You should totally give it another thought. For many people it is just a party drug, but this is just because it makes you love and be friends with everyone. The real great power of MDMA is to make people see what matters in the world and to feel the "magic" of living again, which feeling most people have forgotten a loong time ago, not just those with PTSD. To have the best experience and outcome you should make yourself familiar with the basics of meditation first, so you can be at peace with yourself and are able to see things clearly. And to take it in a cozy atmosphere with a few best friends isn't in any way less powerfull than taking it on a rave. ;)
It isnt exctacy, mdma is not ecstacy this is a huge issue with this video. excstacy has random numbers of different stuff unknown levels and etc. Ecstacy isnt the propper term for this treatment. MDMA is more accurate and should be used. NOT e.
Ex-cons also have ptsd! I know this is a often overlooked section of society but someone coming bac in society will experience anxiety from trauma in correction institutions like murder and assaults and that is trauma that someone who has never did time will ever understand. This treatment should be available too newly released inmates to help reintegrate and allow them to be law abiding citizens.
MDMA is not "highly addictive". Caffeine is highly addictive. Nicotine is highly addictive. Why are people making MDMA out to be like methamphetamine or heroin?
To be clear, the MA in MDMA is 'methamphetamine'. I understand your point though: The effects and addictive potential of MDMA and crystal meth have little in common.
Addiction is mental. I know people who snort cocaine and aren't addicted to it. They'e smoked a cigarette and aren't addicted to it. Addiction is a mental disorder not a physical one.
MDMA and methamphetamine have vastly different effects as they are very different molecules. If you look at the chemical structure, MDA has closer structure to that of amphetamine/adderall (NH2 at the end in MDA vs NH bonded to CH3 in methamphetamine). MDMA and methamphetamine (and all amphetamines) are similar in that they both have hypothermia and jaw clenching and side effects. This is why it is important to do MDMA in a good setting where you have plenty of water and the ability to control your surrounding temperature. A night club is not a good place to do MDMA. Addiction is mental but it is also physical. Consistent heroin use will create a tolerance and requirement for consistent or there will be dire consequences and sever withdrawal symptoms.
This gives me hope. I tried MDMA back in the 80's in Dallas Tx. when it was still legal. It opened my heart. I'm now 48 and have had PTSD ever since I came home from Iraq (as a photojournalist) covering the war 10yrs. ago. It's supposed to be approved around 2021 I don't want to have to wait that long... I'm still in therapy, and the meds. don't work. I can relate to Bob. I don't even take meds. anymore. What's the point if they don't work. I can see how MDMA can help people w/ PTSD.
Look not only into MDMA, but also some psychoactive substances like DMT (Ayahuasca), and Psilocybin. Food for thought. I heard that they can help with PTSD, depression, anxiety, etc.. If taken correctly.
Maybe there’s a reason why massive amounts of people gathering together at large parties to dance to music and take MDMA… perhaps its a very therapeutic thing to do for so many people who just don’t feel deep connection with themselves or others. 🤷
This is fantastic. Keep content like this coming. I think this is great. It gives new hope to people who can't be helped or have failed with current treatment.
+steve campy, wrong. I've used lots of drugs of various kinds since the late 60s (so had good 1960's LSD) and what I eventually learned is that no drug is inherently pleasurable. Pleasure, like beauty, in in the beholder. I've experienced grand states of bliss and rapture way better than any drug experience I ever had, with no drugs in my system at all. Meditation beats the shit out of mdma.
Meditation for sure is the best thing anyone could ever experience. But in my opinion a really strong wave of euphoria on MDMA is just something different, and in the tiny little moment really feels like the very best. So i think those are two different "bests". One is the intense feeling for a moment and one is the state of calm happiness that lasts and lasts.
They haven't been allowed to do studies with more people, of course. That's part of how they routinely slow-walk treatments like this that would cost the medical industry zillions of dollars. While meanwhile there are always easy fast-tracks for the debilitating awful shit the drug industry comes out with.
