with
Ayahuasca
Psychoactive forest alkaloids
EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT
The protocol
for Ayahuasca treatment for drug addiction includes traditional indigenous
medicine to boost the immune system and address physical problems that
appear during the treatment; a diet with a balanced vitamin regimen to
bring the body back to it's form; therapies, including psychotheraphy and
behavioral science to reshape the patterns that will be loosened through
the abreactions performed by the Ayahuasca sessions; psychological evaluations;
applied creativity and the ritualistic use of Ayahuasca as a tool for transpersonal
therapy starting from the second day.
All medicines
and preparations used for the treatment should be natural.
Ayahuasca
sessions during the treatment
After
researching the interaction of Ayahuasca with methadone,I found that they
work well when applied together.
The
protocol includes a two weeks' methadone taper for avoidance of the abstinence
syndrome.
Plants
are given to alcoholics to counteract the physical effects of abstinence.
Alcohol and opiates patients are treated with Ayahuasca sessions twice
a week, starting the second day of the program.
During
Ayahuasca sessions, participants access the deepest realms of their identities.
Life-shaping experiences from the past emerge, bearing
a
new significance when acknowledged through the support and guidance of
Ayahuasca. With the first ritual, patients begin an incredible journey,
through present and past lifetimes, en route to the achievement of existential
peace.
Ayahuasca
nurtures the many needs that arise throughout the cure of addiction through
its cathartic and abreactive properties.
The
cathartic property works through both the physical and the psychological
as a detox and cleansing agent. The abreactive property safely
returns
the patient to the origin of their problem, allowing a thorough exploration
of the experiences from which their drug dependency arose,
thereby
offering an opportunity to gain the necessary insights to liberate themselves
from the lingering, subconscious psychological traumas.
The
addict is a shaman utilizing an erroneous method of enlightenment. The
addict embodies the paradigm of the spiritual searcher,
seeking
that place in the soul beyond the turmoil of the unawakened life.
Ayahuasca
enhances spiritual seeking
through
revealing the mechanisms of human consciousness while uniting personal
awareness with pure,
non-dogmatic
spiritual truths. And in the light of this union, the darkness of drug
addiction is destroyed.
INTERESTING
FINDINGS:
(During
the treatment)
Among
the primary effects of the Ayahuasca treatment is the maintenance of a
high density (Bmax) of 5-HT uptake sites, thereby counteracting the depressive
states that accompany withdrawal.
During
treatment, two patients used plants to promote sleep while another patient
used melotonin. The two patients using plants did not experience symptoms
of depression. The patient using melotonin suffered severe symptoms. Melotonin
replaces serotonin, establishing a normal density in the
5-HT
uptake sites, eliminating the up-regulation of the 5-HT uptake that is
essential during the withdrawal period. That is accomplished through
precise
doses of the Mao inhibitors Peganum Harmala or Banisteriopsi Caapi. Each
patient requires different doses of Mao inhibitors and DMT according to
their physical, emotional and psychological states.
A
high dose of MAOi +DMT will trigger manic behavior in patients with mental
disorders. When more MAOi and less DMT is administered, the maniac depressive
patient for example, accesses controllable, transpersonal states of consciousness,
inviting the all-important process of mystical contemplation through which
an illumined and sustained transformation can manifest.
This
confirms J. Callaway's study of two groups--
Ayahuasca
drinkers from the UDV (Uniao do Vegetal), and a control group, took place
in Manaus and included physical as well as psychological evaluations in
addition to the analysis of botanical and biological samples.
To
examine the possibility of long term effects, blood platelets were collected
from UDV members who had used Ayahuasca for at least 10 years.
(In
ceremonial usage, this beverage is seldom consumed more than once every
two weeks). Blood platelets were also collected from the control
group
who had never taken ayahuasca before.
5-HT
uptake activity was measured in platelets by displacing [3 H]citalopram
with unlabelled paroxetine.
A
statistically significant (p= 0.006) difference was found between the two
groups; the Ayahuasca drinkers had a higher density (Bmax) of 5-HT
uptake
sites when compared to the control group, with an overall "up-regulation"
of about 25%. The psychological evaluations demonstrated the UDV members
to be more stable and better adjusted than the control group, with no signs
of depression or other adverse reactions.
An
up-regulation of the 5-HT uptake is of interest because of its implications
to our present understanding of depressive disorders.
Increased
serotonergic activity is exactly what current medications attempt to provide
for such devastating states of mind. Should this neurological change be
precipitated by Ayahuasca, then the minimal dosage needed to induce this
change, the time it takes for it to occur, and its durability would be
important questions to answer. Should significant numbers of individuals
with naturally high densities of the 5-HT uptake site be found among drinkers
of Ayahuasca, then a novel treatment modality for depression disorders
may be on the horizon.(Callaway 1994).
PEAK EXPERIENCE QUESTIONARY
Peak
Experience Profile Report from one patient during the first month of treatment.
Scores
are given in percentage
