I had a thought on a topic or series you might like to cover - I wonder what kind of interesting insights you would gather from interviewing people with experience in a range of illicit drugs. It would be fascinating to see the technical/scientific side of it contrasted with the actual physical and psychological experiences of people who have gone down these various rabbit holes. Anyway just food for thought! Keep writing :)
Thanks mate. I’m not sure where I could source such people to interview though- my friends are all registered healthcare professionals and public servants 😉
Sounds like a super fun project to me- can you be my agent and get me a book deal so I can do it?
The placebo effect is in itself fascinating to me, and also what it says about the power of ritual. I appreciate that you’ve treated this subject with care, and I love how you delineate pharmacological effects and therapeutic effects. Well done!
Thanks so much for reading, and for the thoughtful comment Danielle. Good point regarding the power of ritual relating to medicines- that sounds like something that’d be fun to dig into!
It’s always funny when people dismiss good results as “only” the placebo effect. Who cares, it’s working, right? A lot of other drugs don’t work and they are still considered legitimate with poor performance.
My wife and I had one quiet baby. And then.
We had another baby who cried for the first 18 months. It felt like a lifetime. There was no fun to be had, nothing worked, and we hated our lives.
You took me on a roller coaster ride with the Placebo reference. When I saw the title I thought it might be about that song, then it was confirmed and I was excited, only to have you immediately say they're not your favorite 😅
Anyways, great article, it was amusing and informative!
Ha! Not my favourite band, but I do really like that song, and still managed to remember most of the lyrics when listening to them over the weekend. Thanks so much for reading, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
My sister was a big fan when we were teenagers and it was one of the few points of musical taste agreement between us, so Placebo kind of has a special place in my heart
Awww, that’s nice. That’s one of the things I’m finding fun with writing about music- it really does help tap into memories and feelings so well. I’ve also found myself listening to a lot more music again, and forcing the kids to get their musical education!
My perspective. When I used to be young, I did every possible recreational drug I could lay my hands on. Today I am just an alcoholic and chain smoker, it is easier. So at this point it would be hypocritical for me to object to medicine, vaccines, supplements and suchlike, as they are probably way less harmful. If every other aspect of my life would be healthy - low booze, no cigs, healthy food, exercise and all - then I sort of had a right to worry about medicine.
Another relevant part of it is that the medicine and supplements are all about trying to fix the mental health issues I started coping with substance abuse, so maybe one day I can. For example, magnesium makes me a little less anxious and helps cutting the booze a bit. At this point I would try anything, so far three antidepressants did not work, and things like l-theanine, GABA, ashwagandha etc. worked only very marginally.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. And thank you for reading.
I think decisions about drugs are always more complex than they look on the surface - whether they're prescribed, recreational, or whatever. Sound like you're paying attention and being curious, which I think is always a good thing. And even if it sounds trite, don't underestimate the impact of nutrition, movement and sleep. They really do form the foundation for everything else.
I had a thought on a topic or series you might like to cover - I wonder what kind of interesting insights you would gather from interviewing people with experience in a range of illicit drugs. It would be fascinating to see the technical/scientific side of it contrasted with the actual physical and psychological experiences of people who have gone down these various rabbit holes. Anyway just food for thought! Keep writing :)
Thanks mate. I’m not sure where I could source such people to interview though- my friends are all registered healthcare professionals and public servants 😉
Sounds like a super fun project to me- can you be my agent and get me a book deal so I can do it?
Thanks for reading, and commenting!
The placebo effect is in itself fascinating to me, and also what it says about the power of ritual. I appreciate that you’ve treated this subject with care, and I love how you delineate pharmacological effects and therapeutic effects. Well done!
Thanks so much for reading, and for the thoughtful comment Danielle. Good point regarding the power of ritual relating to medicines- that sounds like something that’d be fun to dig into!
It’s always funny when people dismiss good results as “only” the placebo effect. Who cares, it’s working, right? A lot of other drugs don’t work and they are still considered legitimate with poor performance.
My wife and I had one quiet baby. And then.
We had another baby who cried for the first 18 months. It felt like a lifetime. There was no fun to be had, nothing worked, and we hated our lives.
Yeah - there are many drugs that are worse than placebo because they’re ineffective and produce side effects!
You took me on a roller coaster ride with the Placebo reference. When I saw the title I thought it might be about that song, then it was confirmed and I was excited, only to have you immediately say they're not your favorite 😅
Anyways, great article, it was amusing and informative!
Ha! Not my favourite band, but I do really like that song, and still managed to remember most of the lyrics when listening to them over the weekend. Thanks so much for reading, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
My sister was a big fan when we were teenagers and it was one of the few points of musical taste agreement between us, so Placebo kind of has a special place in my heart
Awww, that’s nice. That’s one of the things I’m finding fun with writing about music- it really does help tap into memories and feelings so well. I’ve also found myself listening to a lot more music again, and forcing the kids to get their musical education!
My perspective. When I used to be young, I did every possible recreational drug I could lay my hands on. Today I am just an alcoholic and chain smoker, it is easier. So at this point it would be hypocritical for me to object to medicine, vaccines, supplements and suchlike, as they are probably way less harmful. If every other aspect of my life would be healthy - low booze, no cigs, healthy food, exercise and all - then I sort of had a right to worry about medicine.
Another relevant part of it is that the medicine and supplements are all about trying to fix the mental health issues I started coping with substance abuse, so maybe one day I can. For example, magnesium makes me a little less anxious and helps cutting the booze a bit. At this point I would try anything, so far three antidepressants did not work, and things like l-theanine, GABA, ashwagandha etc. worked only very marginally.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. And thank you for reading.
I think decisions about drugs are always more complex than they look on the surface - whether they're prescribed, recreational, or whatever. Sound like you're paying attention and being curious, which I think is always a good thing. And even if it sounds trite, don't underestimate the impact of nutrition, movement and sleep. They really do form the foundation for everything else.