Actually, yes. In fact, I was one of the first to submit a thread to HN about "Dropping LSD tonight. What should I do?" when I was 19 or so.
When it was removed and I emailed asking why, he said it was because he didn't want to encourage HN users to do "crazy things." (I'm nearly 100% confident I can dig up the emails if absolutely necessary.)
However, over time, I came to agree with pg's point of view. Prozac is a proven medical solution to a chemical imbalance. I'm happy to hear that shrooms help some, but for me, it was crazy to buy into that old quote of:
> Steve Jobs once said Gates lacked imagination and could have benefited if "he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger," according to Jobs' biography.
Yeah, I swallowed that nonsense hook, line, and sinker. "At least I won't be like stuffy old Gates," I felt.
It was interesting to do both LSD and shrooms. I recommend people try them recreationally once, in safe environments (with preparation), if only to have the experience of seeing just how different your perceptions can become.
But.. a long term medical solution?
Only with a doctor's guidance. If a therapist recommends it, I'm not going to say it's crazy. But if you're hoping it will help you... um... I'll just say that it didn't for me. I hope it helps others, but as you can probably tell, I came away from the experience feeling like it was a load of baloney. Would've been better to just accept it for what it is: an interesting diversion, like going kayaking.
On the flipside, is is highly interesting, and tangentially I think this is one area that would be better served by open discussion in substantive ways. In other words, while it may be true that "just try shrooms and see if it helps you" could be considered "crazy," it's also true that shrooms have apparently helped some subset of people, and that perhaps it's worth considering whether you're part of that subset.
But the key is to go find a domain expert, and do what they say. Don't do what you think. I would (and did) get lost in a sea of confusing, ineffective attempts at solving a serious underlying problem.
Hence my insistence on "find a doctor" (or therapist, as was pointed out in a parallel comment).