Thanks Michael and Annie Mithoefer for braving the distraction of fear instilled upon medical and psychology providers by large scale governing educational and incorporated political systems, to practice the 'standards of care' for PTSD, which historically only mask deep emotional trama and prevent real personal growth. Your research is heartfelt, uplifting, and also encouraging for young healers who strive not only to 'Do No Harm', but actually support an individuals growth and recovery. - Taste Buddy
I've never done MDMA, I've been diagnosed with PTSD but the funny thing is I live in an area where mdma is everywhere. I have done mushrooms and those helped me a lot, so I know MDMA has to be able to help me some.
I didn't look for it because I don't have a good place to do it since I live in a ghetto area & I don't go to raves, a friend of mine wanted to give it to me on my birthday but she had a thing for me and I felt like she'd try to bang me ( wasn't interested) plus I didn't wanna be the only one on it, unfortunately, all my peaceful hippy friends no longer live in the same city as me. I'd love to shrooms again though.
***** tell me about it, I was misled to believe they could be chill just because I have 3 sisters I got along with great. one of my chubby chick friends set me up with one of her hot friends, I got in bed with the hottie, she got butthurt after setting us up then cockblocked me for it because she didn't wanna be part of a threeway and that was the hottest chick i'd ever met. Now I keep'em all at arm length, how silly of me to believe the myth that only guys can be the creepy friends that expect sex, eh
That's a reasonable caveat, and trivializing the dangers that come with the consumption of psychedelics is a widespread tendency among the psychedelic community. But it's worth noticing that PTSD caused by psychedelics usually occurs after usage in an inconvenient setting. Within decades of the most scrupulous research with therapy assisted by psychedelics and entactogens (such as MDMA) there have been hardly any cases of serious adverse effects. (If so, research would've been banned in the meanwhile.) It's a safe framework, very different from recreational use. Those researchers and therapists, luckily, are empathic and competent people who know exactly what they're doing and who are very, very familiar with their field. They know what to do in case of someone having a bad trip and already the very fact of a competent person being present can be very reassuring. I know from my own experience how the presence of a trustworthy person can significantly reduce the likelihood of a bad experience.
I have complex-ptsd, anxiety and depression among many other things. I tried MDMA only once and how it made me feel it's hard to put into words but I felt a happy sadness a deep appreciation and connectedness. I wish I could use it to help me I don't want to take antidepressants but I wanna survive these feelings.
I'm really pround any news agency has the ability to make reports like this anymore. I love supporting and sharing the verge with friends and family. I am a huge advocate for your site, but this article highlights a missing link in so many other programs. You covered all the sides very well and were able to give the viewer a chance to make the beginning of an informed decision on the issue. Of course personal investigation is always best, but without and commentary you did and excellent job!
i have ptsd, and it's hard to comprehend someone having dealt with it so absolutely, because it's a lot like a drug addiction or similar illness where it doesn't just go away (possibly barring this treatment), you just learn to deal with it and keep it at bay, for example, when an alcoholic stops drinking, they're still an alcoholic, they just don't feed it anymore. straight up "i don't have ptsd" is such a weird phrase to hear. but i guess these guys might be on to something.
Acierno (pissed off guy) thinks that the MDMA treatment does not include therapy, and says therapy is effective in 60-85% which is contradictory to the
He's just one of those douche bag doctors who is desperately hanging onto his costly, time consuming, and not particularly effective treatments because they'd rake in more cash than a more effective cheap treatment. Almost nobody goes STRAIGHT to the non-mainstream treatments right away, if anyone, we all got here after trying various anti depressants, sedatives, whatever nasty stuff they wanna give us that doesn't make us feel any better. I tried several anti depressants for years, one of which entirely removed my sex drive, another which removed pleasure from sex, another which made orgasm impossible, thankfully none of them permanent but marijuana and mushrooms made a remarkable difference in my life even if I only did the mushrooms once. I know from taking mushrooms and my own experience with PTSD, MDMA is probably an extremely effective tool. Mushrooms like others said of MDMA 'opened my heart' it took me out of my protective shell temporarily and made me look and think of myself in an objective way without any hatred or judgement and realize that I was avoiding and shutting down people and women who wanted to meet me because I was always protecting myself. When I took it and reflected it was like my guardian angel was patting me on the back and telling me that my fears were wrong and everything looked more beautiful, vivid and alive even long after the trip was over and for long after, it made a mark and is one of my top 5 life experiences. Mushrooms are potentially very scary especially to somebody with anxiety issues to start with and require finding others who you feel at ease and emotionally close to who are willing to use the drug with you, but from what I've heard there is not much chance of a 'bad trip' if any on MDMA.
