Good news emerges from Australia of a new form of treatment for severe depression. It’s called psilocybin and can be used alongside therapy. In another breakthrough, MDMA can now be used to treat PTSD. Having been diagnosed with the former and having been advised by a forensic psychotherapist that I probably have the latter, it’s reassuring that my next course of treatment could involve Magic Mushrooms and Ecstacy.
It wasn’t that long ago that we were advised by the popular BBC children’s TV show Grange Hill that we should Just Say No. I am not going to pretend that I didn’t dabble with certain recreational drugs ‘back in the day‘ and recall many a pleasant evening watching the stars from my living room, listening to Dark Side Of The Moon, while puffing on what we then called a joint, and thinking that all was well in the world. Unfortunately, I had a rather unfortunate experience at a house party in Bitton, which is vaguely near Bristol, and where I was encouraged to imbibe in something called ‘acid‘. The next thing I remember was waking up in a flowerbed at Keynsham Church, with the world spinning round me, as I grappled with all kinds of multicoloured shouting monsters. Those were the days. I rather think not trying it again was one of my better decisions. But now it appears the world has turned upside down.
I am no expert on drugs, or anything else for that matter, so to that end I visited my ‘go to’ website to establish the likely effects if I was to be prescribed psilocybin for my PTSD, always assuming I have it. That website is Wikipedia and here’s what it says: ‘Physical effects may occur, including nausea, vomiting, euphoria, muscle weakness or relaxation, drowsiness, and lack of coordination.’ I suppose I could cope with one or two of the side effects, but preferably not all of them at the same time. I wouldn’t want to be lolling around on the settee throwing up all over the place. If I forget my supposed PTSD, I’ll have a cleaning bill to think about. If I combine it with a little MDMA, I’m, a bit puzzled as to the potential benefits.
I don’t suppose I should get too excited about these supposed developments because according to Professor Richard Harvey, who chairs the the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Steering Group, “Psychedelic-assisted therapy is in its infancy. There is more we need to know,” which is another way of saying we know next to nothing about whether it works. He adds:”Psychedelic-assisted therapy may offer hope to a small number of people where other treatments have been attempted without success. But it’s not a miracle cure.” Hmm. In the UK, NHS therapy is not available for anyone who falls between a minor mental health blip and complete insanity, so almost all of us, actually.
So, essentially the possibility of tripping out on Magic Mushrooms and Ecstacy in order to improve my mental health is somewhat slim and I’ll have to continue down the path of the government’s current NHS policy which involves of saying little more than mind how you go. Plus ça change, as we say in England.
