Classical Psychedelic Use and Mental Health Mechanisms: Investigating the Mediating Role of Spirituality and Emotional Processing on Anxiety, Depressed Mood, and Eating Disorder Symptoms in a Community Sample

First published October 9, 2021 in Research Article

Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678211048049

Commentary

This study resumed a body of research on the relationship between psychedelics use, mental health, and well-being.

Preliminary findings of the therapeutic value of substance use are promising, but the mechanism by which psychedelics use constitutes a reduction in mental distress is unknown. The researcher surveyed a community sample of individuals. (n=159) Participants endorsed lifelong psychedelics use and examined the relationship between psychedelics use and self-reported symptoms of spirituality, emotion regulation difficulties, and mental health problems.

These results revealed a pathway in which classic psychedelics use predicted greater psychosexuality, which in turn predicted better emotion regulation, and ultimately lower levels of anxiety, depressed mood, and eating disorders. They are described as contributing to our understanding of the mechanisms of potential change regarding psychedelics and mental health.