Psychedelic Mushrooms Could Help Treat Mental Illness

[Blackwell Stith]

Psychedelic Mushrooms Could Help Treat Mental Illness



Certain species of mushrooms could be used to treat health conditions like anxiety and depression in the near future.

A mind altering chemical compound found in some 200 species of mushroom is being investigated as a potential treatment for depression and anxiety. People who consume these mushrooms report feeling more optimistic, less self-centered, and even happier for months after their experiences, which can be a bit scary and unpleasant.

According to a study published on July 3rd in a scientific journal titled Human Brain Mapping, the mushroom compounds could be unlocking brain states usually only experienced when people dream. These states change mental activity that could help unlock permanent shifts in a person's perspective.

The study explored brain functionality in those who had received injections of psilocybin, the compound which gives certain mushrooms a psychedelic effect. After being injected, the 15 participants were found to have increased brain function in areas associated with emotion and memory. This research is the first to attempt to relate the behavioral effects to biological changes.

Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, researcher in neuropsychopharmacology and co-author of the study, felt as though the brain state induced by psilocybin was extremely similar to a brain while in dream sleep. "You're seeing these areas getting louder, and more active," he said. "It's like someone's turned up the volume there, in these regions that are considered part of an emotional system in the brain. When you look at a brain during dream sleep, you see the same hyperactive emotion centers."

Carhart-Harris believes that psilocybin may unlock emotion while inhibiting our ego, allowing users to be more open minded and focus on positive outlooks. He hopes to see more of these compounds in modern medicine. "The way we treat psychological illnesses now is to dampen things," he said. "We dampen anxiety, dampen one's emotional range in the hope of curing depression, taking the sting out of what one feels."

Give us your opinion in the comments below!

Source: The Washington Post

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[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Wait... Are you fucking serious? Tripping may actually help my bipolar/schizoaffective disorder dampen a bit? Really? Nnnnnnnnnot that I'd know anything about that, but thats interesting.

 

[Macsen Wledig]

Wait... Are you fucking serious? Tripping may actually help my bipolar/schizoaffective disorder dampen a bit? Really? Nnnnnnnnnot that I'd know anything about that, but thats interesting.

The idea has been around since the 50's and probably longer. If it wasn't for societies backwards and irrational approach to drug then we would probably know a lot more about these types of things.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Wait... Are you fucking serious? Tripping may actually help my bipolar/schizoaffective disorder dampen a bit? Really? Nnnnnnnnnot that I'd know anything about that, but thats interesting.

The idea has been around since the 50's and probably longer. If it wasn't for societies backwards and irrational approach to drug then we would probably know a lot more about these types of things.

Well, stuff like ecstasy was developed by psychiatrists to help couples open up to each other so I wouldn't say society is so backwards on it, just that the potential for abuse is high (no pun intended) and whatnot. Erring on the side of caution, but yeah there is some laws that aren't laws because they protect citizens but rather certain other folks interests.

 

[nathan-dts]

I want it.
I'm sure many others like myself would kill for a quick fix to our mental health issues, like this. Get it tested and roll it out; I'm sure they'll have done long term mushroom effect testing, already so this shouldn't take a huge amount of time.

 

[Vivi22]

Wait... Are you fucking serious? Tripping may actually help my bipolar/schizoaffective disorder dampen a bit? Really? Nnnnnnnnnot that I'd know anything about that, but thats interesting.

The idea has been around since the 50's and probably longer. If it wasn't for societies backwards and irrational approach to drug then we would probably know a lot more about these types of things.

And if it does prove beneficial, rather than just letting people obtain some damn mushrooms and publish guidelines on about how much to try using and with what frequency, companies will spend millions turning them into a pill people can take instead, and that will probably stay legal while the government keeps the mushrooms illegal.

Because capitalism!

 

[Raggedstar]

The same chemical with controlled trips with have also been used for people with terminal illness to come to terms and reduce anxiety towards death in a study. The effects of one trip, like listed in the article, often lasted for the long term and changed the general sense of well-being in the patient. It's not something that comes without risk, but considering other meds used to treat mental illness like clinical anxiety and depression can bugger you up too, I don't see why this shouldn't be a worthy area of scientific research and not get tied up in the so-called "war on drugs".

So yay science!