MDMA sure can be used to tread PTSD or anxiety, but in my experience traditional psychedelics like LSD & psilocybin are both more effective and safer when used in a proper setting.
Too bad most of these things are taken incorrectly most of the time. This is what shamanic ritual is for, to show you the correct way to do these things. Taking psychedelics and experiencing consumer culture is a no no.
even better: don't send people to war. Maybe if they had taken MDMA/psychedelics earlier in their life they would have never joined the army in the first place.
The urgency isnt just the fact of how well this works but just how bad therapy and meds work. The deeper the trauma the more ineffective conventional approaches are.
I can't believe this! I actually live in Paradise CA. The Cozy Diner shown in the first slide is actually in Chico. Wow! I don't think anyone else would care but I just happened to click on this video! I love the verge!
I can somewhat understand how this would be helpful. I have Ptsd and my anxiety is crippling sometimes. I remember when I was young and dumb I did acid and extasy. I remember felling like a different person afterwards and that scared me off such drugs. If I had never tried these drugs I'm sure I would feel the same. However I'm afraid of who I might become if I ever took those drugs again.
I'm not bothered by the VA Official's response to this. He knows that it is still too early to make wide spread, sweeping changes to Veteran's psychological treatment. But I'm confident that within the next few years, certainly a decade, that this will be much more common of a treatment.
It's not too early, they've just succeeded in preventing trials until now. It would still be "too early" forever if MAPS hadn't fought this case. It's still eternally "too early" for zillions of established traditional medicines that have actually been known and used for thousands of years. We know what MDMA is, we've used it for a while now, it's harmless when used correctly and it cures this disease. Why the fuck don't you care about the dozens of veterans (never mind everyone else) committing suicide every day for whom any delay will make this treatment TOO LATE.
it makes me so happy to hear peoples stories of being cured by psychedelics =)
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) isn't a psychedelic, no visuals, no tryptamines. However, I understand your point.
People are calling it an empathogen now
@@higherresolution4490 mdma trip can be psychedelic with hard visuals
MDMA stopped me from taking my life
Was it therapy assisted treatment?
I can honestly say i have never really given ecstasy any thought, except maybe "oh that party drug".
This was really cool.
You should totally give it another thought. For many people it is just a party drug, but this is just because it makes you love and be friends with everyone. The real great power of MDMA is to make people see what matters in the world and to feel the "magic" of living again, which feeling most people have forgotten a loong time ago, not just those with PTSD. To have the best experience and outcome you should make yourself familiar with the basics of meditation first, so you can be at peace with yourself and are able to see things clearly. And to take it in a cozy atmosphere with a few best friends isn't in any way less powerfull than taking it on a rave. ;)
It isnt exctacy, mdma is not ecstacy this is a huge issue with this video. excstacy has random numbers of different stuff unknown levels and etc. Ecstacy isnt the propper term for this treatment. MDMA is more accurate and should be used. NOT e.
meanwhile MDMA is nowhere to be found. therefore, PTSD sufferers will get no relief as long as the DEA is selfish and greedy.
Ex-cons also have ptsd! I know this is a often overlooked section of society but someone coming bac in society will experience anxiety from trauma in correction institutions like murder and assaults and that is trauma that someone who has never did time will ever understand. This treatment should be available too newly released inmates to help reintegrate and allow them to be law abiding citizens.
MDMA is not "highly addictive". Caffeine is highly addictive. Nicotine is highly addictive. Why are people making MDMA out to be like methamphetamine or heroin?
To be clear, the MA in MDMA is 'methamphetamine'. I understand your point though: The effects and addictive potential of MDMA and crystal meth have little in common.
Addiction is mental. I know people who snort cocaine and aren't addicted to it. They'e smoked a cigarette and aren't addicted to it. Addiction is a mental disorder not a physical one.
