A prospective ecological momentary assessment study of an ayahuasca retreat: exploring the salutary impact of acute psychedelic experiences on subacute affect and mindfulness skills in daily life

In a non-clinical sample of 36 adults attending a 4-day ayahuasca retreat, positive affect and mindfulness skills improved while negative affect decreased in the days following the retreat compared to before. Acute experiences such as feelings of transcendence, emotional breakthrough, and challenging experiences predicted greater positive affect afterward, but none of these acute experiences were linked to improvements in negative affect or mindfulness. No participants showed clinically significant adverse responses, and only 5.5% showed some degree of potentially clinically significant deterioration in affect. The findings suggest ayahuasca may improve mood and mindfulness, with certain acute experiences contributing specifically to increased positive affect.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Rationale To examine the acute effects of ayahuasca use and their relationship to sub-acute changes in affect and mindfulness in a non-clinical sample, addressing the need for a better understanding of ayahuasca’s immediate and short-term impacts as interest in its use grows. Objectives Using prospective ecological assessment, this study investigates how ayahuasca used at a 4-day retreat affects positive/negative affect and mindfulness skills in daily living compared to pre-retreat. Additionally, we explore acute psychedelic experiences during the ayahuasca retreat, assessed retrospectively 1–2 days post-retreat, as potential mechanisms for theorized effects in daily living post-retreat. Methods Thirty-six participants reported positive/negative affect and mindfulness skills three times daily for 5 days before and after the retreat. Baseline assessments included lifetime psychedelic experience, and post-retreat assessments covered acute ayahuasca experiences. Mixed-effect linear models were used to analyze the data. Results Post-retreat, we observed reduced negative affect, increased positive affect, and enhanced mindfulness skills in daily living. Ayahuasca-induced acute experiences, such as time/space transcendence, emotional breakthrough and challenging experiences predicted greater subacute positive affect. Notably, none of these experiences were linked to subacute improvements in negative affect or mindfulness. No participants showed clinically significant adverse responses post-retreat, and only 5.5% exhibited some degree of potentially clinically significant deterioration in affect. Conclusions Ayahuasca use may lead to improvement in mood and mindfulness skills, and key acute psychedelic experiences induced by ayahuasca may be important to some of these salutary effects, positive affect in particular.