 

[The Great JT]

My first thought was:

My second, "forward glorious science!" I'm glad to see that things like this are being looked at and people are thinking, "I wonder if there's a medicinal use we can find for this." I look forward to seeing what shakes out of this.

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

Psylocybin has the same general function as DMT, and DMT is structurally like serotonin. To be honest, the link between these substances and their benefits for mental illness is nothing new - the stiffs just haven't shown much interest in studying it because of the government's stance on DMT (in the U.S. anyway). Conspiracy theorists allege that these studies have been actively repressed by Big Pharma so that they can keep peddling the same profit-boosting drugs that mildly mitigate symptoms rather than ones that might break through mood disorders in any meaningful fashion.

There was a GREAT National Geographic article in March 2006 about how an ayahuasca ceremony practically cured the author of depression. It's worth a read if you want a more personal account of what the article at the top of this thread hints at, since DMT is the active element in ayahuasca, and therefore similar in function to psylocybin. I originally found this NatGeo article about a year ago when I was planning on making that same trip to Peru, just to see if ayahuasca really worked for depression and biploar disorder (both of which I've suffered from since I was about 8 years old).

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0603/features/peru.html

Also, if you have Netflix or Hulu Plus (it's not on Amazon Prime) you can watch a documentary called DMT: The Spirit Molecule that goes into further detail about these substances and their effects.

 

[Macsen Wledig]

Wait... Are you fucking serious? Tripping may actually help my bipolar/schizoaffective disorder dampen a bit? Really? Nnnnnnnnnot that I'd know anything about that, but thats interesting.

The idea has been around since the 50's and probably longer. If it wasn't for societies backwards and irrational approach to drug then we would probably know a lot more about these types of things.

And if it does prove beneficial, rather than just letting people obtain some damn mushrooms and publish guidelines on about how much to try using and with what frequency, companies will spend millions turning them into a pill people can take instead, and that will probably stay legal while the government keeps the mushrooms illegal.

Because capitalism!

Mushrooms haven't been illegal that long, (not in the UK at least.) I remember a time when you could walk into a shop and buy 50g of magic mushrooms, but yeah, I have no love for this inefficient and outdated system we call capitalism.

Wait... Are you fucking serious? Tripping may actually help my bipolar/schizoaffective disorder dampen a bit? Really? Nnnnnnnnnot that I'd know anything about that, but thats interesting.

The idea has been around since the 50's and probably longer. If it wasn't for societies backwards and irrational approach to drug then we would probably know a lot more about these types of things.

Well, stuff like ecstasy was developed by psychiatrists to help couples open up to each other so I wouldn't say society is so backwards on it, just that the potential for abuse is high (no pun intended) and whatnot. Erring on the side of caution, but yeah there is some laws that aren't laws because they protect citizens but rather certain other folks interests.

I've also heard that research has been done with MDMA as a possible treatment for PTSD.

 

[Nurb]

I've had issues with depression most of my life, but doubley so after the cancer and have been wanting to try SOMETHING like this for a while because nearly a dozen anti-depressants haven't worked for me.

But of course it won't happen because the government took years to just consider "MEDICINAL" marijuana so shrooms and acid are at least 20 years away, and I'm not cool enough to have any sources for either of those things so my luck attempting to aquire them would get me tossed in jail regardless of my current health complications (from the aforementioned cancer) because the government likes creating inmates more than it does creating rational drug policy... OR end up with bad quality versions and get sick.

Man fuck my point in time. HARUMPH I say.

 

[Macsen Wledig]

I've had issues with depression most of my life, but doubley so after the cancer and have been wanting to try SOMETHING like this for a while because nearly a dozen anti-depressants haven't worked for me.

But of course it won't happen because the government took years to just consider "MEDICINAL" marijuana so shrooms and acid are at least 20 years away, and I'm not cool enough to have any sources for either of those things so my luck attempting to aquire them would get me tossed in jail regardless of my current health complications (from the aforementioned cancer) because the government likes creating inmates more than it does creating rational drug policy... OR end up with bad quality versions and get sick.

Man fuck my point in time. HARUMPH I say.

You know that psilocybin mushrooms grow in the wild? Not that you should go out and pick them because picking any kind of mushroom can be extremely dangerous if you don't know what you are doing or looking for but certain retailers will stock(non-psilocybin) mushrooms for culinary purposes which will also happen to be psychoactive if not prepared properly such as Amanita muscaria.

