Your podcast discovery platform
Curious minds select the most fascinating podcasts from around the world. Discover hand-piqd audio recommendations on your favorite topics.
piqer for: Health and Sanity Boom and bust Climate and Environment
Melissa Hutsell is an award-winning freelance journalist with a deep rooted passion for both community and international journalism. She was born and raised in Northern California, and has lived, studied, worked, and traveled in more 20 different countries. Melissa holds a Master's degree in Global Journalism from City University London, as well as degrees in Journalism and Globalization from Humboldt State University. Though she covers various topics as both a writer and editor, she specializes in business and cannabis journalism.
The Emerging Role Of Psychedelics In Psychiatry
Jesse Noakes’ quest to ease his mind-numbing depression landed him on the wrong side of the law. That’s because Noakes’ therapy sessions were aided by MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy.
Such clandestine therapies are said to be a thing of the past. However, mind-expanding sessions may be the future of mainstream psychiatry, thanks to scientists — including those at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) — working to redeem the reputation of substances like LSD, psilocybin, mescaline and ketamine.
“[These scientists] claim that when it comes to some of our most debilitating mental illnesses — depression, anxiety, [PTSD], addiction, [OCD …],” the article reports, “psychedelic drugs might provide a radical new answer.”
The theory isn’t new: celebrities like Cary Grant took LSD as part of psychotherapy regiments in the 1950s. In the 60s and 70s, some psychiatrists used MDMA as a psychotherapeutic aid. Others, like Harvard University’s Timothy Leary, brought significant scientific interest in psychedelics before they were outlawed globally.
Peter Gasser said psychedelics enrich and deepen therapy sessions. While other drugs like antidepressants are taken continuously, psychedelics may only be needed once or twice. Brain images show MDMA, for example, decreases activity in the amygdala (the emotion center), while simultaneously increasing activity in the higher processing regions of the prefrontal cortex, the article added. “This dialing down of the emotional output, while ramping up the activity of the reasoning [center], may explain the therapeutic effects for PTSD, where patients simply cannot forget their emotional trauma.”
Researchers note that, like most drugs, psychedelics have risks. And while scientists have started to uncover psychedelics' therapeutic benefits, those benefits are not fully understood.
Still, re-classification may be in the near future. MAPS aims to have MDMA reclassified as a pharmaceutical by 2021, with psilocybin following closely behind.
