Dissociation: novelty or necessity?
Interest in psychedelic experiences is at an all-time high. This class of substances has nearly shaken its hazy reputation from past decades. Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of dedicated clinicians, researchers, and journalists, the culture-at-large is opening its eyes to the mental and emotional significance of mind-opening drugs, like ketamine.
Bolstered by the relatively new legitimacy of ketamine, more people want to experience psychedelic journeys for themselves. There is no wrong reason for wanting to open your mind to a new perspective. Whether you’re searching for guidance from your subconscious, closure after grieving a loss, or simply seeking a new intrapersonal experience, ketamine-assisted infusions open doors for people to step outside of themselves.
Here at Hudson Mind, we find it helpful to reflect and share experiences with ketamine, therapy as taking a peek into other people’s journeys can eliminate some of the fear and anxiety that decades of labels may have built up.
What is dissociation?
While no two ketamine journeys are the same, dissociation, or the temporary distancing of thoughts, feelings, and sense of self, is one of the most universally-experienced effects of the drug. For some, dissociation sparks personal epiphanies where the ketamine journey ends with newfound clarity on relationships, perspectives, and overarching sense of self. But for others, dissociation transcends the self, and creates space to examine human connection from a new vantage point—a vantage point that may be essential in today’s world.
Embracing the unknown of dissociation
&Friends, a New York-based conductor, reflected on his experiences with dissociation in a recent Typeshare entry, Stroll Into The Unknown, Be Humbled By Mystery.
&Friends writes, “…we as human beings were not meant to exist in the conditions we currently do. The human-built world is not, in fact, built for humans…In innumerable ways, we bend ourselves to fit the pattern of a techno-economic order that exists for its own sake and not for ours.”
Like &Friends, many of us feel that same gnawing suspicion that the pace and structure of daily life actually opposes the rhythms and balances humans instinctively need. And the question of how to re-discover that balance within a rapidly shifting, ever-isolating world is almost too daunting.
But dissociation from ketamine makes it possible to explore these questions without feeling crushed by their enormity. Dissociation from ketamine distances us from the fear that is inherently attached to questions about our collective choices and future consequences—questions that we may not be able to afford avoiding any longer.
“…seriously considering other perspectives should at least help us to ask better, more fundamental questions about the human-built world, or, perhaps more importantly, about the beliefs, values, and interests that shape it,” writes &Friends.
Are the answers to all of our problems buried in dissociating, psychedelic trips? Absolutely not. But what these trips do offer is a softening toward new perspectives and an acceptance of the challenges ahead.
