Shamanism: the numerous benefits of Sacred Plants (part 1)

 Dear readers and friends,            articolo originale in OlisticaMente Kokoro

Today I present to you an article or rather a series of articles on sacred plants and their benefits in shamanism. The first plant or rather the mix of plants with which we will start is  AYAHUASCA.

Shamanism is the oldest form of healing, which balances body and soul in its deepest form of connection with the cosmos.

 

WHAT IS AYAHUASCA AND HOW TO USE IT

Ayahuasca, also called hoasca, yagé or Mother Ayahuasca, is a blend of two different plants: a perennial shrub called chacruna (Psychotria viridis) and the ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi).

Both plants can be found in the Amazon rainforest. Chacruna contains a substance called dimethyltryptamine or DMT (also present in the human body, a substance produced in the human brain by the pineal gland every night, during REM  sleep  , from birth to 24 hours after death).

To create Ayahuasca tea, the two plants are combined and boiled over a fire for many hours.

The resulting blend has been used in healing ceremonies for centuries. Basically it consists of drinking this concoction, which creates hallucinations, under the guidance of a shaman with the aim of discovering oneself.

It is said that this hallucinatory experience should give way to spiritual healing. Some researchers also think it could be used as a form of treatment for depression. But these substances combined with each other can also cause some serious side effects.

In fact, dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, is a potent hallucinogenic compound, structurally related to the drug LSD. DMT has been found in the bodily fluids of people diagnosed with schizophrenia (according to the Mayo Clinic, schizophrenia can cause hallucinations and extremely confusing behaviors that impair daily functioning and can be disabling).

Like LSD, DMT is also considered a drug/drug that is heavily and disproportionately used.

The Ayahuasca ceremony is used for healing on all levels (physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual).

The tea must necessarily be consumed with the guidance of a shaman who specializes in the ayahuasca experience. The immediate effects of this shamanic medicine are said to be felt approximately 20-60 minutes after consuming the tea. However, the intoxication can last up to eight hours. The effects are known to vary greatly from person to person.

Possible health benefits

An article published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology points out that in addition to DMT, ayahuasca also contains some alkaloids, harmine and tetrahydroharmine (THH). Some studies have indicated its ability to help people with depression also because of these compounds. However, the studies conducted so far have been pilot studies and/or have involved only a very limited number of subjects.

Treatment for depression

A small study was recently conducted by the University of São Paulo, Brazil, in an inpatient psychiatric unit. Participants knew what type of treatment was being administered.

They found that there were statistically significant reductions of up to 82% in depressive scores on days 1, 7 and 21 after subjects took AYA (aka ingested compound). Depressive scores were measured on the following scales:

the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D);

the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS);

the Anxious-Depressive subscale of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS).

The final conclusion of the researchers is that taking AYA causes anxiolytic and fast-acting antidepressant effects in patients with depressive disorder.

Another study on depression was also conducted by researchers from the University of São Paulo. The 17 psychiatric patients were given a single dose of ayahuasca. The results of the study, published in 2016 in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, reveal that out of these 17 subjects, 35% of the patients (6 subjects) showed improvements while 47% of the patients not only had no improvements but also vomited (possible side effect).

Pain reliever

The researchers published a paper in May 2017 that examined the potential use of ayahuasca in pain management.

30 people who took ayahuasca and 30 people who, on the other hand, did not take any substance were analysed.

They then measured pain levels.

The ayahuasca group had a lower level of pain and also demonstrated some psychological and interpersonal benefits.

Unfortunately, research and clinical findings remain very limited (in part due to DMT's legal status) on therapeutic uses of this substance to treat depression or manage pain.

Interesting history and questions

In 1990, the US government allowed Richard Strassman, a psychiatrist at the University of Mexico, to inject DMT into human volunteers. Strassman conducted his research from 1990 to 1995 by injecting 60 subjects with DMT during 400 sessions.

Many subjects claimed to have sensed the presence of a powerful, god-like being that dissolved into radiant light (words). About 25 subjects reported seeing aliens, reptiles, insects and even when the "journey" (the hallucinations) was over, they could not be convinced that these images weren't real. When Strassman stopped his research, he wrote everything in his own book called DMT: The Spirit Molecule. In 2010 there was also a documentary of the same name.

Possible side effects

Sedation

Visions: snakes, big cats, aliens, insects

Auditory hallucinations and/or sound distortions

Altered sense of space and time

Increased likelihood of adopting "magical thinking", paranormal ideation

Nausea

Diarrhea

Vomit

Muscle aches

Difficulty walking

Sweats and shivering (alternating)

Other food poisoning or flu-like symptoms

Fear

Paranoia

Feeling like you are losing your mind

Feeling like you are dying

According to Robert Gable, professor of psychology emeritus at Claremont Graduate University who specializes in assessing the risk of new drugs, the greatest risk with taking ayahuasca is that of experiencing serotonin syndrome, i.e. a potentially lethal syndrome that can occur following interactions among some drugs. Gable suggests that people with strong paranoid tendencies or extreme anxiety should not take ayahuasca because it alters perceptions of reality.

 Shamanism: the numerous benefits of Sacred Plants (part 2)

Shamanism: the many benefits of Sacred Plants (Part 3)

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have about a medical condition or health goals.