On long-term altered perceptions.

[mgrade]

Of long-term altered perceptions [chemically induced or otherwise]

Even though other disorders such as depression and anxiety may have existed beforehand, there does exist a cascading effect of fear and sadness and disability that goes along with the distancing from reality inherant with an altered state (prolonged). For instance, it would be ignorant to think that if you suddenly lost your sense of sight (permanently) that it would have no disorienting effects; [it should be seen as a distancing from reality that may therefore influence other important aspects of the human experience (i.e. emotions, cognition, drive etc.)].

While short-term altered perceptions can be spiritual, peaceful, enlightening, revelatory, and awe-inspiring, longer-term altered perceptions can in my opinion have vast negative effects on the human psyche.

A peaceful LSD trip can turn frightening if some of the effects were to last far longer than biology would expect.

It would be naive to think that exposure of certain chemicals to a circuit-board would not influence transmission-quality of its electronics. And therefore, chemicals [even in a short-time of exposure] can influence brain circuits.

(cont.)

[Conquer]

After my initial onset, I was extremely anxious and fearful of my new vision. It felt like my entire reality had changed, and this is what gave me the most anxiety and fear. However, I eventually realized that my "new" reality was the same as it had always been, it was just my perception of it that had changed. Once I understood that it was the same as always and I was just percieving it differently, my anxiety began to subside. These days I have accepted the "new" reality as the one that had always existed, and I continue to live life as normal.

In my opinion, while long-term altered perception can definitely have vastly negative effects, it is ultimately up to the person experiencing this altered perception whether they are affected negatively or not. The altered perception isn't inherently negative [counter point: some people have HPPD that disrupts daily life, such as by making reading or driving very difficult] but can be made out to be by the person experiencing it.