Taking to his Twitter recently, Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates shared how psychedelic drugs have helped him in his life (both on an artistic level and mentally).
What drove Gates to share his thoughts on psychedelics is that of the Netflix docuseries How To Change Your Mind. Based off the book of the same name (written by Michael Pollan), How To Change Your Mind is not only an exploration into psychedelic drugs (and learning how they work), but also exploring how they can help people struggling with mental illnesses.
Upon having watched the Netflix version of How To Change Your Mind, Synyster Gates was inspired to talk about his experience with such drugs like that of LSD, DMT, and magic mushrooms (aka, psilocybin). Per Gates:
“Hallucinogenic Drugs have been the foundation of my mental and artistic wellness. Those I’m closest to know I’ve been an enthusiast since I was in my early teens. I’ve never told my stories outside of my inner circle. This docu is a game changer
“The feelings and explorations I’ve had during LSD, psilocybin, and 5meo DMT sessions have been transcendent to say the least From them, I demand full strength experiences from my relationships and art. I demand that they make me feel something greater than normal filters allow
“When I finished ‘How to Change Your Mind’, I felt compelled to share. There are so many mental health issues that these medicines do wonders for. As an ‘antiestablishment’ mind, I am disgusted by by both parties of our political system. The accounts of their greed are glaring
“I hope that if you find this interesting, you proceed down this road with the utmost caution. There are so many bad actors in this genre and also, a lot of these treatments are illegal Lastly, all my love to the heroes fighting to bring real mental health to the masses”
What author Michael Pollan covers in How To Change Your Mind (both via his book and Netflix series) is incredibly insightful. Below we have included other Avenged Sevenfold related stories.
‘Don’t become a commodity’: Avenged Sevenfold’s M Shadows Shares Advice For Up And Coming Artists
Watch: New Avenged Sevenfold Album To Have Orchestral Music And… Beatboxing?
A7X’s M Shadows Blames ‘Pop’ Production For The ‘Downfall’ Of Metal
Hallucinogenic Drugs have been the foundation of my mental and artistic wellness.
Those I’m closest to know I’ve been an enthusiast since I was in my early teens.
I’ve never told my stories outside of my inner circle.
This docu is a game changerhttps://t.co/N0uDXaSXku
— Synyster Gates (@SynysterGates) August 28, 2022
The feelings and explorations I’ve had during LSD, psilocybin, and 5meo DMT sessions have been transcendent to say the least
From them, I demand full strength experiences from my relationships and art.
I demand that they make me feel something greater than normal filters allow
— Synyster Gates (@SynysterGates) August 28, 2022
When I finished “How to Change Your Mind”, I felt compelled to share. There are so many mental health issues that these medicines do wonders for.
As an “antiestablishment” mind, I am disgusted by by both parties of our political system. The accounts of their greed are glaring
— Synyster Gates (@SynysterGates) August 28, 2022
I hope that if you find this interesting, you proceed down this road with the utmost caution.
There are so many bad actors in this genre and also, a lot of these treatments are illegal
Lastly, all my love to the heroes fighting to bring real mental health to the masses♥️
— Synyster Gates (@SynysterGates) August 28, 2022