Could LSD Cure Panic Attacks?

At a handful of sites across the country, after a four-decade hiatus, psychedelic research is undergoing a quiet renaissance, thanks to scientists like Charles Grob who are revisiting the powerful mind-altering drugs of the 1960s in hopes of making them part of our therapeutic arsenal. Hallucinogens such as psilocybin, MDMA (better known as Ecstasy), and the most controversial of them all, LSD, are being tested as treatments for maladies that modern medicine has done little to assuage, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, drug dependency, obsessive-compulsive disorder, cluster headaches, and the emotional suffering of people with a terminal illness.

While Grob's study is not complete--he has tested 11 out of a projected 12 volunteers--patients seemed to have positive experiences. "No one had a bad trip, and most derived some benefit," he says. "It lowered their anxiety, improved their mood and disposition, and imbued them with a greater acceptance of their situation and capacity to live in the moment and appreciate each day."

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[PlanetKansas]

It seems everyone here has an opinion, but few have actually been there.

In my youth, I tried LSD, peyote and psylosybin and all of my experiences were pleasant, sometimes profound, and oftentimes hilarious. I've never had flashbacks, or a bad trip, and there were a few times when I felt the profound beauty and interconnectedness of all creation. Though it sounds cliche, I carry these insights to this day and believe they have made me more 'open' minded.

I've been with fellow trippers that had terrifying panic attacks, every one centered on fears of death and mortality. I too had similar revelations but my own comfort with death prevented the panic from ever taking over.

Our society has created huge social and economic systems that try to deny and delay what is only natural. A person's fear of death is sometimes manifested by drug use, neurotic behavior and one-dimensional religious and political thinking. These people seek simple and reassuring answers to an infinite and inexplicable universe, when the real answers are inside us all along.

From my own experience, psychodelics can help people cope with their irrational fears of death and mortality, particularly those in hospice. Our broken health care system can be reformed by legalizing death and using more hospice instead of expensive "cures" that only delay the inevitable.

I am certain many will take offence at this, but they are just expressing fears about their own mortaility.

[LordMoon]

The Answer is no.

I have never known a drug addict who cured themselves from annthing by using any drug. All they suceed in doing is make there symptoms more extreme, while at the same time lose the ability to connnect the dots.

In my experience those dominated by intellect, always love drugs like as Acid, because it alows them to finally feel something. Unfortunately people like this who live in "their heads", are the last people in the world that should use this stuff.

Permanent insanity otften results.

[lungfish]

Oh for crying out loud, what a load of nonsense.....

[robotfog]

Whenever I took LSD, I felt great for months afterwards. Later, as an adult when I couldn't get it, I sank into a miserable depression that nearly killed me many times. Now, I have to take really expensive modern meds on a daily basis in order to control my depression, anxiety, and ptsd.

I would prefer to just take LSD once or twice a year to reset the chemicals in my brain. It *was* cheap and it was dependable. I never did anything to hurt myself.

Thanks for screwing me over society. $400.00 a month for just ONE of my meds. Yes, I have insurance, but I feel miserable being at the mercy of a pharmaceutical company and having to make my insurance cover that expense.

My theory on why LSD works for me is that it allowed me to cycle through my issues in one overnight session. I think it released enough endorphines or something to wipe away the bad moods that would come upon me. I always came down to a happy place. No stress and plenty of energy - for Months.

[capitalismisntamoral]

@robotfog:

do you exercise regularly?

I think this can greatly help many people manage their tendency to become depressed.
And it makes you healthier overall anyway.

how about breathing/meditation?

[ktano0]

Thus the term "mental laxative"...it can really work that way.

[mamacat]

Everyone has an opinion, and here goes mine.
I knew a few people who experimented with LSD in the 60s. I would not recommend it. A number of people got injured while under its influence. Think driving drunk is dangerous? And, who is to say that a "guide" can gaurantee anything?
I think that LSD is dangerous. I have not read any scholarly works advocating its use for anything constructive. I do not doubt that the experience can be profound, but is it as profound as a college education?
All the people I knew who took it were doing it recreationally. Seemed a bit like russian roulette to me, you never know when you are going to have a "bad" trip, with unforeseen circumstances that could be very inconvenient.

[AmbivalentGuy]

Given my experience, I would agree with your sentiments. Particularly those concerning unpredictability - hence my statement about being emotionally prepared. I would not take such things now, nor act as a guide. People are going to do it though, we should be honest to them - don't do it when you're in emotional turmoil, stay in a controlled environment (no driving, etc, of course), and have someone safe around you if you're inexperienced. Or, and better, just do something safer - have a smoke or whatever.

That said, there are better, safer roads to self-exploration.

[lungfish]

Your concerns have nothing to do with the article itself describing clinical use in a controlled environment..... that having been said there is plenty of examples of the use of hallucingenic compounds in theraputic and/or spiritual contexts throughout history and their value to the process of self discovery is well documented. Of course, it isn't the only way to learn and grow but it has been used for thousands of years to access nonordinary realities and altered states of consciousness that are consistent with the ecstatic states at the heart of all religious experiences... Geez, people, do your homework...

