Bad or good trip? Glutamate is decisive

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Neurotransmitters and psychedelics

With trip therapy we have been going further than just therapeutic tripping for years. Based on a neurotransmitter test and intake, our customers receive advice on how to get the neurotransmitters more balanced through nutrition, supplements and exercise. A recent study now shows for the first time in history that the level of glutamate in the hippocampus plays an important role in whether the psychedelic journey is experienced as a good or bad trip. A high level of glutamate has a strong correlation with a negative psychedelic experience. Good preparation in the field of balancing neurotransmitters is therefore not without reason.

Read the entire thing here scientific research into psilocybin and glutamate

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Less chance of bad trips with less glutamate in the hippocampus

Glutamate and GABA

A reduced glutamate concentration in the hippocampus therefore results in a more positive psychedelic experience. Increasing the neurotransmitter GABA lowers the glutamate concentration in the brain. This mechanism also works the other way around. People with little GABA have more glutamate and therefore suffer more from anxiety-related complaints and are more likely to have a bad trip. Increasing GABA and therefore lowering glutamate is therefore recommended for some people and can be done with supplements, for example.

Read more about this here GABA and increasing this neurotransmitter

GABA glutamate hippocampus -Bad or good trip? Glutamate is decisive
The glutamate inhibitory effect of GABA

Eating less Glutamate?

Glutamate is an amino acid, a building block of proteins, and you therefore get it when you eat proteins. Glutamate is used by our intestines as an energy source and the glutamate that does enter the bloodstream has great difficulty crossing the blood-brain barrier. Reducing glutamate and MSG (E621) therefore has a very limited influence, although it may be better not to use MSG. Ironically, glutamate is also the building block of GABA, which actually reduces glutamate activity in the brain. There is therefore no point in consuming less glutamate through food. GABA, on the other hand, does increase.

Set and setting are important

Set and setting are also very decisive for the effect of the psychedelic journey. Yet it is fascinating that actually everything counts when it comes to how we feel and how the psychedelic journey is experienced. Actually, there is nothing you can ignore that simple substances such as glutamate and GABA have so much influence on our emotions and consciousness. Are you now also asking yourself what the question “who am I” means? if even these factors play a role in your condition and the choices you make?

We are happy to help

I am passionate about understanding the connections between psychology and health in a biochemical way and helping people. It is different from what the standard approach in psychology entails, because we are much more than just our psyche and that is why we want to use a total approach to maximize results. Would you also like to try the holistic approach that we offer through trip therapy? We are ready for you.

Read more about the here method of trip therapy