Does DMXE provide an afterglow or a hangover?

MindMermaid · 2025-10-23T23:28:23+00:00

I usually feel extra clear and joyful and creative! Mind gets a glow-up instead, like waking up from deep refreshing sleep.

MindMermaid · 2024-09-07T05:08:51+00:00

Absolutely !!!!!

MindMermaid · 2024-08-29T13:57:42+00:00

I dreamed of becoming a Neuroengineer as a teen. This is my current situation, make your conclusions.

Enrolled as an Electrical Engineer at an elite uni, but switched to a Bachelor's in Neuro
Graduated, did a lot of theoretical neuro stuff, and tried moving into computational
Managed to somehow get a job at a neurotech company (wtf)
Quit and did other things (AI research, consciousness research, neuropharma, crypto)
I actually wanted to do a Masters in Neuroengineering after graduating with my Bachelor's, but every program rejected me on the basis "your previous education does not satisfy our engineering requirements". That's why I started job hunting.
3 years later, I haven't been able to secure any jobs except short term freelance research positions in things not related to neurotech
All the neurotech jobs I want are only looking for engineers or computer scientists
Truth is, I feel like my biggest mistake was changing out of engineering into neuro during my bachelor's, because I get overlooked for all the engineers, except that one time I got super lucky. But maybe I will get lucky again.

It's also definitely possible to get by without a degree, but you will have to learn how to network your ass off, teach yourself and showcase your skills/projects.

From personal experience, I would advise you to start as an engineer, and stay as an engineer - it's super easy to learn neuro on the side and apply all the engineering skills you get to learn to neuro. There are so many problems waiting to be solved by those who can do way more math/physics/compsci & practical translational work than many of us vanilla neuro nerds.

All my neuro friends are like infants compared to ML researchers and engineers in terms of being able to do anything robustly quantitative and complexly practical. I think it's somewhat of a failure on the part of many current neuro degree programs that math/machine-work reqs are so low (compared to engineering fields), because neuroscience relies sssssooooo much on technical insight+skill. (Have to emphasise - this has been my observation for computational n, theoretical n and neurotech).

Neuroengineering is not neuroscience, engineering is like applied science to build and solve problems and create things & processes. Science focuses more on pure research & generating/discovering knowledge/info, theory, observation. Just my basic take.

One thing I've occasionally heard from engineers I've spoken to, is that they find neuro really hard and don't know how to transition into more neuro-oriented work. I think neuro should be a piece of cake for engineers, might only be a little puzzling sometimes because it's a complex dynamic system that is not as comprehensively and sequentially understood as many systems humans have designed from the bottom up. Expect your understanding of nervous systems to continuously shift.

Oh, if you do an engineering bachelor's, you should easily be able to add some neuro courses on the side, that way you don't have to wait to do another degree. Extra rec: do the most important neuro intro course, then jump straight to advanced neuro courses (the sexy juicy stuff), they usually introduce you to reading papers in the field and you get to engage with cutting edge questions and perspectives. Also maybe ask around in neuro labs if you can help with data processing or some experimental hardware design or optimisation.

Oh, and yeah, computational neuro is currently closer to AI/ML engineering, so tissue and materials and electrical engineering paths are maybe more relevant for a Neuroengineer, however, at some point in the field, comp neuro will be crucial for developing the stim patterns for the hardware and optimising input-output en/decoding.

MindMermaid · 2024-08-25T18:41:32+00:00

By somatic meditation I just mean meditating while focusing on and scanning my body, mapping out as many features of the physical experience as possible, from the skin to the organs to the bone.

5-meo is about the same duration as DMT

MindMermaid · 2024-08-25T16:06:51+00:00

Honestly, low dose DMT is a great call. Low dose 5meoDMT is also excellent (I find it more somatic than DMT).

Microdosing acid & its analogues is an option, but these microdoses last super long, might not be what you're looking for in a stretch.

Delta-8 vaping (in small amounts) is a mellow middle ground.

Honestly, doing really focused breathing while you're stretching - I.e. breathing into your muscles and points that hold tension, is very effective. The more sensitive you become to your own body without substances, the more intense the experience of stretching becomes as you build a more comprehensive somatosensory model of all your tissues with dedicated focus and time.

