Psilocybin use is associated with “persisting reductions” in depression, anxiety, alcohol misuse–as well as increases in emotional regulation, spiritual wellbeing and extraversion–according to a new study.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Ohio State University and Unlimited Sciences have said that their research represents “the largest prospective survey of naturalistic use of psilocybin up to date.” They found evidence to support the “potential” for psilocybin’s ability to produce lasting improvement in mental health symptoms and overall wellbeing.
Researchers recruited 2,833 adult participants and conducted multiple surveys both before and after the psychedelic was used outside the clinical setting.
The questionnaires asked about demographic information, consumption methods, dosage, settings, intentions of use, and subjective changes to mental health. The surveys were conducted in phases from July 2020 to July 2022. They included: consenting for the survey; two weeks before psilocybin usage, one-three-days prior to use; two-four-weeks after use and two-three-months after.
The authors reported that “prospective longitudinal data collected both before and after an intended psilocybin session showed persistent reductions in anxiety and depression as well as alcohol misuse. They also found increased cognitive flexibility and emotional regulation, extraversion and spiritual wellbeing. There was also a decrease in neuroticism, burnout and neuroticism after psilocybin usage.”
People most commonly cite “self-exploration”, or “self-discovery”, as the reason they take psilocybin (81%) followed by mental health, (71%) therapy, creativity (44%) and productivity (22%) before citing mental health (71%) and physical health (14%) respectively. Around three-quarters of respondents stated that they had a specific intention in mind before taking the psychedelic.
The majority of participants (43%) said that they consumed psilocybin by themselves. Another 26 % said that they used the drug with their friends. A further 16 % said they took it with an sober friend. And about 3 3% used it in a group or with a facilitator.
The majority (42%) of people take dried whole mushrooms. Another 19% said that they use dried ground mushrooms. 16 percent steep it in tea, and 6 percent eat edibles like chocolates. The average dose of psilocybin mushroom, excluding the outliers was 3.1 g.
Around 22 percent of respondents were found to have had a complete mystical experience, which was “significantly predictive of changes in several longitudinal variables, including decreased depression and anxiety as well as personal burnout and work burnout.”
Before using psilocybin 42 percent of participants had depression. Only 15 percent of participants in the final and sixth follow-up survey met depression criteria.
Before taking psilocybin, 16 percent of respondents’ drinking was deemed “risky”, and 6 percent met the criteria for “probable dependence on alcohol”. After six months, these percentages had decreased to 11 and 4 percent respectively.
The psychedelic also reduced anxiety symptoms. Before psilocybin use, 29 percent were considered to be suffering from “high-risk anxiety”. This dropped to only 15 percent in the last survey.
The study reports that participants’ extraversion increased “significantly” and their neuroticism decreased “significantly” after using psilocybin.
Researchers found that “history or previous psychedelic usage nor the presence of a guide/sitter were significant predictors in any of these longitudinal models.”
In the survey, other “commonly-reported behavioral changes” after psilocybin usage were identified. These included improved relationships with others (50%), increased physical activity (27%) and exercise (27%) as well as improvements in professional work and diet (27%) and nutrition (24%). 94 percent of the participants described their experience as positive.
The authors stated that this study represents the largest longitudinal prospective dataset published on naturalistic psilocybin usage. The data supports prior evaluations that psilocybin is relatively safe and non-toxic when compared with other commonly used substances. However, individuals who had particularly difficult reactions, or experienced significant adverse effects, may not have responded to follow-up questionnaires as described in study limitations.
The study concluded that “Longitudinal Data indicate that among convenience samples, naturalistic use psilocybin mushroom was associated with significant improvement in mental health, well-being, and psychological function when controlling for demographic factors, in accordance with initial hypotheses.” After psilocybin, there were persistent reductions in anxiety, depression and alcohol abuse. This is consistent with other clinical studies that have shown similar results.
They said that the study results are “highly consistent” with an increasing body of data from clinical trials, behavioral pharmacology and epidemiological studies on psilocybin. These data are a valuable window into the current resurgence in public interest in classic psychoactives, and the results of concurrent increases in naturalistic use of psilocybin.
The study was published a few weeks after a separate report from the American Medical Association showed that major depressives experienced ‘clinically significant sustained relief’ in their symptoms with just one dose.
As lawmakers and advocates work to implement reform, these are some of the most recent examples of research that has found potential therapeutic applications for psychedelics.
A peer-reviewed article published this month in Nature says that treatment with MDMA reduces symptoms among patients with moderate or severe PTSD.
A study published in the last month showed that administered a small amount of MDMA with psilocybin or LSD , appears to reduce uncomfortable feelings like guilt or fear which are sometimes side effects when consuming magic mushrooms or LSD.
The first of its kind analysis, released in June, provided novel insights into how psychedelic assisted therapy may help people who struggle with alcoholism.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has recently begun soliciting proposals to fund a series research initiatives that explore the use of psychedelics to treat drug abuse.
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The post Psilocybin is Associated with ‘Significant and Persistent’ Decreases in Depression, Anxiety Alcohol Misuse, And More, A New Study Finds first appeared on Marijuana moment.
