[FRIAM] What's so bad about Scientism?

[glen]

Very interesting! My neighbor had a similar problem after having his hip replaced. Neither he nor his Dr understand the relationship between getting used to his new hip and breathing anxiety. But he has been a Tae Kwon Do master for decades. So it would make some sense to hypothesize an increase in self-doubt was to blame.

All the popular psychedelics also operate on the 5-HT pathways, with large doses throwing them out of whack, seemingly encouraging their users to retrain themselves on how they interact with the world. But the trend these days is microdosing just enough to enhance one's performance at everyday tasks. 

But I think the more interesting, so-called, nootropics aren't psych drugs at all and focus on metabolic functions. I think the (mild) euphoria experienced through a 3 or more day fast would provide a great platform for testing competing propositions about doubt and certainty of beliefs.

On July 8, 2018 6:21:30 AM PDT, Frank Wimberly <wimberly3 at gmail.com> wrote:
>About 18 months ago I had an experience which is perhaps not relevant
>but
>it came to mind as I read what you wrote, Glen.  As a result of a dream
>I
>was in a state of anxiety which persisted for days.  One of the
>symptoms
>was an irrational fear that I would stop breathing if I didn't
>consciously
>supervise the process.  My PCP prescribed a tiny dose of Citalopram (10
>mg/day).  That cured the anxiety and it has not returned.
-- 
glen