A direct comparison between the experimental psychedelic drug psilocybin and a standard SSRI antidepressant shows similar improvement of depressive symptoms, but that psilocybin offers additional longer-term benefits… Lead researcher Mr. Tommaso Barba (Ph.D. candidate from Imperial College, London) said, “This is the first work to compare the long-term effects of these two drugs in the context of overall well-being, not just freedom from depression.

“In previous work we had found that both treatments led to comparable improvements in alleviating symptoms of depression at the 6-week mark, such as sadness and negative emotions. “However, this work shows that psilocybin outperformed escitalopram in several measures of well-being, meaning in life, work and social functioning. These results appeared to be maintained over a 6-month follow-up period. In addition, in previous work we had found that psilocybin also improves sexual drive, in contrast to SSRIs which tend to lower libido in many patients. So overall it seems psilocybin might give additional positive mental health benefits.”

Original Article (MedicalXpress & Neuroscience News):
Study shows psilocybin gives comparable long-term antidepressant effects to standard antidepressants & Psilocybin Shows Greater Long-Term Benefits Over SSRI for Depression
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