A novel hypothesis proposes that reduced death anxiety may be a key mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of psychedelics. Integrating research on psychedelics with existential psychology, the authors review how psychedelics might diminish death anxiety and suggest that recognizing the role of death anxiety in psychopathology could guide future research into psychedelic therapies.
A meaningful psychedelic experience can reduce death anxiety, and that reduction appears to help explain improvements in satisfaction with life, positive affect, and negative affect. In a survey of 201 participants who recalled a meaningful psychedelic experience, reductions in death anxiety mediated the link between mystical experience and these well-being measures, but did not mediate effects of psychological insight. The findings are correlational and do not establish causation, but they suggest that decreased death anxiety may be one mechanism through which psychedelic-induced mystical experiences boost subjective well-being.
A survey of 106 adults who had a meaningful psychedelic experience found that increases in feelings of connectedness—to oneself, others, and the world—were linked to reduced fear of death and death avoidance. Participants reported these changes when comparing the three months before and after the experience. Greater connectedness in all three domains was associated with less fear of death, but only connectedness to self and others was tied to lower death avoidance. The intensity of the mystical experience was also related to greater connectedness and less fear of death, but not to death avoidance. The authors call for further research to clarify causality and whether these changes reflect adaptive acceptance or denial.