Psychedelics Can Change The Way Our Brains Cope With Chronic Pain

If we told you that psychedelics were the future of modern medicine, chances are you would agree. And it’s not just us who are on board with legalizing or at least decriminalizing psychedelics, but scientists and researchers in the medical fields as well. 

The first clinical trials to examine how psychedelics could promote pain relief date back to the 60s, when scientists would analyze the healing properties of LSD. But, the infamous war on drugs took place under Nixon’s government in 1971, stopping all studies and research initiatives from analyzing the medical value of psychedelics. 

Finally, years later, psychedelic research is beginning to gain traction once again. With the new and reliable evidence provided by countless studies regarding the benefits of psychedelics for chronic pain relief, there’s a gleam of hope that patients will get the medicine they not only need but deserve. 

James Close, a doctoral student at the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London and pain management therapist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, spoke with VICE about psychedelic research initiatives. He says there’s a clear case for “cautious optimism and continuing to push the cause.”

Close added that analyzing the many depression and PTSD studies, it’s quite clear how psychedelics “might help people change the relationship [patients] have with their chronic pain,” reports VICE. 

But how does one change that “relationship” with chronic pain? Well, some research explains that psychedelics could help promote a more positive frame of mind that would significantly affect the neural pathways and how we mentally cope with chronic pain. 

Close explained that when a patient experiences persistent pain, “psychedelics could create plasticity and, so to speak, allow for the slate to be wiped clean.” In other words, psychedelics have the holistic power to change your thought process, open your mind to new coping mechanisms, and relieve the brain of its habitual response to chronic pain. 

In one instance, a 2020 study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology wrote that minor doses of LSD showed to promote pain relief and mitigate pain perception similar to opioids. 

Lead researcher Dr. Jan Ramaekers spoke with VICE and explained that dosing LSD is just as effective as opioids but has a far more “prolonged effect,” meaning a patient could dose LSD in the morning and not need another until the next day. But those taking opioids often have to dose multiple times throughout the day, which increases “the potential for dependency and far greater scope for abuse,” said Dr. Ramaekers.