Paola Gonzalez yea I know what you menta
MDMA and methamphetamine have vastly different effects as they are very different molecules. If you look at the chemical structure, MDA has closer structure to that of amphetamine/adderall (NH2 at the end in MDA vs NH bonded to CH3 in methamphetamine).
MDMA and methamphetamine (and all amphetamines) are similar in that they both have hypothermia and jaw clenching and side effects. This is why it is important to do MDMA in a good setting where you have plenty of water and the ability to control your surrounding temperature. A night club is not a good place to do MDMA.
Addiction is mental but it is also physical. Consistent heroin use will create a tolerance and requirement for consistent or there will be dire consequences and sever withdrawal symptoms.
This gives me hope. I tried MDMA back in the 80's in Dallas Tx. when it was still legal. It opened my heart. I'm now 48 and have had PTSD ever since I came home from Iraq (as a photojournalist) covering the war 10yrs. ago. It's supposed to be approved around 2021 I don't want to have to wait that long... I'm still in therapy, and the meds. don't work. I can relate to Bob. I don't even take meds. anymore. What's the point if they don't work. I can see how MDMA can help people w/ PTSD.
I can't wait until 2021 either. Wish i has MDMA
I can't wait until 2021 either. Wish I has MDMA
el Flaco 66 Me too. Too long to wait. Are u still around?
Kurt Fox where? I have no clue where to find it or get some impure version or be arrested.
@@beckyweaver5981 just ask a non-conversative looking college kid
Look not only into MDMA, but also some psychoactive substances like DMT (Ayahuasca), and Psilocybin. Food for thought. I heard that they can help with PTSD, depression, anxiety, etc.. If taken correctly.
@Old Man hendo damn ive taken shrooms many times and im still depressed :/
Many of the viewers have done MDMA themselves :). I know I have.
Maybe there’s a reason why massive amounts of people gathering together at large parties to dance to music and take MDMA… perhaps its a very therapeutic thing to do for so many people who just don’t feel deep connection with themselves or others. 🤷
It sure is…
This is fantastic. Keep content like this coming.
I think this is great. It gives new hope to people who can't be helped or have failed with current treatment.
This is great, Keep doing these, they have a future.
Love this type of video, keep them coming, this is the truth. MDMA = Warmth. like he said.
Ecstasy is the best thing anyone could experience ever
Oh shut up. I've had it and it's not even close to the best thing I've experienced.
+stickboyftw you didnt take good mdma
+steve campy, wrong. I've used lots of drugs of various kinds since the late 60s (so had good 1960's LSD) and what I eventually learned is that no drug is inherently pleasurable. Pleasure, like beauty, in in the beholder. I've experienced grand states of bliss and rapture way better than any drug experience I ever had, with no drugs in my system at all. Meditation beats the shit out of mdma.
Meditation for sure is the best thing anyone could ever experience. But in my opinion a really strong wave of euphoria on MDMA is just something different, and in the tiny little moment really feels like the very best. So i think those are two different "bests". One is the intense feeling for a moment and one is the state of calm happiness that lasts and lasts.
Really interesting. Too bad 19 people isn't a large enough study group.
They haven't been allowed to do studies with more people, of course. That's part of how they routinely slow-walk treatments like this that would cost the medical industry zillions of dollars. While meanwhile there are always easy fast-tracks for the debilitating awful shit the drug industry comes out with.
This was a fantastic doc, well directed too! The Verge needs to do more like this.
This needs to be brought to light
This seems like something that should be on Vice. Good job though, guys.
Thanks Michael and Annie Mithoefer for braving the distraction of fear instilled upon medical and psychology providers by large scale governing educational and incorporated political systems, to practice the 'standards of care' for PTSD, which historically only mask deep emotional trama and prevent real personal growth. Your research is heartfelt, uplifting, and also encouraging for young healers who strive not only to 'Do No Harm', but actually support an individuals growth and recovery. - Taste Buddy
I love these Verge features, powerful stories and beautiful cinematography
I've never done MDMA, I've been diagnosed with PTSD but the funny thing is I live in an area where mdma is everywhere. I have done mushrooms and those helped me a lot, so I know MDMA has to be able to help me some.
