There have been mutterings and a lot of news for some time about magic mushrooms as possible treatments for depression, but the new findings are the result of high-end research from a top organization — impossible to ignore.
According to Quartz.com, psylocibin was given to 12 volunteers, some of whom had suffered depression for 30 years, and tried at least two conventional treatments. (For those who’ve never had depression, that means 30 years in an emotional blender. Even mild depression is a hideous experience, as I know from personal experience.)
The result was pretty spectacular. After one week, eight of the subjects had no symptoms of depression. five of them had no depression three months later. These results suggest at least some definite positives for general treatments. Details for the other four subjects aren’t clear, and should be. If they weren’t affected, or didn’t experience the effects experienced by the others, it may relate to subjective resistance. (Some people don’t hallucinate on LSD, either, but do have acid trips without the hallucinations.)
Some negatives were experienced by subjects, notably the notorious magic mushroom nausea, headaches, and “transient confusion” i.e., tripping on magic mushrooms when you’ve never done it before.
Given the current state of antidepressants and widespread dissatisfaction and reservations expressed by patients and doctors about modern antidepressants, this research has a lot of practical applications. Many people think “suicidal thoughts as a side effect” of medication is obscene, absurd and dangerous. Depression is quite bad enough without anything which can make it worse.
That consideration also has had to be applied to magic mushrooms — a “bad trip” is as bad as a bad nightmare. You just happen to be awake; that’s the only real difference. A lot of things, physical and mental, can affect the human psyche. Acidity, for example, is historically theorized to be one of the causes of nightmares. Other individual conditions may also contribute to a negative reaction to any kind of drug, let alone a powerful hallucinogen.
Information about magic mushrooms ranges from folklore and hippie tales to hard science. Quality of information also varies considerably. Magic mushrooms have been used in many different cultures in much the same way as peyote by Native Americans. There’s no doubt that the mushrooms do have major psychological and psychiatric effects.
The next phase of research for the Imperial College will involve widespread random control trials to positively define effects and generate the sort of data required for confirmation. It’ll be interesting to see if the magic mushrooms really do deliver. It will also be very important for many millions of people. Current stats indicate that 1 in 4 people will suffer depression at some time in their lives.
That situation needs fixing, preferably ASAP. Depression is a truly disgusting experience. It should be eradicated from the face of the Earth. I for one will be happy to assist. As for the damn animals who talk about magic mushrooms as a “last resort” after all the toxic waste medications have failed- Try some depression yourselves. What works should be the first resort, not the last.
**** Extremely important: Do NOT use magic mushrooms unless positively identified as safe. Many of these mushrooms resemble very dangerous mushrooms which can do permanent liver damage or cause death.
