Psychedelics for Help with Addiction and Substance Use Disorder
Written for Psychedelics.com by Stephanie Karzon Abrams
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Addiction, often clinically referred to as substance use disorder (SUD), is a complex condition characterized by an individual’s inability to stop using a substance despite harmful consequences. SUDs can involve a wide range of substances, including alcohol, prescription medications, and illicit drugs. Addiction is recognized as a disorder of the brain due to the way substances alter neural pathways, resulting in compulsive behavior and significant impairment. (1)
Psychedelics may serve as a potential treatment for addiction, offering a novel approach that targets the emotional, psychological, and neurochemical roots of substance use disorders. Substances like psilocybin and LSD, for example, are believed to disrupt habitual thought patterns and promote introspection, facilitating emotional healing. While ibogaine, the psychoactive alkaloid derived from the iboga plant, can also foster deep insight, it is also believed to help with addiction by modulating the brain’s dopaminergic and opioid systems, reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings. (2,3)
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If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, please know this: you are not alone. Recovery is not a straight line. It is a living process, one that unfolds in waves of courage, grief, insight, and renewal. Help exists. Connection exists. A different chapter is possible, even if you cannot yet see its shape.
If you need immediate support, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the U.S., available 24/7. For help finding treatment options, the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) offers free, confidential guidance. If you are outside the U.S., local crisis services and international directories can be found at findahelpline.com.
REFERENCES
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). APA Publishing.
Johnson, M. W., & Griffiths, R. R. (2017). Potential therapeutic effects of psilocybin. Neuropharmacology, 142, 210-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2017.12.006
Johnson, M. W., Garcia-Romeu, A., & Griffiths, R. R. (2014). Long-term follow-up of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 40(4), 269-272. https://doi.org/10.3109/00952990.2014.926612
