Background: Orgasmic Meditation (OM) is a structured attention-training practice conducted between two people who follow a predefined set of detailed instructions.One person, the stroker, gently strokes the clitoris of the other person, the strokee, for 15 minutes while both place their attention on the point of contact and notice what they feel.Climax is not the goal.This study examined...
Dissociative neurological symptom disorder (DNSD), termed functional neurological symptom disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), presents with neurological symptoms not explained by structural disease.The first line treatment of DNSD is psychotherapy, but when the conflict maintaining the symptoms cannot be put into words,...
CureusSeptember 24, 2026Angelos Kandilas, Alexandros Samolis, Theodosis Kalamatianos et al.
Self-awareness encompasses the capacity to recognize and evaluate information about oneself, including mental states, actions, autobiographical history, and bodily experience.Although closely related to consciousness, autobiographical memory, metacognition, clinical insight, anosognosia, and bodily selfconsciousness, these constructs are not interchangeable.This focused narrative review...
Recreational nitrous oxide (N2O) inhalation is increasingly prevalent among young adults, but acute psychiatric presentations following short-term binge exposure remain poorly characterized. We report a case of a female in her early 20s with no prior history of psychotic illness who developed an acute psychotic and dissociative syndrome over three days at an outdoor music festival. Her...
An Executive Order signed in April 2026 directed US federal agencies to expedite development and review pathways for psychedelic and psychedelic-adjacent (such as ibogaine) therapies. The FDA issued Commissioner's National Priority Vouchers to psilocybin developers, and cleared the investigational new drug (IND) application for noribogaine hydrochloride for alcohol use disorder. These...
Background Psychological stress contributes to mental health symptoms and cardiovascular risk through pathways involving anxiety, depression, cortisol secretion, autonomic dysregulation, and elevated blood pressure. Sound-based meditation is a nonpharmacological approach that may support stress management, but randomized controlled trial evidence remains limited. Objective The objective was to...
CureusAugust 18, 2026Daniel Crail-Meléndez, David Omar López Hernández, Iris E Martínez-Juárez
Functional neurological disorders (FND) are dissociative conditions characterized by an involuntary disruption in the integration of motor, sensory, or cognitive functions, occurring in the absence of structural or biochemical abnormalities. FND can manifest with symptoms that mimic sleep disorders, such as cataplexy - the pathognomonic symptom of narcolepsy type 1 (NT1). NT1 is defined by...
CureusAugust 2026Mariam A Omar, Muhammad Ishfaq, Rajasundram Rajaganeshan et al.
Chronic ketamine misuse is a well-recognized cause of ketamine-induced uropathy (KIU), characterized by severe lower urinary tract symptoms and markedly reduced bladder capacity. Its potential association with anorectal dysfunction remains poorly described. We report two young adults with KIU who developed progressive pelvic floor dysfunction and anorectal pathology ranging from pelvic floor...
CureusJuly 9, 2026Omofolarin Debellotte, Amuksha Ravindra Shetty, Yuzhu Wang et al.
Suicide remains a leading global cause of preventable mortality, with sleep disturbances, particularly insomnia, nightmares, and circadian disruption, emerging as critical yet underrecognized contributors to suicidal ideation and behavior. This narrative review synthesizes current evidence on the multifaceted links between sleep disorders and suicidality, integrating findings from...
CureusJuly 1, 2026S. Pierce, Sarah Gergis, Sophia Dragan et al.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a colorless, odorless gas gaining popularity among recreational drug users for its euphoric effects. Whip-it!™ is a low-cost, freely available form of N2O commonly abused in parties and nightclubs. Chronic N2O use can inactivate vitamin B12, causing severe deficiency, anemia, neuropathy, and myelopathy. Here, we report a 19-year-old female with no significant past medical...
CureusJuly 2026Mia A Panlilio, Natalie Piserchio, Mercedes Hennessey et al.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an endocrine hormone that plays a role in lowering blood glucose levels and promoting weight loss. GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are synthetic peptides that mimic the activity of GLP-1, and the recent development of GLP-1 RA medications has been a major historical advancement in the treatment of diabetes and obesity. Despite the rapid development of...
CureusJuly 1, 2026Aishwarya Vaidya, Unnati Pandit, Kirti K. Jadhav
Background: Relaxation techniques are widely studied for their influence on autonomic nervous system activity and pain perception. The requiescence technique (RT) is a structured integrative relaxation technique incorporating breathing exercises, guided imagery, colour-based visualisation, gentle movements, and meditation. The present study focused on the reproducibility of physiological and...
