Heilende Drogen

1 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:08,280 Psychedelic drugs are back in the limelight, 2 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,200 but where nobody expected them: 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:13,280 medicine. 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,280 Psychedelics definitely have 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:18,840 the potential to transform 6 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:22,160 the lives of many people suffering from mental illness. 7 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:25,600 It's the most life changing experience 8 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:27,520 I've ever had. 9 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,360 By the time they were banned in the 1970s, 10 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,080 the substances had already been tested 11 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:35,880 on around 40,000 patients. 12 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,920 LSD and psilocybin from magic mushrooms 13 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:42,720 have a special effect on the brain. 14 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,760 Psychedelics have the ability 15 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,200 to shake things up. Wham! 16 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:52,760 This could also have a positive effect 17 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,080 when dealing with addictions. 18 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:56,880 They are our hope 19 00:00:57,080 --> 00:00:58,840 because there isn't much else left to try. 20 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:02,760 One of the largest studies to date 21 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:05,000 is examining the effects of psychedelics 22 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:07,360 on major depression. 23 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,400 A journey into the unknown. 24 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:14,880 Yes, I have to say I'm pretty nervous. 25 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:17,840 The search is not just for a new drug, 26 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:20,760 but for a new therapeutic approach. 27 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,720 I believe that we are facing a paradigm shift in psychiatry. 28 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:32,074 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm 29 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,200 The Charité Hospital in Berlin. 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:56,320 Here, as part of a study, 31 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,560 people suffering from depression are given 32 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,160 a substance that triggers hallucinations: psilocybin. 33 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:06,200 The substance that gives magic mushrooms their intoxicating effect. 34 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,200 The day before, the subjects are readied for their trip. 35 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:13,160 Do you hear me? I would like to take your blood pressure. 36 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:15,280 - Is that in order? - Yes, that's fine. 37 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:19,880 That would be the process 38 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:21,560 - if I were to approach you. - OK. 39 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:24,920 Yes, that feels good! 40 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:26,280 You'll notice... 41 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,440 With 144 participants, the study is 42 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:31,120 one of the largest in the world. 43 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:34,960 Previous smaller studies showed 44 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,160 the effectiveness of psychedelic substances 45 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:39,960 in treating depression. 46 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,720 Its potential is now being explored further. 47 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:47,520 And your only job tomorrow is just to be here. 48 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,080 You don't have to do anything. 49 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:52,000 There's a beautiful saying in English: 50 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,320 You are a human being, not a human doing. 51 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,720 Andreas: Subject number 24 of the study. 52 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,040 It started shortly before our daughter died. 53 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:07,240 At the time, we had cared for her 54 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,320 around the clock for more than five years. 55 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,200 She couldn't move or speak. 56 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,640 It felt like I was behind a glass wall. 57 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:20,440 As if I couldn't fully reach 58 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:22,320 other people. 59 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:26,080 And that probably contributed to the fact that I always had the feeling 60 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,240 that I couldn't feel or sense 61 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:30,280 the meaning or significance 62 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:32,800 of anything I did 63 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:34,600 or anything I experienced. 64 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,360 Klaus: Subject number 27. 65 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,680 I had a difficult childhood and was also abused, 66 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,160 and I always felt somehow inferior 67 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:51,720 and unlovable. 68 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,640 The worst thing was being cut off from my feelings 69 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:57,920 and the indifference, 70 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:01,520 so I didn't care what was going on with other people or anything. 71 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:03,920 And then there was the feeling of guilt, 72 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,520 because it wasn't a nice feeling, 73 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:08,920 well, and that was actually the worst, not being able 74 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,680 to actually feel anymore, being able to only function. 75 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,840 Hans-Christian: Subject number 10. 76 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:20,760 It can't be like this. It can't be a permanent condition. 77 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:24,000 It's not life, it's an existence, but it's not life. 78 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:26,920 I told friends, and I mean that, 79 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,520 I really mean that: If someone came today and said, 80 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,400 "Have your leg amputated and then the depression will be gone", 81 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:35,760 I'd say give me the release, I'll sign it. 82 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:37,920 I can't think anymore. 83 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,080 Lia: Subject number 5. 84 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:46,480 Depression is a kind of 85 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,400 grey cloud that takes over my brain. 86 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:51,200 When I'm feeling really bad, 87 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:53,880 I usually stay in bed. 88 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,080 I don't answer the phone. I don't answer messages. 89 00:04:57,280 --> 00:04:59,680 I generally withdraw and can't manage anything. 90 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,480 I have no energy. 91 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,800 Then I realise that it's really getting bad. 92 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:11,080 The study is occurring simultaneously at two locations. 93 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:15,040 In Mannheim at the Central Institute for Mental Health, 94 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,320 a so-called "substance session" will take place the next day. 95 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,920 The study is carried out at the clinic, 96 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:24,160 but for the trip to be effective, 97 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:27,800 it is important for the treatment to take place in a pleasant atmosphere. 98 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,400 The therapists prepare the room for this. 99 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,840 {\an8}In taking the substance, people get into a very vulnerable state, 100 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:38,440 {\an8}where certain things that you 101 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,200 {\an8}may already feel or perceive simply become 102 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:44,040 {\an8}much more important and meaningful. 103 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,800 So that's why we made sure that the space is open, of course. 104 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,120 This is where Lia will have her first session tomorrow. 105 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:57,160 I have a lot of hope. I'm going into the study 106 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,400 with great expectations, but at the same time, 107 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,320 I don't want to expect too much from it. So I'm also aware 108 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,920 that nothing good may come out of it. 109 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,040 But I'm not really expecting anything bad. 110 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:14,960 Yes, I have to say I'm pretty nervous. 111 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:18,360 Because various antidepressants 112 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:20,760 have not helped her for years, 113 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,800 she wants to embark on this unfamiliar experience. 