New research suggests that combining meditation and psilocybin may improve symptoms of depression.

People often still regard psychedelic psychotherapy as a controversial treatment. However, recent evidence suggests that hallucinogens may have benefits for depression and anxiety disorders when individuals use them with certain other therapies.

The reasoning behind this is still unclear, but one theory states that psychedelics can help quicken the realization and thought processes a person needs for their therapy to work.

Psilocybin, a psychedelic that people find in magic mushrooms, has been the subject of several studies. Its effects can range from assisting with social interactions to limiting a person’s focus on themselves.

One such study, appearing in the Journal of Psychopharmacology in 2016, found that psilocybin, together with psychotherapy, produced antidepressant effects in patients with life-threatening cancer.

Researchers at Imperial College London found similar benefits in people with depression who had not responded to other treatments. Neuroimaging revealed the drug could turn off a part of the brain that is always on when a person is awake. Neuroscientists call this brain element the default mode network.

Earlier this year, the U.K. university opened the world’s first center for psychedelics research. A trial currently underway at the center is comparing the effects of psilocybin with those of a well-known antidepressant.

In the meantime, according to new findings that now appear in the journal Scientific Reports, combining psilocybin with a form of meditation may produce even more positive benefits.

The power of mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness meditation is already known to have a similar psychedelic effect to psilocybin, including reducing self-focus and boosting feelings of self-transcendence.

In the latest study, a team from the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich in Switzerland has combined the two to look at the joint impact for the first time.

Some 39 Buddhist meditation practitioners took part in a 5-day mindfulness retreat. Guided by a Zen teacher, they stuck to strict schedules that lasted from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.

The practice — known as sesshin — involves sitting meditation sessions, indoor and outdoor walking meditation, and mindful physical activities. Participants were silent throughout.

On the fourth day of the retreat, the researchers gave some participants psilocybin while administering a placebo to the remainder.

Blocking negative impacts

Using questionnaires and mindfulness scales, among other neurocognitive measurements, the team found that, after 4 months, psilocybin takers had more positive changes.

These changes related to aspects such as empathy, self-acceptance, and psychosocial functioning.

Notably, even before the 4-month follow-up, “psilocybin markedly increased the incidence and intensity of self-transcendence virtually without inducing any anxiety compared to participants who received the placebo,” says Lukasz Smigielski, first author of the study.

In fact, researchers believe the skills gained during the meditation retreat helped guard against any negative impact from taking the psilocybin.

Predictors of a positive outcome included the depth of meditation and participants’ optimism and openness.

Another treatment for depression?

The intensity of the retreat and expertise of the participants may have limited the application of the findings, however. It may take the average person longer to experience the full benefits of mindfulness meditation, and many individuals will not have access to a structured, retreat-type experience.

But, says study director Prof. Franz Vollenweider, the findings could pave the way for “new therapeutic avenues.”

One example, he notes, could be “for the treatment of depression, which is often accompanied by increased self-focus and social deficits.”

With millions of adults in the United States currently living with depression, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, this novel method could provide many more research opportunities.

As with all such research avenues, however, it is likely to take time before psychedelic psychotherapy or psychedelic enhanced meditation wholly enter the mental health conversation.

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CBD is one of over 100 compounds called cannabinoids, which are found in the plant Cannabis sativa.

While CBD is similar to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the two compounds act differently in the body. THC is responsible for the feelings of euphoria, or the “high,” that a person experiences while using cannabis.

CBD does not have these effects on the body — it does not cause a high or feelings of euphoria.

In this article, learn about the potential for CBD to help relieve the symptoms of depression. CBD may not be right for everyone, and there are some other things to consider before using CBD treatment for any condition.

CBD for depression

CBD could be useful in treating depression, as it appears to have a positive interaction with serotonin receptors in the brain.

Depression and anxiety disorders are common mental health conditions that can have lasting effects on a person’s health, social life, ability to work, and overall well-being.

A doctor may prescribe pharmaceutical drugs to help a person treat or manage depression. Many of these drugs have difficult side effects, such as mood swings, sleeplessness, and sexual dysfunction.

CBD has shown promise in initial studies as a treatment for both depression and anxiety, and it may cause fewer side effects in some people.

The findings of research from 2014 may help explain why CBD could be useful in treating depression. They indicate that, in most studies, CBD appears to have a positive interaction with serotonin receptors in the brain.

Serotonin impacts a range of functions in the body, including a person’s emotional state and feelings of well-being or happiness. Keeping serotonin levels balanced is often a key therapy for people with depression.

What the research says

Testing in animal models has provided some evidence for the use of CBD to help treat depression.

According to the authors of the 2014 review, results from a variety of studies indicate that CBD appears to act as an antidepressant and antianxiety compound in animal models of depression.

Authors of a review from 2018 also noted that many studies have shown the anti-stress and antidepressant activity of CBD in animal models.

The compound exhibits a clear anti-stress effect after short- or long-term use. In certain tests, CBD acted as an antidepressant.

The authors also found that the compound worked without activating the brain’s endocannabinoid receptors directly, which may indicate that there is less risk of CBD becoming habit-forming, or addictive.

