How to Change Your Mind

Rating: 8.3/10

Really liked this one. I've always been interested in the psychedelic experience and the deeper meaning behind altered brain states and this book singlehandedly addressed all of my curiosities about the topic. Although we're starting to hear a bit more about it in mainstream culture, I had no idea that the resurgence of psychedelic research has been going on for several years now. Pollan does a great job of breaking the book into multiple sections: the past, present, and future of LSD research, his own experience and psychedelic journey, and the neuroscience behind this unbelievable hallucinogen. It got a bit boring in parts and it didn't help that I spread this book out over several months. He definitely did his due diligence when it comes to research and unfortunately, this makes the book a bit dry, especially when he takes the time to name almost every researcher or scientist involved in a particular narrative.

Despite these shortcomings, Michael Pollan has made me eager for further developments in the field of psychedelics and presented stunningly positive impacts of this often-maligned substance.

Going to count this one for the Read Harder Challenge category “a book of social science.” The discussion of the “new” science of psychedelics, their relative safety and effectiveness, and their potential to improve well-being is fascinating. For this purpose, though, there is the notion that the world was changed and influenced by these substances in the 1960s and early 70s, not to mention their longstanding use in the rites and rituals of some cultures.

3.7

I enjoyed the first 2 and the last 2 chapters the most (the history of psychedelics and the science of psychedelics). The stuff in the middle like the vivid description of the author's trips, while necessary for the book to feel cohesive, can be skipped entirely. IMO it is like seeing a ghost or witnessing a miracle. You won't get it until it happens to you.

Some concepts I found very intriguing (Eg. default mode network). Though it all makes a lot of sense which makes me skeptical.

I was cautious. Now I'm very curious.

How can you write about psychedelics without having experienced them? You'd run the risk of coming off dry, clinical, and, not fully understanding them, as not really credible. But then again, how can you write about them after having tried? There's no language, no way to communicate the experience to those on the other shore. Fortunately, Michael Pollan is up to the task, or at least I think so—I can't be sure, because I'm on the same shore he's on, and his book makes perfect sense to the me of today but I can never know if it would've to the pre-psilocybin me of ten years ago. His reporting—the majority of the book—is certainly objective and accurate. His personal experiences ring true, but I'm extremely eager to know if they make sense to someone on the not-yet side of psychedelics. If you are such, and you read this, would you let me know?

Anyhow, I've been struggling to review this book and am giving up. There's no point. If you're a Michael Pollan fan (which you should be!) you're probably going to read this. If you're curious about the state of the art in psychedelic-assisted therapy research, you're going to read this. If you're a policymaker, not that I know any of those, you should almost certainly read this because it's informative while also refraining from the (dangerous) exuberance that can follow discovery: Pollan's tone is enthusiastic but guardedly so, nobody wants another situation like the 70s. What can I add to the conversation? Go read it.

My mind was already changed to the point where I believed that psychedelics are an incredible class of drugs that we should be exploring much much more. But Michael really takes you by his hand detailing his experience from 0 to convert. From skeptic, to interested person, to convict.

The book is divided into three main sections. The first is a history of research in the (mostly psychiatric) use of psychedelics. The third part is a look at current research into the ways these molecules actually affect the brain. The middle section is Pollan's recounting of some of his experiences using these molecules, though I wouldn't describe this as treating the reader to his high. Rather, he tries to put into words what he experienced, and his point here is how that changed him from an open-minded, atheist skeptic into a even more open-minded revisionist of materialist views of the world. Where once he saw an opposition, as he says, between “spiritual” and “materialist,” he now views the opposition as between spiritual and egotistical. As difficult as it is for members of such a stridently individualist culture to grasp, Pollan now argues that that is the source of some of our most critical health care issues, e.g., addiction and depression.

If you're new to the world of psychedelics or if you're already a believer, this book is for you. I guarantee you'll learn a lot.

After decades of being shunned, psychedelics have slowly made their way back into official medical trials. Researchers are now repeating experiments, that already back in the 50ies+60ies showed the positive effect of psychedelics for people dealing with addiction, depression and death anxieties. Hadn't it been for Leary, the whole field probably wouldn't have been illegitimized and tabooed. In a need for rebranding, the field now reorients itself in the direction of “psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy”. It's not about the wild-hallucinatory-color-trip, it's about the long-lasting effects on your brain that a temporary loosening of your ego-structures can have.

When our default mode network becomes too rigid, it shows itself in too heavily ego-focused behavior. If we're backwards-focused this results in depression, if future-focused it represents in anxiety. Neuroimaging of the effects of psychedelics (and heavy meditation) on the brain shows decreased activity in the region that represents the default mode network. It's a state of hyper mindfulness, that allows for more connections across all areas of the brain, which is not unsimilar to the entropy-rich brains of young children. It's a window of mental flexibility, neuroplasticity, that allows for a “reboot”, a rewriting of too rigid mental models.

I found the historical and political section of the book slightly too long, but I really enjoyed all the insights into the neuroscience, the current medical trials, and especially Pollan's own trip experiences. He does a good job of describing all the fears and concerns an outsider would have, planning and undergoing a first trip.

Interesting exploration of the field of psychedelics and their potential for medicinal use. I felt like it was pretty fair and did not overly glorify the potential of these potent natural drugs. At the same time, he didn't overly emphasize their dangers, which is important as in the past most discussion of the topic has hailed it as a super-drug that we all need OR has completely demonized it. There is extensive discussion of the origins of psychedelic study and how it has been handled in the past.

If you've read other Michael Pollan books, you know he takes a very even approach to the topics he covers and does an excellent job of making the discussion interesting while being careful not to distort the science or reality behind the topic.

From Albert Hofmann accidentally discovering LSD after the worlds first unexpected acid trip, to Timothy Leary and his cries to “turn on, tune in and drop out” that drove the drug underground, and it's current scientific resurgence - it's been a long strange trip indeed for LSD.

Digging out from the countercultural baggage of the 60's, psychedelic research is showing remarkable efficacy in treating depressions, addiction and the existential anxiety of the terminally ill. But Pollan takes things a step further and recounts several of his own guided sessions, his first at age 60. These aren't recreational binges or microdosing sessions but heroic doses administered with the help of trained professionals.

But Pollan himself notes how hard it is to share these experiences. How they tend to cliche and the outright banal. “Love conquers all.” “We are all one.” But at the same time, in the grip of a psychedelic episode, these take on profound import.

Pollan brings the same level-headed reason that he applied to food in a Defense of Food to psychedelics, perhaps leaning a bit harder on the science given the controversial nature of his subject. I think I would have liked a bit more wide-eyed wonder but maybe I'm not the one the book is meant to convince. Full video review here: https://youtu.be/DtYcGwm6Of4