After a long hiatus from scientific research, psilocybin mushrooms and other psychoactive plants and fungi are showing promise for the treatment of a variety of mental health disorders.
*Disclaimer: Psychedelics may not be right for everyone. Please do further research and consider individual risk factors before trying them. Psychedelics are illegal substances in some areas and we do not encourage or condone their use where it is against the law. However, we accept that illegal drug use occurs and believe that offering responsible harm reduction information is imperative to enhance safety and reduce harm. We believe harm reduction is achieved through education and a personal commitment to responsible use.
Can Psilocybin Mushrooms also treat premenstrual conditions?
Anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders, OCD and numerous other conditions are being evaluated as candidates for new psychedelic research. There is also exploratory research on Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and Psilocybin, and a growing collection of case studies listed on the Dysphoric Project’s Education Page.
Although robust research on PMDD and Psilocybin is lacking, emerging scientific evidence supports that psilocybin may be effective in treating a wide range of mood disorders including major depressive disorder and PTSD which share diagnostic criteria with PMDD. There are key differences between the disorders, but there is also symptom and treatment overlap that may offer clues into the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine for mood disorders in general.
While there is more research needed in this area, a quick trip down memory lane reminds us that LSD treatment in the 1950s was prescribed for a myriad of mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, alcoholism and even childhood autism. Because PMDD wasn’t established in psychiatry until 2013 we likely won’t find any history of psychedelic treatment for PMDD - at least not in traditional western medicine.
What does research tell us about Psychedelics?
The revival of psychedelic research is in full swing after years of prohibition. In 2018, the FDA designated psilocybin as a breakthrough drug for treatment resistant depression. Research centers continue to open at major institutions like Yale, Johns Hopkins, NYU, UC Berkley, and The Imperial College of London to name just a few. As research continues to rapidly evolve, we are learning more about how psilocybin works and how it may be effective in treating a variety of ailments.
Psilocybin is a classic serotonergic hallucinogen, meaning it works with the serotonin system. After ingesting psilocybin mushrooms, the body transforms psilocybin into psilocin that binds with serotonin receptors. Serotonin is the most well known neurotransmitter and plays a key role in mood, feelings of well being and even digestion. While most people associate serotonin receptors to the brain, it’s actually found in the digestive system, the entire central nervous system, and blood platelets.
Psilocybin and Neuroplasticity
A recent study from Yale shows that a single dose of psilocybin “spurs the growth of neural connections lost in depression”. The process of regenerating neural connectivity is also known as neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s way of re-wiring itself. A similar study used fMRI technology to demonstrate that psychedelics promote structural and functional neuroplasticity. The graphic below gives you an idea of the brain on psilocybin.
The research also suggests that the new connections developed during the psilocybin experience are long lasting, increasing the therapeutic potential of the medicine. A single psilocybin dose in mice resulted in increased neural connectivity within 24 hours and were still observable a month afterwards.
how can Psilocybin Mushrooms help women with PMDD?
There is much work left to do on PMDD research, but there are a few studies that we can explore. We know that the amygdala is more reactive to negative stimuli in the premenstrual phase of the reproductive cycle, generally speaking and that Psilocybin reduces amygdala reactivity to negative stimuli. The amygdala is responsible for the fight or flight response and is vital to processing fearful emotions. Most PMDD sufferers can attest to heightened emotional responses. This study gives us a glimpse into the underlying mechanisms that may play a role in the disorder and offers insights to inform future treatment development.
We also know that the neural connections in women with PMDD are different from women without PMDD. A 2019 study published in Translational Psychiatry “suggests that women with PMDD have different intrinsic network dynamics in the left executive control network compared to healthy controls”. To put it simply, information highways between brain regions in women with PMDD may be different than women without PMDD.
