June 2026
Anxiety
What June 2026's 17 new studies found, synthesized from the papers below. All Anxiety research →
The synthesis
Synthesized from 11 studies in the library · AI-generated, grounded in the abstracts below
Found by searching the library for Anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, GAD, panic disorder, anxiety disorder, then ranked by relevance.
In June 2026, research on anxiety showed that MDMA-assisted therapy produced large reductions in social anxiety (mean LSAS reduction of 43.3 points, Hedge's g=2.8) in an open-label trial, and that at-home subcutaneous ketamine was associated with moderate-to-large anxiety reductions (GAD-7 response 47.6-62.9%, remission 23.9-31.3%) in a large real-world study, though the evidence for ketamine is at critical risk of bias. Mindfulness-based stress reduction also reduced anxiety in patients with pneumonia-induced sepsis and colorectal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. However, a psilocybin vs. escitalopram reanalysis found that women showed greater anxiety reductions with psilocybin than men, and a preclinical study found no anxiety-related effects of psilocin microdosing in rats. The main caveats are the open-label design of the MDMA trial, the critical risk of bias in the ketamine studies, and the limited durability data across all interventions.
Confidence in the evidence
Low-Moderate- Only one small (n=20) open-label trial for MDMA-assisted therapy for social anxiety, with very large effect size but no blinding.
- One large (n=3870) real-world observational study for subcutaneous ketamine, but at critical risk of bias and with high attrition.
- Two retrospective studies (n=127 and n=301) on MBSR show positive effects but are non-randomized and lack blinding.
- One Bayesian reanalysis of an RCT shows sex-specific anxiety effects for psilocybin, but the primary outcome was depression, not anxiety.
- Preclinical evidence (rat study) found no anxiety-related behavioral effects from psilocin microdosing, limiting translational confidence.
How we rate confidence
Confidence reflects the strength of the underlying evidence, not whether the result is favorable. It weighs the number and size of studies, their design (randomized trials count for more than observational or single-case work), how consistently they point the same way, and their risk of bias.
Tiers run from Insufficient to High. High is rare in this field: small, early, or open-label studies land lower even when their direction is encouraging.
Evidence by study
Direction is each study's finding relative to your question: Supports, Opposes, No effect, Mixed, or Unclear.
| Study | Design | Sample size | Direction | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized, Open-label, Wait-list Controlled Trial 2026 | RCT (open-label, wait-list controlled) | 20 | Supports | MDMA-assisted therapy produced a large reduction in social anxiety (LSAS mean difference −43.3, Hedge's g=2.8, p<.0001) compared to waitlist, with no serious adverse events. |
| At-Home Telehealth-Supported Subcutaneous Ketamine Therapy in Adults With Moderate to Severe Depression, Anxiety, or PTSD: A Real-World Observational Study of Safety, Feasibility, and Clinical Outcomes in a Large, Heterogeneous Cohort in the United States. 2026 | observational (retrospective) | 3870 | Supports | At-home subcutaneous ketamine was associated with moderate-to-large reductions in anxiety (GAD-7 response 47.6-62.9%, remission 23.9-31.3%) over 6 weeks, but the study is at critical risk of bias. |
| Effects of Personalized Nursing Combined With Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life in Patients With Pneumonia-Induced Sepsis. 2026 | observational (retrospective) | 127 | Supports | Personalized nursing combined with MBSR significantly reduced anxiety (HAMA scores) compared to routine nursing alone (p values not specified in abstract). |
| The effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction on chemotherapy-related physical and psychological distress in colorectal cancer patients: a retrospective cohort study. 2026 | observational (retrospective cohort) | 301 | Supports | MBSR significantly reduced anxiety (GAD-7 scores) compared to routine care (all p<0.001) over four chemotherapy cycles. |
| Sex-Specific Effects of Psilocybin Versus Escitalopram on Anxiety and Anhedonia: A Bayesian Reanalysis of Antidepressant Treatment Outcomes 2026 | RCT (Bayesian reanalysis) | — | Mixed | Women receiving psilocybin showed greater reductions in anxiety (STAI) than men (95% CrI −17.5 to −3.29), while escitalopram showed no sex difference in anxiety. |
| Chronic psilocin microdosing produces limited behavioral effects and does not enhance neurogenesis in rats. 2026 | preclinical (animal study) | — | No effect | Chronic psilocin microdosing did not affect anxiety-related behavior in the Elevated Plus Maze or other behavioral tests. |
