Are Magic Mushrooms Better Than Conventional Therapy and Antidepressants?
Just One Dose Has Proven Effective For Treating Depression For As Long As 5 Years
Depression affects millions of people worldwide, some worse than others.
While many people often deal with temporary bouts of depression, for millions of others, it has become a painful way of life. Carrying depression around can be a painful and heavy burden, yet, despite all the medical advances, we still haven’t been able to treat with great success. Why is that?
There are many reasons why depression is so hard to treat. For one, there is no one root cause; different people suffer from depression caused by different reasons. Severe stress and trauma can trigger depressive episodes in some, while for others, it’s caused by chronic illness, brain chemistry, or no reason at all! Because of that, it can feel impossible to create a one-size-fits-all treatment that will work for many people.
In addition, there is a biological complexity that medical researchers have to contend with. We have to consider that neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, are all involved in one’s state of mind, and can contribute to or prevent depression. This is why developing medications that target all these biological factors so much trickier.
Not to mention the fact that people with depression often have other cognitive distortions and comorbidities, which means that it can greatly affect one’s thinking and feeling.. All these factors and more make coming up with medications and treatments that are successful.
Then all of a sudden, you’ve got people left and right trying magic mushrooms and discovering immense benefits… relief from depression, and finally, the burden feels somewhat lighter. Maybe even gone, completely. Meanwhile, conventional antidepressants require patients to take them daily for months or even years to feel better, while therapy itself can also be challenging - and expensive!
Why Psilocybin Mushrooms Can Be Better Than Therapy
A significant and growing, body of clinical research points to psilocybin and psilocybin-assisted therapy as a viable and long-lasting treatment for depression.
Best of all, one doesn’t even need to take a hefty load of magic mushrooms or continuously trip on it for a long period of time just to experience any benefits! Research shows that just one dose of magic mushrooms can provide sustained relief from the symptoms of depression for months at a time.
That is music to one’s ears, especially for individuals who feel frustrated for trying different types of medications and therapies for a long period of time, and haven’t seen real benefits.
According to one of the latest studies, whose findings were presented last June at the Psychedelic Science 2025 conference in Denver, Colorado, one dose of psilocybin may provide relief from depression for as long as five years.
The new study was originally conducted in 2020, and involved following 24 patients who previously were diagnosed with major depressive disorder or clinical depression, after being given psilocybin treatment. Half of them were given psilocybin at the beginning of the trials, while the rest were given treatment 8 weeks after. Fourteen of them were in complete remission from depression after the study.
“Most people who participated in our trial reported improvements in depression symptom intensity or in the ways inwhich they experienced depression in their life, lasting up to five yeas after the trial,” explains Alan Davis to Fox News Digital, the study’s co-author. Davis is also a director at the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education at The Ohio State University.
“The effectiveness of psilocybin therapy after a signle or only a few administrations represents another substantial advantage over commonly used antidepressants that require daily administration,” said the researchers.
Even for the participants whose symptoms returned, they still acknowledged that there were benefits to the psilocybin treatment. Specifically, they experienced beenfits in their perspectives and attitudes.
Another study, whose results were published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, was conducted by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers and revealed that psilocybin-assisted therapy together with psychotherapy provided patients with a year-long releif from depression. For the study, they analyzed 27 participants, all of whom had a long history with depression. a majority of them struggled with depressive symptoms for around 2 years before treatment began, and they had an average age of 40.
The participants were then given 2 psilocybin doses 2 weeks apart while at the Behavioral Biology Research Center at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Some were given the medication either right away, or after a 8-week period.
They were asked to come back for a follow-up session one then and then a week after their session, as well as at 1, 3, 6, and 12-month intervals. Out of the 27 participants, 24 completed all psilocybin sessions and follow-up evaluations.
According to the researchers, psilocybin was effective in both groups and significant depression scores decreased, as long as 12 months after the initial treatment.
“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,” explained Natalie Gukasyan, MD.
Conclusion
These are incredibly valuable findings that give us hope for the future of depression treatment. Patients with depression no longer have to worry about spending thousands of dollars over the course of many years just to find relief from depression with therapy and drugs. With magic mushrooms, the commitment is so much less, and the rewards are incredible.
It’s also worth noting that while antidepressants usually suppress depressive symptoms, but magic mushrooms can go the extra mile by promoting emotional healing. The very nature of psilocybin may help people confront the very causes of depression through profound experiences - and it’s also much more affordable!
ANTIDEPRESSANTS ON THE BRAIN, READ ON...
