Ayahuasca — a psychedelic medicine traditionally used by Indigenous communities in South America — has become fashionable, with celebrities like the musician Sting, actress Lindsay Lohan, and NFL quarterback Aaron Rogers drinking it to take a trip into their subconscious minds.
When used to treat mental health, some studies have shown that the psychedelic can be effective. An article in the journal PLOS Mental Health that examines what conditions are most likely to lead to a positive outcome report that making such determinations can be tricky.
An earlier survey of 10,836 ayahuasca ceremony participants found that over half reported adverse mental states after ayahuasca use. Many experienced visual distortions, hallucinations, “feeling down, depressed, or hopeless,” “feeling disconnected or alone,” and “feeling energetically attacked,” according to the earlier study.
The new study dove deeper into a subset of the same participant pool — 5,400 who had the most complete data — ...