This is important because many people are concerned about the habit-forming potential of antidepressants and cannabis compounds.

In a study from 2018, researchers indicated that CBD has promise as a fast-acting antidepressant.

Most researchers conducting animal studies of CBD call for more direct research in humans, but their initial results are an essential step toward establishing how CBD works in the body.

CBD for panic and anxiety

Taking CBD may be helpful for people with anxiety or panic disorder.

Some studies in humans show that CBD may be useful for other issues commonly associated with depression, such as anxiety or panic disorder.

A 2017 review of the potential benefits of CBD for panic disorder found some positive results.

According to the authors, panic disorder affects approximately 5 percent of the worldwide population and causes unexpected and recurring panic attacks.

In human models, a single dose of 300 milligrams (mg) of CBD caused a notable decrease in anxiety levels after a simulated public speaking test, according to one study in the review.

Another found that 600 mg of CBD caused a significant reduction of anxiety measures in people with social anxiety disorder.

Side effects

Taking CBD orally, inhaling it, or using it topically usually does not appear to cause side effects.

However, if someone is sensitive to the compounds in CBD, they may experience:

CBD can also interact with a range of medications. Anyone considering using CBD should speak to a doctor about their existing medications to check for any interactions.

How to use it

People can take CBD using various tinctures, capsules, and oils.

Many people choose to take CBD orally, using various tinctures, capsules, and oils.

CBD may be most effective when a person uses it regularly.

There does not appear to be a risk of developing an addiction to CBD, so long-term use may be safe for most people.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate natural supplements such as CBD, so it is crucial to buy only reputable products.

Also, it is a good idea to check for third-party lab results that indicate the levels of CBD in any given product.

Summary

CBD is a potent compound that is gaining popularity as an alternative medicine.

While there is some promising evidence for the future use of CBD as an antidepressant, more research in humans is necessary to determine whether it is safe or effective.

Anyone interested in using CBD for depression or anxiety should speak to a doctor about how to use it and the risk of interactions with other medications.

Can our dietary practices help keep depression at bay?

On a global level, we are now facing two concerning epidemics, one of which relates to the health of the body and the other to that of the mind, namely, obesity and depression.

In the United States alone, approximately 70 percent of all men and women are overweight or have obesity, while about 6.7 percent of all U.S. adults live with major depressive disorder.

Previous studies have suggested that people who are overweight or have obesity are also more likely to experience depression, leading researchers to wonder whether making dietary changes could help fend off depression.

In a new study called the MooDFOOD trial, a team from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the University of Balearic Islands in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and the University of Leipzig in Germany decided to find out whether different dietary strategies would have any effect on mental health outcomes in overweight or obese people.

“Because depression is such a common problem, finding effective and widely available ways to prevent depression at a population level is an important goal,” notes Prof. Ed Watkins, one of the study authors.

The researchers’ findings, which now appear in JAMA, offer some hope that certain dietary interventions could be helpful. However, the overall suggestion is that simply making nutritional changes may not be enough to prevent instances of depression.

Supplements bring no mental health benefits

For the trial, the investigators recruited 1,025 participants who each had a body mass index (BMI) higher than 25, meaning that they were either overweight or had obesity.

The study participants were living in four different countries — the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain — and specialist assessments had found them all to be at high risk of developing depression, although none of them had depression at baseline.

The researchers randomly assigned about half of the volunteers to take nutritional supplements, including folic acid, vitamin D, omega-3 fish oils, zinc, and selenium, on a daily basis, while the other half received a placebo.

Half of the participants in the treatment cohort also received psychological and behavioral interventions aiming to help them improve their dietary habits.

After a 1-year follow-up period, the investigators found that taking supplements did not have any protective effect against depression compared with the placebo.

“Diet and nutrition held promise as one means to reach large numbers of people. However, this trial convincingly demonstrates that nutritional supplements do not help to prevent depression,” Prof. Watkins explains.

Dietary patterns may play a role

Behavioral therapy to encourage better dietary habits yielded results that were more positive, but not significantly so. This intervention did not perform better than the supplement regimen in keeping depression at bay.

However, attending the full number of sessions that the organizers recommended did seem to prevent some depressive episodes in participants who complied with this advice.

“There was a suggestion that changing food-related behavior and diet may help to prevent depression, but this requires further investigation,” Prof. Watkins points out.

MooDFOOD trial coordinators Prof. Marjolein Visser and Prof. Ingeborg Brouwer explain that their project, which is the largest randomized clinical trial of its kind to date, led to three major conclusions:

“First, a healthy dietary pattern, [such as] a Mediterranean style diet high in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fish, pulses, and olive oil, and low in red meat and full-fat dairy products, may reduce the risk of […] depression. Second, in people with obesity, weight loss can lead to a reduction in depressive symptoms.”

“Third,” they add, “current evidence does not support the use of nutritional supplements in order to prevent depression.”

Future studies, the team notes, should look further into how dietary patterns influence mental health outcomes and what types of dietary change are most likely to help prevent depression.