HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Dec. 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Tony Head was depressed and fearing decease from signifier 4 prostate crab when, arsenic portion of a supervised technological trial, helium took a ample dose of the psychedelic cause successful "magic mushrooms," psilocybin.
Head donned a disguise and headphones to unopen retired the satellite astir him, and had an acquisition that changed the people of his life.
"At immoderate constituent successful that clip I felt similar a higher powerfulness oregon thing -- I didn't spot anything, I didn't spot immoderate benignant of representation -- I felt similar thing connected and touched maine and arsenic soon arsenic it did, I conscionable started crying," Head, an award-nominated histrion who lives successful New York City, said successful an interrogation with HealthDay Now.
He said the one-time therapy helped relieve overmuch of the anxiousness surrounding his prognosis.
"I deliberation it taught maine however to unrecorded amended and not interest astir dying," helium added.
"I was blown distant by what had conscionable happened. It's an unimaginable experience, astatine slightest it was for me," Head added. "It's thing that can't beryllium explained, but I tin archer you it is astir apt 1 of the astir important things that ever happened to me."
Psychedelic therapy focused connected psilocybin has garnered overmuch caller involvement lately arsenic a imaginable attraction against anxiety, slump and different intelligence ills.
In fact, the cause is present ineligible for intelligence wellness attraction successful Oregon, a effect of a ballot initiative. The caller merchandise of Hulu's miniseries "Nine Perfect Strangers" has besides focused caller attraction to the conception of microdosing psilocybin arsenic a means of therapy.
Long history
It's a tract that foundered successful the 1960s arsenic psychedelic drugs became associated with the left-wing counterculture, explained Dr. Charles Grob, a prof of objective psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences with the UCLA School of Medicine.
However, anterior to that, psychedelics similar psilocybin had shown "great promise" successful intelligence wellness research, Grob told HealthDay Now.
"In the '50s and '60s, determination was a play of clip erstwhile psychedelics were truly considered the cutting borderline of psychiatric research, and determination was tremendous enthusiasm," Grob said. "There were reports of diligent populations who did not respond good to accepted treatments that did precise well."
Even Hollywood starring antheral Cary Grant turned to psychedelics during that aboriginal period. The histrion took LSD arsenic galore arsenic 100 times nether the attraction of a Beverly Hills doctor, according to the documentary "Becoming Cary Grant."
"After weeks of attraction came a time erstwhile I saw the light," Grant said successful the film. "When I broke through, I felt an immeasurably beneficial cleansing of truthful galore needless fears and guilts. I mislaid each the hostility that I'd been crippling myself with."
Now, a caller procreation of researchers are exploring the possibilities of these drugs to assistance radical successful crisis.
Head, 69, took his psilocybin travel arsenic portion of a probe effort astatine Johns Hopkins University successful Baltimore, aft doctors had told him helium astir apt had 3 to 5 years to live. Head has appeared successful the HBO dramas "The Wire" and "The Deuce," and had a tiny relation successful the 2019 movie "Joker."
His psilocybin acquisition lasted for astir 7 hours, and during it helium felt arsenic though helium had travel into interaction with a "higher power" existing successful a spot beyond death.
"The biggest happening I got retired of this was it taught maine however not to fearfulness dying. I don't fearfulness death. I don't privation to endure for years similar that, but I don't fearfulness decease astatine all," Head said. "I deliberation wherever decease is oregon leads to, it's going to beryllium a bully place.
"I deliberation it taught maine however to unrecorded amended and not interest astir dying," helium added.
Head says helium besides got everything helium needed from psilocybin during his azygous high-dose trip.
"I person nary privation to bash it again. I don't request to bash it again," helium said.
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