411
Single psilocybin trip delivers two years of depression relief for cancer patients
(www.sciencedaily.com)
Best way to get some?
this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2025
411 points (100.0% liked)
science
20176 readers
194 users here now
A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.
rule #1: be kind
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
You can easily grow mushrooms that contain psilocybin at home. It's an easy process, the internet has plenty of communities.
If you are not very experienced with psychedelics, please inform yourself about best practices / harm reduction. Look into set and setting. Have people around who you trust.
For most people, psychedelics are not a substitute for therapy. The healing happens in between trips, but you have to put in the work - don't skip integration. The average Joe will need professional help for that.
If you have serious issues or if you are repressing a lot of stuff, it will most likely come up during a trip and you will have to process it - psychedelics show you what you need, not what you want. That being said, most people that have a lot of experience with psychedelics will tell you even difficult trips will lead to positive gains.
Overall, it's mostly a marvelous and wonderful experience that can be life changing, but please treat it with the respect it deserves.
the internet has plenty of communities.
as much as I don't like linking there, the /r/unclebens community is great. It's based on a very easy guide to grow your own, and get advise if there are still questions.
I don't think there's a lemmy community about it. yet.
100% agree with the post. The chances that you will just get cured from your depression with some shrooms are greater than 0, but getting an assistent trip with a professional will greatly increase your chances. Getting a professional who is willing to do it, even off the record, is the hard part
What are clebens and why do we want to un- them???
Just in case, for the non-Americans from regions that do not have the specific brand, the sub name is in reference to prepackaged "Uncle Ben's Ready Rice" which is used in this specific mushroom growing tek.
And for everyone out there diving into the insane amount of “documentation” out there
“Tek” is simply shorthand for “technique”.
I would not qualify it as easy. It is doable, but it takes a bit of time, effort and equipment. Did it twice, first time failed, second round I finally figured out my problems. Took a few months before I had anything worth keeping.
You could also just go to Denver and buy some there. I had a lovely day with a friend after eating some local chocolate and hanging out in cheeseman park. 10/10 would do again.
Depression? You can have some of mine, I have more than enough for everyone.
/r/unclebens
There sidebar has a full tutorial.
So I went on a mushroom walk once, they were literally growing in a grass field. Look up liberty cap. Obviously don't just eat random mushrooms that you find
~~What country are you in?~~ The internet.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Definitely going to be the first drug I try, when I decide to finally start using drugs.
Dude start off with something more mellow, or you're going to be extremely disappointed if/when you decide to try other drugs. Psychedelics are so intense that I don't even consider them to be drugs. They're something else entirely. A "god molecule", if you will.
I'd suggest starting off with Nitrous Oxide and/or weed first. Nitrous has psychedelic properties (but without the visuals), and cannabis can also be psychedelic when you have no tolerance. Also they last more in the minute range—not hours (especially nitrous)—so they'll wear off a lot quicker should you decide you don't like the feeling.
Trust me, I've tried every drug under the sun. I'm a daily or near-daily user of several substances; psychedelics like shrooms are the one substance that I avoid. Only for special occasions, once every few years at most. Not the very first thing I'd try. It would be the very last.
I appreciate the deep personal insights and advice. Well taken.
I've only done it a few times, but nitrous made me laugh so much, it was great. Nitrous starts fading as soon as you breathe out and is over in 10min tops, but for weed, give yourself an evening to get stoned for the first time. Feeling cramped for time is a huge vibe killer.
Also, modern weed can be way too strong for a first-timer, but if you can find a low-thc/high-cbd strain, you'll have smooth sailing. My poor in-laws hadn't smoked since the 60s, and the budtender sold them a thc vape, good times were not had. Don't make their mistake, haha.
I'd like to offer the counterpoint that someone once advised me not to try weed until after I'd tried LSD, I followed that advice and I think it turned out for the better. There isn't exactly a benefit to being very impressed by the intensity of other drug experiences, and psychedelics can give you a sense of perspective about what you want out of life that's useful for navigating choices. They also tend to be self-deterring; you likely will feel more satisfied and grateful to have your feet on solid ground again after a trip, as opposed to immediately craving more, even if it was wonderful, which is a very convenient property many other drugs lack.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
Ketamine too. You can get it in a clinical setting without a prescription. It has a half life of about twenty minutes so if it’s not your thing it’s over quickly. One session gets you two separate doses, so you trip for about an hour, and feel totally normal afterward. Great for depression too.
