ArticlePloS one2023
Extended difficulties following the use of psychedelic drugs: A mixed methods study.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 145 citations in OpenAlex.
- Confronting mortality: A meta-analysis and systematic review of psychedelic experiences and death anxiety.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Reconsidering evidence for psychedelic-induced psychosis: an overview of reviews, a systematic review, and meta-analysis of human studies.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Mixed-methods analysis on psychedelic-augmented meditation experiences from a randomized controlled mindfulness retreat.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Naturalistic psychedelic therapy: The role of relaxation and subjective drug effects in antidepressant response.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2024Trial
- Psychedelics for Patients Experiencing Existential Distress, Anxiety or Depression in Palliative Care.CNS drugs · 2026Article
- Moving beyond 5-HTPsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Safety and Mental Health Outcomes of Oregon State-Regulated Psilocybin Services.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Psilocybin for Fear of Cancer Recurrence.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Provider perspectives on challenges in treatment during psychedelic therapy.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Association Between Lifetime Hallucinogen Use and Valvular Heart Disease: Findings from the All of Us Research Program.Journal of psychoactive drugs · 2026Article
- Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa: Clinical Considerations and Emerging Models of Care.Current psychiatry reports · 2026Review
- Challenges with clinical trial participants in studies with classical psychedelics: A position statement from the National Network of Depression Centers' task group on psychedelics and related compounds.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- The helioscope effect: A new framework for evaluating trauma-related memory processing in psychedelic experiences.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Evaluating the evidence for repressed memory recovery in psychedelic contexts.Psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Extended difficulties after psychedelic experiences: Prevalence and associations in a global, multilingual sample.Research square · 2026Article
- Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following psychedelic use: a naturalistic survey study.Psychological medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Perceived Availability of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in the United States from 2015 to 2019.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- The science of psychedelic medicine.Nature medicine · 2026Review
- Difficulties following naturalistic psychedelic use and associations with adverse childhood experiences.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Long-term adverse experiences following psychedelic use can persist for weeks, months, or even years, and are relatively unexplored in psychedelic research. Our convergent mixed-method study gained quantitative and qualitative data from 608 participants who reported extended difficulties following psychedelic experiences. Data was gathered on the context of use, the nature and duration of the challenges they experienced (including a written description of these), plus a range of possible risk factors and perceived causes. The most common forms of extended difficulty were feelings of anxiety and fear, existential struggle, social disconnection, depersonalization and derealization. For approximately one-third of the participants, problems persisted for over a year, and for a sixth, they endured for more than three years. It was found that a shorter duration of difficulties was predicted by knowledge of dose, drug type and lower levels of difficulty reported during the psychoactive experience, while a narrower range of difficulties was predicted by taking the drug in a guided setting. Implications for psychedelic harm reduction are discussed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.