Broadening Your Mind to Include Others - The relationship between serotonergic psychedelic experiences and maladaptive narcissism_PREPRINT
March 10, 2020 Valerie van Mulukom, Ruairi Patterson, Michiel van Elk preprint
Awe experienced during classical serotonergic psychedelic (CSP) use is linked to lower maladaptive narcissism. In a survey of 414 people, those who reported greater awe during recent CSP experiences also reported stronger feelings of social connectedness and affective empathy, which in turn were associated with less exploitative and entitled narcissistic traits. This pattern held even after accounting for sensation-seeking. Ego dissolution during the experience showed no similar effect. The findings suggest that awe-induced connectedness, not ego loss, may underlie the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for conditions involving impaired empathy and connection, such as pathological narcissism.