Psykedelisk transformation - en fenomenologisk studie om att förändras genom bruk av psykedeliska substanser

Sammanfattning: We live in a time that some choose to call the psychedelic renaissance. Once again, after a period of silence in the scientific world, studies about psychedelics and their effects continues to bring knowledge to the subject. In this renaissance of psychedelics there’s still somewhat a gap in research regarding the recreational use of the substances. The aim of this study has been to seek a better understanding for the changing processes people go through, as a result of psychedelic substance use. To do so, i have been analyzing material collected through interviews and a questionnaire published on a psychedelic specific forum. This material has further been analyzed through the theoretical framework of phenomenology, specifically by using the concepts sedimentation and common sense. I use these concepts to shed light on how the interaction between individual and culture affect each other, in either a reproducing or transforming manner. When being under the influence of psychedelic substances, you perceive yourself and the world in a different way. This change in perception of self and world can, when put in contrast to a sedimented value or understanding, change the very foundation of these values. When changing the sedimentation, on which our view on the world is grounded, the relation between self and culture is bound to change as well. If the contrast is great enough, you can start to experience a conflict in values between your transformed sedimentation and the surrounding common sense.