Extended difficulties following the use of psychedelic drugs: A mixed methods study
Summary & key facts
Researchers collected survey answers and written stories from about 600 people who said they had long-lasting problems after using psychedelic drugs. They looked at where and how the drugs were taken, what kinds of difficulties people had, how long the problems lasted, and what might have caused them. The most common problems were anxiety and fear, deep existential worry, feeling cut off from others, and feeling detached from yourself or reality. About one-third of people had problems lasting more than a year, and about one-sixth had problems lasting more than three years. The study also found that knowing the dose and drug, and having an easier experience during the trip, was linked to a shorter recovery time, while taking drugs in a guided setting was linked to a narrower range of problems. The authors discuss how this information could help reduce harm.
- The study included about 600 people who reported extended difficulties after using psychedelic drugs and gave both survey answers and written descriptions of their experiences.
- The most common long-term problems were anxiety and fear, deep existential struggle, social disconnection, and depersonalization or derealization (feeling detached from yourself or the world).
- Around one-third of participants had problems that lasted longer than one year.
- About one-sixth of participants reported problems that lasted longer than three years.
- Shorter-lasting difficulties were linked with people knowing the dose they took, knowing which drug they took, and reporting less difficulty during the active psychedelic experience.
- Taking the drug in a guided setting was linked with a narrower range of different difficulties experienced afterward.
- The study combined numbers and personal reports so it could show both how common these problems are and how people actually described them.
Abstract
Long-term adverse experiences following psychedelic use can persist for weeks, months, or even years, and are relatively unexplored in psychedelic research. Our convergent mixed-method study gained quantitative and qualitative data from 608 participants who reported extended difficulties following psychedelic experiences. Data was gathered on the context of use, the nature and duration of the challenges they experienced (including a written description of these), plus a range of possible risk factors and perceived causes. The most common forms of extended difficulty were feelings of anxiety and fear, existential struggle, social disconnection, depersonalization and derealization. For approximately one-third of the participants, problems persisted for over a year, and for a sixth, they endured for more than three years. It was found that a shorter duration of difficulties was predicted by knowledge of dose, drug type and lower levels of difficulty reported during the psychoactive experience, while a narrower range of difficulties was predicted by taking the drug in a guided setting. Implications for psychedelic harm reduction are discussed.
