17 minute read
Quiet on Set - Beauty Photoshoot
The cure to mental illness? Some scientists say that psychedelics could be the answer. In a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, researchers found that microdosing on psychedelics relieved major depressive disorder symptoms in clinically depressed patients. This has caused many people to wonder if this could be the future for treatment.
In recent years, the stigma around certain substances, particularly marijuana and psychedelics, has rapidly decreased. Marijuana has even been recreationally legalized in many states. Despite the more open mindset that people seem to have, psychedelics are yet to be federally legalized in the United States, but they can be found legally in places such as the Netherlands and Brazil. Some states, such as Colorado, have made efforts to decriminalize certain psychedelics, in hopes to legalize them in the future.
Although it may sound like legalizing psychedelics could be a similar process to cannabis, there’s a lot of complexity to it. Noah Potter, a lawyer specializing in design and implementation of regulated markets for psychedelics, cannabis and other psychoactive substances, gave his take on the more commonly discussed, but complicated legalization route that has been talked about more and more, which is regarding people using psychedelics for “religious purposes.”
“There are a lot of people going with this religious approach. I think that’s actually extremely limited and it’s very complicated because religion under the law is not a simple thing,” says Potter, adding,
Despite whether legalization will happen, the impact psychedelics can have on mental health is something that has entered the conversation more recently, and many people have taken to social media to discuss how it has impacted them. The term “microdosing” has been at the center of the psychedelic movement, meaning that people take psychedelics, particularly magic mushrooms, in very low doses.
When microdosing, the individual taking the psychedelic drug will not be experiencing some of the more commonly known effects, such as visual hallucinations. Instead, they will feel a subtle impact that is said to benefit mental health. Microdosing is a common way to take these drugs for mental health purposes, but others do advocate for taking a larger dose which will have a greater effect.
One anonymous Penn State student shared his experience with psychedelics and how it impacted his mental health saying, “Taking psilocybin was an incredible experience. I’ve tripped twice and my mindset definitely shifted a bit after each. It’s hard to put into words, but it felt as if I was more connected with the world and nature. I could feel and understand every living organism around me,” adding, “I thought a lot about the purpose of my life as it related to each of the beings I interacted with, and I became much more content with my situation. It helped put me at ease with who I am and allowed me to love those around me more.”
According to an article from the National Library of Medicine, it is stated that in several cases, psychedelic use was associated with a lower rate of mental health problems. This can be attributed to a few different components, but many people claim that microdosing feels similar to the effects of caffeine, but with an additional boost of overall happiness. It is also said that these drugs prevent overthinking, and generally soothe the mind.
An article from the New York Times claims that some psychedelics, including psilocybin, can also be used to treat substance use issues like alcoholism and nicotine addictions.
It is also noted that tripping on psychedelics can cause an “afterglow” that can last months.
Despite many signs pointing to the benefits of psychedelics being legalized and incorporated into mental health treatment, there are also risks associated with it. If someone was to take the wrong dosage of a psychedelic drug, it could cause anxiety or panic, and in extreme cases, permanently alter their mindset in a negative way. People are unlikely to overdose on them, but the possibility of having a bad trip should always be considered when choosing a dosage.
Due to the potential risks, the process of incorporating psychedelics into mental health treatment must be done in a safe and regulated way. Even though psychedelics are federally illegal in the United States, Oregon chose to legalize the medical use of psychedelic mushrooms in 2020. According to an article from Oregon Live, the legalization came with a two-year waiting period so that regulatory details could be decided on.
Psychedelics will not be accessible in the same way cannabis is in Oregon, but it will be stored and administered at licensed facilities. In the coming years, the rest of the country will see how this state is regulating psychedelic therapeutic treatment, which could lead to legalization in other states. Right now, there are many unknowns regarding the psychedelic therapy process.
Information about the actual dosage is unclear, and the article states that a protocol has not been determined for microdosing versus experiencing a full dissociative trip. It’s also important to note that these psychedelic therapy appointments are projected to be extremely expensive.
In a society dealing with a mental health crisis, particularly in young adults, this could be a game changer for individuals who really need it.
As the stigma around psychedelics continues to decline, you could be seeing drastic changes in the way mental illnesses are treated in future years. Along with potentially making a positive impact on the mental health of the population, legalizing psychedelics will create more jobs, and decrease the criminalization of those selling or in possession of psychedelics.
a dose of paradise
Photography by Taay Jaack & Abby Tarpey
keep an eye ON EMDR
Written by Lucy Kozan
Content Warning: Mentions of sexual assault
“It is an act of bravery to feel your feelings” - Gayle Forman
What if we told you that therapy is not linear and that numerous kinds of treatment can help you feel better in your day-to-day life? There are options such as EMDR therapy which has been very successful for many people when dealing with disorders such as PTSD and anxiety. EMDR can be helpful for many disorders and beneficial for those who are consistent. It’s been known that hot people go to therapy.