[AmbivalentGuy]

Get a grasp on context.
I wasn't posting a comment on the article,
I was addressing the comment I responded to.

[ktano0]

Some confusion here as to what a "guide" is... a guide is someone who has tripped before, who knows what to expect and can talk the novice through the various stages of the experience. A good guide also sets the appopriate environment, making the novice feel safer and comfortable. An excellent guide is one who treats the experience as a sacred one.

[AmbivalentGuy]

A primary concern of the guide is the question of whether the novice is in an appropriate state for the experience. Entering with a clear calm mind is important.

[ktano0]

Yes. This is most important..."garbage in, garbage out" is a very pertinent in a psychedelic environment.

[avraamjack]

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Cool picture.
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[mamacat]

Seems like a subtle advertisement, I think. Notice that it is a women's face, in pink, in a potentially seductive pose? Its one thing to have a discussion, but another to conduct advertising.

[avraamjack]

.
The unmentioned atrocity is how many good people were put in prison because of drug hysteria.
.

[NoSillyName]

Dosage, set, and setting are important. Purity as well; you wouldn't want Green Barrels or any other of the '60s stuff with strychnine in it unless you like stomach pains. Perhaps a little blotter...

This is not a new area of research.

From the FDA website:

"During the 20 years following World War II, LSD was used to study brain chemistry and to determine its effects in patients with schizophrenia and other mental disorders. It also was studied for use in conjunction with psychotherapy--with, for example, alcoholics and cancer patients."

Then the CIA got hold of it and did some very bad things.

[Agentlady007]

I never tried it and I never will. I heard you can experience re-occurring trauma from it. Who on earth would want to go on that trip? UGH.

[capitalismisntamoral]

Thanks for your um, opinion. You know what they say about those - everyone's got one.
Oh, and I see more urban scare myths below.

Seriously, why post on this article when you have no relevant experience and no correct
facts to add to the discussion?

@NoSillyName, Excellent comments about the importance of set and setting.

My first reaction to the idea is that it seems nutty. However, in a safe, therapeutic,
supportive setting, perhaps the experience could be positive.

Many young people experiment with drugs as part of their normal exploration of the world
and the process of learning about themselves.

I think that most people who end up with what most would call drug abuse problems are
actually trying to perform therapy on themselves, i.e. escaping from problems/bad feelings,
soothing mood disorders, etc.

No idea what a panic attack is like, but I imagine it's like an internal feedback loop.
Seems like training people to do mediation and be in touch with their bodies and
emotions would be a better path to helping them.

Oh, and all this partnership for a truth-free ameerka BS about pot, puh-lease.
Nicotine is the ultimate gateway drug.
What % of people at AA or NA are (still) smokers? 90%?

[NoSillyName]

That's a myth.

[bouyant]

FLASHBACKS ARE NOT A MYTH. I know this for a FACT because I HAD THEM after ONE experience. Your solipsism is showing.
I am neither hysterical nor an anti-drug crusader. Denying the reality of any negative side effects does nothing to convince those who are.

[NoSillyName]

bouyant, I've happy for you that those experiences have stopped.

I thought of one possible cause of the bad experience during your one trip: maybe the dose was too strong. I'm not familiar with Orange Dragon and haven't even tripped for decades, but I would always take 1/2 of anything until I saw where it was taking me.

On the other hand, I used to have a good friend who would always gobble down two or more of anything. She never flipped out, but this was an indication of her recklessness. She started really getting into downers (quaaludes). I didn't, so we drifted apart, but she went down that path and died in a fire several years later. She passed out with a lit cigarette.

LSD was not to blame, just an example of being careful while experimenting vs. taking too many risks.

[bouyant]

Thank you for your concern. Just one trip, but it was a whopper; although it did give me insights that stayed with me, some even useful and beautiful, I never wanted to risk a repeat of the aftereffects. I have been flashback-free for several years.

[NoSillyName]

bouyant, I'm sorry about your unpleasant experiences. I had never heard of anyone having them, or seen any definitive research, but obviously 10% is not "no one." I have altered my opinion somewhat with that study, although it does still say that "it remains to be established if there are any causal links between flashbacks and LSD use".

So, this has stopped now? Had you tripped many times? I sincerely hope that it never recurs.

Since there is no way of knowing if this might happen to someone susceptible to flashbacks, one may want to refrain from ever doing it even once. Kinda like when you're very young and take that first drag off of a cigarette, not understanding the effect of nicotine or thinking you'd never get addicted.

