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How psilocybin therapy can help with OCD
Studies suggest that psilocybin-assisted therapy may be effective in the treatment of OCD.
OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) is a mental health disorder that affects between one to three percent of the global population. Individuals with OCD struggle with obsessions — intrusive thoughts that are often thoughts that are negative or anxiety producing like an insistence on symmetry and order, or the fear of contamination, along with compulsions — repetitive actions like excessive handwashing or housecleaning that are undertaken to ameliorate the anxiety associated with the obsession. Related to OCD are disorders such as trichotillomania (hair pulling), excoriation disorder (skin picking), body dysmorphia and hoarding.
At present the most effective approach for treating OCD is a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), but several clinical trials have found psilocybin-assisted therapy to be promising option.
According to a study by Owe-Larsson and colleagues, factors involved in the development of OCD include genetics, Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS), and Error-related negativity (ERN) — a brain wave pattern indicating increased tendencies for error detection.
OCD is hereditary in up to 45 percent of cases and studies on mice who overgroom…