In a non clinical setting, ket lasts about two hours but you pull up more sober than weed or booze.
I do not doubt this for a second. These trips, well done and accompanied, in a safe setting, can be very therapeutic.
Bullshit.
I have experienced depression relief from tripping on shrooms, but not for two fucking years afterwards
Man, every time someone posts science some has to go "Nuh uh! I have data (n=1) that says otherwise!
True but this research itself also only has a 28 sample size, and respond rate is only about half too.
Everyone is different?
Not according to the claims in this headline. Hence why I called bullshit.
Maybe occasionally open and rta:
Summary: Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, might just revolutionize how depression and anxiety are treated in cancer patients. In a groundbreaking trial, a single dose combined with therapy significantly reduced emotional suffering, and these effects often lasted over two years. As follow-up studies expand the research to multiple doses and larger samples, scientists are eyeing a possible new standard of care that merges psychedelics with psychological support.
Yeah, there’s far too many “might”s and “possibly” in that quote for it to have been worth the click.
Maybe this is just a shitty article with a shitty headline from a shitty publication, but I think I’d really rather see the science than here. Some idiots sales pitch summary for it.
This article will for sure leave some cancer patients feeling disappointed after tripping. I tried acid when I was 19 - everything I read told me it was going to be a life changing, eye opening, personality upgrading experience. Turns out it wasn't, and I definitely felt a bit let down. Personally, I don't think telling cancer patients shrooms will cure their depression is at all wise.
Your experience with psychedelics at the age of 19, while your brain was still developing, has no relevance to adults suffering from life-long ptsd and terminal cancer getting positive side effects from the drugs.
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(3 replies)
This is not the only study that points to lasting relief from depression. Your experience is valid, but also anecdotal and not necessarily representative at large.
The two-year claim is ridiculous, hence the ridicule. Even the article itself doesn’t really back up the headline. It’s Clickbait bullshit, and that’s why I called it out.
It is "up to two years", naturally, as mentioned in the article. I do agree two years is a span that is most likely rarely achieved, but I also remember that a single dose can basically cure* people of PTSD, so I do believe some people might be free of depression for 24 months if they processed their trauma / issues in a significant manner.
Please remember, studies that use psychedelics don't simply hand psychoactive substances to people and send them away, they do receive assistance (e. g. therapy) to process whatever issue they might have.
- again, along with therapy
Thank you for confirming, once again, that the headline is bullshit click bait, and the “promises“ in the article sound pretty bullshit too.
Gonna go out on a limb here and say you seem like you deal with pretty severe depression yourself, seeing as how you come off as a miserable prick. You might benefit from a good heroic dose of mushrooms.
You hurl childish name-calling and then make accusations of mental health problems.
You don’t really seem to deal well with people you disagree with.
I’m just gonna block you and move on. Like an adult.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Psilocybin appears to rewire your brain. It has long been known that guided trips can have very long lasting benefits. This study includes therapy, which is critical for cementing the long term benefits of psilocybin treatment.
Yes, I only posted the summary, because I wondered how many critics would actually rta.
TBH partner and I are keen to give this a go for anxiety/depression. Keen for it to become standard)/accepted
If you have an interest, you're ready for them. For what it's worth, I find that the bad trips are the most beneficial. They're a manifestation of problems often ignored, displayed in a way that is highly symbolic.
What were the numbers for people who just got therapy?
Yeah, that is the key question. Not to mention that the headline is giving 100% of the 'credit' to the psilocybin.
Smells fishy to me.
load more comments
(2 replies)
what a coincidence
I just came out of a trip with my bf
he had a really bad trip, unfortunately. I gave him alprazolam and it did nothing
after about 3-4 hours he got better, took a shower, ate, now he's sleeping soundly
iirc from research I've read it doesn't matter if the trip is good or bad, it still relieves depression all the same
yeah, that's what I heard too
I hope the experience what some kind of catharsis and he's gonna learn from it
load more comments
(2 replies)
I don’t know what alprozolam is but a bad trip sounds way better than that
Alprozolam is generic for Xanax. Which is a severe anti anxiety drug and heavily abused on the street.
load more comments
(1 replies)
after my trip my depression went way down even if my ex was pissed at me during it (surprisingly didnt make me crash)
should take it again soon as that was almsot 5 years ago
I think its important that talking therapy was included too.
load more comments
(1 replies)
view more: next ›