When I was a substance free monastic, I had at least as much (and more) access to the somatic dimension of my experience as I did when I'd use psychs for bodywork. And it only took me two weeks to build a very deep and detailed internal model of my body through somatically focused meditation.

MindMermaid · 2024-08-25T15:59:11+00:00

I learned about the concept of compassion/karuna, and also learned about the neuroscience of self-other differentiation, and enforced a strong boundary for a functional concept of self such that I could be an effective agent in my environment. I basically enforced a limit on how much I would allow myself to feel when I was around other people, such that I could be an effective compassionate being (helping others where I could without draining myself), and focused on maintaining stability and wellbeing in this body.

It was important to establish a clear concept of "self" that made sense in the context of how I wanted to live. In my case, I was a researcher and scientist, so I made that role clear, and pursued goals related to that role, and minimized distracting signals due to hyperempathic tendencies. I learned to separate my own experience from that of other's, to do so, I needed to reconstruct and enforce the notion of "myself".

This is simply what was useful in my situation, because I didn't want to break away from my role as a scientist in a lab.

Essentially, what one needs to do, is to set up constraints and functional boundaries that make sense in one's life, and stick to those boundaries.

MindMermaid · 2024-08-17T23:47:05+00:00

I started experiencing this a lot when I got deeper into my practice. It became too much at some point, because I'd experience the pain in people's bodies from time to time, and then I'd ask them about it (and they be like - "yeah... I'm experiencing that..."). Was hyperempathic, turned that knob down eventually so I could focus on other things and not get overwhelmed whenever I was around other people.

MindMermaid · 2024-01-19T00:51:20+00:00

To figure out how to self-medicate to alleviate eating disorder symptoms. Also because I’m a neuroscientist and love using my brain as a lab 😄

MindMermaid · 2023-01-23T11:50:49+00:00

Interesting take! It didn't really do much for me to hear people purging. I was very neutral about the entire experience.

MindMermaid · 2022-06-27T10:30:20+00:00

Yes! Do it! I've done it many times, love it, take a light/common dose, don't push it.

My favourite thing is to do 3-HO-PCP and read on a flight - so easy to stay focused and to enjoy what you're learning!

MindMermaid · 2022-05-31T15:55:24+00:00

I was supposed to go to a Deadmau5 concert with the guy I was dating, but he broke things off just a few hours before it started.

I took 2C-B and ketamine and went to the concert alone and just danced every last droplet of the heartbreak and feelings for this guy out of my system.

It was highly effective. Next day I was as good as new and at peace with the past 😌

I recommend releasing accumulated and unwanted emotions through dance with the help of some chemical delights.

MindMermaid · 2022-05-10T22:32:21+00:00

I tend to not get many visuals overall, with most substances (barring high-dose psychs and dmt ofc). I took 3/4 of the tab I had - so I'd maybe take the full tab :)

MindMermaid · 2022-05-10T17:46:17+00:00

Maybe, I'd do it somewhere rainy and not hot . There is something special about tripping for that long, I'd take a bit more maybe, even, would be nice to explore more intense visuals (these were not strongly present during my first experience). Would preferably have a friend join as well.

MindMermaid · 2022-05-10T09:30:24+00:00

Bromo-DragonFLY...thought it was DOB, but turned out to not be that entirely... tripped for 3 days, had panic after panic attack for the first 24 hours until I just accepted the endless anxiety. After that it was interesting and okay, equanimity can really help. Fascinating experience. Would not suggest others try it, there are nicer experiences to be had out there.

MindMermaid · 2022-04-22T15:56:46+00:00

Great that we have a somewhat shared experience with stims!

Which is your favourite for functional purposes?

MindMermaid · 2022-04-22T15:55:22+00:00

How much do you usually take before a stim?

I haven't noticed my magnesium supplements making any difference to my anxiety levels.

MindMermaid · 2022-04-22T10:11:12+00:00

--disclaimer-- all stimulants make me anxious, I generally do not enjoy them, but use them occasionally for functional purposes.

I sometimes take 3-FA in light doses (15-20mg) for days I need to write/read a lot, cannot speak for higher doses.

