At this time of year, when the dark shadow of depression affects many in the global north and New Year’s resolutions abound with promises to eat healthy, exercise more, and be nicer to our family and friends, the fact is that most of us will fail and continue to behave exactly like we did in 2025. Even as new GLP-1 agonists with brand names like Wegovy and Zepbound make it easier to achieve weight loss, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac and Zoloft provide a hedge against depression, there is growing interest in an old idea: psychedelics.

The drugs are not being researched as a diversion from life, but instead as a therapeutic intervention to help us handle life’s challenges in more creative ways. With ketamine, one of this class of psychedelics in the news a lot these days (given rumors of who uses it and the death of the actor Matthew Perry in October 2023 in his hot tub at his Los Angeles home from a likely overdose), one can’t help but be intrigued by research into possible benefits from these obviously dangerous substances that remain illegal.

I’ll admit I’m skeptical (and have no personal experience to offer), but it is an intriguing (and somewhat hippy-trippy) idea nonetheless that I came upon while researching serious psychoneurological solutions to building resilience to stress. In 2022, Edmund Neuhaus and George Slavich coined the term “behavioral psychedelics.” Their argument was that while many disorders like depression and obsessive compulsive behaviors have genetic origins, they manifest as rigid lifestyle patterns that include unwanted behaviors such as social disengagement or emotional apathy. According to Neuhaus and Slavich, psychedelics could “break this rigidity by inducing time-limited neuroplasticity that enhances psychological flexibility.” The drugs involved in trials include ones like methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), psilocybin, and, as just mentioned, ketamine, more specifically eskatamine, a derivative that appears to enhance neuroplasticity when taken before stress occurs.

The drugs themselves, however, are not the actual therapy. They simply provide an openness to following through on new lifestyle choices that are coached through psychotherapy and other mental health interventions. In other words, the theory is that taking the psychedelic makes one more open to acting on intentions to change for the better and break habituated problem patterns of coping that undermine resilience.

While early research with both animals and humans suggests a link between psychedelics and lifestyle changes, a recent survey of 2,510 adults in the U.S. who had used psychedelics at least once reported that respondents described the drugs as mostly beneficial, with reduced alcohol consumption, less tobacco use, better eating habits, and fewer impulsive behaviors. The more people “microdosed,” the more they reported positive lifestyle changes. The study is, of course, heavily biased by the methodology used (an online survey of those who reported use) and no objective look at the consequences or extent of people’s use of these substances. If the research tells us anything, though, it is that there is no single drug, whether for weight loss, depression, or creativity, that will make our lives perfect without putting in the effort to tackle lifestyle choices that compromise our well-being.

It’s intriguing to hear that psychedelics may offer a leg up when feeling down, but the effects are unlikely to be sustainable (and not without serious risks) unless we do the work of changing our thoughts and behaviors to cope better with life’s challenges. As of yet, there is no pill for neurological and behavioral utopia. Instead, psychopharmacological interventions that can boost resilience are simply strategies for prevention and early intervention for stress-related problems.

References

Cardona-Acosta AM, Parise LF, Bolaños-Guzmán CA, Parise EM. Prophylactic Ketamine: Current Knowledge and Future Directions. Biol Psychiatry. 2025 Oct 1;98(7):517-530. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.03.015. Epub 2025 Mar 28. PMID: 40158609.

Neuhaus EC, Slavich GM. Behavioral Psychedelics: Integrating Mind and Behavior to Improve Health and Resilience. Front Psychiatry. 2022 Mar 14;13:821208. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.821208. PMID: 35360129; PMCID: PMC8964031.

Teixeira PJ, Jain R, Penn AD, Cole SP, Jain S, Moller AC, Amaro H, Raison C. Health-related behavioral changes following the use of psychedelics in naturalistic settings. Prev Med Rep. 2025 Jun 30;56:103161. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2025.103161. PMID: 40687065; PMCID: PMC12271800.