Tripping to Cope: Coping Strategies and Use of Hallucinogens during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Three Cultural Contexts

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has made evident the need to develop effective strategies to cushion the psychological consequences of social catastrophes. Preliminary evidence suggests that the use of hallucinogens is a protective factor that mitigates against such stressors. However, the underlying mechanisms must be further explored. This study specifically focused on the potential role of coping strategies in this regard, analyzing them through an online survey completed by a total of 2971 subjects who were followed up with from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic until six months after baseline. The survey was published in three different cultures (English, Spanish, and Portuguese), allowing for the collection of data from three different cultural contexts. The results show that coping strategies were generally more related to psychological well-being and psychopathology than to hallucinogenic drug use. However, regarding the latter, users of hallucinogens had higher scores on problem-focused engagement and disengagement and lower scores on wishful thinking than non-users. Longitudinally, while most baseline coping scores were associated with psychological distress and the severity of psychological symptoms, some coping strategies were related to the use of hallucinogens. These results show an adaptive pattern of coping strategies among hallucinogen users. Further research should take into account that coping strategies are only marginally associated with hallucinogenic drug use. Other underlying mechanisms explaining the better adjustment of users of hallucinogens to pandemics should be explored.

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

“…The yAPD group demonstrated higher problem-focused coping scores, compared to the nAPD group, albeit emotion-focused coping did not differ between the two groups. These results are aligned with a previous study demonstrating that hallucinogen usage led to increased problem-focused, but not emotional coping engagement when dealing with the challenges posed by COVID-19 ( 77 ). Generally, problem-focused coping involves taking practical steps toward actively addressing the source of stress or problem, while emotion-focused coping focuses on managing and regulating emotions in response to stress without directly addressing the stressor itself ( 107 ).…”

“…Several studies provided evidence of enhanced coping abilities among psychedelic users ( 17 , 77 , 104 , 105 ), and the modulatory role of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors in shaping coping styles has been suggested ( 106 ). However, the particular experiential aspects that serve as mechanisms of change have received minimal investigation.…”

“…Participants dedicated around 30 min to complete an online questionnaire including demographics, ayahuasca consumption patterns, information on APD experiences (as in Study 1), and a comprehensive public health survey (to be reported elsewhere). In addition, each participant completed two questionnaires indexing coping style with distress and values in life [see ( 76 , 77 )].…”

Longitudinal and transcultural assessment of the relationship between hallucinogens, well-being, and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Moreover, regular use of hallucinogenic drugs was specifically associated with higher scores on the PTG scales (relating to others, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change, and appreciation of life). In relation to that, another manuscript focused on coping strategies and use of hallucinogens showed that regular users of these drugs are more prone to use adaptive coping strategies 62 . This is highly relevant in the context of the recently published research on the potential of MDMA for the treatment of PTSD 63 .…”

“…It is possible, therefore, that the willingness that users tend to show toward exposing themselves to highly challenging experiences is somehow related to their better PTG scores. In addition, this continuous exposure to challenging experiences could have provided personal resources to deal with pandemic stress, partially explaining the better scores on mental health and well-being they showed in different studies 34 , 62 . Previous research has shown different personality traits between hallucinogenic drug users and non-users, especially in the case of ayahuasca, as well as differences between users depending on the environment in which they live 31 , 76 .…”