"As
we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are
liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Today's topic is the expanding field of Psychedelics in health care. Long before Timothy Leary, a renowned psychologist, uttered the famous quote, "Tune in, turn on, and drop out, " Indigenous people had been using Magic Mushrooms, or Psilocybin mushrooms, for thousands of years. It was and still is a rite of passage in many cultures that still exist today. Magic mushrooms are celebrated for their divine-like associated experiences upon ingestion.
The laws that have railroaded the research of various psychedelic compounds have been removed in recent years. Allowing scientists to
trail-blaze exploring the medicinal and mind-expanding physical and psychological benefits involves the multiple combinations that exist in
nature and as synthetic analogs ( LSD #25 Rye of argot).
Many who read this may not know it now. Still, Florence Nightingale, the "Mother of Nursing," created the field of nursing through evidence-based research during the Chimera war. Soldiers were dying in droves from sepsis and other communicable diseases. However, through careful note-taking and oral arguments supported by evidence-backed research, she ushered in a new area of medical science.
You may be asking yourself... "How does nursing play into all of this?". Well, in my NURS 205 Pharmacology class at college, there was a term known as pharmaceutical botany. This is the study of plants and animals regarding the medical properties they might hold. A peer-reviewed journal article (2) involved using psilocybin to combat depression in patients with heart failure and inadvertently discovered the chemical compounds actually protected the cardiac cells!
Hence the physical benefits. Now for the psychological benefits, the chemical compound in magic mushrooms can treat depression as its chemical structure closely resembles serotonin. My theory, in my limited knowledge and understanding of this subject beyond what I will share in this blog post, is that perhaps because of its similar organic chemical structure, it will compete for the same binding sites as serotonin at the post-synaptic cleft and, therefor allow for increased serotonin levels in the pre-synaptic gap. Far out!
What's more, as a Nurse working in this field, you will, just as Florence did, gather and record subjective and objective information and screen potential clients for these types of therapy. As an RN, you will screen clients to ensure they fit the proper criteria to participate in this treatment field and collect objective and subjective information such as vital signs and the response to the medication.
As an Advanced Practitioner, you will conduct pre and post-integrative therapy sessions with the client to integrate their experiences under the influence of these psychedelic compounds to promote emotional and therapeutic growth and healing as part of the client's care plan. Fascinating right! Magic mushroom-assisted therapy is legal in several states and our nation's capital!
So before I wrap up this post, I just want to mention that it is HIGHLY UN-RECOMMENDED to try and find these mushrooms in nature as many look-a-likes could potentially KILL YOU!
I also always remember that these potent medicinal compounds need to be respected. Think of them if you will like fire. Fire is a powerful tool, just like knowledge. Fire can keep us warm, protect us, and render our food edible, but just like fire, if not respected, it can destroy the things we hold dear.
Killer! I knew very little of some of the benefits of magic mushrooms but this is the icing on the cake. I had no idea of the health and psychological benefits. If only people were more interested in funding research into these things, we might find out more uses for it.
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