Initial studies indicated that psilocybin could help with depression. So, researchers ran the first-ever randomized clinical trial to test it properly. 24 patients were in the trial. Half got psilocybin right away, the other half waited 8 weeks.
Everyone also got 11 hours of therapy. People who got psilocybin immediately showed a big drop in depression compared to the waitlist group, as per the LiveScience report. After one month, 17 out of 24 patients felt better and 14 were in full remission. Psilocybin worked four times better than traditional antidepressants and worked faster, too.
Long-term effects
Not many studies check if psilocybin works long-term because people often drop out or take other treatments later. Researchers reached out to the original patients years later to do a follow-up. 21 out of 24 agreed to join, as stated by LiveScience.
Patients filled online forms and met with doctors to check depression, anxiety, and daily functioning. Researchers assumed the 6 people who didn’t finish the follow-up were not in remission. Still, 67% of the patients were still in remission after 5 years from just one psilocybin session.
These patients also felt less anxious and could handle life better. They also felt better emotionally and in relationships. Many of them said they had done a lot of self-reflection and therapy since the session, which helped too. Davis believes the psychedelic experience boosts therapy, making it deeper and more meaningful, as per the report by LiveScience.
But there are some warnings
The main issue is the study had only 24 people, which is very small. A bigger trial with 233 people showed 37% went into remission with psilocybin and therapy, lower than the small study.Even if effects were not as strong in big trials, it still shows psilocybin can help with depression. Davis wants to see how people in the bigger study are doing after 5 years too, as per the report by LiveScience.
FAQs
Q1. Does magic mushroom help depression long term?
Yes, one dose of psilocybin helped many people stay depression-free for 5 years.
Q2. How fast does psilocybin work for depression?
Psilocybin can reduce depression often within a month faster than regular medicines.
