Monthly Archives: May 2017

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Depression is challenging to manage, especially since many antidepressants can take weeks to work and simply fail for nearly one-third of sufferers. New research presented in April at the Psychedelic Science 2017 conference in Oakland, California, suggests psychedelic drugs can help people battling depression and other psychiatric disorders that defy conventional therapies.

Drulio Barros de Arajo, a neuroscientist at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, presented new findings from a study that used ayahuasca a hallucinogenic brew of bark and leaves that groups indigenous to the Amazon use in healing ceremonies to help treat depression. (The study hasnt been peer-reviewed yet but is available here.)

In a 2015 pilot study, Arajo and his team showed that one dose of ayahuasca (between roughly four to seven ounces) quickly alleviated depression in six Brazilian volunteers without serious side effects. Encouraged by these results, he repeated the study in 2016 with 17 volunteers. Again, participants tolerated the psychedelic concoction and experienced relief that lasted throughout the 21-day trial.

But, Arajo says, The main problem with these studies is that we didnt control for the placebo. In drug trials, a placebo is a sham substance with no active ingredients. Researchers use it to suss out the effects of the drug theyre testing from a persons expectation that taking a pill will help them. Controlling for this placebo effect is especially important in depression trials, since studies show up to 40 percent of patients respond to a placebo, though that effect is short-lived.

Ayahuasca before it is cooked and served as a tea. (Credit: Terpsichore/Shutterstock)

So he designed a placebo-controlled study for 35 volunteers whod tried at least two different conventional antidepressants to no avail. They were randomly assigned to receive either a single dose of ayahuasca or the placebo, an inert brown, bitter brew that looked and tasted like ayahuasca. Neither investigators nor patients knew who got what.

People in both groups started feeling better the next day. But a week later, the difference between the two groups became apparent: those who took ayahuasca experienced a substantial drop in the severity of their depression.

Another study presented at the conference, led by Leor Roseman, a doctoral neuroscience student at Imperial College London, reported similar results using psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound in magic mushrooms.

In Rosemans study, also yet-to-be published, 20 volunteers with treatment-resistant depression received two doses spaced a week apart. The first dose was a teaser to prepare them for the main event a second dose large enough to produce a strong psychedelic experience.

During their clinically induced trips, participants listened to music with their eyes covered to facilitate introspection, while two therapists recorded the participants experience. Of the 19 people who completed the study, most showed dramatic improvements up to a week after the sessions. Their gains persisted for about five weeks, at which point some people continued to improve while some got worse.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University (not associated with the current study) create a comfortable environment during a therapy session using psychedelics. (Credit: Matthew W. Johnson/Wikemedia Commons)

So what was the difference between those who responded well and those who didnt? The intensity of a persons peak experience, Roseman says. This so-called peak experience is associated with several psychological states, including a sense of unity and dissolution of self, positive mood and insight. The more intense the peak (and the more intense these psychological states), the more improvement people experienced.

Collectively, these findings offer a glimpse into the potential of psychedelics. Unlike conventional medications, which tend to dampen positive emotions along with the negative, psychedelics like ayahuasca and psilocybin intensify both the good and bad. This helps people work through their painful memories with a therapist in ways they couldnt before. Its psychedelic drugs power to produce a profound psychological experience, researchers hope, that will put patients on the path to lasting recovery.

See more here:

Psychedelics Show Promise in Treating Depression - Discover Magazine (blog)

Men's Health

Can Psychedelic Drugs Treat Anxiety and Depression? Men's Health Researchers have experimented with the potentially palliative effects of psychedelics since at least the 1940s, when the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann began experimenting with lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which he'd synthesized a few years earlier.