I didn't look for it because I don't have a good place to do it since I live in a ghetto area & I don't go to raves, a friend of mine wanted to give it to me on my birthday but she had a thing for me and I felt like she'd try to bang me ( wasn't interested) plus I didn't wanna be the only one on it, unfortunately, all my peaceful hippy friends no longer live in the same city as me. I'd love to shrooms again though.
***** tell me about it, I was misled to believe they could be chill just because I have 3 sisters I got along with great. one of my chubby chick friends set me up with one of her hot friends, I got in bed with the hottie, she got butthurt after setting us up then cockblocked me for it because she didn't wanna be part of a threeway and that was the hottest chick i'd ever met. Now I keep'em all at arm length, how silly of me to believe the myth that only guys can be the creepy friends that expect sex, eh
What about PTSD by psychedelics themselves? I know people who have been traumatized by LSD and psilocybin use.
That's a reasonable caveat, and trivializing the dangers that come with the consumption of psychedelics is a widespread tendency among the psychedelic community. But it's worth noticing that PTSD caused by psychedelics usually occurs after usage in an inconvenient setting. Within decades of the most scrupulous research with therapy assisted by psychedelics and entactogens (such as MDMA) there have been hardly any cases of serious adverse effects. (If so, research would've been banned in the meanwhile.)
It's a safe framework, very different from recreational use. Those researchers and therapists, luckily, are empathic and competent people who know exactly what they're doing and who are very, very familiar with their field. They know what to do in case of someone having a bad trip and already the very fact of a competent person being present can be very reassuring. I know from my own experience how the presence of a trustworthy person can significantly reduce the likelihood of a bad experience.
Interesting
RICHARD GRANNON SPARTANLIFECOACH i folllow you channel. I need this so bad. 2021 is too far away
I have complex-ptsd, anxiety and depression among many other things. I tried MDMA only once and how it made me feel it's hard to put into words but I felt a happy sadness a deep appreciation and connectedness. I wish I could use it to help me I don't want to take antidepressants but I wanna survive these feelings.
It's stories like this that make me love a The verge.
I'm really pround any news agency has the ability to make reports like this anymore. I love supporting and sharing the verge with friends and family. I am a huge advocate for your site, but this article highlights a missing link in so many other programs. You covered all the sides very well and were able to give the viewer a chance to make the beginning of an informed decision on the issue. Of course personal investigation is always best, but without and commentary you did and excellent job!
i have ptsd, and it's hard to comprehend someone having dealt with it so absolutely, because it's a lot like a drug addiction or similar illness where it doesn't just go away (possibly barring this treatment), you just learn to deal with it and keep it at bay, for example, when an alcoholic stops drinking, they're still an alcoholic, they just don't feed it anymore. straight up "i don't have ptsd" is such a weird phrase to hear. but i guess these guys might be on to something.
Brilliant, The Verge, just brilliant.
This was really great, but I am not sure why it was on The Verge. Oh well. I enjoyed it. Also, the color was really nice too.
Acierno (pissed off guy) thinks that the MDMA treatment does not include therapy, and says therapy is effective in 60-85% which is contradictory to the
He's just one of those douche bag doctors who is desperately hanging onto his costly, time consuming, and not particularly effective treatments because they'd rake in more cash than a more effective cheap treatment. Almost nobody goes STRAIGHT to the non-mainstream treatments right away, if anyone, we all got here after trying various anti depressants, sedatives, whatever nasty stuff they wanna give us that doesn't make us feel any better. I tried several anti depressants for years, one of which entirely removed my sex drive, another which removed pleasure from sex, another which made orgasm impossible, thankfully none of them permanent but marijuana and mushrooms made a remarkable difference in my life even if I only did the mushrooms once.
