Human Brain (Photo : Reuters)
Psychologists busted the myth that LSD and other psychedelic drugs directly cause psychosis.
Clinical psychologists Teri Suzanne Krebs and Pål-Ørjan Johansen from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology located in Trondheim studied the answers of over 135,000 people who took the United States National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2008 up to 2011, according to Zine Report.
Out of all the survey participants, 14 percent admitted that they have used a kind of psychedelic, including mescaline, which is found in San Pedro cacti and Peyote; psilocybin, which is one of the main ingredients in magic mushrooms; and the famous LSD.
The clinical psychologists discovered that the individuals who used psychedelics did not have increased chances of getting the 11 indicators of mental-health disorders such as suicidal tendencies, schizophrenia, anxiety, psychosis and depression.
The study contradicts the 50-year-old belief that psychedelics are the main reason for developing psychosis.
"Psychedelics are psychologically intense, and many people will blame anything that happens for the rest of their lives on a psychedelic experience," said Kreb.
The researchers studied LSD and the other substances through the human brain's receptor for serotonin 2A. DMT, ketamine, fly agaric mushrooms, MDMA, PCP or hallucinogens in general were not researched as they affected other receptors and have a much more different biochemical reactivity.
In fact, a national survey answered by more than 190,000 adults in the U.S., states that people who used psychedelics such as LSD had a reduced chance of developing psychological distress by 19 percent, lessened chance of suicidal thoughts by 14 percent and a reduced likelihood of planning a suicide by 29 percent, the Medical Express reported.
Out of all the respondents, over 27,000 have reported that they continually use psychedelics, with LSD and psilocybin being the most used.
