The Dream Drugstore: Chemically Altered States of Consciousness
by J. Allan Hobson
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In this book, J. Allan Hobson offers a new understanding of altered states of consciousness based on knowledge of how our brain chemistry is balanced when we are awake and how that balance shifts when we fall asleep and dream. He draws on recent research that enables us to explain how psychedelic drugs work to disturb that balance and how similar imbalances may cause depression and schizophrenia. He also draws on work that expands our understanding of how certain drugs can correct imbalances show more and restore the brain's natural equilibrium. Hobson explains the chemical balance concept in terms of what we know about the regulation of normal states of consciousness over the course of the day by brain chemicals called neuromodulators. He presents striking confirmation of the principle that every drug that has transformative effects on consciousness interacts with the brain's own consciousness-altering chemicals. In the section called "The Medical Drugstore," Hobson describes drugs used to counteract anxiety and insomnia, to raise and lower mood, and to eliminate or diminish the hallucinations and delusions of schizophrenia. He discusses the risks involved in their administration, including the possibility of new disorders caused by indiscriminate long-term use. In "The Recreational Drugstore," Hobson discusses psychedelic drugs, narcotic analgesia, and natural drugs. He also considers the distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate drug use. In the concluding "Psychological Drugstore," he discusses the mind as an agent, not just the mediator, of change, and corrects many erroneous assumptions and practices that hinder the progress of psychoanalysis. show lessTags
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ThingScore 75
I recommend this book to psychiatrists and all informed lay people who are interested in consciousness, dreams, alien abduction, and drug abuse. The bibliography is scant and there are too few references. However, the book is clear, accessible, and jargon-free. The author speaks to us directly, draws us into his arguments, and—with the help of diagrams, narratives of dreams, illustrations, show more and tables—is able to make even complicated concepts understandable. show less
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Lists
Nonordinary States of Consciousness
184 works; 7 members
Dreaming
39 works; 1 member
Author Information
23 Works 950 Members
J. Allan Hobson is Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- The Dream Drugstore: Chemically Altered States of Consciousness
- Original publication date
- 2001
- First words
- What do normal dreaming, the visions induced by psychedelic drugs, and the psychoses of mental illness have in common? One often hears the simple answer ‘‘chemical imbalance’’ without further explanation. But
by ... (show all)now, we have advanced our knowledge of how the chemistry of the brain balances while we are awake and how that balance shifts when we fall asleep and dream to the point of providing the basis of a unified
theory. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The new phrenology of the state space era is thus a three-dimensional map of each individual’s predisposition to occupy the several domains of AIM and of each individual’s capacity to move in and out of those hinterland domains that confer pleasure or enlightenment. It goes without saying that a corollary benefit is the characterization of our predilection for the risks of pathological excess, including those of mental illness, and of possibly adverse response to drugs.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 70
- Popularity
- 446,708
- Rating
- (3.88)
- Languages
- English, German, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 1
