In recent years, there has been a significant growth in interest and research around the use of psychedelics for treating various mental health conditions. Among these substances, psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, stands out for its promising potential in the treatment of depression. Why could magic mushrooms be a game changer in mental health therapies? What neurological effects do they have? How do they contribute to therapeutic benefits? And what safety considerations should be taken into account?
Why magic mushrooms for depression?
From what we have learned, the biggest difference between traditional antidepressants and psychedelic-based therapy is in the way they help the client. Traditional antidepressants help to feel less bad about yourself and your life, and sometimes even feel joy again. They try to take the symptoms of depression away. This gives the possibility to change patterns but throws in the danger of long-term dependency, and a fair chance of the depression coming back when you stop using the antidepressant.
Psychedelics work differently. They help you to face your depression, help you to look through it, and be able to momentarily understand that you are in essence, always totally okay. Understand that these insides are not cognitive insights, but bodily insights. You actually feel they are 100% true. Psychedelic aims for the root of the depression. From a neurological perspective psilocybin, the active component in psychedelic mushrooms has been shown to influence cognition and the subconscious, helping individuals break free from restrictive patterns of thought. In patients with depression, repetitive and circulative thinking patterns can significantly impair daily functioning and overall well-being.
We have experienced ourselves, and have seen with the people we guide, how magic mushrooms aid in making negative patterns visible. This allows for better recognition, which is the first step in changing behaviour. Current research is confirming these observations (1). We see that a psychedelic experience helps to not only see the unserving patterns more clearly, but that the egoless state also allows us to change our underlying beliefs with regards to these patterns. For example, someone who feels disconnected from others might discover that they have always held back because they are afraid to fully connect, because they have a fear of being rejected. During the psychedelic experience, they ‘feel’ they are good enough and are able to let go of that fear. Not just by thinking, as we do so often, but by feeling this with the entirety of their body and even beyond.
Also, the concept of neuroplasticity is crucial here; psilocybin can stimulate the brain's ability to create new connections. Our brain likes to follow existing connections. And the ones we follow most become most strong. A psychedelic experience allows us to reorganise these connections and create new ones. So there are new insights, which we ‘feel’ are very true, neurologically the brain actually can make new connections to help ‘store’ these new insights and create lasting change. To help these new connections to become strong, and actually change the thought patterns and behaviour based on the old routes, asks for a well-planned and guided integration.
What are the benefits of magic mushrooms for depression?
Magic Mushrooms can be beneficial for treating depression, addictions, anxiety, PTSD, and burnout. The list is long and is only increasing over time. And while scientists understand the neurological effects to a certain degree, they are still torn about how it works exactly. This is partly because psychedelics influence consciousness and even current research with all its tools and techniques still can’t truly explain the basic nature of consciousness.
Our observation is that magic mushrooms treat depression by connecting with the subconscious, facing the depression at its root. Depression is about feelings and the negative thinking patterns come in later. Regular therapy often works via cognition - we talk to a therapist and with our ‘thinking brain’, we gain a better understanding of the patterns that are not serving us, how these came about (past trauma) and what we should be doing differently. The challenge here is that, while we now understand the issue, our old habits, beliefs and values are still stored deep down in our subconscious. If you don’t change those, there won’t be a change. Research can measure how magic mushrooms tune down the cognitive parts of our brain, which allows us to connect with the subconscious, and our deeper beliefs and values. Without the daily ‘voice in our heads’ forming an opinion about it. This allows us to make changes on a deeper level. Hence, we are making changes at the core of our being which makes it much more powerful.
How much magic mushrooms for depression?
Dosage is an extremely important factor in any psychedelic experience. Research has shown that a higher dose usually leads to more effectiveness in battling depression. However, we see that too high a dose will lead to people not being able to fully remember what they experienced. Secondly, too high a dose and people will become so egoless that they don't even feel they exist anymore, which makes it hard to work on un-serving patterns. So we want to find the sweet spot for each individual.
It is important to note here that psychedelics, unlike almost all other substances, cannot be dosed based on body weight. Each individual reacts differently to a dose. During the preparation process, we use a breathwork session to define how easily people can ‘let go’ and ‘dive in’. This has been an excellent indicator for us to define dosage. Secondly, we always make use of a booster-schedule. Meaning that we start off with a medium dose and after an hour, we decide together if it makes sense to dive in deeper and take a bit more.
Is it dangerous to take magic mushrooms for depression?
Research is very clear on the fact that the toxicity of psychedelics is extremely low (2). However, it is not without risks. Here are some factors to take into consideration:
- Psychological Effects: Psychedelics can cause intense changes in thoughts, emotions, and perceptions that can be overwhelming, particularly for those who are not prepared or are in an unsupportive environment. Without the right supervision, environment and mindset, individuals may experience anxiety, paranoia, or a disorienting experience known as a "bad trip."
- Mental Health Risks: Individuals with a personal or family history of psychiatric disorders, particularly psychosis, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, may be at risk of psychological disturbance. Those who are using antidepressants should also not use psychedelics as they are working on the same receptors on the brain and insufficient knowledge is available on how the two interact.
- Physical Safety: While psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD are not considered toxic and are unlikely to cause physical harm in healthy individuals, their altered state of consciousness can impair judgement and motor skills, leading to accidents or unsafe behaviours.
- Legal Issues: The legal status of psychedelics varies by country and, in many places, possessing, using, or distributing these substances can lead to legal consequences.
- Dependency and Abuse: Although psychedelics are generally not considered addictive in the same way as other drugs like opioids or stimulants, they can still be misused, and individuals may develop an unhealthy pattern of use.
For the full list of contra-indications for magic mushrooms, please see our Participant Agreement
1 https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/2022/02/psilocybin-treatment-for-major-depression-effective-for-up-to-a-year-for-most-patients-study-shows
2 https://www.ias.org.uk/uploads/pdf/News%20stories/dnutt-lancet-011110.pdf
