Introduction
You might modify who you think you are and discover new aspects of your identity during adolescence, but most adults eventually find a more stable way of being. On the one hand, stability is a comforting concept. Change does not especially appeal to the brain. However, this stability could result in a more “fixed” personality that restricts your options and quality of life.
Psychopharmacologist Lawrence Fischman stated in September 2022 that therapists have noticed that when patients use psychedelics under supervision, they form new self- and worldviews. They experience knowing and being known more strongly. To manage the complexity of interconnections between the 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections, the brain activity that is typically restricted in regular waking consciousness abruptly changes. Additionally, psychedelics disrupt the status quo by causing a condition of brain entropy (disorder) in which users briefly change how they see themselves and the outside world. Usually, when people awaken normally again, they have a better knowledge of who they are.
“Who you are” refers to your sense of your identity as being stable, integrated, and unchangeable, also known as your “ego.” However, psychedelic research suggests that your identity is probably much less established than you would think. In fact, challenging this fixedness may have a variety of positive psychological and physiological effects.
The Importance of Not Being Who You Think You Are
Being someone other than who you think you are has a lot of advantages. One benefit is that it enables you to be more impartial and open-minded. Additionally, you can learn more about both yourself and other people. It can also enable you to live a more genuine and satisfying life.
The Negative Consequences of Being Who You Think You Are
Being who you believe yourself to be has some disadvantages. The first is that you could find yourself mired in a particular way of thinking and acting. This may restrict your capacity to develop and change. Furthermore, if you are too fixed in your ways, you can miss out on chances to learn and experience new things. Finally, if you adhere too strictly to your principles and views, you risk alienating yourself from other people.
The Positive Outcomes of Not Being Who You Think You Are
The benefits of not being who you think you are might be numerous. The most evident is probably that you might discover that you are a far better person than you had previously believed. You might also find untapped abilities or strengths that you had no idea you possessed. Additionally, you might discover that you have a lot more in common with folks than you first imagined. Finally, the realization that you are not who you think you are might promote better self-awareness and personal development.
The advantages of ego disintegration psychologically
Because of the very real risk of developing psychosis, the idea of losing your sense of self may be terrifying. Even so, there are times when ego-dissolution results in a transcending experience where you feel more connected to others and liberate yourself from a world of set probabilities to one of possibilities.
Being able to be someone other than who you thought you were can be incredibly healing. According to studies, psychedelics may reduce anxiety and sadness while enhancing one’s general emotional wellbeing. Additionally, alternative ego-dissolving practices like transcendental meditation (TM) may reduce anxiety and stress, and group virtual reality (VR) experiences are comparable to psychedelics in that they cause ego-dissolution and foster a sense of community among participants. In fact, when an illusory self engages in a primary experience of the virtual world in virtual reality, the self is separated into your actual self and the one in VR, and the soothing of the latter can also affect the former.
The advantages of ego-dissolution physically
The default mode network in the brain serves as a representation of the self (DMN). Inflammation, which underpins a number of disease states, including autoimmune and neurodegenerative illnesses, cancer, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, affects this network. Recent studies suggest that psychedelics, TM, and VR can interfere with or affect the DMN. As a result, I assume that inflammatory processes may be stopped by ego-dissolving techniques when the network that reflects the self is disturbed.
Psychoactive substances have been recognized as possible anti-inflammatory agents. 49 genes linked to inflammation can be downregulated (turned off) by long-term meditators who practice TM. Additionally, VR has been demonstrated to considerably lessen both pain and inflammation.
Conclusion
Psychedelic research suggests that your identity is probably much less established than you would think. Being someone other than who you think you are has a lot of advantages and disadvantages. One benefit is that it enables you to be more impartial and open-minded. It can also enable you to live a more genuine and satisfying life. Being able to be someone other than who you thought you were can be incredibly healing.
According to studies, psychedelics may reduce anxiety and sadness while enhancing one’s general emotional wellbeing. Alternative ego-dissolving practices like transcendental meditation or group virtual reality experiences are comparable to psychedelics. Inflammation underpins a number of disease states, including autoimmune and neurodegenerative illnesses.
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