What Is EMDR And How Does It Work?
EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Working with images, thoughts, and emotions can help people process past or present traumas. According to Nancy Bodwell, a licensed EMDR therapist in Newburyport Massachusetts, EMDR “is a psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the stress associated with traumatic memories” (Bodwell). EMDR is considered a type of psychotherapy used for people who have been in accidents, soldiers who have come back from war, and individuals who suffered from sexual assault.
Every EMDR therapist is different and will have you work through different exercises. For example, one might have you try to remember your traumatic experience and work through the emotions that your body and mind are feeling. It might sound intimidating and unappealing at first, but it can reverse the effects of trauma.
Sometimes, in a session “clients are asked to identify a specific memory they would like to work with and alternately are asked a series of questions about the memory and reactions to it, as well as receiving external sensory input (sounds, visual images or vibrations) to better process and manage the potentially problematic memories,” says Bodwell.
If you do not find yourself struggling with trauma, EMDR can also help with panic attacks.
A Success Story
It is true that EMDR has truly changed some people’s lives and mindsets. Trauma can be debilitating and get in the way of mental and physical tasks that must be done in everyday life. Fortunately, there have been numerous success stories. Bodwell described how she “worked with a woman who was attacked by a neighbor’s dog, resulting in serious injury and her dog being killed.
“She had numerous PTSD symptoms, including intrusive memories, poor sleep and ruminating about being responsible for her dog’s death. Through EMDR treatment, her PTSD symptoms diminished and she understood that she was not responsible for the attack.”
The situation described was very personal and was an instance that does not happen to many people. Even though it is considered a rare situation, EMDR still helped push the trauma away. Giving EMDR a try might just change your life.
How Long Does EMDR Take?
As mentioned earlier, every therapist is different, and depending on your unique circumstance, sessions can be different for everyone. “Standard protocol includes having a thorough intake to determine if EMDR is indicated. If EMDR is indicated, studies suggest that individuals with single-issue trauma can resolve their PTSD symptoms in between three to six sessions,” says Bodwell. “For individuals with multiple known or unknown trauma experiences, the treatment will likely take longer.”
It is different for everyone, but it is key to be patient with yourself.
Advice For College Students
When it comes down to it, many college students are in therapy. It might not seem like many people are in therapy, but not everyone makes it obvious or apparent that they are seeing a professional. Not only is it normal to talk to a therapist, but everyone can benefit from it and it can be extremely helpful, even if you are not going through a hard time.
Hannah Keatley, a third-year student at Penn State claims that, “Therapy helped me because it made me feel comfortable to open up to someone to talk about things I don’t always speak about and I think other college students would benefit from this as well.”
Therapy welcomes all ages and all experiences. Taking the step to seek out a therapist might just be what you need.
Written by Stevie Vescio-Franz
To be human is to have a broken heart. A heart broken by change, breakup, distance, death or otherwise is a symptom of lost love — love defined beyond the strict boundaries of romantic relationships.
To love a place means to mourn a move, to love a pet means to grieve when their short life has come full circle. If you want to love, in any capacity, you must learn to embrace loss with open arms.
As anyone who has experienced loss knows, embracing it is far easier said than done. It is easier in the short term to compartmentalize pain to tuck it away in a deep corner of your mind far from where love exists. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to compartmentalize is “to separate into isolated compartments or categories.” In psychological terms, compartmentalization refers to a coping mechanism that involves the “boxing up” of conflictual emotions.
Maria Vinca, Licensed Psychologist and Assistant Teaching Professor at Penn State, clarifies that “Compartmentalization can be adaptive. It’s just a matter of degree.” It is also something we all do. Issues begin to arise when the fear of pain becomes extreme, and the barriers put up around scary emotions solidify.
For many who didn’t have the privilege of having healthy coping skills and emotional attunement modeled to them as children, it’s easy to fall victim to compartmentalization’s consequences disguised as an “easy way out.”
“There are always consequences if all you do is compartmentalize. Consequences being, you flip out on your spouse, you don’t have healthy relationships, you watch too much TV or you overeat. Can you live your whole life that way? Absolutely.
But, if we don’t bring the stuff out of the boxes that is painful, negative, confusing and conflictual, there’s always some consequence. People do it all the time, they just live with the consequences,” says Vinca.
Chloe Webb, first-year student in the speech language pathology master’s program at Penn State, learned firsthand that love and pain have a symbiotic relationship. In May of 2020, Webb was in the backseat of a car that was run over by a semi-trailer.
