Responding to existential distress at the end of life: Psychedelics and psychedelic experiences and/ as medicine
Neuroethics August 24, 2024 DOI: 10.1007/s12152-024-09571-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | End-of-life distress |
| Keywords | Existentialism Meaning existential Context archaeology Distress Bioethics Psychotherapist Expression computer science Psychoanalysis Epistemology Law |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key points | Argues that the advent of psychedelic medicine highlights implications for how meaning and meaninglessness are addressed in healthcare, and calls for bioethics to engage as a cultural discourse in shaping these futures. |
Abstract
Abstract This essay engages with the (re)emergence of psychedelic medicine and the idea of psychedelics drugs and the experiences they induce as a developing therapeutic modality. It does so in the context of the provision of psychedelics to terminally ill patients experiencing existential distress as they approach the end of their lives. Reflecting on such suggestions facilitates an examination of a specific aspect of psychedelics and/ as medicine (or palliative care), namely questions of meaning and meaninglessness. Understood as impacting one’s ability to make or realise meaning in life, existential distress commonly entails a degree of demoralisation. In some cases, individuals can be thought of as inhabiting (and being inhabited by) a sense of meaninglessness. In contrast, the experiences psychedelics seem to induce are often imbued with a great deal of meaning, a sense of which seems to continue long after the psychoactive effects of such drugs have ceased. Whilst briefly considering whether or not meaning can properly be thought of as a matter for healthcare or a medical concern, this paper seeks to highlight some of the implications that the advent of psychedelic medicine might have. By way of a conclusion, I enjoin bioethics in recognising itself as a meaningful cultural discourse that is implicated in the future(s) of medicine, psychedelics and being human.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on end-of-life distress, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palliative Nursing and Sacred Medicine: A Holistic Stance on Entheogens, Healing, and Spiritual Care. Patients with advanced serious illness | 2019 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psychedelics and Dying Care: A Historical Look at the Relationship between Psychedelics and Palliative Care. Historical context of dying care | 2019 | Historical analysis | |
| Psychedelics, spirituality, and existential distress in patients at the end of life. | 2025 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psychedelic Ethics in Palliative Care. | 2025 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psychedelics in Palliative Care | 2025 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 71
- Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Psychopharmacology July 7, 2006
- Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. The Lancet Psychiatry May 17, 2016
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
and 66 more in the library