CureusJuly 2026V Vinu, B Manasa, Nagendra K Prasad et al.
Pranic Healing (PH) is a naturopathic modality rooted in the biofield concept of prana (life force), employing non-touch techniques to normalize and balance the energy body to support well-being. While the primary focus of Pranic Healing facilitators (PHFs) is the improvement of recipient health, previous studies suggest that PH techniques of hand sensitization and pranic energization enhance...
A 16-year-old post-pubertal female presented with mixed anxiety-depressive symptoms, prominent obsessive rumination, relationship-centered guilt, reassurance-seeking, fantasy intrusions, and difficulty separating fantasy from reality during periods of distress. Baseline scores were in the moderate range for depression and severe range for anxiety, with a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score of...
The rapid integration of AI chatbots powered by large language models (LLMs) into daily life has been accompanied by reports of psychosis-like presentations following intensive human-AI interaction, a phenomenon we provisionally label AI-induced psychosis as a working construct rather than a validated clinical entity. This hypothesis-generating narrative review synthesizes case reports from...
CureusJune 13, 2026Akemini J Udoro, Yadanar Yukyi, Ali Z Ansari et al.
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring hallucinogen known to produce alterations in perception, cognition, and autonomic function through its effects on central serotonergic pathways. Products marketed as “mushroom” formulations may contain psilocybin or related psychoactive compounds despite ambiguous labeling and limited regulatory clarity, creating diagnostic challenges for clinicians in acute...
A proportion of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) continue to experience disabling symptoms despite standard serotonergic treatment, antipsychotic augmentation, and psychological input. Contamination-focused OCD can be especially persistent when rituals are embedded in the home environment and reinforced by family patterns. Recent work has drawn attention to glutamatergic...
Sleep-related rhythmic movement disorder (SRRMD) is uncommon in adults. It can closely mimic nocturnal epilepsy and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD), creating significant diagnostic challenges. We report the case of a man in his mid-20s presenting with chief complaints of nightly head movements during sleep occurring multiple times each night. He intentionally shook his...
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains a significant clinical concern, particularly in patients who do not achieve adequate response with conventional antidepressant therapies. Ketamine and esketamine, which act on glutamatergic pathways, have been introduced into clinical practice as alternative therapeutic approaches within interventional psychiatry. This narrative review outlines key...
In this case report, we highlight a 28-year-old male patient with predominantly retarded type of catatonia following a single incidence of psilocybin ingestion. This patient presented with a history of six months of mutism and inability to feed himself after consuming psilocybin for the first time. He did not have any history of psychiatric illness or substance use. Imaging and laboratory...
While the clinical archetype of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) toxicity is traditionally associated with young individuals in nightlife environments, particularly in nightclubs and rave settings, its emerging role in therapeutic research may contribute to increasing unsupervised use. As MDMA gains mainstream attention for its potential mental health benefits, particularly for...
CureusMay 1, 2026Richa Tikaria, A. Kapp, Samantha Shook et al.
Recreational nitrous oxide (N2O) use has increased in recent years and is an increasingly recognized cause of functional vitamin B12 deficiency with associated neurological and systemic complications. This systematic review and meta-analysis summarizes published case reports and case series describing the clinical, biochemical, and neurodiagnostic features of N2O-induced B12 deficiency. A...
In many settings, postgraduate psychiatry training now emphasizes neuroscience, evidence-based treatment, diagnostic criteria, and structured psychological models. These advances have improved psychiatric care in important ways. They have strengthened diagnosis, expanded treatment options, and improved scientific understanding of mental illness. At the same time, this increasing focus on...
Trauma-related dissociation can present with derealisation, depersonalisation, abrupt lapses in awareness, memory gaps, and fugue-like states, and it may be difficult to treat with standard approaches alone. Glutamatergic interventions have been proposed as neuroplasticity-focused strategies because N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonism and downstream...
CureusMay 1, 2026Anupinder Thind, Pravin M Pisudde, Sonia Kochhar
Medical education has long been acknowledged as a very stressful career path that exposes students to greater chances of anxiety and burnout. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the overall impact of yoga-based volitional breathing (pranayama) interventions on self-perceived stress and anxiety among medical students worldwide. The review analysis was...