A small pilot open study tested whether clonidine, a drug that reduces sympathetic nervous activity, could help people with hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) caused by LSD. Eight patients who had had HPPD for at least three months and had been drug-free for at least three months took a low dose of clonidine (0.025 mg three times daily) for two months. Two patients dropped out. Among the six who completed the study, scores on the Clinical Global Impression Scale dropped from an average of 5.25 (severe) to 2.5 (mild), and self-reported symptom severity fell from 4 to 2 on a 0-5 scale. The findings suggest that clonidine may alleviate LSD-related flashbacks linked to excessive sympathetic nervous activity in some patients.
An out-of-body experience (OBE) is a dissociative event where a person feels separated from their body, often occurring spontaneously in stressful or hypnogogic situations. Such experiences can shift a person's self-perspective and worldview, potentially influencing behavior. Despite its therapeutic promise in hypnotherapy, OBE application is rarely discussed. This article describes three individuals with different issues—symbiotic involvement, somatization, and therapy cessation—whose spontaneous OBEs during hypnotherapy significantly advanced their therapeutic processes. OBEs tended to appear in dissociative, highly suggestible subjects and helped them cope with anxiety-loaded issues by promoting complex separational processes through body-self detachment. The authors propose spontaneous OBE as an effective therapeutic resource in hypnotherapy.