114 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,280 {\an8}Psychedelics have the ability 115 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,200 {\an8}to shake things up. Wham! 116 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,440 {\an8}And that's the reason why they work so wonderfully 117 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,600 with all illnesses that have to do with rigidity, 118 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:39,760 with tightness, with immobility, 119 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,440 like depression, like fear, like compulsions, 120 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,520 because then things suddenly go somewhere completely different 121 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,080 than they were before. All of a sudden, thoughts 122 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,200 flash through my brain from a different perspective and so on. 123 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,760 What I have afterwards is, at best, 124 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:59,200 a prettier mosaic of the old order, 125 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,440 perhaps without some of the barriers that have been holding me back. 126 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:04,880 But the crucial phase is precisely this: 127 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,040 what happens in there and swirls around. 128 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:14,120 The study, led by Gerhard Gründer, 129 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,520 was developed jointly by the Central Institute for Mental Health 130 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:19,400 in Mannheim, the Charité in Berlin 131 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,640 and the organisation Mind Foundation. 132 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,160 It is funded by the federal government. 133 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:32,160 280 million people worldwide 134 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:34,520 suffer from depression. 135 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,400 Many of them can be helped 136 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:39,520 with standard antidepressants and treatments. 137 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:42,760 But they have no effect on more than a third, 138 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,520 that is, more than 90 million people. 139 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:47,840 This group also includes 140 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:50,360 the 144 subjects in the study. 141 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,120 {\an8}The pharmaceutical industry has spent the last 20 or 30 years 142 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:57,080 {\an8}trying to develop new drugs that are better, 143 00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,880 {\an8}that are more effective than the old ones, 144 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,200 at great expense, billions. Most substances were 145 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:05,120 then stopped in development 146 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,560 because they were no better than what we already have. 147 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:11,600 So, an incredible amount of money 148 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:14,600 was burnt up 149 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:17,400 without leading to any new substances. 150 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:23,400 You also have to say, what we can 151 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,200 really call a crisis is that we are 152 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:28,160 still unable to help many patients, 153 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,560 neither with psychotherapy nor with pharmacotherapy. 154 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,920 Worldwide, the focus is once again on the mind-altering power 155 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,600 of plants and mushrooms with their psychoactive substances: 156 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:40,440 DMT in lianas, 157 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:42,800 ibogaine in root bark, 158 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,720 mescaline in cacti, LSD in ergot fungi 159 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:50,040 and psilocybin in magic mushrooms. 160 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,200 Psychedelics or hallucinogens, 161 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:59,840 that is, substances that trigger hallucinations, 162 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,640 have always been used by indigenous peoples 163 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:05,160 for shamanic rituals. 164 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,080 Microbiologist Felix Blei 165 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:10,680 researches these psychoactive substances. 166 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:13,480 So, there really is a great variety 167 00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:15,800 of different classes of natural substances that 168 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,560 {\an8}are psychoactive. As scientists, we keep finding new plants 169 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:23,440 {\an8}that simply surprise us. And I'm also sure that a lot of cool things 170 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:25,800 {\an8}will still be found in terms of mushrooms 171 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,920 because they have some amazing properties. 172 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:41,080 Together with a research group from the University of Jena, 173 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,720 Felix Blei found out how the mushrooms 174 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:48,160 produce the psychoactive substance psilocybin. 175 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:50,080 But for what purpose 176 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:53,480 the over 100 different mushrooms around the world 177 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,400 produce a substance that induces such powerful hallucinations 178 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,160 remains a mystery. 179 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,240 The psilocybin contained in the mushrooms 180 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,080 is converted in the body into the substance psilocin, 181 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,240 which then reveals its intoxicating effect. 182 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,120 Psilocybin is a very simple natural substance. 183 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,480 The basic structure consists of an indole ring, 184 00:10:25,680 --> 00:10:28,080 you can see it very nicely here and here, 185 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:31,480 that is the basic structure of the indole. The exciting thing 186 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:34,800 is that this basic structure is not only found in psilocybin, 187 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,400 but also in LSD - 188 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:41,680 I've circled them - in psilocin 189 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:45,120 and, of course, also super exciting, in serotonin, 190 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:47,440 in the body's own neurotransmitter. 191 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:49,240 And then you get 192 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:51,720 a bit of a feeling for why 193 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,440 all of them can dock to the same receptors. 194 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:57,240 Psilocybin and LSD are "psychedelics," 195 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:01,200 which translates to "revealing the soul". 196 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:05,720 ZURICH 197 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:09,080 {\an8}In Zurich, a research team from the university's psychiatric clinic 198 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,480 is investigating how psychedelics change the way regions of the brain 199 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:14,680 communicate with each other. 200 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,320 Neurotransmitters, messenger substances that transmit information 201 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,280 between the nerve cells in our brain, 202 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:23,480 play an important role here. 203 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:26,840 Franz Vollenweider and Katrin Preller use imaging techniques 204 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:30,280 to study the effects of psychedelics on the brain. 205 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,520 The first studies were conducted with healthy volunteers. 206 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:40,280 When we have taken a psychedelic, 207 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:43,440 it first enters the bloodstream, and from the bloodstream, 208 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:45,240 it is transported to our brain. 209 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:48,120 Now the thing is that, in our brain, we have receptors 210 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:51,760 and neurotransmitters. The receptors are 211 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:55,520 the keyholes, so to speak, and the neurotransmitters are the keys. 212 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:57,640 And with psilocybin or LSD, 213 00:11:57,840 --> 00:11:59,760 once they're in the brain, 214 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:02,240 they unlock a very special keyhole, 215 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,400 and that's the serotonin 2A receptor. 216 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:09,480 Serotonin is an important messenger substance, 217 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:11,800 also known as the happiness hormone. 218 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,920 When psychedelics are docked to their receptor, 219 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:18,720 the brain is greatly stimulated. It begins 220 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:21,760 to send unfamiliar impulses back and forth. 221 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:25,000 And new connections are created between brain regions 222 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,320 that normally seldom communicate with each other. 223 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:34,360 Psychedelics also affect the thalamus. 