Magic mushrooms are successfully reprogramming minds to treat conditions such as sadness, anxiety, and PTSD. Find out what they can do to help you feel more like yourself.
In Canada and around the world, depression is now one of the leading causes of disability. With intensive medicine and care, some people make a full recovery. However, up to 30% of the time, depression is resistant to treatment. Psilocybin mushrooms might be an option if you’ve tried everything else. What you need to understand about using mushrooms for depression.
What Psilocybin Mushrooms Are They Exactly?
Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly called “magic mushrooms,” are a class of mushrooms that have been genetically modified to contain the psychedelic psilocybin. When ingested, magic mushrooms have effects similar to those of LSD. These include things like euphoria and altered senses.
Since pre-colonial Mesoamerica, magic mushrooms have been consumed for recreational purposes. For thousands of years, the Mayans and Aztecs of antiquity employed mushrooms in rituals. They were able to expand their consciousness and communicate with the divine as a result.
Magic mushrooms may offer long-term relief from treatment-resistant depression, according to preliminary study.
Among the magic mushrooms for depression are:
- Capsules are used when consumed raw, crushed, and boiled into a tea concoction
- After being reduced to a fine powder, snorted
- Within 30 minutes of consumption, the euphoric effects frequently manifest and can continue up to six hours
The Benefits of Mushrooms for Depression
Neuroscientists believe that anomalies in brain network connectivity are related to depression. Interaction and network switching occur in a healthy brain. On the other side, the depressed brain is rigid, distant, and unyielding.
Neural networks necessary for concentration, critical thinking, and goal-directed behavior are impacted by depression. In the brain of a depressed person, these networks are underactive and do not interact. People who are ruminating and reflecting at the same time are hyperactive.
As a result, a vicious cycle of negative feelings is perpetuated in the depressed brain. In other words, those who experience depression are stuck in a situation that is hard to get out of.
Rewired Brain Circuitry
Ever wonder what it would feel like to hit the reset button? The closest thing we have to a reset button may be psilocybin. The chemical component psilocybin, which is present in mushrooms, is how they treat depression. Looking for mushroom therapy for depression near me then click here.
Stomach acids quickly transform psilocybin after consumption into its active metabolite, psilocin.
A fatty molecule called psilocin can cross the blood-brain barrier. Psilocin shares structural similarities with the calming hormone serotonin. When it binds to serotonin receptors in the brain, it brings about a sequence of intricate modifications.
Mood-Boosting Mushrooms Eliminate the ego
In certain studies, it has been shown that psilocybin causes the part of the brain that controls ego to shut down. The combined effects of connection and ego dissolution cause trippers to feel exhilaration and transcendence.
Your experience, however, will be incredibly unique to you and very personal. Your personality, mental state, and prior experiences may have an impact.
Mushrooms: Beneficial for Depression?
When used in conjunction with therapy, psilocybin is effective in alleviating depression. Early studies indicate that it might potentially be more efficient than SSRIs. The problem? There is still a lot to discover.
The groundbreaking Johns Hopkins study reignited interest in mushrooms as a depression cure. In this 2006 study, psilocybin generated intense, protracted mystical experiences in study participants. Participants also reported improvements in their mood, optimism, and openness to social situations.
The results are both immediate and substantial
Cancer patients who received psilocybin while they were near death reported less anxiety and melancholy. They demonstrated greater joy, optimism, and spirituality. 80% of respondents still showed noticeable improvements in their symptoms six months later.
Patients in a different cancer experiment reported feeling less hopeless and depressed. The study also found that quality of life improved steadily over the course of six months.
Psilocybin treatment enhanced brain plasticity over time, according to a 2021 study. In a 2020 randomized trial, 67% of patients saw significant reductions in their depression. 54% of patients had no symptoms by the end of the fourth week of therapy.
Psilocybin Therapy With Support
The use of magic mushrooms for depression in a tightly monitored therapeutic environment is known as psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT). In contrast to taking magic mushrooms for fun, PAT uses a stringent treatment regimen supervised by a licensed psychotherapist.
PAT’s main goal is to provide a secure environment in which people can start taking psilocybin to transform. This is in part because ego dissolution might be unsettling for someone who hasn’t experienced it before. A skilled therapist can guide you through the process of getting ready for the appointment.
The safety of PAT over homemade mushrooms for depression is another advantage. During your initial appointment with a psychotherapist, you will be assessed for physical and psychological conditions that could endanger you.