4 ms·
> Due to the non-random sample, as well as the lack of placebo control, it could be argued that sub-acute enhancements are due to uncontrolled factors such as p
by Cynddl 8y ago
> Due to the non-random sample, as well as the lack of placebo control, it could be argued that sub-acute enhancements are due to uncontrolled factors such as psychological expectations, or the environment in which the drug is taken.
Indeed. The setting of the retreat (“After ingestion, participants were instructed to stay on the premises, and were able to do what they wanted, as long as they did not disturb other participants. Facilitators provided music, tools to draw and/or write, and food. In the evening, all participants and facilitators came back together as a group.”) might have had a significant effect on the results. These should be, at least, compared to a similar retreat where no psilocybin is ingested.
Otherwise, the effects could come solely from the environment, e.g., a calm and relaxing retreat far from a busy life.
- DFHippie 8y agoIf depression were so easy to treat it would hardly qualify as a mental illness. I think the purpose of the pleasant, relaxed setting was more to ensure the psilocybin had positive rather than negative effects on the participants. It's a precaution, like how in radiation therapy you point the radiation at the tumor rather than adjacent vital organs.
- marviel 8y agoSure, it makes sense --- but I think what your parent is trying to say is that a control would be fairly easy to implement --- just put some other people on the retreat and don't let them take anything.
- im3w1l 8y agoI think it would be better to put them on a separate retreat. Otherwise they could piggyback on the group dynamics of the people who took the psilocybin.
- marviel 8y agoGood point. Trying to equalize the retreats for time of year, weather, and other externalities could get tough. But with a big enough sample size maybe those features would be levelled out.
- adrianN 8y agoLet them take a placebo.
- JulianMorrison 8y agoOr a pleasant non-drug such as chamomile tea.
- marviel 8y agoYeah that would certainly be a better approach.
- ataturk 8y agoPeople are right to be depressed--the modern world is inhumane. Depression, in this context, is a feature, not a bug. It's like saying that Londoners were depressed during the the Blitz. Yeah, well... Anyways, taking drugs like psilocybin or pot or whatever isn't going to fix anything.
- adrianN 8y agoFrom what I heard it's not terribly hard to improve depression symptoms for a short time. Interventions with long-term effects are harder to come by.