At only 19 years old, with a laundry list of life-threatening injuries, her worries shifted away from dating and appearances towards something much more trying: survival. “The first few months following the accident were some of the most challenging months of my life. I went through cycles of feeling angry, frustrated and sad, but also extremely lucky and grateful, every single day,” says Webb. During these months of healing, physically unable to live a “normal” life, she had seemingly endless time to sit with and embrace the pool of emotions surrounding her trauma. This time spent sifting through her emotions didn’t solve all of Webb’s problems, but it did offer a perspective that avoidance could not.
“I appreciate my body for keeping me alive after the accident and healing me in ways I didn’t know were possible. I appreciate my body for functioning, not just looking a certain way. I love my life and feel like most things are a privilege now, which is a huge change from who I was before the accident,” says Webb.
For many, however, it is easier to pretend that love and pain are entirely different entities whose relationship is coincidental rather than symbiotic. Though no matter the effort one puts into avoiding change, avoiding heartbreak, avoiding loss and, ultimately, avoiding pain, these hard-tocope-with emotions are inevitable.
Perhaps you could sit alone, isolated, mourning the past while the world turns around you, but what does that provide aside from loneliness? Supposedly, the evasion of future pain and, with it, any prospects of future joy.
The key to moving forward in the face of great pain lies in breaking down the mental barriers erected between love and pain. To be free from avoidance is “to learn the art and science of feeling through and understanding what you’re hiding from emotionally, while also learning the art of not getting hooked by rumination. It’s like caring for something, holding it, looking at it, having someone witness it and learning how to let it go,” says Vinca.
“I couldn’t change that it happened in the first place. All I could do going forward was to embrace the ups and downs — I had no option. With that, I made a decision to view the accident as something that influenced me immensely, but to never let it define who I am,” says Webb.
Written by Leigh Chamberlain
When thinking of home, many people immediately picture four walls and a roof. Maybe it’s the home of your childhood, where you grew out of your crib and took your first steps. Or, maybe you moved a lot and there is one home that you connected with the most. The way the light would shine through the windows at a particular time of day, the coziness of your bedroom, the creaks of the floorboards under your feet.
These architectural significances of the house may be notable, but it is not the pure physicality of the place that turned it into home, it is the people and memories that were within.
Maybe you did take your first steps down that same hallway you’re looking at now, but who was right behind spotting you as you walked?
Home is subjective — it can be a person, place, a feeling or just the underlying provision of comfort and familiarity. Home, whatever that may be in your mind, is the center of your universe, the point you stem from and return to — which is exactly what makes it complicated. You hit a certain age when you leave home, whether that be when you turn 18 and go to college, or whatever path of growing up you may be following. Maybe you do not want to leave the comfort of your own home, or maybe you have been dreaming of doing so since you were a kid. Everyone’s attachment to their home is different, leading to everyone’s definition of home being different.
This realization comes quick when you get to college — everyone’s comfort may not come from the same place as yours. At a big school like Penn State, people can be from all over, whether that means across the country or the house down the street. Aside from what you learn in class, college is full of transformational moments. You learn how to adapt, evolve and grow, finding that sense of comfort and familiarity in something or someone else.
Everyone needs a home — a sense of belonging and love. So, you get to college and there is a learning curve, but you figure it out through meeting new people and making new memories.
A key aspect of this positive growth is getting involved in something that allows for you to make those connections. Ally House is an organization at Penn State that provides special living options for members of the LGBTQ+ community, creating an immediate safe space for anyone during anytime of their transition. Andy Hess, now a third-year student, recalls coming to Penn State and finding Ally House “as a resource to make sure my pronouns were respected.”
Ally House “undoubtedly,” as Hess says, helped to make school feel more like home.
“If you do not have a safe space that’s established as somewhere you can be yourself, then you are not going to feel at home.”
But just because Penn State was starting to feel more comfortable, it did not take away the sense of coziness and comfortability that Hess’s childhood home in Hershey, PA provided. It’s all having to do with language, explains Hess. “I realized I was referring to home in Hershey and Penn State and even the ocean. It is where you feel a sense of belonging and a sense of community — I get all of that from those places.”
Ella Hu is in her third-year at Penn State. Coming from Beijing, she descibes how she deals with the contrasting ideas of home as a college student. Similarly, to the point that Hess made about the language involved with home, Hu states that, depending on the situation, she would consider both where she lives and where she is from as home.
Though from entirely different corners of the world, Hu and Lauren Krasnansky, an incoming second-year student from State College, PA, have similar idealisms of the balance of homes. Krasnansky says that she does not think she would ever consider her first-year dorm to be home, because the house she grew up in is much more comfortable and is where she has made so many memories from her childhood.
However, Krasnansky admits that since moving to college, her idea of home has changed, as she says,
No matter where you are from or what you consider to be your home, this goes to show that it is more about the attachment and bond to that “home” rather than the concrete location. It is no small feat to realize that your idea of home is changing.
It is realization that forces you out of your comfort zone, but again, that’s what home is. You can never officially outgrow it because your home changes along with you.