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Can Psychedelic Drugs Treat Anxiety and Depression? - Men's Health

Syd Barrett is one of the most tragic stories in rock and roll. As the founder and lead singer/guitarist/songwriter for Pink Floyd, he revolutionized rock and roll and spearheaded the burgeoning psychedelic sound of the 1960s. However, shortly after the release of the bands 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, something changed. Barretts friends and bandmates claim he became more withdrawn, started playing only one chord during concerts, and even becoming catatonic. After Floyd replaced him with David Gilmour, Barrett recorded two solo albums and then left the limelight altogether until his death in 2006. Most people believe his excessive LSD consumption led to Barretts demise, but recent studies suggest psychedelics can perhaps improve mental health, not ruin it.

The most recent study comes from Brazil and tested the effects of a hallucinogen called ayahuasca on people with treatment-resistant depression. Fourteen people were given the hallucinogen while 15 people received a placebo. Within one week, more people who took ayahuasca claimed their depression went from severe to mild than those who took the placebo. Of course, as David Mischoulon of MassachusettsGeneral Hospital points out, we need studies that follow patients for longer periods to see whether these effects are sustained. However other studies that examined the effect of psychedelics on mental health found similar results.

In a study published in 2016, researches from the New York University School of Medicine gave psilocybin to cancer patients along with psychotherapy to see what effect it would have on anxiety and depression. The double-blind study gave some of the 29 participants 0.3 mg of the hallucinogen while others received 250 mg of niacin, then switched after seven weeks. The results found that psilocybin reduced the level of anxiety and depression better than the niacin.

As far as psychedelic drug usage and psychosis, two studies from 2015 found no link between the two. The first comes from Norwegian clinical psychologists Pl-rjan Johansen and Teri Suzanne Krebs who shifted through National Survey on Drug Use and Health results from 2001 to 2004. Out of the 130,152 respondents, 13.4 percent said they used psychedelics during their lifetimes. After examining the mental health histories of these respondents and calculating weighted odd ratios, the authors concluded, We did not find use of psychedelics to be an independent risk factor for mental health problems. The second study comes from the Journal of Psychopharmacology which also took a look at National Survey on Drug Use and Health results, only this time between 2008 and 2012. The results for a general decrease of suicidal ideation and severe mental distress were significantly less among lifetime psychedelic usage than other hard drugs. These findings indicate, the report concludes, that classic psychedelics may hold promise in the prevention of suicide, supporting the view that classic psychedelics most highly restricted legal status should be reconsidered to facilitate scientific study, and suggesting that more extensive clinical research with classic psychedelics is warranted.

So what happened to Syd Barrett? How did such a promising young talent end up with a look in [his] eyes like black holes in the sky? While no one can posthumously diagnose Barrett, the current hypothesis is he already had a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia and the drugs brought it out of him. As former Floyd bassist Roger Waters told the BBC in 2013, It felt to me at the time that Syd was kind of drifting off the rails, and when youre drifting off the rails the worst thing you can do is start messing around with hallucinogens It definitely exacerbated the symptoms that, loosely strung together, you and I might call schizophrenia. He heard voices. He became incommunicative. He turned into a different person; [his eyes] were black holes in the sky.

The same has been said of another so-called acid casualty in rock and roll, Roky Ericksonfrom the 13th Floor Elevators who, according to the documentary Youre Gonna Miss Me, starting speaking gibberish during the height of the bands popularity. Theres also Daniel Johnstonwho always struggled with bipolar disorder, but soon became obsessed with the end times after taking acid during a Butthole Surfers show.

Like with most drugs, it is safe to assume that when it comes to psychedelics, results may vary. This is why Richard Friedman recently wrote an op-ed for the New York Times reminding readers that we dont know how safe or effective psychedelics are because most of the data have been anecdotal or from small trials. However, at this point the evidence suggests that psychedelics can help people with depression and anxiety, but not psychosis, so if you have a family history of schizophrenia, better lay off the acid for now.

Trav Mamone is a queer trans blogger who write about the intersections of social justice and secular humanism at Bi Any Means. They also host the Bi Any Means Podcast and co-host the Biskeptical Podcast.