224 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:37,840 In sober everyday life, it protects us from sensory overload 225 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:40,360 and only lets important information through. 226 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,840 What we've seen here is that, under the influence of LSD and psilocybin, 227 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:49,040 the thalamus simply doesn't filter information 228 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:51,000 as well as it normally does. 229 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:54,160 This means that it directs more information 230 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:57,160 to the rest of the brain 231 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,600 and, quite specifically, it is more closely connected 232 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,160 to the sensory areas of the brain, 233 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,800 for example, vision, but also to other areas of the brain 234 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,680 that are responsible for motor functions and feeling, 235 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:11,920 for example. These are the ones 236 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,880 that communicate with each other very strongly, 237 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,680 more than they normally would. 238 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,200 And, of course, that also explains 239 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,720 why most people under the influence of psychedelics 240 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:26,120 have such a very strong sensory perception, 241 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:28,520 that is, they perceive their environment 242 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,880 and themselves very strongly. 243 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:36,440 For example, you hear colours 244 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:38,800 and a forest begins to speak. 245 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:40,520 You hallucinate. 246 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:41,960 The microphone is all red. 247 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,280 How ironic! 248 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:51,000 It said, "No". 249 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,000 Your red mic said no. 250 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:57,400 Hallucinations aren't always funny. 251 00:13:57,600 --> 00:13:59,600 They can trigger fears and "bad trips", 252 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:02,400 which is a horrifying trip, 253 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,920 or bring back deeply repressed things to one's consciousness. 254 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:12,040 {\an8}Don't expect that when you 255 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,000 {\an8}take psychedelics, it's just pink unicorns galloping 256 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:19,280 {\an8}through your brain. It's just not like that! 257 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,000 You deal with dark topics, 258 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:24,520 with things that arise in you, with primal fears. 259 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,200 But not everything that is difficult 260 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:30,520 constitutes a bad trip. 261 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:32,960 And a challenging experience can be 262 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:36,360 a wonderful basis for finding out a lot about yourself, 263 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:38,120 your own inner mechanisms 264 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:40,440 and also areas from which you can learn. 265 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,840 Andreas is on his way to his first session. 266 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:56,600 He was well prepared for the fear he may experience. 267 00:14:57,640 --> 00:14:59,360 He is daring to step into the unknown 268 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:01,920 because he sees no other options. 269 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:04,880 In the end, after so many years, 270 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:08,160 I admitted to myself 271 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:10,600 that I should try something completely different 272 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:13,280 than just psychotherapy 273 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:15,880 and psychotropic drugs. 274 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:18,440 And then I became aware of the study 275 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:20,680 and thought, this is the opportunity 276 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,080 to try something completely different. 277 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:26,760 All subjects receive two sessions 278 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:29,120 six weeks apart. 279 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:33,680 Study coordinator Michael Koslowski administers the substance. 280 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,520 The psilocybin capsules, or the psilocybin 281 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:40,320 or placebo capsule - we don't know what's in it ourselves - 282 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:42,560 they're brought to us. I think he's here. 283 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,560 But it came from the pharmacy, was given to us here 284 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:48,640 - and kept in a safe. - Hello. 285 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:50,920 Hi. 286 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,120 How are you today? Do you have any questions? 287 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:56,840 Is everything clear? How do you feel? 288 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,560 A little nervous. But thanks to 289 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:02,520 the many conversations, I've found my centre, 290 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:04,560 calmed down and, 291 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:06,600 as I said, I'm in good hands. 292 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,440 Then I wish you a good experience today 293 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,720 and I'll hear from you later. 294 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:14,520 Bye. 295 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,600 The study is designed in such a way that all subjects are guaranteed 296 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:21,200 to receive a high dose in one of the two sessions. 297 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:25,240 These are usually patients who have 298 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,600 already had a lot of treatments. Most come having tried 299 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,560 over ten different substances over the course of their life. 300 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,120 {\an8}And it is indeed the case that many come to us 301 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,640 {\an8}with great expectations. 302 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,240 {\an8}"You are my last resort". 303 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:42,920 We've heard that a few times. 304 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:51,400 The next morning. Andreas is back from his trip. 305 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:56,480 The most intense, 306 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:59,680 what I would call a trip through space, 307 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:03,040 where I was moving through unknown dimensions. 308 00:17:06,360 --> 00:17:08,880 Such an experience must be processed. 309 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:10,920 The therapists support him in this. 310 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,680 The most significant thing 311 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,120 about the experience yesterday was 312 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:20,360 such a sudden reversal of perspective. 313 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,320 I suddenly felt that 314 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,600 the sick child was trapped in the illness, 315 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,040 that it was related to me, 316 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:33,360 that I feel trapped 317 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,000 and have always felt trapped 318 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,520 in this reality, in this world in which I grew up. 319 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,960 And that suddenly arose, this feeling 320 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:44,600 of being trapped. 321 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:50,040 The effect of the substance has helped Andreas to gain new insight. 322 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:53,640 And it is precisely such insights into forgotten, repressed feelings 323 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:56,400 that should trigger the healing process. 324 00:17:56,920 --> 00:17:59,240 The fact is that patients with depression 325 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:01,880 often look at their lives through a keyhole. 326 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:04,840 And during these experiences, the keyhole widens. 327 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:07,160 New perspectives become possible, 328 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:10,120 new perspectives, new connections, new interpretations. 329 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,240 And that can trigger eye-opening effects 330 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:14,840 that can be very healing in the medium to long term. 331 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,120 And then sometimes, it isn't the huge fireworks 332 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:20,760 but rather these small things 333 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:23,200 that have a big impact. 334 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:25,080 Like throwing a pebble into the water. 335 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:28,000 Just a small stone, 336 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,320 but the ripples can affect the whole lake. 337 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,800 Lia also had her first session. 338 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,000 Like Andreas, she experienced a psilocybin trip. 339 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:48,280 The next morning, she is picked up by her mother Maria. 