| Intranasal esketamine in treatment-resistant depression with and without comorbid borderline personality disorder: A multicenter real-world longitudinal study. 2026 | observational (longitudinal) | 90 | Supports | Intranasal esketamine reduced anxiety (HAM-A) over 6 months in the whole sample, with no difference by BPD status. |
| Telehealth-supported ketamine for depression and anxiety: A systematic review. 2026 | systematic review | — | Supports | Telehealth-supported ketamine was associated with GAD-7 response rates of 47.6-62.9% and remission of 23.9-31.3%, but all studies were at critical risk of bias and certainty was very low. |
| From Retreat to Reality: A Qualitative Study of How Adolescents Apply Mindfulness One Month After a Weeklong Retreat 2026 | qualitative | 15 | Supports | 73% of adolescents reported using mindfulness to navigate social anxiety and build connections. |
| De dentro afuera: musicoterapia entre la Cognición 4E y la improvisación conductiva 2026 | theoretical | — | Unclear | Theoretical integration suggests conductive improvisation in music therapy may support anxiety modulation, but no empirical data are provided. |
| Anxiety-related platform in zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae: An integrated analysis of behavioural and molecular assay in drug screening research 2026 | preclinical (animal study) | — | Mixed | Diazepam showed anxiolytic-like behavioral effects, but psychedelic compounds (DOI, 5-MeO-DMT, psilocybin) produced mixed or unclear anxiety-related effects across behavioral and molecular assays. |
MDMA-assisted therapy produced a large reduction in social anxiety (LSAS mean difference −43.3, Hedge's g=2.8, p<.0001) compared to waitlist, with no serious adverse events.
RCT (open-label, wait-list controlled) · Sample size: 20
At-home subcutaneous ketamine was associated with moderate-to-large reductions in anxiety (GAD-7 response 47.6-62.9%, remission 23.9-31.3%) over 6 weeks, but the study is at critical risk of bias.
observational (retrospective) · Sample size: 3870
Personalized nursing combined with MBSR significantly reduced anxiety (HAMA scores) compared to routine nursing alone (p values not specified in abstract).
observational (retrospective) · Sample size: 127
MBSR significantly reduced anxiety (GAD-7 scores) compared to routine care (all p<0.001) over four chemotherapy cycles.
observational (retrospective cohort) · Sample size: 301
Women receiving psilocybin showed greater reductions in anxiety (STAI) than men (95% CrI −17.5 to −3.29), while escitalopram showed no sex difference in anxiety.
RCT (Bayesian reanalysis)
Chronic psilocin microdosing did not affect anxiety-related behavior in the Elevated Plus Maze or other behavioral tests.
preclinical (animal study)
Intranasal esketamine reduced anxiety (HAM-A) over 6 months in the whole sample, with no difference by BPD status.
observational (longitudinal) · Sample size: 90
Telehealth-supported ketamine was associated with GAD-7 response rates of 47.6-62.9% and remission of 23.9-31.3%, but all studies were at critical risk of bias and certainty was very low.
systematic review
73% of adolescents reported using mindfulness to navigate social anxiety and build connections.
qualitative · Sample size: 15
Theoretical integration suggests conductive improvisation in music therapy may support anxiety modulation, but no empirical data are provided.
theoretical
Diazepam showed anxiolytic-like behavioral effects, but psychedelic compounds (DOI, 5-MeO-DMT, psilocybin) produced mixed or unclear anxiety-related effects across behavioral and molecular assays.
preclinical (animal study)
Points of agreement
- MDMA-assisted therapy and ketamine (subcutaneous and intranasal) both show anxiety reductions in clinical populations, though evidence quality varies.
- Mindfulness-based interventions (MBSR, retreats) consistently reduce anxiety in medical and adolescent populations.
- Psychedelic compounds (psilocybin, esketamine) show anxiety-reducing effects in some contexts, but effects may be sex-specific or limited to certain populations.
Conflicts
- Psilocin microdosing showed no anxiety-related effects in rats, contrasting with positive anxiety outcomes from full-dose psychedelics in human studies.
- The psilocybin vs. escitalopram reanalysis found sex-specific anxiety effects (women benefit more from psilocybin), while other studies did not examine sex differences.
- Zebrafish data showed anxiolytic-like effects for diazepam but not for psychedelic compounds, suggesting species-specific or dose-dependent effects.
Gaps
- No long-term durability data beyond 6 weeks for ketamine or 16 weeks for MDMA-AT.
- No blinded, placebo-controlled trials for MDMA-AT in social anxiety (only open-label).
- No studies comparing different psychedelic-assisted therapy protocols for anxiety head-to-head.
- Limited data on anxiety outcomes in underrepresented populations (e.g., non-White, adolescents, elderly).
- No studies examining dose-response relationships for psychedelic-assisted therapy in anxiety disorders specifically.