Mental health is changing, and so is the movement to find different ways to promote good emotional health.
In terms of new mental health trends, one has continued to receive quite a bit of buzz in recent years: psilocybin.
It’s known to provide some rather psychedelic experiences, but the discussion around psilocybin today has more to do with its possible impact on mood, cognition, and mental health. While we are still in the early stages of understanding how this can best be applied to mental health care, early research is generating some excitement around the potential for this to be used in concert with psychological care for some conditions.
How Psilocybin May Affect Mental Health
The body converts psilocybin to psilocin, which interacts with serotonin receptors in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood, perception, and other functions.
Another fascinating effect of psilocybin is that it can “disrupt” the regular patterns of activity in the brain. Researchers think this might promote more flexible thinking and encourage people to break away from deeply ingrained patterns of thought. In the mind of someone with depression, this might, in theory, create the “space” to think about their feelings and thoughts in a new way.
It’s not just about making people feel better, necessarily, though. If some people in the course of a psychedelic experience feel a sense of oneness, connectedness, and openness and make a sincere commitment to change, and these are experiences that could be integrated with psychological support and post-integration, etc, then it may be of some use.
What Does the Evidence Suggest?
The biggest buzz so far has been about depression. Clinical trials have shown that depression can be greatly reduced after psilocybin treatment, especially if people also receive psychological support. And in some cases, improvements can come on quite quickly and last several weeks.
Researchers are also asking whether psilocybin can help with something called “existential anxiety,” a sense of despair or dread when considering a future of inescapable suffering. But the results are mixed, and plenty of questions still linger about who is most likely to respond, how long the effects last, and how much psilocybin to give people.
But the difference here is, in fact, immense. Psilocybin isn’t a mental health cure-all, and it’s not without risks. Like antidepressants and other anxiety treatments, it can produce anxiety, panic, nausea, increased heart rate, disorientation, and paranoia. And those risks go up if you take psilocybin in an uncontrolled setting without the proper psychological support.
Why Set and Setting Matter
The ambiance surrounding a psychedelic experience can play a considerable role in shaping the experience itself. Factors like preparation, mental set, professional guidance, and integration are crucial to keep in mind.
For those looking to test the waters in this space, a psychedelic retreat will provide a guided framework encompassing the necessary preparation, the initial experience, and decompression in the aftermath. Alongside this, anyone looking to explore psilocybin should reach out to a certified medical professional. This is a must, especially for anyone undergoing treatment with existing psychological conditions and/or is on medication.
Psilocybin presents a tantalizing prospect in the wider inquiry into mental health. It’s not just the nature of the psychedelic experience, but the considered, judicious exploration and the direction it can receive with the correct coupling of psychosocial therapy, introspection and nurturing support.
