The Temporal Trajectory of the Psychedelic Mushroom Experience Mimics the Narrative Arc of the Hero’s Journey
Ari Brouwer, Joshua K. Brown, Earth Erowid, Fire Erowid, Sylvia Thyssen, Charles L. Raison, Robin Carhart-Harris
Research Square (Research Square) February 23, 2024 preprint DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3941205/v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative analysis |
|---|---|
| Population | Individuals reporting psilocybin or psilocybin-containing mushroom experiences |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hero Narrative Arc geometry Trajectory Psychoanalysis Literature Mushroom bodies Aesthetics |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | The comeup phase of psilocybin experiences is more often negatively valenced, while the comedown phase is more often positively valenced, resembling a narrative arc similar to the Hero's Journey. |
Abstract
Abstract Psychedelic therapy has the potential to become a revolutionary and transdiagnostic mental health treatment, yielding enduring benefits that are often attributed to the experiences that coincide with peak psychedelic effects. However, there may be an underrecognized temporal structure to this process that helps explain why psychedelic and related altered states of consciousness can have a initially distressing but ultimately a distress-resolving effect. Here we present a qualitative analysis of the self-reported ‘comeup’ or onset phase, and ‘comedown’ or falling phase, of the psychedelic experience. Focusing on psilocybin or psilocybin-containing mushrooms, we show that the comeup is more often characterized by negatively valenced feeling states, while the comedown phase is more often characterized by positively valenced feeling states of the sort often observed following recovery from illness or adversity. In this way, the temporal trajectory of the psychedelic experience could be seen to mimic the narrative arc of the monomythical ‘Hero’s Journey’.