What can psychedelics teach us about dying?

Psychedelic side effects, including worsening mental health for some patients, give pause

This article explores whether the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drug use is really as good as current research suggests. Scientists are exploring its applications for conditions ranging from the existential crisis that can accompany terminal diagnoses to chronic mental health conditions, including anxiety and PTSD.

Using psychedelics to manage a cancer diagnosis

Dr. Roland Griffiths helped lead the revival of psychedelic research, often prescribing the use of psilocybin to address severe depression or anxiety in patients. This podcast explores how Griffiths leaned on his own career after being diagnosed with cancer and facing the prospect of death.

Psychedelics interact with neurotransmitter systems to alter one's perception

LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA can suppress the brain's default mode network and enhance connectivity. Research shows that, when paired with therapy, psychedelics may help treat mental health conditions, including depression, addiction, and PTSD.

How psychedelics can potentially reinvent learning

Critical periods, discovered in the early 20th century, describe a period when someone is incredibly sensitive to their environment, and any information learned can stick with them for life. Some researchers argue these states can be "reopened" via psychedelics, which put the mind into a malleable state that can potentially be used to treat conditions ranging from lazy eyes to PTSD.

The neurobiology of meaningfulness: the benefits of psychedelics

Psychedelics produce powerful emotions in its users, including a profound sense of meaningfulness. The philosopher William James called this sense "noetic" in the late 19th century, but for decades researchers avoided studying the effects of such drugs on the brain. However, the recent resurgence in psychedelic research has heightened interest in the relationship between this noetic sense resulting from the therapeutic use of drugs. Learn what researchers have found out here.

How to avoid a 'bad trip' advice includes relaxing your mind if you experience scary things and not fighting the feeling

In this video, Michael Pollan, author of "This Is Your Mind On Plants," underscores the gaps in existing understanding about the substances and recommends only taking guided experiences, for safety and help. He tackles how psychedelics work, explains microdosing and psychedelic risks, how the substances could be used to treat addiction, and the history of psychedelic stigma.

Accounts of near-death experiences share similarities with hallucinogens

This short film explores human experiences of dying, blending personal reflections with scientific insight. It aims to illuminate the emotional, psychological, and physiological aspects of that final transition, and draws out similarities of psychedlic drug use and accounts of near-death experiences.

NDEs typically change people's outlooks drastically and can prompt depression

The phenomena are regularly categorized as hallucinations, but some specialists are interested in their psychological nuances. Many survivors report feeling less anxiety about death, though some surveys show the experiences can increase physiological sensitivities.

How philosophers have approached death throughout history

Philosophers often argue the counterintuitive view that there's actually nothing to fear about death. How do they come to this attitude of acceptance toward fate? This video articulates the views on death from Socrates, Epicurus, and Zhuangzi in a breezy, digestible way.

Drugs 101: An interactive guide

What's the difference between opioids and psychedelics? This guide details specific drugs and their various associated effects. Drugs in this wheel fall into seven categories: stimulants, depressants, empathogens, psychedelics, dissociatives, cannabinoids, and opioids.

Are psychedelics legal in your state?

The answer is usually more complicated than a simple yes or no. This resource includes a state-by-state and international breakdown of current psychedelics legislation and reform. As of November 2023, psychedelics are fully illegal in 18 states, though there still may be religious or medical exemptions depending on the drug in question. Legislation reform and decriminalization efforts are ongoing.

There are psychological benefits to believing in spirits

A number of psychologists believe religion helps subdue our fears of death by giving us a sense of what’s to come and, therefore, a sense of control over how to ensure the best possible outcome.

Existentialism has been used as a therapeutic tool

Psychologists became interested in existentialism in the 1940s, with two Swiss psychiatrists—Ludwig Binswanger and Medard Boss—particularly taken with Martin Heidegger’s “Being and Time.” The existential approach to therapy emphasized a patient’s personhood and experiences, using them to help that patient face their problems head-on.

An Alzheimer's patient discusses her condition with children

Alzheimer's is a deadly disease that profoundly changes a person's abilities and personality, which makes it difficult to explain to kids. Responding to potentially uncomfortable questions with honesty (and relatable imagery) about the costs and nature of the disease goes a long way in fostering understanding.

'Brave New World' author Aldous Huxley turned to LSD on his deathbed

As "Brave New World" author Aldous Huxley lay dying of cancer in 1963, he asked his wife Laura to dose him with the hallucinogen LSD. A month later, Laura Huxley wrote a letter detailing the author's final trip, which she notes ended "so slowly, so gently, like a piece of music just finishing in a sempre piu piano dolcemente."

Managing an employee with a terminal illness

Managing an employee with a terminal illness might be a reality at some point, requiring a balance of compassion and strategic action. This article provides tips for best practices on managing the situation, such as adapting the work environment to the employee's needs (think: giving them flexible hours or the option to work remotely), involving them in decisions about any adjustments to their role, and more. Find out other things to consider here.

Why might someone want to stay in psychosis?

Author Abigail Gosselin writes that her verbal auditory hallucination, often assumed by others to be harmful or threatening in nature, offered a salve to loneliness, even as it told her to kill herself. This perceived benefit and others Gosselin shares offer insight into why people in psychosis may struggle to adhere to treatment and medication plans.

Virtually experience a euthanasia roller coaster

In 2010, Lithuanian artist Julijonas Urbonas came up with a fictional euthanasia coaster to generate conversation about humanely ending life. His idea involved using extreme G-forces on a roller coaster, aiming to give participants feelings of euphoria before death. In reality, the ride would probably be extremely unpleasant.

People with schizophrenia typically die 9 years earlier than the general population

The syndrome, which affects roughly 1 in 233 adults, is often associated with other serious health issues, including cardiovascular, metabolic, and infectious diseases, which may contribute to early deaths. The side effects of long-term antipsychotic medications also may influence the mortality timing—weight gain, for example, is a common side effect of the drugs and can contribute to cardiovascular issues.

Unlike milder fears, phobias may get in the way of proceeding with your life

Clinicians may recommend exposure therapy—exposing oneself to the thing triggering fears in some doses—as one way to help overcome a fear.

Why do people join cults?

This quick TED video dives into some of the social psychology behind membership in radical cults, including famous ones where members took their own lives.

Meeting someone with common healthcare challenges can be life-changing

The understanding that comes from meeting others who have similar experiences can provide hope that life can get better, the solace of affirmation, and make navigating a new diagnosis or a rare illness, in particular, much easier.

When is someone actually dead?

Death is a process, not a sudden flip of a switch. Technology can now interrupt this process at various stages, begging the question of when exactly death happens in the dying process. This 33-minute podcast episode explores this question and the...

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Key tips for helping the depressed—including listening without judgment

Major depressive disorder is a clinical diagnosis and is not a lifestyle choice. Those who struggle with depression can express persistent feelings that are difficult to process and make sense of for friends and family. This guide walks through some counterintuitive perspectives, including resisting the urge to force a depressed person to do the things that would make them feel better.

How Kurt Cobain's suicide changed the media

Public health experts feared that the suicide of a high-profile figure, especially for young people, would lead to a rise in suicides across the country. The opposite turned out to be true: Suicide rates decreased. Specialists suggest that's due to the way Cobain's death was covered, with news organizations largely avoiding glorification and including crisis hotline information.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

Explore the animals that populate the depths of the ocean, from fish and coral in the first few hundred feet, all the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.