People with panic disorder report anomalous self-experiences—disturbances in the sense of self—at levels comparable to those seen in schizophrenia, though the specific patterns differ. In a study of 47 panic disorder patients and 47 healthy controls, patients scored much higher on the Examination of Anomalous Self Experiences (average 17.94 vs. 1.00 in controls). These experiences included common forms of derealization and depersonalization, which may reflect defensive psychological processes rather than a fundamental disturbance of the minimal self. The findings support the idea that basic-self-disturbance is specific to schizophrenia, while panic disorder involves a different, less profound type of self-alteration that can resemble schizophrenia-like phenomena but requires careful differentiation.
Psychedelics, which produce powerful mental effects by activating 5HT-2A receptors in the brain, were researched in the 1950s and 1960s until their criminalization. Their renewed clinical investigation as therapeutic tools for psychiatric disorders raises deontological ethical questions for clinicians, patients, and society. A review of 42 articles from 2017 to 2022 concludes that psychedelics must be culturally contextualized, epistemic harm minimized and represented to ensure informed consent. Open data and commissions are needed to guarantee safe and equal distribution.