I know from taking mushrooms and my own experience with PTSD, MDMA is probably an extremely effective tool. Mushrooms like others said of MDMA 'opened my heart' it took me out of my protective shell temporarily and made me look and think of myself in an objective way without any hatred or judgement and realize that I was avoiding and shutting down people and women who wanted to meet me because I was always protecting myself. When I took it and reflected it was like my guardian angel was patting me on the back and telling me that my fears were wrong and everything looked more beautiful, vivid and alive even long after the trip was over and for long after, it made a mark and is one of my top 5 life experiences. Mushrooms are potentially very scary especially to somebody with anxiety issues to start with and require finding others who you feel at ease and emotionally close to who are willing to use the drug with you, but from what I've heard there is not much chance of a 'bad trip' if any on MDMA.
MDMA sure can be used to tread PTSD or anxiety, but in my experience traditional psychedelics like LSD & psilocybin are both more effective and safer when used in a proper setting.
Great video, as ever. Keep them coming
It's the quality of short features like these that make me have the highest respect for the Verge team.
One of the best things in life is finding relief and peace , Hope these people find a good cure.
Too bad most of these things are taken incorrectly most of the time. This is what shamanic ritual is for, to show you the correct way to do these things. Taking psychedelics and experiencing consumer culture is a no no.
What is the background music? I neeed it!!
Which one? The classical is Ave Maria by German composer Franz Schubert.
These videos are great. Keep them coming!
Fantastic. Extremely well done.
Great doc, that's why we love Verge
Well done. Great doc! Keep up the great content Verge!
Our drug policy is based more on politics than science.
This is huge.
Thank you so much for bringing this message for millions of people who struggle and don't find a way out, me included.
What's that music sounds very good?
even better: don't send people to war. Maybe if they had taken MDMA/psychedelics earlier in their life they would have never joined the army in the first place.
true that!
The urgency isnt just the fact of how well this works but just how bad therapy and meds work. The deeper the trauma the more ineffective conventional approaches are.
Thumbs up.
Thank you for sharing. We need more awareness on this topic.
Great content.
More videos like this please Verge .
"applause"
I can't believe this! I actually live in Paradise CA. The Cozy Diner shown in the first slide is actually in Chico. Wow! I don't think anyone else would care but I just happened to click on this video! I love the verge!
I can somewhat understand how this would be helpful. I have Ptsd and my anxiety is crippling sometimes. I remember when I was young and dumb I did acid and extasy. I remember felling like a different person afterwards and that scared me off such drugs. If I had never tried these drugs I'm sure I would feel the same. However I'm afraid of who I might become if I ever took those drugs again.
MDMA barely took my life
I'm not bothered by the VA Official's response to this. He knows that it is still too early to make wide spread, sweeping changes to Veteran's psychological treatment. But I'm confident that within the next few years, certainly a decade, that this will be much more common of a treatment.
It's not too early, they've just succeeded in preventing trials until now. It would still be "too early" forever if MAPS hadn't fought this case. It's still eternally "too early" for zillions of established traditional medicines that have actually been known and used for thousands of years. We know what MDMA is, we've used it for a while now, it's harmless when used correctly and it cures this disease. Why the fuck don't you care about the dozens of veterans (never mind everyone else) committing suicide every day for whom any delay will make this treatment TOO LATE.
I hope so. The sooner the better.
what about psychosis risk? there was a study that had shown that even a one time consumption can cause recurring psychosis, one of the risks
Imagine if all the world leaders got together and took it. Oh how the world would change xD
Thank you for sharing. Good luck to Bob and Rachel xxxxxxxx
What do you think ? Is this will be available also in Europe soon?
i wish they did this in NZ!
*Oh there is a cure* 🙏❤
What song was being played ? The opera
Your videos and treatments are incredible love your content! !!
this was real interesting i love it when you guys do pieces like this
8:30 ah the hitman music. I used to be in the main menu more than the game.
😊😅😊😂😮
Powerful Doblin
What is the opera song at 8:45 ?
Ave Maria.
gracias
Just amazing....
The Verge What is the classical piece that is played during the first time he scored a "big bunch" of some? 8:30
Avé Maria
@@joyvdw Thank you! I can't believe it's been eight years!
Amazing.
Sooo good!
GG Verge
12:48
I need this so bad for my ptsd
The only problem with that is extasy causes nerve damage and it is highly addictive. Cannabis is way better.
Is it close to being approved?
If they make this legal I’m going to do it.
@hopebeel8765 really?