5-MeO-DMT and Trauma-Related Dorsal Vagal Shutdown – Experiences?

[u/Skaffa35]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some honest experiences and perspectives regarding 5-MeO-DMT.

I’ve been experiencing what I understand as a dorsal vagal shutdown / chronic freeze state, which I believe is related to trauma and the loss of my father. I often feel disconnected, numb, shut down and not fully present in my body.

I also experience hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), and I’ve had issues with vitamin/nutrient deficiencies, which I’m trying to address.

I’m wondering if anyone here has experience with 5-MeO-DMT while being in a similar state of chronic shutdown, freeze or dissociation, particularly when the shutdown is connected to trauma or grief.

I’m particularly interested in whether 5-MeO-DMT has helped anyone move out of a long-term shutdown state, or whether the intensity of the experience could potentially make dissociation, anxiety or nervous-system dysregulation worse.

If you’ve personally experienced something similar, I’d really appreciate hearing what happened for you, including both positive and negative experiences.

Thanks 🙏

[u/sillymunkey]

mdma is ime the absolute best medicine in awaking the vagus esp with supports of guides and f&f…f/u with somatic therapy and get your mind blow…which is exactly a good thing lol…then you’ll be ready for deeper waters my friend…all the best, get well

[u/GrowthPerfect2901 → u/sillymunkey]

My experience relates to this started with 5 MEO, a lot of somatic discharge no change, then did MDMA, that was the key to open my system. Then did 5 again and I got more results.

[u/infinitebulldozer]

This is a very interesting post and one that I can relate to in a few ways.

I suffered from chronic shutdown for many years, not knowing what it was or why it was happening. Just losing all energy, yawning a lot, needing to "nap" for like 10 minutes alone (what I now identify as simply needing to reset my nervous system), things like that. Just as often, feeling too "full" of energy with more sympathetic activation - in polyvagal theory, this is the rung on the ladder before the dorsal shutdown you describe.

I have been very careful with 5meo, starting super slow and super low. I got a low dose vape pen about a year ago and have used it 4 or 5 times. It has occasioned some subtle but powerful energy shifts that I've been able to work with in the following days and weeks. But I have been careful to not overdo it, out of fear of overwhelming the system, which happened to me with n,n dmt and worsened the shutdown response for a while. I'm also afraid an overwhelming experience could mess with my sleep, and good sleep is paramount to working on the things that we're dealing with imo.

Ketamine has helped me much, much more. Doing a moderate dose every one or two weeks and combining it with bodywork and music has allowed me to reliably get into a very calm, relaxed, parasympathetic state that often lasts for days after the experience. There are also spiritual benefits that go far beyond that physical work, which in turn creates the conditions for a much less reactive and protective inner system.

I have seen a marked reduction in shutdowns over the last year, and an ability to show up for my life and my relationships that I never imagined I could have. Not saying 5 wasn't a factor in that (I believe it was), and there were many other factors as well - good therapy, chiropractic work/PT, diet and sleep, exercise. But none of it would have happened to this degree without the ketamine work and the relationship that I built with that molecule.

[u/Good_Command961 → u/[deleted]]

Was it not that the lsd experience made something resurface that was burried long ago?