The FDA has recognized psilocybin, the primary compound in magic mushrooms (seen above), as a ground-breaking treatment for treatment-resistant depression.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as we know it today, was initially identified as an unique diagnosis among people who had survived Nazi concentration camps following World War II, although being mentioned throughout history, most notably in World War I. The patients had nightmares, anxiety, and despair when they got home. They regularly startled each other. Paul Chodoff, a psychiatrist, summarized some of these early findings in an article published in 1963. “Perhaps the most nearly universal and most characteristic symptom was an obsessive rumination state in which the patient was more or less constantly preoccupied with recollections of, and ruminations about, his experiences during persecution, and about family who had died or been killed.” Psychiatrists tested a variety of treatments from drugs to exposure therapy for what Chodoff referred to as “concentration camp syndrome.”
Patients with PTSD today still have few treatment choices, more than 70 years after the original findings; most likely, they will be given a prescription for a mix of counseling and antidepressants. Some patients see improvements in their quality of life as a result of these therapies, while many others endure the condition-related nightmares, flashbacks, intense guilt, and anxiety for years on end. Whether or whether they participated in the military, around 6% of Americans will receive a PTSD diagnosis at some time in their lives, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. While post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is frequently linked to the tragedies of war, it can also relate to symptoms following other traumatic situations, including being involved in a fatal accident, witnessing death or injury or being a victim of sexual assault. Patients and scientists have longed for more options.