The study also shows that the differences in brain connectivity is present in both the luteal (premenstrual) phase and the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Women with PMDD may have structural differences in the brain all the time, not just during the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle when symptoms are present. Although this research is helpful in understanding that women with PMDD have physiological differences, and validating the PMDD experience, there is still plenty to learn about this disorder and the role psychedelics may play in future treatment options.
What about Trauma and PMDD?
Women with a history of trauma are more likely to develop PMDD. In fact, according to an article published by the Archives of Women’s Mental Health “PTSD is often comorbid with PMDD in women”. PTSD is more widely known and better understood by the mental health community than PMDD although much like major depressive disorder there is overlap in diagnostic criteria between the conditions.
The pychedelic experience is known to elicit deep, meaningful insights that prove helpful in healing from trauma rather than masking the symptoms of trauma. Dr. Gabor Mate’s career is focused on scientific research that suggests that the underlying cause of disease is trauma. He has worked with a variety of patients in palliative care and severe addiction and published several books related to childhood trauma and illness. He is not shy about his healing work with ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian psychedelic brew.
In a 2018 article he speaks out about the transformational potential of ayahuasca:
“My work with ayahuasca, while a small part of what I do, has become in some ways the most exciting of my various healing activities, the one in which I see the most rapidly transformative potential. In the healing retreats my friends—ayahuasqueros—and I have conducted, we have worked with people struggling with drug use and sex addiction, people facing cancer, degenerative neurological illness, depression, PTSD, anxiety, and chronic fatigue, as well as those seeking wholeness, meaning, and an experience of their true selves. In all cases, people have sought liberation from ingrained, habitual, constrictive patterns.”
My personal experience with psilocybin mushrooms is similar to other self reported accounts of healing in the psychedelic community. Positive changes in behavior, increased self love and self care, breaking bad habits and negative thought processes are commonly reported. It is often said that a single psychedelic experience is like years of intense psychotherapy. I can attest that this has been my experience with psilocybin mushrooms - in particular the suicidal ideation and depression were relieved with psilocybin and those symptoms haven’t returned in my case.
what’s next for PMDD and Psilocybin treatment?
We certainly don’t have all of the answers as science attempts to catch up after decades of psychedelic research prohibition. The overwhelming lack of PMDD awareness and research only adds complexity to the issue. Despite the gaps in scientific understanding, the psychedelic industry is moving quickly and positioning itself to disrupt the billion dollar antidepressant market with novel applications of psychedelic medicines.
For some PMDD sufferers however, including myself, waiting for a peer-reviewed scientific publication and FDA approved psilocybin product for PMDD just isn’t an option. When traditional treatments fail, PMDD can feel like a death sentence. PMDD sufferers are 70% more likely to experience suicidal ideation and according to IAPMD, 30% of women with PMDD will attempt suicide. With an estimated 5 million women with PMDD in the US alone, that’s 1.5 million suicide attempts per year. I’m hopeful that the availability of psychedelic medicine will improve the lives of more women with PMDD and help them reclaim a better quality of life.
My personal experience with psilocybin mushrooms has been life changing and continues to be a successful treatment option for my PMDD symptoms. There are key differences however, between psychedelic medicine and traditional PMDD treatments. Psychedelics are strong medicines that should be used responsibly and require preparation and integration for optimal benefit and safety.
For PMDD sufferers interested in trying psilocybin for PMDD, I urge you to do more research and make an informed decision that is best for you. Ultimately, the decision to use psilocybin mushrooms or any psychedelic for PMDD is a deeply personal one that should be informed by knowledge, self-awareness, understanding and respect for the medicine.
To learn more about my personal experiences with psilocybin mushrooms and PMDD, check out my books: The Woman in the Basement, available on Amazon, Channel Twelve available on Amazon, or the Audio Version on Youtube.
For more on our research advocacy efforts, check out the Dysphoric Project’s Projects Page. To geek out on the fascinating field of neurobiology of psychedelics, check out the video below from the Stanford Psychedelic Science Group.
Stanford Psychedelic Science Group Feb 11, 2021
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