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Korman BA. Does LSD confer lasting psychological resilience? an investigation of naturalistic users experiencing job loss. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0304991. [PMID: 38900707 PMCID: PMC11189191 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent studies on classic psychedelics have suggested that their use is associated with psychological strengths and resilience, thereby conferring users a type of psychological protection relative to non-users. However, this idea has been brought into question by recent findings suggesting that lifetime users of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) report worse mental health during stressful experiences. The current study addresses these mixed findings by examining whether LSD use prior to a stressful experience buffers against the psychological distress experienced in the wake of the stressful experience. This study draws on openly-available data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2008-2019) on 5,067,553 (weighted) unemployed, job seeking individuals experiencing job loss. Using purposeful respondent exclusion criteria to establish temporal precedence of the variables under investigation, this study offers a straightforward test of whether LSD use confers psychological resilience to naturalistic users. LSD use prior to job loss was associated with a higher likelihood of severe psychological distress following job loss, regardless of whether sociodemographic variables were controlled for or not. In sum, this study fails to find evidence for LSD-conferred psychological resilience in naturalistic users in the wake of a stressful experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A. Korman
- Chair of Organizational Behavior, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality”, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Competencies, Personality, Learning Environments, Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories, Bamberg, Germany
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Morgan CJA. Commentary on Keyes and Patrick: Changes in psychedelic use in the United States may require changes in our narrative of psychedelic harms. Addiction 2023; 118:2455-2456. [PMID: 37919093 DOI: 10.1111/add.16367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Celia J A Morgan
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Washington Singer Labs, Exeter, UK
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Bouso JC, Révész D, Ona G, Rossi GN, Rocha JM, Dos Santos RG, Hallak JEC, Alcázar-Corcoles MÁ. Longitudinal and transcultural assessment of the relationship between hallucinogens, well-being, and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14052. [PMID: 37696900 PMCID: PMC10495368 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41199-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of the global population. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal transcultural study that was begun at the peak of the pandemic (in April, 2020). An online survey was used to collect data from English-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-speaking participants. The survey collected information about sociodemographics, lifestyle activities, COVID-19-related circumstances, and drug use (with an emphasis on hallucinogenic drugs), as well as involving psychometric questionnaires. Users of hallucinogenic drugs had higher psychological well-being and lower scores on psychopathology scales, both at baseline and during follow-ups. This difference was larger when users were distinguished by frequency of use, as regular users scored higher on psychological well-being and lower on psychopathology scales. Subjects with more psychological distress had lower scores for all scales of post-traumatic growth, but if they were regular hallucinogens users, they had higher scores for post-traumatic growth. When comparing the results between cultural contexts, heterogeneous results were obtained. There were more English-speaking regular users of hallucinogenic drugs. Further research should analyse the potential role of hallucinogens in large-scale catastrophes, with a special focus on post-traumatic growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Carlos Bouso
- ICEERS-International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service, C/ Sepúlveda, 65 Bajos 2, 08015, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.
- Medical Anthropology Research Center (MARC), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Catalunya, Spain.
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
| | - Dóra Révész
- ICEERS-International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service, C/ Sepúlveda, 65 Bajos 2, 08015, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Genís Ona
- ICEERS-International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service, C/ Sepúlveda, 65 Bajos 2, 08015, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
- Medical Anthropology Research Center (MARC), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Giordano N Rossi
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Juliana M Rocha
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Rafael G Dos Santos
- ICEERS-International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service, C/ Sepúlveda, 65 Bajos 2, 08015, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology-Translational Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jaime E C Hallak
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology-Translational Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Miguel Ángel Alcázar-Corcoles
- Department of Biological and Health Psychology, School of Psychology, Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), Madrid, Spain
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Glynos NG, Fields CW, Barron J, Herberholz M, Kruger DJ, Boehnke KF. Naturalistic Psychedelic Use: A World Apart from Clinical Care. J Psychoactive Drugs 2023; 55:379-388. [PMID: 35950817 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2022.2108356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Interest in and availability of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes has increased in recent decades. In a large, anonymous, online survey, we investigated patterns of communication with healthcare providers and awareness and utilization of substance testing kits or services among people using psychedelics naturalistically. The sample population included attendees of a psychedelic activism event and users of psychedelic social media forums. Among 1,435 participants, 72.5% never discussed psychedelic use with their primary care provider (PCP). Only 4.4% reported using psychedelics with a therapist and 3% in clinical settings, although 77.8% were very or extremely likely to take psychedelics with a therapist if one were legally available. While 62.6% of participants were aware of substance testing services, 42.6% of these indicated never using them. Regression analyses identified several variables associated with disclosure to PCP and utilization of substance testing services including age, gender, frequency and number of psychedelics used, and likelihood of consuming psychedelics under the guidance of a therapist if one were legally available. Further research is necessary to investigate these findings among other groups. Our findings suggest that relevant training and education for healthcare providers is needed, along with more visible options for substance identity testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas G Glynos
- Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Anesthesiology Department, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Christopher W Fields
