Autistic Psychedelic Stories: “New Colours” By J.
Shared anonymously to autismonacid@gmail.com. Reshared here, with permission. More about the intersection of psychedelics & autism @ http://autisticpsychedelic.com & http://autismonacid.com
Autistic Psychedelic Stories on Medium:
- “The Wave” by Thomas
- “New Colours” by “J”
- “Autism on Ayahuasca” by Ian
- “The Mushrooms Had Something to Teach Me” by Dan
“Hi Aaron,
I stumbled across your book in an incredibly random way, and am very glad that I did.
I had suspected since my late teens that I had some form of autism, and I was recently diagnosed with ASD. This overlapped, completely separately, with my developing a strong interest in psychedelics and particularly their relationship with mystical experiences and exploring consciousness. I began voraciously consuming as much literature I could find on the topic, listening to podcasts, etc.
I then had a high dose experience with mushrooms, which, although a difficult experience in some ways, enabled me to connect with others in the ways you describe. For two days following the experience, I felt connected to other people and the world in general like I never had before. Although these were only after-effects, it was extremely significant for me, and like yourself, was not my motivation for taking the mushrooms, but a very welcome and unexpected consequence.
More recently, I’ve had a couple of experiences with a much smaller dose of mushrooms. These were again extremely positive, giving me a much better connection with those around me and be in tune with them emotionally. These experiences were stronger in the moment than the after-effects of the high dose (although only for the three hours or so that the dose was effective — as you will know, psilocybin clears the system much more quickly than lsd).
Your analogy of the colour blind glasses is a great one. I also have colour blindness, and was given a pair of those glasses some time ago. It was incredible to walk around and see colours in the landscape that I had never realised were there before. Now I wear them every day that the sun is shining. Taking some mushrooms, even a pretty small amount, is strongly analogous for my ability to engage with others (but, of course, not something that I would want to be doing every day!!).
I also really like your description of how there are days when lsd helped you to engage with the world better, and other days where your ASD helped with other tasks you were doing.
You have done something important in publishing your account. If the right research can be done to support a proven and safe way of using psychedelics to help people with ASD, then it could radically improve the lives of millions of people.
Despite very encouraging advances led by MAPS and others, interest in psychedelics continues to be akin to having an interest in heresy under a theocracy. I’m keen to do what I can to help change this, and especially in the area of ASD, as I can see for myself the potential.
-J.”
Autistic Psychedelic Stories on Medium:
- “The Wave” by Thomas
- “New Colours” by “J”
- “Autism on Acid” by Aaron
- “Autism on Ayahuasca” by Ian
- “The Mushrooms Had Something to Teach Me” by Dan
More about the intersection of psychedelics & autism @ http://autisticpsychedelic.com & http://autismonacid.com
