Magic mushrooms (psilocybin) are being considered as a treatment for bipolar disorder. And this week some good news emerged about the use of psilocybin in the treatment of bipolar II depression. Specifically, the results in a very small clinical sample were extremely promising. That being said, there are things you should know before running out to buy magic mushrooms from your local drug dealer. Here’s what we know about magic mushrooms that work for bipolar disorder.
Magic mushrooms in bipolar disorder
First, it’s important to know that psilocybin (magic mushrooms) used to treat bipolar disorder is very, very new, and you should keep in mind that there are likely effects that we don’t know about yet. Additionally, the research we have is based on small sample sizes and may not be generalizable. Caution is clearly justified.
Additionally, psilocybin is not without risks. A survey of 541 people who had recreational experience. with magic mushrooms found that 33% of people had new or worsening symptoms after magic mushroom trips. These symptoms were mostly manic symptoms, along with sleeping problems and anxiety. (No differences were observed between people with bipolar I and bipolar II.) Additionally, 3.3% had to use emergency medical services due to their psilocybin trips. All that said, people found its use to be more helpful than harmful.
You still shouldn’t go out and try it. Keep reading.
New Research on Psilocybin and Bipolar II Disorder Depression
As I said before, bipolar depression can be extremely difficult to treat and many people remain in depressive episodes for long periods of time. This is likely because bipolar medication treats manic/hypomanic symptoms more effectively than depressed ones.
That is why This new study is very exciting.. A new study found that a single dose of psilocybin produced a reduction in depression symptoms for months.
Specifically, 15 individuals with treatment-resistant bipolar II disorder who were currently depressed received a 25 mg dose of pharmaceutical psilocybin in a controlled, therapeutically supported environment. Three weeks after administration, people showed a 76.3% reduction in depressive symptoms (using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale), and this improvement was maintained throughout the 12 weeks of the study. According to patients, there were also significant improvements in quality of life and reductions in depressive symptoms. The intensity of the psychedelic experience was correlated with the degree of antidepressant effects.
Please don’t try it alone. Keep reading.
Safety Concerns of Magic Mushrooms in Bipolar Disorder
It is very, very important to read this part:
Before receiving psilocybin, patients were taken off antidepressants and mood stabilizers. They also participated in therapy before and for eight hours during the psychedelic trip. They also received therapy after counseling for the integration of experiences.
If you are taking serotonergic medications (such as antidepressants and mood stabilizers), you can induce serotonin syndrome with the use of magic mushrooms. Serotonin syndrome can be fatal.
In other words, this was not a typical magic mushroom trip. You should not attempt this without professional help. Simply stopping some of your medications to try them requires supervision, much less using a street form of psilocybin.
Excited about magic mushrooms that work for bipolar disorder
I realize that the sample size was small and that going off medication to even try the treatment could be very difficult, if not impossible, for some. That said, this is very promising. People who suffer from long-term depression as part of bipolar disorder have very few options at this time. One more is great news.
Imay by Flickr user janine.
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