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Adam Warren

Prof. Freeland

Eng 1201

March 20 2022

Is Psilocybin An Effective Treatment For Depression

The battle against depression can be a long and argouse task that is mentaly and

physically draining. Many people around the world struggle with depression. Depression affects

an estimated 3.8% of the population, including 5.0% among adults and 5.7% among adults older

than 60 years, that is Approximately 280 million people world wide(Lacko). Depression has

existing treatments but there is no reason to not seek better ones. This is where psilocybin comes

in. A traditionally taboo substance that has, in recent years, brought about a new way to treat

depression.

As of now treatment for depression is commonly SSRI drugs. These are selective

serotonin reuptake inhibitors. These drugs act on the brain in a manner that causes it to release its

naturally occurring serotonin. This means that your body drains itself of its natural happy supply.

I have always found the idea of these drugs slightly disturbing because while they might work

short term they have heavy long term effects that personally scare me.

Before you consume any drug of any sort whether it be from a CVS or a random guy on a

street corner you should do research to find out what the substance actually does once you put it

into your body. This is to help you better understand how medicine works, what you should

expect, and determine if it's something that you actually want to use. In this case psilocybin (A

serotonergic psychedelic found in mushrooms) acts on your serotonin 2A receptors otherwise

known as 5-HT2AR(Stenbæk et al.). Once this interaction takes place the user is propelled
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through an experience that typically lasts around 8 hours. The experience is often said to be

mystical, enlightening, and healing. At the same time there is the possibility of horrible

experiences referred to as “bad trips” that users have reported as hellish experiences that have

even led some to take their own lives while under the drug's influence. That's why it is important

to remember that in the case of psilocybin therapy it is medically administered and trained

professionals as well as therapists are present to help reep the benefits of the experience.

Recreational use, while possibly beneficial, is much more dangerous and unpredictable.

Speaking on a study conducted by researchers at john hopkins university Natalie Gukasyan, M.D

says “Our findings add to evidence that, under carefully controlled conditions, this is a promising

therapeutic approach that can lead to significant and durable improvements in depression,” she

continues “the results we see are in a research setting and require quite a lot of preparation and

structured support from trained clinicians and therapists, and people should not attempt to try it

on their own”(martinez).

There have been many different approaches to administering psilocybin as a treatment for

depression and anxiety. In a lab-based study testing the effects of microdosing(taking small

typically hallucinogenic amounts of psychedelics) they found that it was non effective in

altering emotional processing. I find this interesting as I had heard a lot of cases where people

who were self administering this drug in this fashion had positive results.

In a Study from john hopkins “24 participants received two doses of psilocybin at 20 

mg/70 kg and 30 mg/70 kg spaced approximately 2 weeks apart” and before hand “were provided

with 6–8 h of preparatory meetings with two facilitators one of which had either a masters or

doctoral in mental health”(Gukasyan et al.). They measured the results for up to an entire year
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after. Researchers found that the treatment was 87.5% successful 12 months after 2 doses were

administered.

This next point isn't about the drug itself but rather a commonly associated idea of set and

setting. The researchers referred to this idea as “context”. They concluded that “careful and

honest management of context may serve to minimize harm and maximize the considerable

therapeutic potential

of psychedelics ”(Carhart-Harris et al.). This is important because with the knowledge

that context does change the outcome of experience clinicians and therapists can help to shape

the way they go about administering these substances and can possibly even improve upon the

already positive results that have been found.

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Work cited

Stenbæk, Dea Siggaard, et al. “Brain Serotonin 2A Receptor Binding Predicts Subjective

Temporal and Mystical Effects of Psilocybin in Healthy Humans.” Journal of

Psychopharmacology, vol. 35, no. 4, Apr. 2021, pp. 459–68. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881120959609. Accesses march 20 2022

Lacko, evans. “Depression.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 13

Sept. 2021, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression. Accessed

March 20 2022

martinez, marisol. “Psilocybin Treatment for Major Depression Effective for up to a Year

for Most Patients, Study Shows.” Johns Hopkins Medicine Newsroom, 15 Feb. 2022,

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/psilocybin-treatment-

for-major-depression-effective-for-up-to-a-year-for-most-patients-study-shows. Accessed

March 4 2022

Gukasyan, Natalie, et al. “Efficacy and Safety of Psilocybin-Assisted Treatment for

Major Depressive Disorder: Prospective 12-Month Follow-Up.” Journal of

Psychopharmacology, vol. 36, no. 2, Feb. 2022, pp. 151–158,

doi:10.1177/02698811211073759. Accessed march 20 2022

Carhart-Harris, Robin L., et al. “Psychedelics and the Essential Importance of Context.”

Journal of Psychopharmacology, vol. 32, no. 7, July 2018, pp. 725–731,

doi:10.1177/0269881118754710. Accessed march 4 2022