Neurological Support with Herbs and Psychedelics
Psychedelics are increasingly being used for neurological support in stressed populations as the psychedelic renaissance gathers pace. Along with psychedelics, there are allies from Mother Nature that can aid our cognitive function. This intro paper is intended to introduce you to the main substances from both categories being used out there today.
In the psychedelic realm folks are using microdoses of psilocybin and LSD (aka light medicine ) to enhance creativity, decrease anxiety, stimulate subtle brain regeneration, heighten the senses, awaken the spirit, and be able to respond more dynamically to stress.
Given that we seem to be in a time of ever increasing stress, it would be wise for us to consider using all the tools we have available to find balance.
Herbs
In the herbal realm, the class of herbs known as nervines are specialists in supporting the nervous system. These would include milky oats, passionflower, valerian, chamomile, lavender, damiana , and skullcap among others. Chances are that you’ve used one of these at some point to help unwind and settle an uneasy mind. Milky oats is notable in that it serves as food for the nervous system and is known as a trophorestorative- an herb that is able to restore function over the long term and effect even greater positive change.
Psychedelics
In the realm of psychedelics, some have reported that psilocybin and light medicine sometimes exhibit trophorestorative properties, enabling deep healing and quantum leaps to occur. They are not often thought of as tonics suitable for long term use. Microdosing is changing the equation however. This cutting edge wave of therapeutic use is offering more tonic use of these neurologically stimulating (and sometimes regenerative) substances. Psilocybin is even being shown to have regenerative properties akin to Lion’s Mane mushroom. This is changing the paradigm completely as people discover that psychedelics can be medicine and not just a consciousness altering tool.
Light medicine was studied in the 50s and 60s in a psychiatric context to treat addictions before the crackdown as everything became politicized. Light medicine was used in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and psychosomatic diseases. It’s use is documented in this exhaustive review paper. (1) It has been found to benefit those dealing with terminal conditions (ie cancer) and those dealing with alcohol abuse. It is potent and so respect is paramount as well as proper set and setting.
“Evidence suggests that the psychedelics have a much greater safety profile than the major addictive drugs, having extremely low levels of mortality, and producing little if any physical dependence.” (2)
References
(1) https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00943/full
