From: Francis Van Aeken Newsgroups: alt.support.depression,alt.angst,alt.suicide.holiday Subject: XTC vs ANGST (was: SHORT TERM CURES !!) One of the best books on XTC is _E for Ecstasy_ by Nicholas Saunders. It includes a wealth of references to peer-reviewed literature. All of this can be found at http://www.inka.de/~bigred/misc/ I haven't posted the references/bibliography here since its size amounts to 740K (!). Feel free to download yourself. I *have* included a small segment of the book, though, that might interest the people in these groups. The funny little numbers point to references to scientific papers. Peace - F. ---------- In 1992 researchers in the US attempted to identify the effects of MDMA in psychological terms through studying its effects on psychiatrists.26 The psychiatrists' experiences varied, but apart from losing track of time, the most commonly noted effects were that they related to other people more openly with less fear or defensiveness. Half said the drug had a lasting positive effect on their 'social/interpersonal functioning', and nearly half mentioned changes in their spiritual outlook and values.46 The effects are similar, though more intense, to the popular antidepressant Prozac (Fluoxetine): it makes most people feel liberated and good about themselves, less self-conscious and able to feel emotions more clearly,148 while a small minority become more depressed. A university lecturer who was oversensitive to Prozac described how, as member of an examination review board, she felt euphoric and unable to take the subject seriously, an experience that sounds similar to MDMA. Both drugs lower serotonin levels, though by different means.30, 67 I believe that the drug's various effects can be reduced to two primary effects, one physical and one mental: the relief of muscular tension and the dissolution of fear. People on Ecstasy feel able to move and to express themselves freely, so the drug provides a taste of living without the restraints we have become to regard as part of life. Users often compare the effect to memories of early childhood when they would look people in the eye, live for the moment and were free of inhibitions. The ideas of Wilhelm Reich, a radical student of Freud who developed his own theories, may be relevant. Reich developed the theory that children in times of trauma brace themselves against pain by tensing their muscles, a reaction which becomes habitual, and which develops into what he called 'body armour'. As adults, people prevent themselves from being hurt through 'being cool': avoiding expression of emotions or revealing weaknesses. Reich believed that muscular tensions go hand in hand with emotional tensions or neuroses, and the test for being free of the latter is the ability to move in an 'orgasmic' way with spontaneous undulations flowing smoothly from head to toe, a form of movement that often occurs spontaneously on MDMA. It could be that the drug temporarily removes both neuroses and the associated body armour. Ecstasy is unlike most other drugs in that it increases awareness of touch and sound, an effect that has been observed in laboratory rats.185 The drug has also been described as allowing the life force, or Chi, to flow freely.29 Traumatic memories, suppressed for years because they are too painful to face, may emerge and be looked at without terror. Insights into what is really happening in life can also occur. Pain may be reduced30, 31, 4, especially if it is based on fear, such as the fear of death. ----------