Should terminally ill patients be given magic mushrooms?

Terminally ill patients are patients whose time is limited due to serious illnesses such as cancer, dementia, heart disease, kidney failure or other similar conditions.

These types of patients receive what is known as hospice care, which is different from medical care. While medical care is involved in providing treatment with the intention of curing an illness, hospice care, performed by health professionals, seeks to provide psychological, physical, and spiritual comfort to patients before their death. Since death is already inevitable for these patients and it is only a matter of time, in many cases they may need great moral support through counseling.

Hospice care can be provided in the home, but also in nursing homes, hospitals, and assisted living facilities. But no matter where it’s done, it’s difficult to comfort someone who is confronted with their own death. These patients are plagued by anxiety and crippling anxiety.

However, it seems that magic mushrooms could be the key to helping them get to the afterlife.

according to dr David Luke, associate professor of psychology at Greenwich University, says psychedelics may help minimize the fear of death and “revolutionize” home care for people near the end of life. “It often relates to a sense of their own existence, they get a glimpse of something that reduces their fear of death, and often death might not be the end or anything,” he says.

“People have less depression, less anxiety, they have less fear of dying, so they feel more capable of dying or feel more prepared – they feel more open to their death,” he says during the Cheltenham Science Festival, which took place in Gloucestershire. England, a few days ago. “You need a team of specialists, you need people who are trained to guide people through psychedelic experiences, but there is already training out there and I think people who are already in palliative care and are therapists are really good at that would be suitable.” Luke adds.

“Preliminary evidence suggests that psychedelics may be helpful in palliative care,” says Allan Young, professor at King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience. “Psychedelics can help people process, understand, and reevaluate past life experiences so they can reach a state of acceptance and be better prepared for death,” Young said.

A study conducted by researchers from both NYU Langone Health and Johns-Hopkins University involved administering psilocybin to 80 patients with advanced cancer. They both found that after just one dose of 0.3 mg/kg psilocybin, 80% of participants reported prolonged relief from death stress, lasting up to 6 months after the first toke. These patients also reported feeling less despair and more life satisfaction, even when they had a terminal illness.

“Our results represent the strongest evidence to date of a clinical benefit of psilocybin therapy, with the potential to transform the care of patients with cancer-related psychological distress,” said study leader Dr. StephenRoss. “Ultimately, if larger clinical trials prove successful, we could have a safe, effective, and inexpensive drug — dispensed under tight control — to alleviate the distress that increases suicide rates in cancer patients,” adds Ross.

There is a significant and growing body of research that focuses on the use of psychedelics for end-of-life care. “The evidence is just so compelling, and we have very few tools in our medical bag to help people suffering from existential distress, anxiety and depression related to a serious illness diagnosis,” says Shoshana Ungerleider, MD, HospiceNews. She is also an internist at Crossover Health in San Francisco and helped found an organization called End Well. “We want people to be able to live to the fullest until they die. If psychedelics are administered in a controlled therapeutic setting with trained clinicians to help them, then these drugs should be more widely available,” she adds.

Psilocybin-Induced Mystical Experiences

There are many ways psilocybin works in the brain, which can be beneficial for those nearing the end of their lives.

Patients treated with psilocybin typically experience what is called a “mystical experience” that is transformative for anyone dealing with any form of pain, fear, and suffering – but especially those struggling to come to terms with it , that they will soon be dying off.

These mystical experiences are difficult to describe, although it can be said that they are usually always positive and sacred. Perhaps the greatest benefit of anything that end-stage patients can derive from psilocybin therapy is that it helps rewire the brain, adjusting the circuitry that encourages communication and allowing the brain to self and even reset the ego. In doing so, it can help you rethink your personality as a whole and be more open to change, according to research.

The best part is that magic mushrooms are completely safe and you don’t have to worry about any negative side effects as studies show that they are widely well tolerated, even by the sick, mentally or physically. The positive research we have these days is excellent news, especially for physicians as it is difficult for healthcare professionals to help patients cope with the existential hardship that comes with a terminal illness.

Psychotherapy often has mixed results, but as psilocybin becomes more accepted and widely used, it may be the only thing that can help patients transition into the afterlife. If a terminally ill patient wishes to treat magic mushrooms, they should have the right to do so. However, it is always recommended to do this in a controlled environment with a trained professional for the best results.

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