340 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:52,160 Hello! 341 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:54,480 How was your trip? 342 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:56,280 Very nice. 343 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:00,000 I'm so glad. 344 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:09,200 - How do you feel now? - Very good. 345 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:11,720 Thank you very much. I am a bit tired. 346 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,160 I hope you weren't worried? 347 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:16,960 No. 348 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:18,360 You were in good hands. 349 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,040 Yes, I was very well looked after. 350 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:22,040 Very. 351 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:23,720 Thank you very much. 352 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,520 Next week, Lia will meet with her therapists again 353 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:30,640 to discuss her experience. 354 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:32,800 Good. 355 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,320 Take things slowly the next few days. Take care of yourself. 356 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:38,520 And then we'll see each other again next week. 357 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:39,760 Thank you so much. 358 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:42,120 Yes, thank you all. 359 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:44,240 - I'm so glad. - Yes, 360 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:46,840 me too. It was a good experience. 361 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:49,240 You look like 362 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:51,520 - you've recovered. - Yeah. 363 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:54,160 Like you have energy. 364 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:57,080 Yes. I'm very tired, 365 00:19:57,280 --> 00:19:59,800 but I'm doing pretty well, I'd say. 366 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:04,160 There were such strong emotions that I found it very, 367 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,480 very beautiful. So actually, the crying 368 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:10,680 or the grief also felt 369 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:14,960 really beautiful in that moment. 370 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,680 I just didn't have access to that before, 371 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,000 I didn't have the same access to myself 372 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:23,040 that I experienced yesterday. 373 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:26,120 It was as if 374 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:29,600 there were simply no more blocks between me and myself. 375 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:31,040 Yeah. 376 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:39,440 Experiencing such intense moments 377 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:41,880 is also a new experience for the head of the study 378 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:43,680 and therapist Gerhard Gründer: 379 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:46,600 Not only is this the most important study 380 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,520 I've done to date, it's also the most moving. 381 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,000 As a therapist, what we experience there 382 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:53,640 with patients in the therapy room 383 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:56,960 is the most touching experience 384 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,640 of my professional career. 385 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:02,640 These are interpersonal processes 386 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:04,800 that change us, also as therapists. 387 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:07,880 Klaus had a so-called mystical experience 388 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:10,600 while taking psilocybin. 389 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,680 The connection between such an experience 390 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:16,400 and an improvement in mood is known from previous studies. 391 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,240 I had such a divine experience, so I saw 392 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:23,920 this being 393 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:27,200 that created and loved us. 394 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:29,800 But it was completely different from what I thought. 395 00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:33,880 "I am the power that created everything 396 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:35,720 and you can't understand me anyway, 397 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,200 you'll never be able to grasp it. 398 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:41,640 That's why I'll show you myself now in a familiar face. 399 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:44,200 And that can be a cricket. 400 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,360 It can be a stone, an eagle, it can be anything, 401 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:49,720 you can't even imagine what I am". 402 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:52,800 And it was masculine, feminine 403 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,160 and neutral at the same time, and was unlike anything. 404 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,200 And that was... 405 00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:01,080 really moving. 406 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,000 The Mazatec called the magic mushrooms “meat of the gods” 407 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,120 and consumed them during shamanic rituals. 408 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:11,840 So how did Mexican magic mushrooms 409 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:14,960 find their way into western medicine? 410 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:18,760 PARIS 411 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:20,600 The answer lies in Paris 412 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:22,960 at the National Museum of Natural History. 413 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,920 As a student, historian Vincent Verroust accidentally found 414 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:29,120 long-forgotten rolls of film 415 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:32,400 and notes by mushroom researcher Roger Heim 416 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:36,600 and discovered a treasure trove of mushrooms in the museum archives. 417 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,720 Roger Heim, who was director of the museum at the time, 418 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:50,960 brought these back from his expeditions. 419 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:55,080 The discovery of hallucinogenic mushrooms in Mexico 420 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:57,960 was a real sensation at the time, 421 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:02,000 if only because they discovered shamanic rituals that seemed 422 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:04,120 to have disappeared for centuries. 423 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,560 In 1956, in Mexico, in the mountains of Oaxaca, 424 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:11,920 Roger Heim set off 425 00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:14,240 with the American amateur researcher couple 426 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:16,320 Valentina and Gordon Wasson 427 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,000 to the remote village of Huautla de Jiménez. 428 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:23,680 Three years earlier, the couple had discovered ceremonies 429 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:26,400 that utilised magic mushrooms, 430 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,440 led by the shaman Maria Sabina. 431 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:39,760 Roger Heim was allowed to attend a ceremony 432 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,720 and also taste “the flesh of the gods” himself, 433 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,840 experiences that aroused a lifelong fascination in him. 434 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,200 He looked for the magic mushrooms on the slopes around the village, 435 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,720 found some specimens and took them back to France. 436 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,200 While Valentina and Gordon Wasson introduced 437 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,120 magic mushrooms to America and even made them famous 438 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:05,600 through their publications, 439 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:09,280 Roger Heim concentrated on research in Paris. 440 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:12,360 He wanted to find out exactly what substance 441 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:14,360 gave the mushrooms their magic. 442 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:16,200 When he didn't succeed, 443 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:19,080 he asked a Swiss chemist for help. 444 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:25,400 Albert Hofmann had been a celebrity 445 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:29,160 since he discovered and synthesised the psychedelic LSD, 446 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:31,160 found in the black ergot fungus 447 00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:32,760 that afflicts ears of rye. 448 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:37,440 And he managed to identify psilocybin 449 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,720 as the psychoactive compound in mushrooms. 450 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,520 Heim recognised its potential in medicine 451 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:47,880 and Hofmann began to synthetically produce psilocybin. 452 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:53,160 They were thrilled to have actually found 453 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:56,600 the psychoactive compound in mushrooms. 