Psycho-therapeutic Tripping: A New Way to Treat Certain Mental Illnesses
Capsule form of LSD
L-S-D. For many, these three letters may conjure up images of peace signs, rainbows, and hippie circles. Some users claim it has profound, positive short and long term effects on their thinking and perception. Others may see it negatively, as just another recreational drug that naive folks may abuse. One trait that is often overlooked, however, is its potential for medicinal use for certain psychological conditions. Indeed, before it was made illegal in 1966, researchers studied its effects on patients with depression, anxiety, and alcoholism immensely, with over a thousand studies published on the subject. The first American study on the drug concerned how it could be used alongside psychotherapy; subsequently, a government-funded LSD-purpose unit was built into a hospital in Worcester, England in 1955. But now, for the first time in more than 40 years, its benefits when coupled with psychotherapy are being tested once again.
Before we get into the study, it’s important to know a little about LSD. Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly referred to as ‘acid’, is a recreational drug that has been used by approximately 9.1% of the American population. Synthesized in 1938 by Albert Hoffman, it has since become a symbol for psychedelic culture. Unlike many other well known drugs like alcohol and cannabis, LSD is a very potent hallucinogen. The outcomes of taking a hallucinogen produce changes in perception and mood, where intellectual impairment, addictive craving, and stupor are kept at a minimum. Referred to as a ‘trip’, the psychological effects can last between 6-12 hours and vary from person to person. This also includes enhancement of sensations (i.e. colors becoming brighter and music sounding nicer), euphoria, strong connectivity to others, and distortion of time. As the name implies, strong enough doses can cause hallucinations and even synesthesia, a mental state where various senses can blend into each other (seeing music, hearing colors, etc.).
The chemical structure of LSD strongly resembles serotonin, a neurotransmitter that modulates, among many other activities, visual and emotional processing. LSD stimulates these receptors, inducing psychedelic effects. It also affects the thalamus, where sensory impressions are routed by selectively filtering information using bottom-up processing. According to Franz Vollenweider, psychedelic drugs reduce this filter, so that people notice things they have never seen before, or make associations they could not have made without “quieting their mind.” This quality is essential in the study that was recently done.
The study in question was performed in Santa Cruz, California and was published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. The study used patients who had life-threatening illnesses and were dealing with anxiety and depression due to end-of-life issues (like anxiety due to shortened life expectancy). In the study, twelve patients were chosen and eight were given the drug while four were given an active placebo (which produces noticeable side-effects to convince patients they are under the influence but not enough to be effective). Neither the researchers nor the patients knew which person received the actual drug. The treatment included “two LSD-assisted psychotherapy sessions 2 to 3 weeks apart”. Eleven of the patients had no prior experience with LSD, and only those that had no current drug dependence were chosen. After they took the drug, patients were “instructed to focus their awareness and mindful attention inward to follow their personal process of perception, emotion, and cognition”. According to the researchers, this induced the patients to encounter their own realities through a “dream-like journey”.
The results of the study were remarkable and confirmed what researchers already suspected from prior research. The experimental group reported a significant reduction in anxiety “as experienced on a daily basis”. This was confirmed in both a two-month and twelve-month follow-up. In contrast, those in the placebo group showed no significant change, some actually reporting an increase in anxiety. Even though the study was limited to twelve people, it still shows that LSD has the potential to be used therapeutically.
LSD is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning that according to the government, it has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse”, despite it being widely accepted as non-toxic and non-addictive. This has severely restricted the ability for researchers to study the drug. The benefits of its use in a clinical setting could be life-changing for those who need it, yet ignorance and stigmatization have prevented this from occurring. Maybe it’s time we reconsider how we should view this mysterious yet intriguing chemical.
– Richard Barahona
Sources:
Safety and Efficacy of LSD-Assisted Psychotherapy -The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
Hallucinogens – LSD, Peyote, Psilocybin, and PCP – National Institute on Drug Abuse
Dr Ronald Sandison – The Telegraph
How Does Acid Make People Trip? – Live Science
