06 - CASE-REPORT OF A ‘TEA CEREMONY’ WITH AYAHUASCA: AN EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER

A 47-year-old woman with no prior psychiatric history experienced a psychotic crisis lasting over four weeks after drinking ayahuasca in a ceremony. Symptoms included delusional thinking, paranoid ideas, insomnia, emotional lability, and hyperactivity with uncontrolled movements. After hospitalization and treatment with haloperidol, the psychotic symptoms gradually resolved, but emotional lability and depressive symptoms persisted for months, possibly linked to past traumatic memories that emerged during intoxication. The case and literature review suggest that ayahuasca can lead to long-term psychopathology, and individuals with personal or family psychiatric history should avoid it.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Background: Ayahuasca, also called yagu00e9, is a psychoactive potion of various plant infusions consisting of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, containing beta-carbolines, and the leaves of the N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT)-containing Psychotria viridis, which acts as a potent agonist to 5-HT2a receptors. Drinking ayahuasca has recently become very popular in shamanistic u2018healing ceremoniesu2019 for its potential cognitive benefits and antidepressant properties. It has also been associated with severe psychiatric sequelae. AimsTo present a case report of a patient who was intoxicated with the psychoactive potion ayahuasca, followed by a literature review on the hazards of intoxication with ayahuasca. Methods: An English language literature search was conducted using Pubmed and EMBASE searching for case reports and observational studies reporting intoxication with the potion ayahuasca.Results: A 47-year-old female suffered a psychotic crisis after an ayahuasca tea ceremony. Symptoms included delusional thinking, paranoid ideas, insomnia, emotional lability and hyperactivity with uncontrolled movements. These symptoms fluctuated and persisted for over 4 weeks before she was taken into hospital. There was no past history of any psychiatric problems. At the psychiatric emergency department, she received an antipsychotic treatment with haloperidol and the psychotic symptoms gradually disappeared. Emotional lability including depressive symptoms remained for several months, possibly due to past traumatic experiences she had not remembered until the moment of intoxication. Conclusions: The use of ayahuasca can lead to long-term psychopathology. Subjects with a personal or family psychiatric antecedents should avoid intake of this psychoactive potion.