More:

Was Syd Barrett an Acid Casualty? - Paste Magazine

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As anyone whos suffered from depression knows, finding a treatment that works whether that be therapy, medication, or a combination of the two is an arduous process that often feels just as bad as the symptoms of the disorder itself. In short: Depression sucks and the treatments we currently have arent nearly as perfect as commercials for Zoloft would have you believe. But theres some good news: We now have evidence that psychedelic substances including ayahuasca and magic mushrooms may hold the key to alleviating the symptoms.

Discover Magazine reports that at the recently-held Psychedelic Science conference, two studies provided significant evidence that taking a drug-induced trip into ones mind may hold the key to relieving those living with depression of their symptoms. The first study, conducted in Brazil, was a follow-up to a 2015 study investigating whether ayahuasca could mitigate the effects of depression long term. While the original study was promising, its author noted that a major problem was the lack of a placebo. And because all participants received an actual dose of the substance, it was impossible to tell who was benefitting from the treatment and who was just feeling better because they believed they were.

The new study changed that. In fact, all 35 people involved in the study (all of whom had tried two or more traditional medications), were reported to feel better the next day, regardless of whether they took actual ayahuasca or an inert bitter brew that not only tasted bad but also did absolutely nothing.

To try ayahuasca, though, you might need to travel outside of the United States and stay at an expensive lodge. Plus, there are some unpleasant effects that the folk remedy brings out, including vomit lots and lots of vomit. You want to make a depressed person even more depressed? Tell them that the best medicine (not laughter) could involve them puking their guts out for hours and see how they feel. (Source: personal experience after being told this.) So what to try instead? Well, magic mushrooms could be the answer that you seek.

Wait, though! Before you start scrolling through your phone to figure out which of your college friends is granola enough to go on regular head trips, it must be understood that for the trip to alleviate depression, it must be structured in a certain way. Leor Roseman, a doctoral candidate in the neuroscience department at Imperial College London and author of the study, administered magic mushrooms twice to each participant. The first time was a teaser, Discover reports. The second time? A full-blown trip.

From Discover:

During their clinically induced trips, participants listened to music with their eyes covered to facilitate introspection, while two therapists recorded the participants experience. Of the 19 people who completed the study, most showed dramatic improvements up to a week after the sessions. Their gains persisted for about five weeks, at which point some people continued to improve while some got worse.

Of course, this is only the beginning, and, in several years, well probably be much closer to figuring out if and how psychedelics are truly the answer. For now, though, these studies are an excellent reminder that if you suffer from depression, more help could soon be on the way.

See the article here:

'Tripping Balls' May Be The Next Great Treatment For Depression - UPROXX

Photo: Dixie Sheridan, The Marsh

Adam Strauss in The Mushroom Cure at the Marsh.

Adam Strauss in The Mushroom Cure at the Marsh.

Psychedelics combat psychological issues at the Marsh

If you suffer from OCD or know someone who does, the portrait of the disease that Adam Strauss paints in his solo show The Mushroom Cure will ring all too true. Even trivial decisions are impossible, so paralyzing as to imperil ones career and love life, not to mention ones happiness. Treatments? Hed tried them all: medication, psychotherapy, yoga, acupuncture, even hypnotism.

Except hallucinogenic mushrooms.

After acclaimed runs at the New York Fringe and off-Broadway, Strauss account of his unusual OCD treatment is now in previews at the Marsh, under the direction of Jonathan Libman.

Even though OCD is a mind-numbing condition, and Strauss doesnt shy away from that, his script reads like stand-up comedy, which is part of his background. Despite all this effort spent on picking the right shirt, he says at one point, I still havent found the right woman.

Lily Janiak

The Mushroom Cure: 8 p.m. Friday, May 5; 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6. Through June 3. $20-$100. The Marsh, 1062 Valencia St., S.F. (415) 282-3055. http://www.themarsh.org

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Psychedelics combat psychological issues at the Marsh - SFGate