I posted this comment somewhere else, but wanted to attach it here as it might help others understand the relationship between drugs and depression that you began to discuss.

I agree with this post to an extent. I suffered from severe depression and anxiety for years and have since been seeking therapy to get over it. My life has dramatically changed for the better over the last 2 months.

There was a point where I can clearly identify that I was abusing marijuana and other drugs, and it made my situation worse. They were being used as an escape from all my troubles. I was also heavily reliant/addicted on video games as my other escape that began when I was a kid. I used them to escape the constant fighting between my parents at home. I couldnt stand to be around it and listen to it constantly, so I'd throw on headphones and immerse myself in another reality that was better than the one I was living. Before high school there were multiple times I almost called the cops on my parents because I could hear them physically fighting each other in their room. I'd just sit there and cry quietly outside their door holding the phone in my hand not sure what to do. I heard the most terrible things you'd ever want to hear said to another person, and those are supposed to be the people who love each other and brought you into this world. This was just a catalyst to other problems that would occur in my life.

There was a point though where I felt psychedelics really helped me see my behavior and actions in a different light. I could see myself from a 3rd person point of view. Like there was a camera watching my every move and broadcasting that footage to the world. It put a different kind of perspective in my head, what would people think if they saw what I was doing to myself? I was in a very fortunate position (good job, no debt), but everything in my life was falling apart over the course of a few years. All of a sudden there was this realization of how irrational my behavior was. From that point I knew exactly what I needed to do.

I quit all video games, and other escapes. I focused on my old hobbies (drawing and music) which I was good at at a very young age until games threw that all away. They helped remind me of that, I still toke up, but its different now, its not a reliance issue. I started taking care of myself, I wasnt sleeping through work consistently, the anxiety started to go away. I could focus on work and was no longer scared of people. I would actually leave my house.

In my opinion, psychedelics and other drugs are a tool for a specific problem. There are many studies on how psychedelics like DMT, found in mushrooms, and more notably Ayahuasca have this same sort of realization affect on people with mental illness. I hope these studies continue as the realm of altering consciousness is something humans as a race need to continue to explore for our own benefit. Just my .02, life has never been better for me than it is now. There is still much healing to be done, but I have so much hope for myself.