MDMA: The Leading Cause Of Human Dichotomy

Perhaps part of the dichotomy in the World exists because of the ever-lasting, insidious mind-body problem that has become engraved deep within the human psyche. From a phenomenological standpoint, the study of consciousness is capable of being grasped through the careful and seemingly empathetic understanding of a person’s lived experiences. It appears that 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, otherwise known as MDMA, provokes an epistemological phenomenology within the psychology community. There is a dramatic differentiation between psychedelic medicine and psychiatric medications and dissociative drugs such as alcohol, largely because of the entactogenic experience witnessed by the observer (Razvi, 2016). In other words, empathogens or entactogens
8). This apparent revolution within the pharmaceutical industry has been associated with the rise in prescription drug overdoses as the leading cause of accidental death in America, ahead of car accidents for the first time ever. Despite pharmaceuticals being heavily administered to manage a plethora of symptoms, according to the World Happiness Report in 2016, the United States ranks at only number 13 in overall happiness (Hrala, 2016). This on-going prescription drug epidemic presents potential complications for researchers. There is a responsibility to show the therapeutic effectiveness and safety of MDMA when compared to for-profit pharmaceutical drugs that have created devastating circumstances within American society. According to Saj Razvi (2016), the Executive Director of Trauma Dynamics and a sub-investigator for the Boulder, Colorado Phase 2 MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) trial, the MDMA assisted-psychotherapy for treatment of PTSD is a “catalyzer of psychotherapeutic processes and an innate healing mechanism” (Razvi, 2016. PTSD was once classified as a “treatment-resistant” disorder, however, numerous studies and empirical research have shown that disorders such as PTSD are finally within the realm of healing and
What if the perpetuation of quantified, behavior-based, analytical agendas has contributed to nearly 15% of the American population being affected by PTSD at some point; with 60.7% of men and 51.2% of women reporting at least one traumatic event in their lifetime (Nebraska, 2007). Furthermore, based on the prevalence estimates for PTSD (5 to 15 percent among service members) it is safe to assume that approximately 75,000 to 225,000 service members that return home will have PTSD (Tanielian, 2008). These sobering statistics have prompted the emergence of existential phenomenological epistemology which are represented through alternative foundations such as transpersonal psychology, Gestalt therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and now MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment-resistant disorders, thus helping to bridge the gap between the mind and