mystical experience – mycolab.ai

Preliminary safety and effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted therapy in adults with fibromyalgia: an open-label pilot clinical trial

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Researchers conducted a small pilot study examining whether psilocybin (the active compound in certain mushrooms) combined with therapy could help treat fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition. Five participants received two doses of psilocybin along with supportive therapy sessions. The treatment was well-tolerated with only minor side effects, and participants reported significant improvements in pain, sleep quality, and overall functioning. These promising preliminary results suggest larger studies should be conducted to further test this innovative treatment approach.

Naturalistic psychedelic therapy: The role of relaxation and subjective drug effects in antidepressant response

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Researchers studied how LSD and psilocybin work in real-world therapy settings in Switzerland. They found that these compounds effectively reduced depression symptoms in patients who hadn’t responded to other treatments. Surprisingly, the feeling of relaxation during the session was more important for improvement than having intense mystical experiences. The therapy was generally safe, with side effects that resolved quickly.

Down the rabbit hole – the psychological and neural mechanisms of psychedelic compounds and their use in treating mental health and medical conditions

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Psychedelic compounds like psilocybin and LSD are showing significant promise for treating various mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. These substances appear to work through multiple mechanisms, including inducing profound mystical experiences and increasing neuroplasticity in the brain. Research indicates that environmental and contextual factors significantly influence how effective these treatments are, and even virtual reality experiences mimicking psychedelic effects show therapeutic benefits. The field is moving toward responsible, evidence-based clinical applications of psychedelics in psychiatry.

Comparing Antidepressant Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy in Individuals That Were Unmedicated at Initial Screening Versus Individuals Discontinuing Medications for Study Participation

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This study compared how well psilocybin therapy works for people with treatment-resistant depression depending on whether they were already off antidepressants or had stopped taking them for the study. The researchers found that both groups improved similarly in depression and anxiety symptoms after receiving psilocybin with therapy support. These results suggest that stopping antidepressants before psilocybin treatment may not reduce its effectiveness, though more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between medication status and treatment outcomes.

Psychedelic-induced mystical experiences: An interdisciplinary discussion and critique

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This paper examines how psychedelic research studies ‘mystical experiences’—profound spiritual-type states often linked to therapeutic benefits. The authors argue that current scientific measures of these experiences are based on Western Christian and colonial-era ideas about mysticism that aren’t universal. They propose that scientists should work more closely with religious scholars and anthropologists to better understand these complex experiences across different cultures and contexts.

Catalyst for change: Psilocybin’s antidepressant mechanisms—A systematic review

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This research review examines how psilocybin, a compound from certain mushrooms, may help treat depression by creating changes in both brain function and psychological experience. Within supportive therapeutic settings, psilocybin appears to increase cognitive flexibility, help people better process emotions, and restore a sense of connection to themselves, others, and the world. The antidepressant benefits seem to work through a combination of direct brain changes and psychotherapeutic factors, rather than through pure pharmacological action alone.

Meta-correlation of the effect of ketamine and psilocybin induced subjective effects on therapeutic outcome

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This study examined whether the psychological experiences people have while taking ketamine or psilocybin—such as feeling disconnected or having spiritual insights—are actually responsible for their mental health improvements. Researchers analyzed 23 studies and found that these subjective experiences explain about 10% of ketamine’s benefits and 24% of psilocybin’s benefits. Psilocybin’s effects appear more connected to therapeutic outcomes than ketamine’s, and both drugs showed stronger connections between subjective effects and treatment success in substance use disorder compared to depression.

The effect of psilocybin on empathy and prosocial behavior: a proposed mechanism for enduring antidepressant effects

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This review examines how psilocybin may help treat depression by increasing empathy and prosocial behavior. While psilocybin leaves the body within hours, its antidepressant effects can last months, and researchers believe empathy and helping others may explain this lasting benefit. The authors suggest psilocybin starts a positive cycle where increased empathy leads to helping others, which boosts mood and well-being, which further reinforces empathetic behavior.

Body mass index (BMI) does not predict responses to psilocybin

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Researchers investigated whether a person’s body weight affects how they respond to psilocybin-assisted therapy. Analyzing 77 participants across three studies, they found that BMI did not predict how intensely people experienced the drug or how much their mental health improved afterward. This surprising finding suggests that everyone might benefit from the same fixed dose of psilocybin rather than doses adjusted to body weight, making therapy simpler and more cost-effective to deliver at scale.

An investigation of acute physiological and psychological moderators of psychedelic-induced personality change among healthy volunteers

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This study examined how a single high dose of psilocybin affects personality in healthy people. Participants who took psilocybin showed decreased anxiety-related personality traits (neuroticism) one month later. The effects were stronger in people who found the experience personally meaningful or who experienced more anxiety during the psychedelic state, suggesting that the intensity and meaning of the experience matters for lasting personality changes.

Research Keyword: mystical experience