Psychedelics Show Promise For A Range Of Mental Health Concerns
Mental health is one of the most important topics of the past decade. More people are becoming aware of its importance and learning how to manage the most common culprits. Now, new findings show a connection between psychedelic drugs and mental health treatments, shining a new light on one of the greatest health concerns.
RELATED: New 988 Suicide & Mental Health Crisis Hotline Launches In United States
Mental Health Crisis
For multiple reasons, there’s a worldwide mental health crisis. People are reporting higher rates of anxiety, stress and depression, with some struggling to find a sense of purpose.
These serious concerns are only getting worse with each passing year. And with 2020’s global pandemic, more people are showing signs of these serious mental health issues. That’s why it’s critical to find ways for individuals to cope — and psychedelics treatment may offer an alternative solution.
Early research shows that microdosing psychedelics helps improve mood and focus.
Psychedelic Drugs As A Possible Treatment
Psychedelics are a possible treatment for mental health issues. Unfortunately, due to a controversial and murky legal situation, research has been scarce, only sampling a small scale of participants. However, things are slowly beginning to pick up, as more studies are emerging each year. The results show real promise, bringing hope that microdosing psychedelics’ could serve as an alternative solution to the more commonly prescribed drug treatments.
One recent study, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, provides promising results. It indicates that using psychedelic drugs for mental health treatment helps cope with stress, while avoiding highly depressive and suicidal states.
The author of the study, Richard Zeifman, is a PhD student at Ryerson University and a research intern at the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London.
RELATED: What Is Integrative Mental Health? A Guide Into The Rapidly Emerging Therapy
Digesting The Study Results
The study focuses on something known as “experiential avoidance” — or the state of avoiding unpleasant thoughts and feelings. Of the 358 participants, 104 used psychedelic drugs, with the rest planning to attend the psychedelic ceremonies.
Both groups first completed the depression severity, experiential avoidance, and suicidal ideation tests. After using a psychedelic — with psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca the most common — participants showed promising results four weeks later. With lower scores on all three tests, it supports the idea that psychedelic drugs serve as mental health treatment, helping cope with negative emotions, thoughts, and memories.
It’s important to note that this study was not a controlled clinical trial, which tend to yield more accurate results. They can also provide a comparison to commonly used pharmaceuticals. However, even with a small sampling, early results show how psychedelic drugs may help mental health issues.
RELATED: Study Suggests Psychedelics May Help With Healing Childhood Trauma
Interested? Check out these Psychedelic Therapy Clinic Spotlights:
The Scottsdale Ketamine Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona
Alleviant Health Centers of Little Rock
Arizona Ketamine Treatment and Research Institute
Lotus Infusions Ketamine Clinic in Gilbert, Arizona
Ketamine Integrative Medicine in Gilbert, Arizona
Focused Infusion Therapy in Wickenburg, Arizona
Rena Ferguson MD – Port Jefferson, New York
Stony Brook Psychiatric – Stony Brook, New York
Advanced Ketamine Associates in Indian Wells, California
Silo Wellness Ultimate Pride and Love – Costa Rica
Serenity Mental Health – Lakewood, Colorado
