Taking Psychedelics Could Make People Less Afraid of Dying

Out-of-body and other mystical experiences can be life-changing, and research suggests they can even make people less afraid of dying. But such experiences are rare, and tend to occur accidentally and in the most extreme circumstances—such as at the brink of death. There might be another way to mimic the near-death experience: scientists have identified striking parallels between these experiences and the effects of psychedelic drugs. According to a new survey conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine, published Aug. 24 in the journal PLOS ONE, people’s attitudes about death change after both a psychedelic drug experience and a non-drug-related out-of-body experience. The researchers split more than 3,000 participants into two groups: those who had previously had an extraordinary non-drug experience, and those who had used a psychedelic drug: psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ayahuasca, or N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). They found that about 90% of people in both groups were less afraid of death than they had been before their experiences. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] These findings build upon previous research showing that psychedelics, especially when combined with therapy, can relieve anxiety about the end of life. That includes a 2016 randomized clinical trial that found that psilocybin lessened depression and anxiety among 51 patients with life-threatening cancer. Co-author Roland Griffiths, a pro...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Drugs healthscienceclimate Source Type: news