Magic Mushrooms Might Help Terminal Patients

Magic mushrooms might reduce anxiety and depression in terminal patients.

Recent research suggests that magic mushrooms contain a specific hallucinogenic compound that might reduce anxiety and depression in terminal patients.

This compound is called psilocybin, and it can be used as an unusual treatment to relieve anxiety and depression in patients who have terminal cancer. According to Roland Griffiths, lead author and behavioral biology professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, a psilocybin dose usually lasts between four and six hours, which is remarkable because it can be used to alleviate some serious psychiatric conditions.

In the study, the scientists monitored 51 patients with cancer who also showed signs of anxiety and depression. The team used high and low doses of psilocybin to see how the terminal patients reacted to them.

Those in the first group used a low dosage during the initial session and a higher dose at the next one after five weeks. The rest of participants received the high dosage first, and then the low one.

Also, scientists encouraged the patients to be more optimistic and to trust the team. In addition, the participants listened to instrumental music at every session. Six months later, the follow-up revealed that roughly 78% of the patients had a lower rate of depression, whereas 83% of them were no longer feeling so anxious.

Furthermore, 57 percent of them said that their anxiety disappeared, whereas the same was reported with depression in 65 percent of the patients. However, the scientists stressed that the participants were forbidden from using psilocybin as self-medication. It is worth mentioning that during the study, the patients received full support.

Although this study doesn’t prove a cause-and-effect link, the researchers will continue their investigation hoping to develop a reliable treatment based on the magic mushrooms. On the other hand, some people believe that psilocybin might not be the best idea to help patients suffering from depression and anxiety.

This type of treatment implies the use of a hallucinogenic compound, which some experts consider to be unethical. However, it might be a better idea than many antidepressants, especially because researchers recently discovered that antidepressants can have the opposite effect in pregnant women.

The team which conducted the study on magic mushrooms is aware of the risks, so they won’t recommend low doses of psilocybin until they are 100 percent sure that it is safe.

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Karen Jackson

Karen Jackson has always been passionate about technology. All the way through high-school she immersed herself in computers and web-design. Her ambitious nature helped her become a pro in Adobe Photoshop only by watching online videos and working with the program herself. This is also the program that she mostly uses in the creation of websites at her work-place. Technological innovation and gadgets that push the boundaries of what we are comfortable with have always fascinated her, so expect to see some weird gadget reviews coming from her.