Australia: Researchers exploring whether 'Magic Mushrooms' can ease general anxiety

Researchers from Australia are preparing to explore whether magic mushrooms will help alleviate general anxiety. The Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee recently gave Incannex Healthcare the permission to begin its second round of clinical research on Psilocybin mushrooms which are commonly known as magic mushrooms. 

The researchers will combine specialised treatment with psilocybin to determine if this combination could help in easing anxiety symptoms. As per the Lab Bible Website, psilocybin is basically the primary active chemical that is present in magic mushrooms that give consumers a joyful, euphoric feeling. The research is being led by Paul Liknaitzky, the Head of Clinical Psychedelic Research of Monash University, who described it as an enormous leap towards combatting mental health issues. 

Paul Liknaitzky talks about the use of magic mushrooms for treating mental health disorders

Liknaitzky went on to say that the therapists who will be doing the treatment for the study would be given psilocybin to comprehend patient mentality. Quoting him, Lad Bible reported, "This is a solid step in the development of what we hope will be a highly effective treatment for people suffering under the weight of severe anxiety."

He even added, "We're able to provide supported psilocybin sessions to research trial therapists to better equip them to accompany our clinical participants through profoundly unfamiliar terrain, potentially improving treatment outcomes." 

Next year, the researchers will be assessing those who have a general anxiety disorder. At the end of last year though, Paul Liknaitzky informed Melbourne-based newspaper The Age that conventional methods to treat mental illness are frequently ineffective, but that psychedelic-assisted therapy might be useful in treating such disorders.

Liknaitzky explained that it is a mix of pharmacological and talk therapy in a favourable setting, unlike a medication treatment or a chemotherapeutic treatment, which a lot of individuals think it is. For several years, researchers have been seeking to get medications rescheduled so that they may investigate if those medications might be used to treat mental illnesses. 

Indicating about the rescheduling concept, Mind Medicine Australia noted on its website that the rescheduling may transfer these drugs from ‘Schedule 9’ (which handles with Prohibited Substances) to ‘Schedule 8’ (deals with Controlled Medicines) of the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons.

As per Lad Bible, the rescheduling will make it easier for psychiatrists and addiction specialists to use these medications to supplement treatment for patients with depression or any other terminal mental illness. 

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