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Nutrition and Psychedelia in the Treatment of Anorexia
Created on: 2023-08-05
A recent study has been published examining the use of a psychedelic - psilocybin - as a treatment for anorexia nervosa. Please note, this is in Nature Medicine, a reputable scientific journal.
Anorexia is a dangerous illness, with high risk of morbidity (sickness) and the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric illnesses. One of the difficulties in treating it is in that it alters the sufferers' perception, so that many are reluctant to seek help.
Psilocybin comes from the psilocybe mushroom, popularly known as "magic mushroom", and has hallucinatory and psychedelic effects. As with other psychedelics, there are also risks involved.
As with many psychiatric conditions, there are ways to deal with this with a natural healing approach.
However, Stephanie Knatz Peck, at the University of California, led this preliminary study into its use. The rationale was that psychedelics are known to open the mind, and as the treatment does not involve immediate weight gain, it can be seen as less threatening to patients.
The study enrolled ten female subjects who had mild to moderate anorexia, and treated them with a single 25mg dose of synthetic psilocybin. Food and psychological support were available.