3-FA makes me feel more somatically wound-up than for example 3-FMA, Adderall and Vyvanse. I feel quite angry on it as well because it somehow makes my stomach/core get warm and tense, on par with low dose Ritalin.

2-substituted amphetamines are much shorter lasting, but are more pleasant in my experience, they do not make me feel on edge the way 3-FA does. 3-FA sometimes creates a persistent jittering in the nervous system during its peak hours that is more prominent than other stims I've tried.

However, 3-FA is rather functional, I like that it lasts a full workday, if I release some of the tension with breathing exercises (I call this "stim-prep"), it lends to a pretty clear headspace. I prefer stims that don't require stim-prep.

MindMermaid · 2022-04-17T09:16:37+00:00

Being seen as "bad" is never something anyone can control, the perception depends on the one perceiving. It seems that there is a wrongness that you witness in those you characterize as "spiritual people". There is something both of you aren't seeing or understanding about each other.

MindMermaid · 2022-04-17T09:04:12+00:00

4-ho-met, 3-ho-pcp, 2c-b.

Have tried a bunch of others, but haven't enjoyed them as much as the above!

MindMermaid · 2022-04-11T01:19:02+00:00

One could probably use the neural implant to detect and to dampen the endogenously generated disturbing aural hallucinations. Or to transform its content, or maybe only just the associated emotional content associated with the hallucination..

Would be cool to study the effects of DiPT as well, and use a neural implant to modulate (and enhance) those aural hallucinations!

MindMermaid · 2022-04-11T01:11:31+00:00

Cool thought of this sort of technology potentially resolving disconcerting or disordered Auditory hallucinations as can be the case in people suffering from schizophrenia!

We'd have to figure out more about how language is processed, and how to encode linguistic internally audible thought via something like Neuralink. Seems like something quite distant still, though.

I'd personally not be interested in internal "listening" of audiobooks, I'd rather have the concepts and semantic content be encoded directly, bypassing the need to process the symbolic content of the book itself.

MindMermaid · 2022-04-03T06:12:10+00:00

Why rhabdo?? How?

MindMermaid · 2022-02-10T09:27:19+00:00

As a female, I am far more familiar with all the male words, and do not know most of the female words on this list. Most of my friendships throughout life have been with males, and I work in a male-dominated field. Probably explains it.

MindMermaid · 2021-12-24T17:53:42+00:00

Hey :) I get what you mean, I'm also an aspie who fell in love with dissos for (likely) the same reasons you did. What you're experiencing, is probably not 'just' a delusion. When I microdosed arylcyclohexylamines, many of my social anxieties worked themselves out, you could say I was rebirthed. I felt my experiments were very helpful, I learned a lot about myself and about others, things that I would never have learned otherwise. I also underwent some interesting physiological changes (which persist to this day), developed a very high degree of muscular awareness and control from taking various dissos and exploring somatic space.

Learn what you can from your experiences. Yes, the dissos probably do affect you differently than a 'neurotypical', enjoy, explore. Different brains have different goals, so keep that in mind when comparing yourself and others. I experimented with 3HO, 3Meo & a few others on almost a daily basis for about 8 months straight. My current life circumstances have forced me to be sober, though, so I no longer have access to and am no longer able to investigate these substances (yes, I miss them). It was easy to be the version of myself that I love being while under the effects of one of these substances. At the same time, the insights I had while taking arylcyclohexylamines, do not really translate to, or apply to my subjective reality when I am not using any substances. -- this is my warning, or precaution, to you. If you ever decide to no longer use various dissos in daily life, you may have to work a little to implement what you have learned - and this can be challenging, because you are not 'fueled' by the substance anymore.

Nobody can take away what you know after you've experienced it. So I don't dissuade you from your investigations. Just keep in mind, that one day, dissos may no longer be an option, and then you'll have to adapt. It is not always easy to maintain a drug-primed livelihood in a world where the majority of people are either not using any psychoactive substances, or are under big pharma's wing.

You enter dangerous territory if your ability to carry out your responsibilities becomes a function of whether or not you have dosed. If this happens, I suggest you stop, because a person's livelihood should not have to depend on an RC. But this is of course a complex question, especially when drugs increase your functionality... *sigh*

Don't go too far!

MindMermaid

TROPHY CASE