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Therapeutic Potential of Psilocybin for Treating Neuropsychiatric Long COVID Symptoms: A Reddit Investigation

Lukas Bobak, Ian Dorney, Alexsandra Kovacevich, Brian S. Barnett

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs March 14, 2025 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2025.2478097 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative analysis of social media posts Peer reviewed
Sample size 110
Population Reddit users with self-reported long COVID who used psilocybin
Intervention Psilocybin
Topics Psilocybin
Keywords Pasc Covid-19 psilocybin Long covid Post-covid-19 condition Psychedelics Psilocybin magic mushrooms
Citations 2
Key findings 78.2% of 110 Reddit posts reported any improvement in long COVID symptoms after psilocybin use, with 77.9% of those improvements lasting beyond the acute experience.

Abstract

Long COVID lacks effective pharmaceutical treatment options. Psychedelic treatment for long COVID has received attention given anecdotal reports of neuropsychiatric symptom improvement. This study investigates the use of psilocybin for neuropsychiatric long COVID symptoms, examining online accounts of individuals with reported long COVID using psilocybin. We searched the Reddit communities, "r/LongCovid," and "r/covidlonghaulers" for terms, "psilocybin," "shrooms," and "magic mushrooms." Posts were included if they self-reported (1) neuropsychiatric symptoms of long COVID, (2) use of psilocybin, and (3) descriptions of the perceived effect or lack thereof on long COVID symptoms. Posts were manually coded to identify the nature of psilocybin ingestion, long COVID symptoms, and post's author's perceived effect on symptoms. The most common symptoms identified were fatigue (47.3%, N = 52), cognitive impairment (46.4%, N = 51), and depression (30.0%, N = 33). Of 110 posts meeting criteria, 78.2% (N = 86) reported any improvement in long COVID symptoms, while 11.8% (N = 13) reported worsening. For those with improvement, 77.9% (N = 67) reported improvement lasting beyond their acute psychedelic experience, while 5.8% (N = 5) reported improvement only during the experience. Given these findings, studies employing comparison social media data for other long COVID self-treatments and/or prospective observational studies of individuals self-treating neuropsychiatric long COVID symptoms with psychedelics may be warranted.

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on psilocybin, 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
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
Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD Cluster headache patients who used psilocybin or LSD 2006 Qualitative study n = 53
Cancer at the Dinner Table: Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Cancer-Related Distress Adult participants with clinically elevated anxiety associated with a cancer diagnosis 2017 Qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis n = 13

Citations in the library

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