Re: Supplements and personality features

Mark Crosby (crosby_m@rocketmail.com)
Sun, 11 Jan 1998 17:14:42 -0800 (PST)


David notes:
< since I am someone with Bipoar Disorder
(manic-depression), I occasionally go into a
hypomanic state of mind. In a hypomanic state of
mind, I feel much more curious, sociable, assertive,
have much more confidence and willpower and have a
quicker, more intelligent and creative mind. The
hypomanic state is common for people with Bipolar
Disorder, and it is believed to be chemically induced
and has a profound effect on the personality.>

I recall when you disappeared from the list after
suddenly falling into a condition of despair. I
hope, with your expertise in mental disciplines, you
now have this under control.

The most common, if illegal, nootropic of choice
seems capable of inducing mild (in most cases)
versions of this condition. For some people, I think
the resulting imbalance can manifest as anxiety or
even aggressiveness instead of depression.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibition (SSRI)
definitely is involved here. SSRI substances are
normally recommended only for people suffering from
clinical depression; however, there seems to be some
evidence that they may be helpful, as well, for the
other conditions mentioned above.

Some data suggest that for someone used to regular,
though not excessive, consumption of alcohol and/or
other common psycho-active stimulants, SSRIs can
significantly reduce the craving for these and assist
in creating a stable condition of mild 'hypomania' (a
sense of curiosity, calm and enhanced awareness of
patterns).

The most well-known SSRI is Prozac, which has some
nasty side effects. However, I have found that the
herbal extract of Hypericum (St. John's Wort -
available wherever they sell a variety of herbal
extracts) IS absolutely amazing in this context -
much more reliable than, say, piracetam.

BTW, http://dog.net.uk/claude/ghb-1.html provides
some interesting history on GHB and why U.S.
pharmaceutical companies supposedly had no interest
in seeing it promoted in the U.S. A Net search on
GHB will turn up the story of how it was 'outlawed'
in the U.S. back in the 80s by some biased FDA
reports (if I remember correctly).

Mark Crosby

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