It may sound like something from a hippie dream, but psychedelic therapy using psilocybin, LSD, ketamine, and MDMA is becoming more widely studied — and even advocated — for improving outcomes of therapy for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, trauma, and addiction.
One study found that people with treatment-resistant depression saw sustained improvement for a year after taking two doses of psilocybin. Another study found that the drug significantly relieved symptoms of persistent PTSD.
According to Mass General's McClean Hospital, psychedelics can improve those mental illnesses or disturbances by affecting parts of the brain that respond to the neurotransmitter serotonin, changing a person's emotions and mood.
This also allows for new neural connections to be made in the brain, improving thinking patterns.
However, a new position statement by the American Psychiatry Association says, "There is currently inadequate scientific evidence for endorsing the use of psychedelics to treat any psychiatric disorder except within the context of approved investigational studies."
And we urge people not to try any of these substances on their own, because they can have an unexpected impact on your emotions, along with very serious side effects.
If you're interested in trying psychedelics to ease treatment-resistant emotional conditions, ask your doctor for information on clinical trials, or go to clinicaltrials.gov to view a list of ongoing ones.
For example, searching on that site for depression and psilocybin turns up many studies that are currently recruiting participants.
For additional information on how to manage stress, check out our book "You: Stress Less — The Owner's Manual for Regaining Balance in Your Life."