Reduced death anxiety as a mediator of the relationship between acute subjective effects of psychedelics and improved subjective well-being

Moreton, Sam G; Arena, Andrew F.; Foy, Yolanda; Menzies, Rachel E.

doi:10.1080/07481187.2023.2169848

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Thus, it is possible that there is a floor effect where a few experiences are sufficient for lessening death anxiety. This aligns with studies that illustrate a reduction in death anxiety following the use of psychedelics ( 32 , 93 ). An alternative explanation is that some of the APD experiences may have been difficult and challenging.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Ayahuasca-induced personal death experiences: prevalence, characteristics, and impact on attitudes toward death, life, and the environment

David,

Bouso,

Kohek

et al. 2023

Front. Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionDespite an emerging understanding regarding the pivotal mechanistic role of subjective experiences that unfold during acute psychedelic states, very little has been done in the direction of better characterizing such experiences and determining their long-term impact. The present paper utilizes two cross-sectional studies for spotlighting – for the first time in the literature – the characteristics and outcomes of self-reported past experiences related to one’s subjective sense of death during ayahuasca ceremonies, termed here Ayahuasca-induced Personal Death (APD) experiences.MethodsStudy 1 (n = 54) reports the prevalence, demographics, intensity, and impact of APDs on attitudes toward death, explores whether APDs are related with psychopathology, and reveals their impact on environmental concerns. Study 2 is a larger study (n = 306) aiming at generalizing the basic study 1 results regarding APD experience, and in addition, examining whether APDs is associated with self-reported coping strategies and values in life.ResultsOur results indicate that APDs occur to more than half of those participating in ayahuasca ceremonies, typically manifest as strong and transformative experiences, and are associated with an increased sense of transcending death (study 1), as well as the certainty in the continuation of consciousness after death (study 2). No associations were found between having undergone APD experiences and participants’ demographics, personality type, and psychopathology. However, APDs were associated with increased self-reported environmental concern (study 1). These experiences also impact life in profound ways. APDs were found to be associated with increases in one’s self-reported ability to cope with distress-causing life problems and the sense of fulfillment in life (study 2).DiscussionThe study’s findings highlight the prevalence, safety and potency of death experiences that occur during ayahuasca ceremonies, marking them as possible mechanisms for psychedelics’ long-term salutatory effects in non-clinical populations. Thus, the present results join other efforts of tracking and characterizing the profound subjective experiences that occur during acute psychedelic states.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Ayahuasca-induced personal death experiences: prevalence, characteristics, and impact on attitudes toward death, life, and the environment

David,

Bouso,

Kohek

et al. 2023

Front. Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In many cultures, psychedelics like psilocybin, ayahuasca, and mescaline are essential elements of traditional medicine to assist people in their personal development, religious and spiritual experiences, and mental health. Nowadays, psychedelic substances are increasingly studied in Western medicine, which is trying to improve mental health and well-being in psychiatric, addiction, and physical medicine, including interventions for endof-life anxiety (Geyer 2023;Moreton et al 2023). Studies suggest that spiritual experiences during treatment with psychedelics correlate with improved well-being and mental health and a decrease in end-of-life anxiety (Yaden and Griffiths 2021;Nayak et al 2023;Olson 2021).…”

Section: Psychedelic Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spirituality as a Therapeutic Approach for Severe Mental Illness: Insights from Neural Networks

Knegtering,

Bruggeman,

Spoelstra

2024

Religions

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article explores the link between spirituality/religiosity and mental health from a clinical and neuroscience perspective, taking into account the advancements in neuroimaging. Specifically, it examines how spirituality influences the treatment of mental illness, emphasizing the importance of neuronal networks in cognitive and emotional processes, with a focus on the default mode network (DMN) of the brain. The discussion explores the role of spirituality/religiosity in managing mental disorders and how alterations in the DMN may provide insight into the impact of spirituality/religiosity on mental health. By also discussing spiritual and non-spiritual meditation, as well as spiritual experiences facilitated by the use of psychedelics in psychiatry and the associated brain networks, we aim to elaborate on the importance and limitations of spirituality within psychiatry.

show abstract

“…Unsurprisingly, a very high proportion of respondents in both (drug and non-drug) groups showed reduced fear of death as measured by the Revised Death Attitude Profile (DAP-R). Moreton et al [25] administered various measures to people who reported having had a "meaningful" psychedelic experience, and found reductions in fear of death as measured by the Fear of Death subscale of the DAP-R; these reductions correlated with improved subjective well-being. Finally, Moreton et al [27] surveyed people who reported having had a "significant" psychedelic experience, and found reductions in fear of death as measured by the revised Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale; these reductions correlated with reduced symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.…”

Section: Do Psychedelics Reduce Fear Of Death?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In their study of "meaningful" psychedelic experiences, Moreton et al [25] found that ratings of acute mystical-type experience correlated significantly with reductions in fear of death, but ratings of acute psychological insight did not. Furthermore, while both mystical-type experience and psychological insight correlated significantly with increased subjective well-being, the former correlation was mediated by reductions in death anxiety, while the latter was not.…”

Section: A Limited Defence Of the Metaphysical Belief Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

How Do Psychedelics Reduce Fear of Death?

Letheby

2024

Neuroethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Increasing evidence suggests that psychedelic experiences, undergone in controlled conditions, can have various durable psychological benefits. One such benefit is reductions in fear of death, which have been attested in both psychiatric patients and healthy people. This paper addresses the question: how, exactly, do psychedelic experiences reduce fear of death? It argues, against some prominent proposals, that they do so mainly by promoting non-physicalist metaphysical beliefs. This conclusion has implications for two broader debates: one about the mechanisms of psychedelic therapy, and one about the potential non-medical uses of psychedelics for the alleviation of existential angst in psychiatrically healthy people. On the first count, the paper argues that the role of metaphysical belief change in fear of death supports the “Relaxed Beliefs Under Psychedelics” (REBUS) model of psychedelic therapy over alternative accounts. On the second count, the paper argues that the role of metaphysical belief change undermines the proposed use of psychedelics in the “neuroexistentialist” project of naturalizing spirituality. The best available evidence suggests that when psychedelic experiences reduce existential angst and restore a sense of meaning in life, they do so primarily by persuading people of the falsity of a broadly naturalistic worldview, and thus do not help reconcile people to the truth of such a worldview.

show abstract

Reduced death anxiety as a mediator of the relationship between acute subjective effects of psychedelics and improved subjective well-being

Cited by 6 publications

References 57 publications

Ayahuasca-induced personal death experiences: prevalence, characteristics, and impact on attitudes toward death, life, and the environment

Ayahuasca-induced personal death experiences: prevalence, characteristics, and impact on attitudes toward death, life, and the environment

Spirituality as a Therapeutic Approach for Severe Mental Illness: Insights from Neural Networks

How Do Psychedelics Reduce Fear of Death?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About