454 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:59,360 And Roger Heim immediately got in touch 455 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,080 with the psychiatric department 456 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:06,160 at St Anne's Hospital here in Paris. 457 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,040 And so it was 458 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,480 that the very first clinical trial of psilocybin was conducted 459 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:13,600 in France. 460 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:17,520 In total, psychedelics were researched 461 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:19,800 on around 40,000 patients worldwide 462 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,720 in the 1950s and 1960s. 463 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:25,800 In carefully controlled experiments, 464 00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:27,960 interesting results have been reported 465 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:30,480 on the therapeutic use of LSD 466 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,600 with the mentally ill, drug addicts, 467 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:35,640 terminal cancer patients, 468 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:38,640 and in the VA hospital in Topeka, Kansas, 469 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,920 a special research programme for alcoholics. 470 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:45,960 In the 1960s, LSD was hailed by the hippie movement 471 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:49,120 as a mind-expanding drug, 472 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:51,560 and other psychedelics became more popular. 473 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:55,960 The youth protested against the establishment 474 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:57,720 and the Vietnam War. 475 00:25:57,920 --> 00:25:59,760 As a result, President Nixon 476 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:02,160 named drugs Public Enemy Number 1. 477 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,880 Under pressure from him, not only psychedelics are banned, 478 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:07,920 but also all research - 479 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:10,720 despite initial promising results. 480 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:12,600 {\an8}Not only did you throw out the baby 481 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:14,880 {\an8}with the bathwater, you burnt down the bathtub, 482 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,240 {\an8}if we're being completely honest. 483 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,480 {\an8}Well, it's hard to see how 484 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,400 good therapeutic approaches, promising therapeutic approaches 485 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:26,600 were suppressed 486 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,120 and care was taken 487 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,000 to ensure that those results were suppressed. 488 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,120 So when I started studying medicine, 489 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:36,760 there was nothing in any textbook 490 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,720 about LSD and psilocybin other than that you can get poisoned. 491 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:42,360 It's dangerous. It was only seen in relation 492 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:45,440 to developing psychosis and toxicology. 493 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,240 But there was also no mention 494 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:51,840 of any strategies for using it therapeutically. 495 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:55,800 Because of the ban, medicine also forgot 496 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,600 professor of psychiatry and psychotherapy, Hanscarl Leuner, 497 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:02,720 who was allowed to treat with the substances 498 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,600 with a special permit until 1986. 499 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,960 Leuner was a co-founder of "Psycholytic Therapy" 500 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,880 and administered LSD and psilocybin in low doses. 501 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:15,680 His assistant at the time, 502 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,160 the psychiatrist and psychedelic researcher Torsten Passie, 503 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:22,080 documented Leuner's methods in his book 504 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,800 Hanscarl Leuner and Psycholytic Therapy. 505 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:28,400 The therapeutic work 506 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,080 was then deepened 507 00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:33,240 and an attempt was made to accelerate it. 508 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:35,760 And what was also an important starting point 509 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,640 of this therapy at the time was that it was possible 510 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:41,920 to reach patients who were so closed off 511 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:44,400 due to their traumatic history, 512 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:46,720 who were unable to open up 513 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:49,720 and needed this pharmacological stimulation 514 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:53,360 to produce things from the unconscious or from somewhere else 515 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,840 and to relax and soften up a bit internally, 516 00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:59,440 so that psychotherapeutic processes could work. 517 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:04,560 SOLOTHURN 518 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,840 The studies occurring worldwide aim to find out more about this effect. 519 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:15,680 In Switzerland, these substances 520 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:19,240 have been given exemptions since 2014. 521 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:20,880 Hello, Peter. 522 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:24,760 Peter Gasser was the first therapist 523 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,680 allowed to use psychedelics again. 524 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:30,360 First, as part of a study, he used LSD to treat patients 525 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:32,640 who were suffering from anxiety 526 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:34,440 because of their cancer diagnosis. 527 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,280 Today, he also uses it for other diagnoses. 528 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,560 25 of his colleagues now offer 529 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:43,920 substance-assisted therapies in Switzerland. 530 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:47,520 Psychedelics are known 531 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,360 to reduce psychological defences 532 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:52,600 and can thus open the door 533 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:54,840 to deep-seated trauma. 534 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:57,040 Management holds the substance 535 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,760 and I am the support figure. If I see someone 536 00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:03,120 struggling, I get close to them and maybe 537 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,080 hold their hand, their head, or I hold their feet, 538 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:07,840 depending on the situation. 539 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:09,880 Or I'll ask how they're doing. 540 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,960 Then, depending on the person, I simply support someone 541 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:16,120 to help them through this difficult process. 542 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:23,880 Andreas suffered from excessive compulsive washing for years. 543 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:28,680 Neither medication nor various therapies helped him. 544 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:30,760 Over time, the compulsion only got worse. 545 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:35,120 You have to imagine if you have to wash for two hours a day, 546 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,760 that's a lot of time lost. Then there's the fact that 547 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:42,160 you're also dealing with it all the time in everyday life: 548 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,200 What am I touching, what could be dirty? 549 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:47,680 And there's just 550 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,960 no longer any cognitive capacity for joy, 551 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,360 for enjoying life. It's really like 552 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:56,240 your whole life consists only of compulsive washing. 553 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:01,240 I really was desperate. 554 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:04,600 I think the next thing to do was to end things. To end my own life. 555 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:09,240 Andreas saw his last hope 556 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:12,360 in substance-assisted therapy with Peter Gasser. 557 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:16,040 But even then, he didn't see an immediate improvement. 558 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:19,880 Psychotherapy is a process, and I think 559 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:22,720 working with these substances is primarily 560 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:26,240 and very often an ongoing process. 561 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:29,120 It might go faster, it might go deeper, 562 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:30,960 but again, it takes time 563 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:33,160 to kind of 564 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:37,000 go through it all. And that's why, 565 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:38,640 even with traumatic experiences, 566 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:41,160 it often takes several attempts 567 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:44,200 to get a little closer each time 568 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,400 to this traumatic event. 