RE: Revolutionary Clinical Trials Show Party Drug MDMA May Work to Cure Alcoholism
In my experience there is a big difference (intent) between using MDMA 'recreationally' or 'therapeutically'. Recreationally it may take the form of expressing sentimentality (all the weekend 'I love yous' to colleagues/friends/strangers) which otherwise remains buried, and which one feels 'ashamed' of on Monday morning when it's 'back to reality'. One may wonder if this is 'love' or just the drug speaking, and it can be very off-putting! Therapeutically, it may take the form as described in @johnvibes' post - ie of being able to get an 'overview' of one's own issues that would otherwise remain locked behind closed doors. It's seem as if the ego-mind is temporarily dropped or transcended (exposing the view / the 'glow of love'? :). Exploring oneself in this state doesn't have the 'sentimentality' hangover, and the personal insights gained are priceless. Sentimentality is seen for what it is (a complex compound of one's own issues), and 'Love' directed at self can be explored - this actually wasn't straightforward for me at all, and the first time I attempted it (on MDMA), I recoiled at first contact, so dry was I on the inside (so 'scared of that vulnerable state' perhaps)! It is exponentially more efficient than any psychotherapy (providing one has some understanding/experience of the psychotherapeutic process and tools), as direct observation of one's own experience is possible, and this does not need to be interpreted through the medium of the therapist (however good).
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Ah what an mindful way to conceptualize the two different experiences. The very prosocial party-effects is probably the most congruent if a lot of other people in the party is having the same trip. My experience with people drinking is that I get overly emphatic and they get dull, which makes you feel more as an alien then necessary.
But thank you! I will think about the therapeutic mode of the drug, and explore exactly how direct the experience is. I still have a sneaky suspicion that there is a touch of overly sentimental feeling in the alone experience too, but it's sooo much easier to go loose in your sentimentality when you are alone.
Thanks @heartstar :D. Yes, a harmonious group on M together would be a very nice vibe. I've not experienced that (yet)! I have experienced the random party mix of M and alcohol as you describe, and it is indeed different frequencies. But then, for me, alcohol lowers, and M raises, frequency, and it's kinda to be expected IMO.
Being alone exposes the 'overly sentimental' and the 'sentimentality'. I'd loosely call 'sentimentality' all the stuff that may look like, or purport to be, love, but just isn't! Thus when alone on M with healing intention, the false is exposed for what it is, and there is a new space. This can be a very powerful experience of discovery IMO.