Do Psychedelics Mimic Psychosis? Perspectives on Similarities and Differences from Individuals with Lived Experience of Psychosis and Psychedelics
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction March 17, 2026 Haley Maria Dourron, Melissa K. Bradley, Heith Copes et al.
Interviews with 19 people diagnosed with non-affective psychotic disorders who had used psychedelics revealed that, while some similarities exist in altered thinking and meaning attribution, most participants reported that psychedelic experiences did not closely resemble their psychosis. Sensory alterations, emotional experience, sense of control, and self-experience were points of contrast. When asked which drug most resembled their psychotic symptoms, the majority endorsed cannabis, followed by dissociative anesthetics and stimulants. The findings suggest that psychedelics may not accurately model many symptoms of psychosis and that interpreting psychedelic experiences as broadly psychosis-like may be misleading.