- Anesthesiology Department, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Julie Barron
- Blue Sage Health Consulting, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Michigan Psychedelic Society, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Decriminalize Nature Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Moss Herberholz
- School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Daniel J Kruger
- Anesthesiology Department, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Kevin F Boehnke
- Anesthesiology Department, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Bălăeț M, Trender W, Hellyer PJ, Hampshire A. Associations between the use of psychedelics and other recreational drugs with mental health and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1184681. [PMID: 37398594 PMCID: PMC10307955 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1184681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The large-scale disruption to peoples' daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic provides a context for examining whether use of substances such as psychedelics in a naturalistic (outside of a controlled environment) setting, is associated with better mental wellbeing and resilience relative to those who use other drugs, or who do not use drugs at all. We interrogate data from the Great British Intelligence Test and identify that 7.8% out of N = 30,598 unique respondents used recreational drugs inclusive of psychedelics, cannabis, cocaine, and MDMA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruitment materials did not mention drug use would be surveyed, thereby enabling us to model the relationship with mood and resilience in people who had not specifically self-selected themselves for a 'drug' study. We report that people form clusters, characterized by different real-world patterns of drug use, and the majority of psychedelics users also use cannabis. However, a subset of cannabis users do not use psychedelics, enabling a subtractive comparison. Those who primarily used psychedelics and cannabis during the COVID-19 pandemic had worse mood self-assessment and resilience scores compared to those who never used drugs or primarily used cannabis. This pattern was also evident for other recreational drug use clusters, except for those who primarily used MDMA and cannabis, who had better mood but were of too low incidence to have confidence in this estimate. These findings cast light on the significant differences in mental wellbeing between users of different drugs and the non-user population during a global-crisis and call for future research to explore the pharmacological, contextual and cultural variables associated with these differences, their generalisability and causal links with greater precision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Bălăeț
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - William Trender
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council CDT Neurotechnology, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Peter J. Hellyer
- Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Adam Hampshire
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
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Evens R, Reiche S, Marek RM, Moon DU, Groß RE, Romanello A, Jalilzadeh Masah D, Scicchitano Böckheler M, Gutwinski S, Montag C, Mick I, Majić T. Psychedelic Experiences During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings From an International Online Survey. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:732028. [PMID: 34803757 PMCID: PMC8599818 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.732028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: The current corona virus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a serious global health crisis that has affected large parts of the public and private life worldwide, including the use of psychoactive substances. In this study, we investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of serotonergic psychedelics, i.e., the settings in which people use psychedelics, the motives of usage, and the subjective quality of psychedelic experiences. Methods: The study was part of an international, cross-sectional, internet-based survey (N = 5,049) available in five languages (English, German, Spanish, Italian, and Korean) carried out during the early phase of the pandemic from April to August 2020. Participants were asked to retrospectively rate settings and motives of psychedelic substance use before the pandemic and in the last 4 weeks during the pandemic, as well as changes in psychedelic experiences. Results: Of n = 1,375 participants that reported the use psychedelics in 2019 or 2020, n = 642 (46.6%) also took psychedelics during the pandemic. During the pandemic, participants used psychedelics significantly less often in settings that were outside their home. Top motives to use psychedelics were comparable before and during the pandemic, but participants consumed less out of curiosity, to celebrate, or because friends took it, and more out of boredom. An increase in positively connoted, often pro-social experiences was observed. Two thirds of participants who used psychedelics during the pandemic claimed that psychedelics had helped them to deal better with the corona pandemic at least slightly. Discussion: Changes in setting and motives were mostly in line with restrictions caused by control measures to contain the spread of the virus. The unexpected increase in positively connoted experiences possibly reflects a favorable interaction of environmental macro- and individual micro-contexts during the pandemic (e.g., by reducing the use in more uncontrolled recreational settings or by encouraging a strong self-selection of substance users due to the expectation of "bad trips"). Increased pro-social feelings under psychedelics might reflect a desire for social interactions in times of social distancing and pandemic-related stress and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricarda Evens
- Research Group Psychotropic Substances, Psychiatric University Clinic at Hospital St. Hedwig
- CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Simon Reiche
- Research Group Psychotropic Substances, Psychiatric University Clinic at Hospital St. Hedwig
- CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Roman M Marek
- Research Group Psychotropic Substances, Psychiatric University Clinic at Hospital St. Hedwig
- CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Research Group "The Future of Medicine: Good Health for All," Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Berlin, Germany.,German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin (DRFZ), Berlin, Germany
| | - Daa Un Moon
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rosa Elisa Groß
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Amy Romanello
- Research Group Psychotropic Substances, Psychiatric University Clinic at Hospital St. Hedwig
- CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dario Jalilzadeh Masah
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Matteo Scicchitano Böckheler
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Gutwinski
- Research Group Psychotropic Substances, Psychiatric University Clinic at Hospital St. Hedwig
- CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christiane Montag
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Inge Mick
- Research Group Psychotropic Substances, Psychiatric University Clinic at Hospital St. Hedwig
- CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tomislav Majić
- Research Group Psychotropic Substances, Psychiatric University Clinic at Hospital St. Hedwig
- CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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