Psychedelic enthusiasts are in for a treat. Never before—with the 1950s perhaps being the exception—has there been so much research into the mind-expanding substances that some of us love so much. For example, it was announced today that PTSD patients will be treated with MDMA, but magic mushrooms were also back in the spotlight. In what context? We’ll tell you all about it, of course!
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Mindfulness meditation
As you know by now, there has been a strong resurgence of interest in recent years in the clinical application of psychedelics for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now shown that mindfulness meditation could significantly enhance the positive long-term effects of a single dose of psilocybin.
It has long been known that hallucinogens such as LSD or psilocybin—the active ingredient in magic mushrooms and, of course, our magic truffles—can alter your visual, auditory, and emotional perception. "The boundaries between the ‘self’ and the world begin to dissolve, and feelings of bliss and oneness are evoked," researchers at the University Hospital of Psychiatry in Zurich wrote in a statement on Thursday.
‘Self-transcendence’
“Such experiences of self-transcendence and reduced self-focus are comparable to those induced by mindfulness meditation. They can reduce stress, evoke feelings of lasting happiness, and increase empathy and altruism.” Altruism, also known as selflessness, is the opposite of selfishness, a personality trait often viewed negatively.
The scientists have now investigated for the first time the potential synergistic effects of combining mindfulness meditation and psilocybin. To do this, they recruited 40 meditation experts who participated in a five-day mindfulness retreat. In the double-blind study, participants were administered either a single dose of psilocybin or a placebo on the fourth day of the group retreat.
The researchers were able to demonstrate that mindfulness meditation enhanced the positive effects of psilocybin while counteracting potential “dysphoric reactions” to the psychedelic experience. This refers to feelings of gloom or irritability. "Psilocybin significantly increased the incidence and intensity of self-transcendence without inducing anxiety compared to participants who received the placebo," says author Lukasz Smigielski, who led the study alongside Franz Vollenweider.
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Beneficial effects after four months
But it didn’t stop there. Even at the follow-up, which took place four months later, it was found that the meditation experts who had received psilocybin showed more beneficial changes in psychosocial functioning, self-acceptance, and empathy than the placebo control group. “Our findings shed light on the interaction between pharmacological and non-pharmacological factors in psychedelic states of mind,” says Vollenweider.
“They indicate that mindfulness training enhances the positive effects of a single dose of psilocybin and can increase empathy and permanently reduce egocentrism. This opens up new therapeutic avenues, for example for the treatment of depression, which is often accompanied by increased self-focus and social deficits.”
