The “Off Switch”
The most common myth, as we discussed above, is that psychedelics literally just “turn off” the DMN, completely shutting down the ego like it’s an on/off switch. This is inaccurate. It may be helpful to think of consciousness as a whole as, perhaps, an orchestra. The DMN acts as a conductor, ensuring all elements of the orchestra remain coherent. A psychedelic does not just stop the music playing. Instead, the conductor leaves the stage and the musicians, now lacking top-down control, begin to improvise and form new, unexpected melodies among themselves. While this is undoubtedly more chaotic and less narratively coherent, it could create something more novel, creative and unexpected. So, the components making up the DMN are all, in fact, still active. It is merely the lack of an organiser, rather than a cessation of activity.
The DMN is Bad
Because, as we have seen, an overactive DMN can be linked to issues such as depression and anxiety, it is easy to frame it as something to be conquered. A villain, controlling and restricting. This is an extremely dangerous misunderstanding. A healthy, normally functioning DMN is essential to a stable life. Without it, you would have an inconsistent identity, narratively incoherent memories, or any ability to plan for the future. If you take this in a moment-to-moment sense, this could literally amount to an inability to feed yourself or differentiate yourself from another individual.
The therapeutic potential of psychedelics does not seek to remove or eliminate the influence of the DMN, but simply to disrupt its rigidity. For someone trapped in a spiral of depression, for example, the DMN has become fixed in an unhealthy loop. A psychedelic acts as a “reset”, temporarily and often forcefully removing the DMN from this destructive pattern, and allowing new connections to form. The aim is to increase psychological flexibility in an individual, not completely and permanently silence their sense of self.
Psychedelics are the Only Way
A final, too common belief is that psychedelics are the only means with which we can quiet the DMN. This is completely untrue. While psychedelics are an incredibly powerful tool to chemically induce a state of temporary change, other practices can be just as effective (albeit through more concerted, long-term effort). In a 2011 study, Judson Brewer discussed the potential of meditation to alter DMN connectivity. Results indicated that experienced meditators exhibit significantly reduced DMN activity both while meditating and at baseline. Through thousands of hours of practice, they have manipulated their brains so they are less caught up in self-referential thinking.
There are similar findings of the popular “flow state” described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, which describes the ability of an artist, athlete, musician, etc., to become fully absorbed in their craft. Csikszentmihalyi reported that during the flow state, there was a significant decrease in activity associated with the DMN. So, while psychedelics can provide perhaps a shortcut to this mental state, these effects are far from unique.
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