569 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:48,400 Don't forget that 570 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:50,160 people repress 571 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:52,640 and forget trauma. That has to do 572 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:55,240 with the fact that it was so painful 573 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:57,400 and that it was so unbearable. 574 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:02,560 Four sessions with LSD were necessary 575 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:04,480 before a deeply repressed event - 576 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:06,680 and the probable cause of his suffering - 577 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,280 returned to Andreas' consciousness, 578 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:12,640 so that he can now work through it in therapy. 579 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,280 And suddenly it hit me. 580 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:20,560 It was like, "Oh!" I was shocked. 581 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:23,760 And then I realised, "Oh, at the age of 15, 582 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,080 you were drugged and maybe even raped, 583 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:27,880 certainly abused that night". 584 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:30,200 And it wasn't that I wasn't there, 585 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,160 but I completely... 586 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:34,640 blocked it out, repressed it. 587 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:37,560 I think if that happened on the first trip, 588 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:39,200 if I had realised that... 589 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:41,840 I don't know what I would have done to myself. 590 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,000 And that's why I just think 591 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:47,080 everything before these four sessions 592 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:49,760 was just there to mentally prepare me 593 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:51,680 to be able to deal with all this. 594 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,520 So it's about quality of life again, 595 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:57,840 and it's a life that I want to live again. 596 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:02,840 In the German study, the test subjects are 597 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,080 aided therapeutically for three months. 598 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:08,320 Regular examinations are also carried out during this time. 599 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:12,720 Two more meetings will follow after six and 12 months. 600 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,000 In the meantime, Lia, Hans-Christian and Andreas 601 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:18,160 have received a high dose. 602 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,040 I got out of a difficult situation very quickly, 603 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:27,240 got into a much better one, 604 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:30,680 and now I'm just doing things for myself 605 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:34,080 that I should have been doing for a long time. 606 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:36,200 And yes, 607 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:39,000 of course I ask myself, how will it be now 608 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:41,400 in winter? How will it be now when I'm back 609 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:44,280 in situations that used to 610 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:46,360 cause me to lose control, 611 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:50,120 that is, that were difficult for me? Will it get easier now? 612 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:52,520 Will I maybe get depressed again 613 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,080 in a few months? Of course that could also happen. 614 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:59,160 Energy is still a huge problem for me. 615 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,640 I write things down every day 616 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,560 in order to understand things more objectively. 617 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:09,720 So how many hours do I spend on "concentration time", 618 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:12,560 by that I mean all the washing, 619 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,720 shopping, ironing, whatever. 620 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:18,880 In other words, every activity where I have to be "switched on". 621 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:22,000 I think it's a good day if I can manage four hours. 622 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:23,120 That's a good day. 623 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:25,800 I feel I've changed. 624 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:28,520 Now I'm asking myself 625 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:32,720 how this change will reflect the goals of the study: 626 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:35,800 How long will it last 627 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:39,000 and how sustainable are these changes? 628 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:43,400 I can't answer that yet. 629 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:47,080 A psychedelic experience does not mean 630 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:51,120 that it is then implemented and integrated. And then there are 631 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,680 often setbacks, 632 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:56,400 with disappointments, with hurdles 633 00:33:57,680 --> 00:33:59,920 that must be worked through. It also means you need 634 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:02,680 the strength and the intention to keep working. 635 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:08,120 The research teams from Mannheim and Berlin 636 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,440 regularly exchange observations 637 00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:12,520 and initial findings. 638 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:17,720 I believe that, in the next study, we must have the option 639 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:19,760 of administering 640 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:21,520 the substance more often. 641 00:34:21,720 --> 00:34:23,120 DR GERHARD GRÜNDER PSYCHIATRIST 642 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:25,440 And we need 643 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,000 longer intervals over which we give the substance. 644 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:31,800 And we need more psychotherapy. We need 645 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:33,200 more "integration". 646 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:37,080 Giving psychedelics multiple times 647 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,080 in therapy is possible 648 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:40,960 because they are non-addictive. 649 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:44,200 There are various reasons 650 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:46,000 why the substances are not addictive. 651 00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:48,560 {\an8}This strong and rewarding effect 652 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:51,520 {\an8}that we see with other substances by stimulating 653 00:34:51,720 --> 00:34:55,280 {\an8}the dopamine system is not present 654 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:57,960 with psychedelics. The second reason 655 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:00,240 why the substances are not addictive 656 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:04,200 is also a completely psychological one. So a trip 657 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,520 is exhausting for almost everyone. It's like riding a rollercoaster. 658 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:12,640 It's actually not something you really want to repeat the next day. 659 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:15,120 The third factor is that 660 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:17,440 the serotonin receptors become 661 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:21,560 severely overstimulated by the psychedelics 662 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:25,320 and then withdraw for a period of time. 663 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:28,480 This means that if I tried to take 664 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:31,840 psilocybin again the next day, it would have 665 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:35,160 almost no effect at all. This means that our body 666 00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:38,240 protects us from consuming the substances 667 00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:39,880 too frequently. 668 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,760 A study by former UK government Chief Drug Advisor 669 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:45,800 David Nutt found 670 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,920 that psychedelics ranked low in terms of danger. 671 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:52,640 When you add up the damage 672 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:56,080 a drug does to the environment and to the self, 673 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:58,960 the most dangerous drug of all is alcohol. 674 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:00,880 {\an8}HARM TO ENVIRONMENT (WHITE) HARM TO SELF (RED) 675 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:05,120 Three million people worldwide die from it every year, 676 00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:08,360 which is more than 5% of all deaths. 677 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:13,680 Alcohol researcher Mickaël Naassila 678 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:15,800 and others have been calling 679 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:18,640 for warning labels on alcoholic beverages for some time. 680 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:20,840 So far, they haven't been able to sway 681 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,720 the alcohol lobby, which wants to prevent this. 682 00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:24,720 CANCER 683 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:28,280 Alcohol consumption can cause many diseases. 