A new study conducted by Johns Hopkins University of over 3,000 adults found using psychedelic substances as well as living through near-death experiences helped lessen the overall fear of dying.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, used self-reported data to track changes in attitudes about death and other persisting effects in individuals who had gone through a near-death experience or by those who had used psychedelics. Respondents were broken into five groups, including those who had non-drug near death experiences and those who had no experiences at all, and those who had drug-related experiences by using lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, ayahuasca, or N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT).
Across the psychedelic groups, individuals who consumed ayahuasca and DMT reported the strongest and longest-lasting consequences, while the psilocybin and LSD groups were largely indistinguishable. The study’s abstract states the groups were similar in the reported changes in death attitudes attributed to the experience, including a reduced fear of death and high ratings of positive effects and personal meaning, spiritual significance, and psychological insight. Researchers also found the non-drug user group were more likely to rate their experiences as the most meaningful event in their lives.
About 90 percent of participants reported a decrease in fear of death when considering their changes in views from before and after the experience. Most of the participants (85 percent in the non-drug group and 75 percent in the psychedelics group) rated the experience as a top five most personally meaningful and spiritual moment in their lives. Differences in the two groups included the non-drug group more likely to report their life was in danger, being medically unconscious or clinically dead, and the non-drug group normally noted the experience was very brief, lasting five minutes or less.
New data from the National Institutes of Health shows the use of cannabis and psychedelics among individuals aged 19-30 increased significantly in 2021 compared to five and ten years ago, reaching the highest levels among the age group since 1988. The researchers noted use of psychedelic substances has been stable up until 2020, with reports of use starting to increase dramatically and reaching historic levels in 2021. The data shows in 2021, eight percent of young adults reported past-year hallucinogen use, compared to five percent in 2016 and just three percent in 2011.
“As the drug landscape shifts over time, this data provides a window into the substances and patterns of use favored by young adults. We need to know more about how young adults are using drugs like marijuana and hallucinogens, and the health effects that result from consuming different potencies and forms of these substances,” National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow said. “Young adults are in a critical life stage and honing their ability to make informed choices. Understanding how substance use can impact the formative choices in young adulthood is critical to help position the new generations for success.”
A 2016 study found one dose of psilocybin lead to a significant drop in depression and anxiety levels in patients afflicted with life-threatening forms of cancer. Of the 29 patients in the study, 60 to 80 percent reported still feeling a drop in depression and anxiety six months after the initial dose. Researchers follows up in 2020 and found reductions in depression, anxiety, hopelessness, demoralization and death-related anxiety were still prevalent in 15 of the 16 surviving patients.
“I experienced such overwhelming love in my psilocybin experience that it gave me new confidence,” one subject said. “I think the extreme depth of love I felt changed the way I relate to others. (It) gave me a feeling that I have a right to be here and to enjoy life.”
