Topic starter
What is the purpose of a truffle ceremony?
Let's start by saying that the purpose for which someone uses psychedelics plays a major role in the outcome of the trip. For instance, you can use a low dose of magic mushrooms or magic truffles as a party drug. The same applies to LSD, MDMA, and a number of other synthetic variants. For most people, the combination of psychedelics and a party setting will not be perceived as therapeutic, although for some people it can have a positive effect on their mindset.
If psychedelics are used as a tool during a therapeutic setting, the so-called truffle ceremony or truffle therapy, the health benefits are often greater than in a party setting. Thus, the purpose of ingestion plays a role in the outcome.
Changes play a key role
Beyond the positive physical effects of psychedelics, which we explain further below, it is precisely healthy changes that play an important role. Psychedelics such as psilocybin enable us to create new (brain) connections, and this is often linked to gaining new insights. These new connections can cause us to think differently and learn new patterns. If these new patterns are healthier, we benefit from better physical and mental health. Therefore, always try to explore which healthy changes can help you move forward.
More BDNF from psychedelics
Because psychedelics such as psilocin (from truffles) stimulate the 5-HT2a receptor, BDNF is released. When the body releases more BDNF, it flips a switch on a series of genes that allow brand-new brain cells, nerve cells, and connections to grow. Slightly higher BDNF levels ensure that you learn faster, remember better, age more slowly, and that your brain rapidly rearranges connections with the various parts of the brain and body.
BDNF also increases your brain plasticity. When your brain cells are damaged or find themselves in a stressful situation, BDNF protects them and helps them come back stronger. The neural pathways become more flexible instead of breaking down, which could explain why higher levels of BDNF are associated with warding off depression.
Lower DMN activity
The Default Mode Network (DMN) comprises brain regions in the cortex that are normally active during rest and is involved in recalling events, social and emotional judgment, and future planning. Reducing DMN activity causes the sense of time to disappear and leads to living more in the here and now. This means that worries and fears about the future vanish.
Lower DMN activity therefore leads to lower stress levels and thus lower cortisol. Low cortisol allows the body to utilize its self-healing capabilities, enabling it to combat diseases and inflammation. Thanks to reduced inflammation levels, more serotonin is released, which in turn releases more BDNF, while also reducing anxiety and depression.
Read more about being in the now
Less ego
Psychedelics in higher doses cause the ego to take a back seat. The ego typically wants to be fed with more and more, and often unhealthy, things. The ego makes us restless and anxious, since self-preservation is its greatest goal. We will not survive without an ego, but an overactive ego leads to separation, loneliness, and addictions.
Less ego means more connectedness, less depression, more serotonin, more BDNF, more healthy choices, less stress, and less DMN activity.
Suppressed emotions
It regularly happens during a psilocybin session that emotions surface that have been blocked for a long time. It is precisely the release of this "old pain" that leads to the loosening of emotional blockages and sometimes also psychosomatic complaints. It can sometimes feel like a liberation to feel uninhibitedly everything that needs to be felt.
Exposure therapy
In a number of cases, such as with PTSD, exposure therapy can be combined with a lower dose of psychedelics. Biochemically, the psychedelics induce a state of contentment, reduced sadness, and decreased anxiety. This state of mind, combined with recounting and reliving the trauma, allows the emotional connection to the trauma to shift towards something that evokes less fear.
Even better results
In trip therapy, we look beyond just what psychedelics can do for health. It is precisely using the insights to bring about healthy changes that offers a long-term solution. Good preparation, focusing on health and healthy changes, ensures a better result. Pre-existing improved health also leads to a better psychedelic session, which is why it is helpful to balance the neurotransmitters in the brain beforehand. A questionnaire is included in the trip therapy intake, allowing us to advise you and help you get the most out of the session.
Posted : 17 July 2020 09:48