Ayahuasca, a psychedelic medicine traditionally used by indigenous communities in South America, has become fashionable, with celebrities such as the Sting musician, actress Lindsay Lohan and the NFL Marshal of the NFL Aaron Rogers that drink him to make a trip to his subconscious minds.
When used to treat mental health, some studies have shown that psychedelic can be effective. A article In the newspaper PLOS Mental Health That examines what conditions are more likely to lead to a positive result report than making such determinations can be complicated.
Reviewing the experiences of Ayahuasca
An previous survey of 10,836 participants in the Ayahuasca ceremony found that more than half reported adverse mental states after the use of ayahuasca. Many experienced visual distortions, hallucinations, “feel depressed, depressed or desperate”, “feel disconnected or only” and “feel vigorously attacked” According to the previous study.
The new study is more deeply immersed in a subset of the same group of participants, 5,400 that had the most complete data, to determine what factors probably lead to adverse effects or a positive experience. Among those users, 14.2 percent reported a previous anxiety disorder and 19.7 experienced a previous depressive disorder.
Read more: Peyote vs. Ayahuasca: What is the difference?
Mental health and impact of ayahuasca
The researchers found that the long -term effects of the medication depend, in part, on the mental health history of each receiver, as well as a variety of factors related to the environment in which the medicine is ingested. According to the study, the use of drugs among people with experience in experience and administration seemed to be beneficial.
“What stood out the most for us was the significant difference in the results of mental health among users who had support environments. [during their use] And those who did not do it, “said José Carlos Bouso, of the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Services (ICEERS) and author of the study. Press release. “This emphasizes the importance of a responsible and well prepared environment for those who seek healing through ayahuasca.”
Experienced orientation
The authors recommend that more research from Ayahuasca be carried out in a group or communication, instead of a clinic. Such work could identify participants with previous mental health problems and assign someone experienced to guide them.
He also complicated things, some participants who initially, or even in the long term, had some negative experiences said they finally benefited from ingesting it.
“Our study reveals that the mental states after Alahuasca, traditionally seen as adverse, can contribute to improve mental health, especially in previous anxiety and depressive disorders,” said Bouso. “This suggests the need for a more nuanced understanding of these states as potentially beneficial experiences.”
So, even a bad trip could be good.
This article does not offer medical advice and should be used only for informative purposes.
Read more: Psychedelic therapy faces a need for higher standards
Sources of articles
Our writers in Discovermagazine.com Use studies reviewed by pairs and high quality sources for our articles, and our editors review to obtain scientific precision and editorial standards. Check the sources used below for this article:
Before joining Discover, Paul Smaglik spent more than 20 years as a scientific journalist, specializing in the United States Life Science Policy and global scientific career problems. He began his career in newspapers, but changed to scientific journals. His work has appeared in publications that include scientists, sciences, nature and American scientific.
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