 

[Nurb]

I've had issues with depression most of my life, but doubley so after the cancer and have been wanting to try SOMETHING like this for a while because nearly a dozen anti-depressants haven't worked for me.

But of course it won't happen because the government took years to just consider "MEDICINAL" marijuana so shrooms and acid are at least 20 years away, and I'm not cool enough to have any sources for either of those things so my luck attempting to aquire them would get me tossed in jail regardless of my current health complications (from the aforementioned cancer) because the government likes creating inmates more than it does creating rational drug policy... OR end up with bad quality versions and get sick.

Man fuck my point in time. HARUMPH I say.

You know that psilocybin mushrooms grow in the wild? Not that you should go out and pick them because picking any kind of mushroom can be extremely dangerous if you don't know what you are doing or looking for but certain retailers will stock mushrooms for culinary purposes which will also happen to be psychoactive if not prepared properly such as Amanita muscaria.

Again with my luck, I'd either kill myself by picking the wrong mushroom or buy the right one from a culinary source but screw it up by preparing a delicious meal with it.

 

[Macsen Wledig]

I've had issues with depression most of my life, but doubley so after the cancer and have been wanting to try SOMETHING like this for a while because nearly a dozen anti-depressants haven't worked for me.

But of course it won't happen because the government took years to just consider "MEDICINAL" marijuana so shrooms and acid are at least 20 years away, and I'm not cool enough to have any sources for either of those things so my luck attempting to aquire them would get me tossed in jail regardless of my current health complications (from the aforementioned cancer) because the government likes creating inmates more than it does creating rational drug policy... OR end up with bad quality versions and get sick.

Man fuck my point in time. HARUMPH I say.

You know that psilocybin mushrooms grow in the wild? Not that you should go out and pick them because picking any kind of mushroom can be extremely dangerous if you don't know what you are doing or looking for but certain retailers will stock mushrooms for culinary purposes which will also happen to be psychoactive if not prepared properly such as Amanita muscaria.

Again with my luck, I'd either kill myself by picking the wrong mushroom or buy the right one from a culinary source but screw it up by preparing a delicious meal with it.

I'm just trying to ease your despair by pointing out that there are (legal & safe) options and a delicious meal doesn't sound too bad.

 

[Nurb]

I've had issues with depression most of my life, but doubley so after the cancer and have been wanting to try SOMETHING like this for a while because nearly a dozen anti-depressants haven't worked for me.

But of course it won't happen because the government took years to just consider "MEDICINAL" marijuana so shrooms and acid are at least 20 years away, and I'm not cool enough to have any sources for either of those things so my luck attempting to aquire them would get me tossed in jail regardless of my current health complications (from the aforementioned cancer) because the government likes creating inmates more than it does creating rational drug policy... OR end up with bad quality versions and get sick.

Man fuck my point in time. HARUMPH I say.

You know that psilocybin mushrooms grow in the wild? Not that you should go out and pick them because picking any kind of mushroom can be extremely dangerous if you don't know what you are doing or looking for but certain retailers will stock mushrooms for culinary purposes which will also happen to be psychoactive if not prepared properly such as Amanita muscaria.

Again with my luck, I'd either kill myself by picking the wrong mushroom or buy the right one from a culinary source but screw it up by preparing a delicious meal with it.

I'm just trying to ease your despair by pointing out that there are (legal & safe) options and a delicious meal doesn't sound too bad.

I know, thanks, just cracking a joke.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Got depression? No problem, take these brain erasing pills with some vokda

Or you could take harmless shrooms, like your ancestors did

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

At least this sort of knowledge is slowly getting more official light. Scientists and hippies (often the same entity) have been trying to tell us this for decades. Also, the potential for MDMA in regards to helping various troubled psychological situations; is understated at best. In fact a few years ago, my informal experimenting had very surprising results with shifting my: at the time, chronically depressed mind, to a much more positive view on everything. It doesn't feel an exaggeration to say im pretty sure that saved a fair bit of my life. Though in more controlled circumstances, it could have far greater results.

 

[Strazdas]

Got depression? No problem, take these brain erasing pills with some vokda

Or you could take harmless shrooms, like your ancestors did

you mean the ancestors that had average living age of 20-30 years? sorry, od rather take brain erasers. or better yet - actually try to cure depression by psichological help rather than destroying brain chemistry.