684 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:30,000 First of all, cancer. 685 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:32,560 Then cardiovascular diseases, 686 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:34,040 {\an5}DR MICKAËL NAASSILA PHYSICIAN AND RESEARCHER 687 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:36,040 especially high blood pressure, 688 00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:38,680 stroke. And the diseases 689 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:41,920 of the digestive tract, liver. And then, of course, addiction. 690 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:44,080 Alcohol is a hard drug. 691 00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:49,040 Can psilocybin trigger a healing process 692 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:52,920 in alcohol addiction, just like in depression? 693 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:55,160 This is what Mickaël Naassila 694 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:58,360 is researching together with other European research groups. 695 00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:01,360 Katrin Preller leads the Swiss part of the study, 696 00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:05,240 in which 60 subjects are treated with psilocybin. 697 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:08,480 Of course, many things happen 698 00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:10,800 in the brain of an alcoholic, 699 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:13,720 and we don't understand everything yet. 700 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:16,800 But of course, through consumption, 701 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,240 which happens over and over again, 702 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:21,600 the brain changes, the brain adapts. 703 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:24,680 We know that alcohol is a much higher priority 704 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:27,560 because the reward system responds to it. 705 00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:31,040 And because of that, 706 00:37:31,240 --> 00:37:32,840 the patients 707 00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:35,800 can relapse again and again. 708 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:39,440 AMIENS 709 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:41,920 The research group from the University of Amiens 710 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:45,080 is studying the effects of psilocybin on rats. 711 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:48,920 Experiments were carried out under the direction of Mickaël Naassila, 712 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:51,080 in which the rodents were given the opportunity 713 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:54,960 to obtain alcohol by pressing a switch. 714 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:58,000 After a short time, 715 00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:00,480 the rats pressed the switch more and more often, 716 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:03,000 drinking more and more. 717 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:10,880 Then the animals were given psilocybin 718 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:12,480 and the experiment was repeated. 719 00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:17,920 The researchers then observed 720 00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:20,200 a significant change in behaviour. 721 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:27,520 Administering psilocybin reduces 722 00:38:27,720 --> 00:38:29,120 the rats' cravings for alcohol. 723 00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:31,920 And not only that. The fascinating thing 724 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:34,920 is that psilocybin not only affects the amount you drink, 725 00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:37,600 but other things as well. It can affect self-control. 726 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:42,600 Because you often reach for the bottle 727 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:45,480 without even being aware of it, it becomes automatic, 728 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:49,280 an automatism that you no longer 729 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:53,160 have any control over. 730 00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:55,200 And psilocybin could perhaps 731 00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:57,120 restore that self-control 732 00:38:57,320 --> 00:38:59,600 and thus make you drink less again. 733 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:03,120 PARIS 734 00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:06,920 These results are worth pursuing further. 735 00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:10,200 In collaboration with the Paris Institut du Cerveau 736 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:13,320 and the psychiatrist and neuroscientist Luc Mallet, 737 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:16,680 one of the largest studies of alcohol in the world is planned: 738 00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:20,880 240 subjects will be treated with LSD. 739 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:24,960 It builds on the studies of the 60s. 740 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:28,720 Today, we have neuroscientific tools that allow us 741 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:31,960 to study the effects of psychedelics in much more detail. 742 00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:34,120 It's like rediscovering 743 00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:37,280 a planet or a universe. We now have 744 00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:40,080 the ability to better understand how they work. 745 00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:42,080 And in any case, it is worth digging deeper 746 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,880 into research in the hope of finding 747 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:48,000 a therapeutic effect. 748 00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:50,200 So it's exciting 749 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:52,720 because there are different aspects: 750 00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:55,240 there are... 751 00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:56,760 neurobiological aspects, 752 00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:59,080 fundamental aspects as well as practical ones, 753 00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:01,200 like its use in psychotherapy. 754 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:03,800 And social aspects too, if you consider what 755 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,440 the reintroduction of these substances means for society. 756 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:11,360 The societal interest in psychedelics is growing, 757 00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:14,200 and at large conferences, such as Insight in Berlin, 758 00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:17,880 more and more interested laypeople mingle with the experts. 759 00:40:21,200 --> 00:40:23,560 Investors have also discovered psychedelics 760 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:26,360 and sense a lucrative market. 761 00:40:27,560 --> 00:40:30,120 It is important to the members of the Mind Foundation 762 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:33,040 that with all the hype surrounding these substances, 763 00:40:33,240 --> 00:40:36,080 people do not lose sight of the possible dangers. 764 00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:38,640 It is very important to know that psychedelics 765 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:40,840 can also have negative effects. 766 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:43,120 There are cases where anxiety disorders, 767 00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:45,840 panic disorders, are triggered by the psychedelics. 768 00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:48,920 Ongoing changes in perception after using psychedelics 769 00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:51,920 is rare, but does exist. 770 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:56,640 You have to talk openly about this, and it has to be known, 771 00:40:56,840 --> 00:40:58,640 especially, of course, to those 772 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:01,240 who use it therapeutically. But it's also good 773 00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:04,200 when society knows that there are risks. 774 00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:06,680 I think that, as of yet, 775 00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:09,280 there is almost no proper education about psychedelics. 776 00:41:09,480 --> 00:41:11,800 What is conveyed to the public 777 00:41:12,120 --> 00:41:15,240 is just hype, 778 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:18,320 and then the usual scaremongering on the one hand, 779 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:20,640 or exaggerated expectations of psychedelics 780 00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:23,080 on the other. Yes, we need good, 781 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:26,560 science-based education 782 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:29,680 about the possibilities and limitations of psychedelics. 783 00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:33,920 According to observations, many people 784 00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:35,920 who are healthy can tolerate 785 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:39,200 the substances without medical supervision, but not all. 786 00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:41,440 Because they can trigger psychoses 787 00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:44,600 or even schizophrenia if one is predisposed. 788 00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:50,920 The Charité has set up a special 789 00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:53,520 Psychedelic Substances Outpatient Clinic in Berlin. 790 00:41:54,680 --> 00:41:56,760 Tomislav Majić is one of the therapists 791 00:41:56,960 --> 00:41:58,400 working on the depression study 792 00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:00,720 and is also the head of the outpatient clinic. 793 00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:04,280 When someone takes a drug, 794 00:42:04,480 --> 00:42:06,360 a substance, and after many months, 795 00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:09,200 sometimes even after a year, 796 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:12,160 you somehow notice something, even a small change - 797 00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:14,720 that's what's so fascinating. 