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Discover How Psychedelics Are Poised to Revolutionize the Mental Wellness Space By Heather Mikesell - Well Defined

Once stigmatized in the war on drugs, these substances are now thought to hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of the mind.

There is no question that we’re experiencing an unprecedented mental health crisis. According to the 2021 State of Mental Health in America Report from Mental Health America (MHA), 19 percent (47.1 million) of people in the U.S. are living with a mental health condition. That’s a 1.5 million increase over last year’s report. Thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we’re experiencing the highest levels of anxiety and depression since the pandemic hit. With the mental health crisis continuing to worsen, many are looking to new tools, such as psychedelics, to address the internal wounds and trauma people are experiencing. Ayahuasca; used as a ceremonial spiritual medicine in South America; LSD, sometimes referred to as acid; MDMA, also known as Ecstasy and Molly; and psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient found in magic mushrooms, are just some of the psychedelics gaining attention for their ability to treat mental-health issues.

How Psychedelics Can Enhance Mental Wellbeing

Although there has long been a stigma associated with the use of psychedelics, new research is proving promising when it comes to treating mental health challenges. “Researchers around the globe and at some of America’s most distinguished academic institutions such as at Johns Hopkins and NYU are looking closely at how psychedelic medicines could provide possible alternative treatments for such intractable medical issues as depression, anxiety, alcoholism, substance abuse, in palliative care, and for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” says MaryElizabeth Gifford, executive vice president for corporate social responsibility at Psyence Group, a life science biotechnology company pioneering the use of psilocybin to heal psychological trauma, and chair of the Global Wellness Institute’s Psychedelics and Healing Initiative.

Psychedelic entrepreneur Payton Nyquvest is cofounder and CEO of Numinus, a wellness company transforming mental health care through evidencebased, psychedelic-assisted therapy and the development of proprietary therapeutics. Numinus recently partnered with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) on a groundbreaking clinical trial on an MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD.

“Research on psychedelic therapy for mental wellbeing has gone through a renaissance over the last few years, with research groups increasingly gaining support from regulators and donors—this includes work done by our own research arm at Numinus Bioscience, in collaboration with MAPS, one of the foremost psychedelic research and advocacy groups,”says Nyquvest. “Results by these groups have been very promising to date, including recent data that shows MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD has significant clinical impact and cost-saving benefits compared to other treatments, psilocybin may relieve major depression more effectively than traditional antidepressants, and ketamine may be effective both for depression and various substance use disorder. Data also shows that psychedelic medicine may increase neuroplasticity and promote neural growth. Together with growing anecdotal evidence of the potential benefits of practices like microdosing, these results point to many ways in whichpsychedelics support mental wellbeing.”

The research and anecdotal evidence is convincing, leading many to open their minds to the idea. Ben Greenzweig, co-founder and CEO of Momentum Events, had battled anxiety and depression for more than 30 years. After reading Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teachs Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, he began researching psychedelics in hopes of finding answers to his own mental health challenges. After a successful MDMA session, he was finally able to release hidden and buried trauma and move past the anxiety and depression that had served as a dark cloud over his life. “Psychedelicsand psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy can provide a kind of ‘mental reset’ for those who suffer from a wide range of mental health ailments such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and PTSD, among others,” says Greenzweig. “The same reset that can be used to heal can also be used to enhance. There are plenty of modern and ancient examples of individuals who have found great peace, focus, creativity, presence, and appreciation after the use ofpsychedelics. For example, Ayahuasca, a plantbased brew, has been used by indigenous tribes of the upper Amazon for several thousand years in healing ceremonies and other traditions associated with spiritualism, artistic inspiration, and divination.”

Why The Narrative Around Psychedelics Is Changing

Changing the stigma associated with psychedelics isn’t an easy task. However, there is a growing acceptance of plant-based medicine. The legalization of marijuana in some states is just one example of the de-stigmatization that is taking place across the country. Much of it stemmed from the use of medical marijuana and its emerging benefits for those suffering from cancer and other medicalrelated conditions. Another reason is the approach being taken to promote psychedelics in the mental health space.

“The swift shift in the culture owes much to the nonpartisan and politically agnostic approach pioneered by Rick Doblin, founder of MAPS,” says Gifford. “A tireless advocate for evidence-based scientific research, Doblin has de-stigmatized psychedelics by cross-pollinating breakthroughs that benefit military veterans and psychiatric patients alike.” As a result, this approach has garnered bipartisan support across the policy spectrum.

“Doblin and others in the field don’t just preach to the converted,” says Gifford. “Instead, they have done the hard work to forge common ground in an increasingly polarized America.” According to her, Americans are ready for middle ground when it comes to finding a path toward healing.Gifford points to Melissa Lavasani, founder of the Plant Medicine Coalition, as a great example. A former policy professional and the mother of two young children, Lavasani was looking for a nature-based solution for post-partum depression when her search led her to psychedelics. She later launched a ballot measure to decriminalize plant medicine. “Her measure, Initiative 81, passed in Washington, D.C., with the support of 78 percent of the vote,” says Gifford. “I love that an even bigger affirmation than the majority vote came when Melissa published an essay about psychedelic healing in the magazine, Good Housekeeping.

It’s said that necessity is the mother of invention, and that certainly rings true in this case. “The current mental healthcare system is simply not enough,” says Nyquvest. “Rates of mental illness, substance abuse, and trauma skyrocketed over the last decade in a way that existing resources cannot fully address, and they’ve only been exacerbated by COVID-19. People are tired of the care gaps and want new solutions—approaching mental wellness from a place of healing and curative treatment rather than lifelong symptom management. That’s where psychedelic medicine comes in and offers great potential for a way forward, as we’re seeing from growing research data.”

Nyquvest also notes that we’re seeing a paradigm shift, as well, about drugs in general. People are realizing the harm caused by the War on Drugs, referring to an effort by the U.S. government to combat illegal drug use and distribution in the early ‘70s. Many of the targeted substances, such as marijuana and psychedelics, were declared illegal without any scientific assessment of their risks. According to Nyquvest, people are now questioning the decades of stigma that have surroundedpsychedelics and rethinking them through the lens of medicine and therapy at a time when other treatments are failing.

Fortunately, attitudes and policies are changing. “Once research that followed scientific principles was able to be done in a safe and controlled manner, data started to support what many have known, advocated, or practiced for years, if not decades prior—psychedelicshave some amazing healing properties,” says Greenzweig. “There are ancient ceremonies usingpsychedelicsgoing back thousands and thousands of years, and in the U.S.,psychedelics, at one point, was one of the most prescribed medicines for what we would now call mental health ailments. They graced the covers of Time magazine and celebrities including Cary Grant would talk openly about his treatments and how much they helped. All of this is a long way of saying that human culture has known for a long time thatpsychedelicshave healing powers, and the research that was reignited in the 1990s provided a modern context for their effect. Since the dawn of the digital age, we have become a society more focused on facts than faith, so seeing data and reading research provides many with the comfort of what our ancestors already knew and believed—thatpsychedelicscan help us heal.”

About Heather Mikesell: Heather, co-founder of Well Defined and the former editor-in-chief of American Spa, is an award-winning journalist and content strategist, skilled in writing, copyediting, and media relations. She is also a freelance writer and has contributed toElite Traveler, Islands, Kiwi, Luxury Travel Advisor, Organic Spa, Travel Agent, abcnews.com, outside.com,andwellandgood.com, in addition to various custom publications. She is frequently called upon to comment on various spa and wellness trends for various media outlets.