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A traumatic experience has an incredibly intense impact on your life, both physically and mentally. Trauma is often difficult to treat, but psychedelics, which work in a very different way than regular medication, can offer a new path to healing. In this blog, we look at what trauma is and in what ways psychedelics might help.
Trauma is a condition with many different facets. First there is the cause, an event that was so intense that it has a lasting impact on us. Then there are the immediate consequences, where we want to fight or flee or sometimes go into shock. When that is over, we are left with the trauma itself. The experience has taken deep root in our system. It can affect us daily, or remains hidden and manages to surprise us when we don’t expect it.
Trauma (or PTSD) involves anxiety and stress. A person with trauma feels that they cannot cope and are overwhelmed. The intense emotions affect our daily activities and can be so intense that they make it impossible for us to maintain valuable contacts with others. With untreated trauma, you can suffer from chronic pain, OCD, depression, anxiety disorders and stress.
This is because we do not have the tools to work through the trauma. The energy of this event and the accompanying emotions are locked in our body and nervous system. And this affects us mentally, emotionally and physically. Treatment options are available, but are not always successful. But psychedelics could be a potential breakthrough in the treatment of trauma.
When you seek treatment for trauma, you will find that there really isn’t much offered. Typically, doctors prescribe a combination of antidepressants and therapy. That can help in some cases, but many continue to struggle with flashbacks, nightmares, guilt and fears.
Psychedelics can play an important role in healing and processing trauma. In some cases, people are aware that they have trauma. But depending on the situation, they either fear it or resist it. There are also those who are completely unaware of their trauma. It may manifest in certain behavior patterns (such as OCD or nightmares), where they do not realize that there is trauma behind it.
What is required for healing is that you reach your subconscious so that healing can take place. Psychedelics, such as psilocybin in magic mushrooms or truffles, can create an opening to the subconscious mind. They invite you to explore these hidden, repressed parts within yourself.
Quite a few studies have now been done on the effects of mind-altering drugs in trauma. Just a few doses of psilocybin or MDMA, combined with therapy can already provide great improvement in patients with PTSD. In fact, the results are so promising that the FDA in America has designated both drugs as Breakthrough Therapies.
So why is it that psychedelics can have such a positive effect on these serious symptoms? Their action is partly similar to that of regular antidepressants, the well-known SSRIs. These drugs work by causing more serotonin to remain in the blood, which can bind to the serotonin receptors in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that has a stabilizing effect on your mood. As a result, antidepressants make you feel more satisfied and calm.
Psilocybin also affects serotonin receptors, but scientists believe its efficacy goes far beyond serotonin. They suspect that the drug, changes the way neurons connect with each other.
Psilocybin makes the brain more plastic, meaning neuronal circuits can reconnect. This makes it easier to absorb new information, to learn, almost like when you were a child again. As a result, therapy can also be much more effective. Patients will then more easily change thought patterns and adopt new ways of thinking during treatment.
Brain scans also show that psychedelics affect the brain. They can make changes to a network of cells that helps us understand who we are and where we are, both in space and time. This network is called the Default Network. It may be that a disruption of this circuit is the cause of many of the symptoms of PTSD.
When a person is anxious, it’s this part of the brain that helps calm you down, signaling, “Everything’s fine, you’re not in that war or that car accident on the highway anymore.” But when the Default Network stops functioning properly, it can be difficult to realize that you are no longer in danger.
Perhaps you are now thinking about using psilocybin yourself if you have trauma. It is certainly a possibility, but be very careful about this. Mushrooms and truffles can have a positive impact on symptoms. But be aware that these agents can also have unexpected effects. And if you have experienced a traumatic event, you are extra vulnerable. So it may also be a good idea to use psychedelics under the supervision of a therapist.
The advantage of psychedelics, especially psilocybin, is that it is a very safe drug. It does not cause addiction and has very few side effects. In addition, you can make a lot of progress with a single dose. This makes you even less likely to have side effects. The effects also subside after a few hours.
