LSD, psilocybin and MDMA are being tested in clinical trials for use in patients who suffer from anxiety and depression. MDMA in particular is clearing the hurdles toward becoming FDA approved as a treatment for PTSD. And we aren’t so very far off the rails: it wasn’t long ago (prior to the 60’s) that LSD was in fact used alongside psychotherapy.

I don’t think it should be unorthodox to use psychoactive medication as a stopgap (that is, to address a crisis and give the brain time to re-set) rather than as a lifelong cycle of prescriptions. But that’s how it’s framed nowadays, by Big Pharma, and by most of the psychiatric community. I think mental illness, like any illness, should be considered case by case. Therefore, what I and my psychiatrist choose to do with my medication plan should not reflect on what others choose to do with theirs.

Here’s a recent clinical trial as an example.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03153579