelings to emerge - removing the SSRI-induced emotional blunting and reducing induced akathisia - but during the week of washout, all emotions were extremely negative, it wasn't until the kanna was implemented that gradually positive emotions started to build. There were a few days of extreme emotional lability on the transition and after a couple of weeks the moods began to not be so volatile. I described a more longer-term leveling out of the effects of the kanna where "rather than the more acute robust uplift and transformative effects initially, almost a sort of tolerance to the effect but with improved baseline mental states" was noted "

I've been exploring mainly plain (?fermented) powdered raw herb (source Koda, sometimes Medicine Garden), at doses from a 1/4 tsp up and using it as added PRN as needed. Some of the other extracts on ebay etc seem potentially questionable I used a cold-turkey 5.5 half-life washout of the maximal dose SSRI and straight onto the kanna, just using plain herb. Naturally, the washout was really unpleasant but was only ~week to rough out which is easy enough when mood has been dysphorically shitty long-term. The first few days on the kanna were not overly remarkable but slowly an organic contentedness started to build which was solid basis for broadening and building other states from. Social things were still very challenging, probably harder during the transition which is understandable when you're in a state of change. Some of the case-study literature (as per article in original post's link) suggests therapeutic benefits in MDD, anxiety, personality disorders etc may be seen in the 10-14 day period Still good days and bad days but at least there are good days to build from

PM'd

Anyone used the stems/roots of this common ornamental and have experience with it? Exploring a common Apocynaceae - Catharanthus roseus The cytotoxic vinca alkaloid constituents are only found in the aerial parts of Catharanthus roseus (Figure 1), the roots are used in several countries as decocts or hot water extracts for the treatment of a number of conditions. The dried root is an industrial source of ajmalicine (raubasine), which increases the blood flow in the brain and peripheral parts of the body. Preparations of it are used to treat the psychological and behavioural problems of senility, sensory problems (dizziness, tinnitus), cerebrovascular accidents, cranial traumas and their neurological sequelae. In general, toxicity showed that both extracts and isolated compounds are safe to a certain limit, beyond that they cause adverse effects [1]. That said, the yield of vinblastine and vincristine from C. roseus aerial parts is is low, whereas the precursors, catharanthine and vindoline, are present in higher concentrations [2]. In the stem, there was in micrograms per milligram fresh weight (FW): catharanthine, 0.506 ± 0.044; ajmalicine, 0.071 ± 0.022; serpentine, 0.397 ± 0.031; tabersonine, 0.017 ± 0.003; and vindoline, 0.0026 ± 0.0002 (0.5mg/g fresh weight catharanthine in stem) Figure 1. The Catharanthus roseus plants used in this paper. The condensation of catharanthine and vindoline is an absolute requirement for the formation of vinblastine and, later, vincristine. As vindoline is required to synthesise the cytotoxic constituents but does not exist in the roots of C. roseus, but only in the green parts of the plant, no vincristine nor vinblastine can be found in the roots of this species In the plant, vindoline is a major constituent (up to 0.5%).Major alkaloids in the roots include ajmalicine, catharanthine, and serpentine. Another source mentions ajmalicine and serpentine are essentially present in the roots, whereas catharanthine and vindoline accumulate in aerial parts. The aerial parts contain 0.2-1% alkaloids [3] Roots to be used in pharmacy must contain at least 0.4% ajmalicine and serpentine Catharanthine (Figure 2) from Catharanthus roseus has been proposed to be a pharmacological treatment for addiction without the adverse side effects associated with ibogaine. It "slows DA reuptake and increases extracellular DA in the nucleus accumbens through partial inhibition of DATs" [4,5] and potentiates GABAARs [6] The root alkaloids from C. roseus root seem to be potent AChE inhibitors and catharanthine exhibited nicotinic receptor antagonism [7]. It has antidepressant activity via SERT inhibition and modulating NE [8] Figure 2. Catharanthine Ajmalicine has antihypertensive effects [9] Experimental: Root material was macerated in basified isopropanol (aq. ammonia) and concentrated to a small sample. TLC (silica, 0.2mm, glass backed, I2 visualisation) gave poor separation of the constituents with a mixed solvent of acetone:white spirits:1:1. White spirits gave better results with a major constituent Rf = 0.42 and some lesser Rf bands. [1] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2021.114647 [2] https://aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/btpr.557 [3] Catharanthus roseus (PROSEA) - PlantUse English (plantnet-project.org) [4] https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/studentpub_uht/242 [5] https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/9656 [6] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2022.114993 [7] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2009.10.008 [8] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2022.175454 [9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajmalicine