Yes, I agree. There are also some important details.
1. That state is short. Minutes or hours.
2. That state is different from the long changes.
3. The long term effects can be enhanced by the activities you do during the temporary state, including thinking.
4. Long term effects can be enhanced and maintained by non-drug activities.
This whole setup seems to be especially good at curing illnesses that are caused by something “at the cognitive level”. It won’t do much for anxiety caused by a hyperactive gland. It will for anxiety caused by a fear of death.
Cognition operates on the basis of neuronal dynamics and neuronal dynamics operate on the basis of biochemical interactions
All changes in neuronal dynamics are due to changes in biochemical regulation
Fear of death could be caused by a multitude of reasons, it's not as simplistic as you make it sound. People are innately afraid of death because there are pathways and regulations that occur naturally in our brain development driven by genetic biochemical regulation.
In case it helps, I think the original post was not meaning to say that the mind is not chemically based in the brain. I did not see it as a contradiction in their position.
I think their use of "chemical" was part of an assumed dichotomy between chronic disorders referred to in pop-culture as "chemical imbalances" versus other (learned or cognitive behavioral) disorders which could presumably be unlearned. The difference is mirrored in the assumed intervention: whether a continuous maintenance dose of some drug is needed to manage the chronic condition versus a transient dose or other therapy which allows the brain to assume a healthier posture and maintain itself thereafter.
