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🧠 From Anxiety to Addiction: Uncovering the Breakthrough Potential of MDMA-Assisted Therapy
Turns out MDMA isn't just a party drug...
Webdelics Public
December 26, 2024
Explore the World of Plant Medicine and Psychedelics. A Weekly Digest of Exclusive Stories, Insights, and Research.
🎄 Top Holiday Blog!
The Holiday Edition - Our Top Psychedelic and Plant Medicine Blog from Webdelics
The Webdelics website has over 160+ evidence-based, research-backed blogs that were intentionally written to give you the facts, not just our opinions.
📚️ Here is this week’s top blog on our site for the holidays, rated by our readers:
🗯️ Let’s ring in the new year with a new perspective on life…
📜 Top Article
From Anxiety to Addiction: Uncovering the Breakthrough Potential of MDMA-Assisted Therapy
Research into MDMA-assisted therapy has uncovered promising opportunities for the potential treatment of individuals with a multitude of conditions, including social anxiety (particularly in autistic adults), end-of-life anxiety, and alcohol use disorder.
And while the early results are encouraging, ongoing research is crucial to fully validate safety, efficacy, and best practices.
Here’s a quick update on the latest research studies, clinical trials, and outcomes.
💢 Social Anxiety in Autistic Adults
A 2018 pilot study investigated MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for autistic adults with severe social anxiety.
Participants received either MDMA (75–125 mg) or a placebo in two 8-hour therapy sessions spaced a month apart, followed by three integration sessions.
Remarkably, those receiving MDMA showed significant improvements in social anxiety scores (as measured by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale), which were sustained or further enhanced six months after treatment.
These findings suggest that MDMA-assisted therapy may provide rapid and lasting relief for social anxiety—a challenging issue often resistant to standard interventions in the autistic community.
🔚 Alleviating End-of-Life Anxiety
In a 2020 study, researchers explored whether MDMA could help ease anxiety linked to life-threatening illnesses.
Participants took either MDMA (125 mg) or a placebo in conjunction with two 8-hour psychotherapy sessions.
The study measured changes in trait anxiety (using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) and found that those receiving MDMA experienced a significant reduction in anxiety levels compared to the placebo group.
Importantly, MDMA was generally well-tolerated, indicating a promising avenue for individuals dealing with profound emotional distress during end-of-life care.
These preliminary results highlight the importance of more extensive, more definitive trials.
🍺 Addressing Alcohol Use Disorder
A 2021 proof-of-concept study examined MDMA-assisted therapy for those recovering from alcohol use disorder.
Fourteen participants who had completed both community detox and an eight-week recovery course took part.
They received two sessions of MDMA (187.5 mg each) alongside psychological support before, during, and after sessions.
Not only was the treatment well-tolerated, but participants also showed a dramatic reduction in weekly drinking—from 130.6 units pre-detox to 18.7 units at the nine-month mark.
This suggests MDMA, combined with structured therapy, may help individuals achieve and maintain lower alcohol consumption over time.
🛣️ The Road Ahead Looking Promising
In June of this year, the expert panel advising the Food and Drug Administration on MDMA use for PTSD pulled the rug out from underneath the psychedelic industry, ruling in a 10-1 vote for finding no medical benefits of MDMA in treating PTSD.
This move was a major setback for the plant medicine and psychedelic industry, but not all is lost with this decision…
While these previously mentioned studies point to the potential benefits of MDMA-assisted therapy, they remain early investigations with relatively small sample sizes.
Larger clinical trials, long-term follow-ups, and rigorous methodologies are needed to confirm these initial findings.
As research progresses, the hope is to refine treatment protocols, ensure safety, and determine where MDMA-assisted therapy best fits within mental health care.
If validated by future research, MDMA-assisted therapy could represent a significant leap forward in treating social anxiety in autistic adults, easing end-of-life anxiety, and supporting recovery from alcohol use disorder.
With careful investigation and ethical oversight, we may see MDMA becoming a critical addition to the toolkit of mental health interventions, offering new hope for individuals facing some of life’s most challenging emotional burdens.
⌛️ Only time will tell where things move forward…
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Honoring the Visionaries: Webdelics’ Top 25 Emerging Leaders 🌟
Last week, Webdelics published the Top 25 Emerging Leaders in Psychedelic Research and Modern Theory—a celebration of the innovators pushing boundaries in psychedelics, mental health, and alternative therapies.
🗣️ And the feedback we’ve been getting has made us realize how important community is to the plant medicine and psychedelic movement…
From visionaries like Dr. Simon Ruffell, Ph.D., combining indigenous cultural practices and Western medical treatments, to Dr. Grace Best-Hopley, Ph.D. focusing on women’s biology within psychedelic-assisted therapy, this list is full of brilliant individuals who are actively shaping the future of psychedelics and plant medicine.
By highlighting these leaders, we’re one step closer to reshaping the narrative and creating a brighter future for mental health and human potential.
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Let’s continue to celebrate these trailblazers leading the way! 🌱
🗞️ Media & Research
Studies You May Be Interested In…
“Set and Setting” isn’t just a good idea; It has the potential to shape your entire psychedelic experience. According to research, setting intentions of growth motivations, using natural settings, and having the presence of significant others were associated with less psychopathology, greater well-being, and more meaningful psychedelic experiences…
Looks like Aaron Rodgers isn’t the only professional athlete who is using plant medicines and psychedelics for healing from head injuries and optimizing athletic performance. Results from an online study indicate that the sports community is open and receptive to Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT), with athletes willing to engage in it for concussion recovery and the management of Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms (PPCS)…
There’s currently a call for elderly individuals to be included in psychedelic studies and research trials. Why? As we just pointed out, end-of-life anxiety, depression, and PTSD are all common psychological ailments in the adult population, especially as we get closer to death…
Veterans are looking to psychedelics when the VA and Western medical treatments no longer provide the relief they’re looking for. This comes as no surprise, especially with the recent MDMA ruling, as veterans are commonly underserved and supported in society, even within the VA system. Nearly 51% of the individuals who responded to the study reported using psychedelics for healing and spiritual purposes, with 85% benefitting from it…
💬 We will leave you with this…
As V.S. Ramachandran stated, “Science is like a love affair with nature; an elusive tantalizing mistress. It has all the turbulence, twists, and turns of a romantic love, but that’s part of the game.”
Challenging our beliefs and knowledge is essential for finding the truth, especially in a crowded space like plant medicine and psychedelics.
Until next time…