Exploring the role of psychedelic experiences on wellbeing and symptoms of disordered eating
Nadine Loh, David Luke
Psychoactives March 4, 2025 DOI: 10.3390/psychoactives4010007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 8 |
| Population | Adults aged 25–54 with chronic eating disorders who had used psychedelics in naturalistic or clinical settings |
| Topics | Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Psychedelic treatment Hallucinogen therapy Entheogen therapy Chronic eating disorders Disordered eating Anorexia nervosa Bulimia nervosa Binge eating disorder Mental health transformation Emotional transformation Psychological healing Mental well-being Psychological transformation Recovery & healing Symptom reduction Full recovery Therapeutic outcomes Remission Long-lasting relief |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Seven of eight participants reported lasting cessation or reduction of eating disorder symptoms after psychedelic experiences, with two attributing full recovery to psychedelic use. |
Abstract
Accumulating psychedelic research has demonstrated a potential for improving mental health and wellbeing, yet studies in the context of eating disorders (EDs) are lim- ited. This study aims to explore the subjective effects of psychedelic experiences to gain insight into the benefits and risks for people with EDs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight adults aged 25–54 (mean age = 36.9), reporting to have had expe- riences with EDs and psychedelics in both naturalistic and clinical settings. Participants had multiple diagnoses and suffered chronic EDs, (mean age of onset = 13), diagnosed (N = 7) and undiagnosed (N = 1). Reports of cessation or the reduction of ED symptoms were unanimous and long-lasting for seven, with two participants reporting recovery attributed to psychedelic use. Two participants reported relapsing, attributed to environ- mental factors in the months following. Thematic analysis resulted in two superordinate themes, each comprising three subordinate themes. The first superordinate theme, ‘Ex- ploring’ via the ‘gateway to healing’, illustrates mental, emotional, and transcendental elements of psychedelic experiences. The second superordinate theme, ‘Transformation’ and being ‘able to do the work’, illustrates cognitive and behavioural outcomes, with retrospective safety perceptions. These findings may provide more in-depth information on what benefits and experiences people with EDs can obtain from the use of psychedelic drugs and may inform more robust investigations of psychedelic-assisted therapy for the treatment of EDs
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients’ Accounts of Increased “Connectedness” and “Acceptance” After Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Patients with treatment-resistant depression enrolled in an open-label trial of psilocybin | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 20 |
| LSD-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with a life-threatening disease: A qualitative study of acute and sustained subjective effects Patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases | 2014 | Prospective follow-up with qualitative content analysis | n = 10 |
| Patient Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Adults aged 22 to 69 with clinically elevated anxiety associated with a cancer diagnosis | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 13 |
| Psychedelic therapy for smoking cessation: Qualitative analysis of participant accounts Participants who completed a psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation pilot study | 2018 | Qualitative follow-up study using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis | n = 12 |
| The hidden therapist: evidence for a central role of music in psychedelic therapy Patients undergoing psychedelic therapy with psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression | 2018 | Qualitative study | n = 19 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 110
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Psychopharmacology July 7, 2006
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 23, 2012
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
and 105 more in the library