Altered States

Ben Sessa

Description

What actually happens to you when you drink a cup of coffee?Is chocolate really an aphrodisiac? How do drugs like alcohol and cannabis work? Did psychedelics play a part in human evolution? In this fascinating little book, leading psychopharmacologist Dr. Ben Sessa describes the drugs, legal and illegal, natural and synthesised, from nicotine to endorphins, sugar to antidepressants, that humans all over the world take every day to change their state of mind. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Popular culture

Informations

• Publié par: Wooden Books
• Date de parution: 20 mai 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781912706433
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

A b o ve : Ad v i c e f r o m a n e x p e rt . I mage f r o m F a t F r e d y ’ s C a t . I u s tr a t i o n © Gi l b e rt S he l to n , c ou rte sy K no c k a b ou t C o m i c s .
First published 202 1 eBook edition © W ooden Books Ltd 202 1 Published b y W ooden Books Ltd. Glastonbury , Somerset. British Libr ary Ca taloguing in Publica tion Da ta Sessa, B. Alt er e d St at es A CIP ca talogue r ecor d f or this book ma y be obtained fr om the British Libr ary . eBook ISBN: 978-1-9 1 2706-43-3 Ph y sical ISBN : 978-1-90426 3-85-2 All rig hts r eserv ed. For permission to r epr oduce an y p art of this mind-exp anding book please contact the publishers. Designed and typeset in Glastonbury , UK . Con v erted and optimised f or digital displa y b y the eBook P artnership, UK.
Dr
. Ben Sessa
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T i t l e p age : M a n smok i n g a ho ok a b y a c a c t u s he dge i n J e n i n , I sr a e l , c.1 8 85, v i a S h u e r s to c . A b o e : A y a u a s c a v i s i o n , a e a p a i n t i n g b y J u a n T a i nc i . This boo k is d e dicat e d t o t ho s e unf ortunat e peop le w ho hav e been d enie d a cces s t o s af e and effica cious me dicines, t ho s e w ort hy p s y c honaut s c riminalis e d f or pus hin g t he bound aries o f s ens e les s law s and t o t he cour a g eous c linicians and p o licy mak er s w ho ar e makin g a st and a g ainst t he gr e at est s ocio-p o litical f o lly o f mod ern times. The W ar on D ru gs is almo st ov er . The futur e loo ks b right. Thanks t o t he t e am at W ood en B oo ks, especially Mat t T w ee d f or his e dit orial as sist ance and ex ce llent dr awin gs o f t he neur oc hemistry and v arious mo lecu les in t he boo k. D is c laimer : The aut hor and t he pu b lis her a ccept no r esp onsibilit y f or t he misus e o f an y inf ormation in t his boo k, w hic h is int end e d s o le ly t o e ducat e it s r e a d er s. If y ou ar e experimentin g wit h dru gs w e str on gly a dvis e y ou t o r e a d up on t he ris ks, s af e d o s es, sid e effect s and incompatibilities wit h known me dical conditions, just as y ou w ou ld bef or e, s a y , g oin g mount ain c limbin g, bun gie jumpin g or s cu ba divin g.
Intr oduction 1 Sta tes of Consciousness 2 The Br ain 4 N eur otr ansmit ters 6 Oxytocin & A dr enaline 8 Dr eaming 1 0 H ypnotic Sta tes 1 2 Medita tion 1 4 Endorphins 1 6 Sex & Aphr odisiacs 1 8 Emotional Sta tes 20 Food & Fasting 22 Sug ar 24 Chocola te 26 Caf f eine 28 Alcohol 30 Nicotine 3 2 Cannabis 3 4 Solv ents & Inhalants 3 6 K etamine & Nitr ous Oxide 3 8 Cocaine 40 Opia tes 42 MD MA & Amphetamines 44 N a tur al P s y chedelics 46 LSD 48 P oisons & P otions 50 Shamanism 52 Antidepr essants 54 Quantum Consciousness 56 Further R eading 58
A b o ve : “ A G r o w i n g M etr op o l i ta n E v i l . S c e ne i n a n op i u m d e n i n P e Str e et , f r e q u e n te d b y wo r k i n g g i r l s ” . F r o m sk etc he s b y C . U p a , L o nd o n , c.1 9 1 1.
1 INTR O DUC TI O N
I n the same w a y co o co ciou i i gr l o u xp ri c , o oo r our l r d . B o d r p p i g o f o u r civili d v r io of u i , f o f u v v r b o l l c o i v r d ki g r , o v c p c i o k , r cog i d xp ri c l r iv of co ciou , d d fr o lig l diff r g l . T r r o o l r our co ciou , fr o u ic, drug d our c oic of f ood o di io , d c d x r ci . B c u d p r p i pi of i , p o x p d co ciou v b bo or ipp d d d o i d r oug ou u i or . For x pl , ju b i g i id c ur c , i i ubdu d lig , ri l v oic d r v r o p r , c cour g fr oci io of o r - orldl f li g , d i b f or ou dri k ol i . O r r ligio o ir origi o r c ic u of lluci og ic pl d f u gi. All k g ific g li p of oc ic bou dl o xi ju b o d our u u l r — l r d of co ciou , Our p io f or l r d l o v giv u v olu io r dv g o v r l i p ci . I i p r p privil g of u co di io , i i lof cl i of piri u li d co ciou , r rv rig o l r i . Af r ll, o ’ cog i iv i p ir i o r ’ p r d v , i , b co r d i r of i g i br i d r uou p o r i r ig . So, lco o i jour i o i rl d of co ciou xp io . Alo g ill cou r pou di g r , co ic x, ould ri g rb d p c d lic po o . N o o io pi c or o of p r o .
2 Most of the time , u , w n w ar a w ak , b r , n g d al and n p r ually nl g n d, xp r nc N orm al C l e ar C o n s c iou snes s — w kn w w her e w ar , w hen w ar and (cruc ally) wh o w ar . P y c a r call b ng O rie nt a ted in T ime , P l a c e & P ers o n . In an al r d a , w v r , qual a v xp r nc c n c u n d ff r n . P r c p n c ang , and n a y l d r n a d. T d cr b d r ally a a D eliriu m r an A cute C o nfu sio n al S t a te . C n c u n a y b al r d n n nally , acc d n ally r a p ar n r al l , uc a S l eep and D r e aming ( p . 10 ). In n nal cau nclud F a s ting ( p.2 2 ), E xer c ise ( p . 16 ), H yp er v e ntil a tio n ( p . 16 ), S e n s or y D epriv a tio n ( opp o sit e ), S timul a tio n w l g and und and ng n p y c ac v D r ugs ( pp.3 4- 5 1 ). N n- n n nal cau nclud T r a um a and D epriv a tio n ( .g. ad r br a n njur , and arv a n) r D ise a se ( .g. v r and p l p y). An y can aff c u ual unc n ng and pr duc alluc na n and r p y c a r c y p .
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