A psychedelic substance is just a psychoactive drug that has the capacity to alter cognition and perception in an individual. It has been a matter of debate for quite a while a psychedelic substance could cause the onset of mental illness in an addict. In reality, psychiatrists are prejudiced against the usage of psychedelic drugs blaming its use for causing mental illnesses and developing suicidal tendencies. However, according to a brand new study, there’s no correlation between psychedelic drug use and mental illness.
The authors of the study argue that the potential harms associated with one of these drugs are negligible and psychedelic drugs don’t cause addiction or compulsive use. It says that only 0.005 percent of emergency department visits in the United States are connected to psychedelic drugs. In line with the researchers, even yet in countries such as the Netherlands, where psilocybin (a psychedelic drug) mushrooms are widely available and used, the rates of serious injuries linked to a drug are quite low.
The methodology
The analysis done by Johansen and Krebs used the annual data from National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which compiles figures linked to substance psychedelic mushroom chocolate bars available California use and mental health from the random sample that’s representative of the U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population. The researchers collated data from respondents who were 18 years and older from survey years 2008-2011.
The investigators studied an example comprising of 135,095 respondents, of whom 19,299 reported lifetime utilization of a psychedelic substance, including LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, or peyote. These were all classic cases of serotonergic psychedelics. The authors then investigated 11 self-reported indicators of past year mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, and suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts.
The psychedelic users were found to be younger, male, white, unmarried, susceptible to carry out risky activities, and to own used other drugs. They are even more likely to report depression before the age of 18. Childhood depression, thought the researchers, could be the reason why respondents tried psychedelic drugs. The analysis discovered that lifetime utilization of psychedelic substances wasn’t related to any mental health problems. On the contrary, the lifetime psychedelic use was associated with a lower likelihood of past year inpatient mental health treatment in them.
But individuals with severe cases of addiction from drugs need to go for detox, as its negative impacts from long-term abuse are much like some other substance of abuse. Those looking for drug addiction treatment centers can choose from a number of treatment centers spread across the state.
Key takeaways
The analysis debunked several myths from days gone by and concluded that psychedelic drugs don’t cause mental illness themselves. For instance, in the past, especially in the sixties, using psychedelic drugs was related to “flashbacks” among addicts. But the authors said that individuals who allegedly experienced so-called flashbacks were actually diagnosed with schizophrenia and these were already obsessing about their drug experience.