Psilocybin was used all over the world for spiritual practices long before this substance began to be utilized in the medical sphere. According to recent studies, magic mushrooms have the potential to treat depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and addiction. But no matter how promising the power of psilocybin is, its illegality remains the main challenge on the way to widely implementing this compound into patient treatments. In this article, we’ll discuss for what medical purposes psychedelic medicine is used.
The potential power of psychedelics
1. Depression treatment
Using psychedelics to treat depression tends to ease its symptoms in people without severe disorders. According to the 2021 study involving 164 participants, people who have mental health conditions and experienced the psychedelic trip reported reducing stress, anxiety, and depression states. However, the primary concern of such studies is that they are based on self-reporting. This doesn’t prove the actual action of psychedelics for curing mental health disorders but suggests that psychedelic substances might improve such conditions.
Another 2017 study investigated the action of psilocybin towards 20 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Participants take two doses of psilocybin every seven days within six months. A study has shown that four patients had depression in remission while the other nine had responded to the appropriate depression treatment.
2. Addiction treatment
Since psilocybin was investigated to treat mental health symptoms, it can also help people quit bad habits as they come with mental health conditions together. For instance, a 2015 study incorporated 10 participants who suffer from alcohol addiction. They were required to pass psilocybin therapy in combination with motivational enhancement therapy.
After four weeks, there were significant improvements in their alcohol addiction, while people who reported profound psychedelic experiences were prone to quit drinking faster. Additionally, some studies discover psilocybin as the treatment for nicotine addiction. A 2016 study involved 15 participants and required them to pass cognitive-behavioral and psilocybin therapies together. The results appear relatively promising – 67% of people quit smoking in a year.
3. PTSD healing
Psychedelics and trauma have been a point of interest for multiple scientists over the recent years. Hallucinogenic drugs, like psilocybin, can potentially treat conditions associated with post-traumatic stress disorders, although studies` results come different. One study in 2020 incorporated male participants who felt quite demoralized and confused.
Volunteers were required to take one dose of psilocybin and attend 10 group therapies. After three months, symptoms of demoralization were significantly reduced in people within research. Apart from that, some recent studies have found that chemical psilocybin can aggrieve the emotional response in patients that they have to the source of the traumatic experience.
Psilocybin therapy can also affect human self-empathy that appears an integral part of curing post-traumatic stress disorder. Still, more official research is needed to prove the actual action of psilocybin for patients with PTSD.