[bouyant]

NoSillyName, I had them for about three years, every 2-3 months, with no discernible trigger. I'd be talking to someone, or at work, or at dinner with family, and suddenly the walls would go green and appear to breathe. I felt paranoia and more than once went home and threw out all my food and toothbrush on the off-chance that someone had snuck into my place and dosed me!! Note, the wall thing is not what I observed during my 20-hour trip on Orange Dragon, but the feeling was identical to the scarier parts. The flashbacks never lasted more than an hour or two but the fright remained for days. I am otherwise stable, have taken no other hallucinogens, am not an addict, have never taken antidepressants, and have not received psychiatric care though I do have a psychologist I see during times of extreme stress.
I see the report you cite says only 10% experience flashbacks. I also know only 10% of the population is sensitive to glycerin, I'm lucky enough to be in THAT 10% too. So "just a small percentage" does not mean "no one".

[cg3]

I did acid dozens of times during the 60's and 70's, then laid in a big stash of windowpane and took it once a year through 2001 (when I ran out...) I have been around hundreds of people taking acid and have seen a very few bad reactions-usually brief panics that pass shortly. I have never had or heard of anyone having a flashback, although I guess it is possible. That is always the in-joke among users (Gee, I wish I could have a flashback.)

[NoSillyName]

bouyant, how many flaskbacks did you have? Were they pleasant or un?

BTW, I was not speaking only about myself, but also the experience of large numbers of people.

Interesting study concludes:

"less than 10% of LSD users report unpleasant flashbacks. Psychiatric populations report higher rates. However it remains to be established if there are any causal links between flashbacks and LSD use".

See "A Critical Review of Theories and Research Concerning Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) and A Critical Review of Theories and Research
Concerning Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) and Mental Health""
By David Abrahart
March 1998

[Trueheart]

It's not a myth. LSD, like many other hallucinogenics, should never be taken without the presence of an experienced guide who can direct the vision in a positive direction.

[hypnotoad72]

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. :)

[NoSillyName]

I never knew anyone who had a "guide" back in the '60s - '70s and don't know anyone who ever had a "flashback".

I don't know if Trueheart has any direct knowledge of the experience, but the myth of the LSD flashback is what Agentlady007 might have been referring to in the post before the one about the PCP (a totally different drug.) That means a recurrence of the "trip", not a "trauma", when not having taken the drug again. However, as I said, I don't know anyone who has ever had one. Most anyone who had tripped and enjoyed themselves, would probably be glad to have had a "flashback" so they could enjoy the trip again. But I don't know of even one case of that happening.

These are the kinds of rumors/myths/false information that gets spread by people who have had no direct experience.

[avraamjack]

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Good thing Dr. Hofmann did not demand a guide.
.

[Agentlady007]

Really? Let me tell you a "myth" about a group of high school kids who experienced with angel dust one night, and never woke up the next day. You can read this myth in the archived news papers in a small town in Connecticut, although I don't think their parents call it a myth.

[NoSillyName]

Angel Dust is PCP (phencyclidine), an extremely nasty drug was developed in the 1950s as an intravenous anesthetic and has NO RELATION to LSD.

[avraamjack]

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Do you know what Angel Dust is?
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It is not any of the things discissed in the article.
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[Tyrione]

Anyone who has taken LSD and enjoyed it's mind expanding properties knows that the State of Mind one enters into the process is amplified during the process.

No. Treating Anxiety with LSD alone doesn't seem to me what they are discussing. Perhaps in conjunction with other treatments but I have to ask this question:

Other than getting your hands on it from Chemists who Level 1 clearance you won't find it in the markets, period.

You'll find cheap derivatives that mimick it's properties and those attribute to the myth of flashbacks.

Accessibility to pharmaceutical grade LSD ended in the 1960s, for all be strict professionals in medicine.

[kfdan]

LSD has been one of the more interesting mind altering substances in our culture for many a year and there are those who have benefitted from using it and then again, there are those who will do anything to get high! The difference is very large indeed. LSD is useful in initial studies done in the early 60s seriously changed some people's perspective on their own lives ~ alcoholics for example!

[Marlyn]

"Could LSD Cure Panic Attacks?"

No, but it could cause them.

[OneWoman]

My thought exactly. Perhaps it's like homeopathy, i.e. you take a little bit of the substance that causes the problem in order to cure the problem.

[Kurt]

All I can say is that my dad was born the same year Tim Leary was and he is dead (not outside looking in) and my dad is still alive and kicking, healthy as a horse. Of course, the last time I saw Leary (1990) he was not looking very healthy and probably never exercised as much as my father.

On the other hand, how do I get into the study? I could fake a panic attack, drop some LSD, and then groove out listening to the Jefferson Airplane or some Dead and try to draw some spirit from decade I missed the last 1960s. If only I had been born 30 years earlier.... (My dad was around, but my mom was too young, alas).

[Horus]

I think not. I would definitely advocate Ecstasy for people while terminal illnesses, and lord knows pot is a godsend for certain cancer victims, but as far as LSD goes...I wouldn't give it to a guy who has seen a lot of battlefield death and gore. Thats just based on my many many experiences.

[Podewumun]

I've seen quite a few people lose it on acid, but never on schrooms.