798 00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:17,640 And, of course, where there's great hope 799 00:42:17,840 --> 00:42:20,280 that you can create a treatment 800 00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:23,400 where you don't have to take 801 00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:25,200 medication every day. 802 00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:28,240 If people hear that psychedelics 803 00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:30,280 work better than antidepressants, 804 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:33,360 there are of course many who want to try it right away. 805 00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:36,360 And if you have no way of doing it legally 806 00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:38,880 or in any context where you are prescribed it, 807 00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:41,600 then you may do it yourself 808 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:43,600 in a different context, 809 00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:46,640 and that is risky in many cases. 810 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:51,280 In 2020, Felix Blei developed tests 811 00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:53,440 that consumers can use 812 00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:57,560 to determine the concentration and ingredients of drugs. 813 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:00,080 They're used in a drug checking pilot project 814 00:43:00,240 --> 00:43:02,840 run by the Thuringian addiction centre. 815 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,880 Roxana Preuss helped design the project. 816 00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:09,120 The main problem is that 817 00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:12,320 the substances are obtained on the black market 818 00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:15,040 and are of course not subject to any oversight. 819 00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:17,640 Most accidents with drugs 820 00:43:17,840 --> 00:43:20,960 or emergencies actually happen because it is not clear 821 00:43:21,160 --> 00:43:24,600 what or how much active chemical 822 00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:26,840 is in the substances. 823 00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:29,080 Even with mushrooms, you can't tell 824 00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:32,320 from their size how much psilocybin they contain. 825 00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:35,760 The cubensis mushroom, for example, contains a different quantity 826 00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:38,600 than the magic mushroom sold over-the-counter 827 00:43:38,800 --> 00:43:40,560 in Holland as a “truffle”. 828 00:43:44,240 --> 00:43:47,080 So there is a clear difference in the dosage between the two, 829 00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:49,440 and both contain the active ingredient, 830 00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:52,480 but there is three times as much active ingredient 831 00:43:52,680 --> 00:43:55,640 in the cubensis compared to the truffle. 832 00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:00,520 Synthetically produced psilocybin 833 00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:03,080 is currently used in scientific research. 834 00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:06,360 Psychedelics show potential 835 00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:08,200 in treating depression. 836 00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:11,600 But it is not yet clear which changes in the brain 837 00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:13,600 lead to such improvement. 838 00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:17,800 We study the neuronal effects 839 00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:20,440 and the differences in activity within the brain. 840 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:21,400 CHRISTIAN SCHMITZ DOCTOR 841 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:23,840 Which in turn tells us: This gives us more of a clue 842 00:44:24,040 --> 00:44:27,800 as to the antidepressant mechanisms of psilocybin. 843 00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:31,480 An important region for this is the hippocampus. 844 00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:34,360 It is responsible for information processing 845 00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:36,600 and how we remember things. 846 00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:41,040 There is a decrease in volume of the hippocampus 847 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:44,320 during depression. And we want to see 848 00:44:44,520 --> 00:44:46,240 if psilocybin therapy 849 00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:49,440 reverses the changes in volume 850 00:44:49,640 --> 00:44:51,080 seen in depression. 851 00:44:51,280 --> 00:44:53,280 Or leads to other changes in volume elsewhere. 852 00:44:54,840 --> 00:44:58,520 Neuroplasticity is also the focus of their research. 853 00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:05,200 In this case, neuroplasticity means 854 00:45:05,400 --> 00:45:07,000 that patients find it easier 855 00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:09,480 to learn new things and forget old things. 856 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:12,600 That you can also achieve 857 00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:14,640 therapeutic success, 858 00:45:14,840 --> 00:45:17,040 so to speak, because it is easier 859 00:45:17,240 --> 00:45:19,840 to generate a new view of the world and of yourself. 860 00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:23,560 While the German study is still ongoing, 861 00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:25,800 Katrin Preller's team in Switzerland 862 00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:29,120 has completed a study with 60 test subjects and has 863 00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:30,640 produced the first results. 864 00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:34,000 The researchers compared the effects of psilocybin 865 00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:36,080 with a placebo. 866 00:45:36,880 --> 00:45:40,120 The central hypothesis in the study was: 867 00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:42,360 Can psilocybin intervention 868 00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:44,520 improve depression, 869 00:45:44,720 --> 00:45:47,400 change the severity of the symptoms? 870 00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:49,680 And this hypothesis 871 00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:52,240 has been clearly confirmed in our data. 872 00:45:52,440 --> 00:45:54,480 We saw a much clearer drop 873 00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:57,080 in symptoms 874 00:45:57,280 --> 00:46:01,000 in the psilocybin group than in the placebo group. 875 00:46:01,720 --> 00:46:04,360 A lot of data was collected and it confirmed 876 00:46:04,560 --> 00:46:08,040 what had already been observed in the other small studies. 877 00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:09,800 A central point is that 878 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:13,280 people can feel again with the help of the substance 879 00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:15,200 and tolerate these feelings. 880 00:46:18,240 --> 00:46:20,400 In our data, it's very, 881 00:46:20,720 --> 00:46:22,000 very exciting 882 00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:24,960 that people who took psilocybin 883 00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:27,280 in particular develop stronger tendencies 884 00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:30,600 to evaluate their emotions differently 885 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:33,000 and also tend 886 00:46:33,200 --> 00:46:36,680 to suppress them less. 887 00:46:37,720 --> 00:46:41,040 And any psychotherapist would be able to do 888 00:46:41,240 --> 00:46:43,560 quite a bit with that, 889 00:46:43,760 --> 00:46:45,640 because it has clinical relevance. 890 00:46:47,080 --> 00:46:49,080 Coming to terms with his feelings - 891 00:46:49,280 --> 00:46:51,880 despite many attempts and long stays in hospital 892 00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:53,760 over the past 20 years, 893 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:55,640 that was not possible for Hans-Christian. 894 00:46:56,800 --> 00:46:59,320 Then, at a substance-assisted therapy session, 895 00:46:59,520 --> 00:47:01,920 he saw his defences fall away. 896 00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:07,760 The feeling was just being completely alone. 897 00:47:07,960 --> 00:47:11,040 As if all the moments I've ever felt while alone 898 00:47:11,240 --> 00:47:13,480 were piled high on a mountain, 899 00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:15,280 and it really was this 900 00:47:15,480 --> 00:47:17,480 lifetime's worth of accumulated pain. 901 00:47:17,800 --> 00:47:20,560 It was just naked, raw pain, but nothing in between. 902 00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:24,040 And yet I could endure it. 903 00:47:24,240 --> 00:47:26,120 The substance did that and I could stand it, 904 00:47:26,320 --> 00:47:28,600 even though it was 905 00:47:28,800 --> 00:47:30,240 so incredibly intense. 906 00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:37,880 And now, I just hope that I can endure unpleasant feelings 907 00:47:38,080 --> 00:47:41,160 better and better, even if they are so intense, 908 00:47:41,360 --> 00:47:43,560 and that it means there's healing. 909 00:47:46,800 --> 00:47:49,360 Eight months have passed since Lia had 910 00:47:49,560 --> 00:47:51,360 her psilocybin experience. 911 00:47:51,560 --> 00:47:54,160 She can study again without limitation, 912 00:47:54,360 --> 00:47:56,240 after years in which 913 00:47:56,440 --> 00:47:59,560 she had to stop again and again because of periods of depression. 914 00:48:00,720 --> 00:48:04,520 It has gotten significantly better. I feel like 915 00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:07,200 I can just use my brain better. 916 00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:09,480 I also passed 917 00:48:09,680 --> 00:48:12,840 my last exam 918 00:48:13,040 --> 00:48:15,360 and wasn't afraid of it. 919 00:48:15,560 --> 00:48:17,800 I used to throw up 920 00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:19,800 before exams 921 00:48:20,120 --> 00:48:22,880 and it was pretty intense for me. 922 00:48:23,080 --> 00:48:26,040 And the fact that I wasn't scared at all now 923 00:48:26,240 --> 00:48:27,840 was a huge change. 924 00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:31,480 Three months after his session, 925 00:48:31,680 --> 00:48:34,480 Andreas still feels that he's improving, 926 00:48:34,680 --> 00:48:36,440 but still has questions. 927 00:48:36,640 --> 00:48:38,320 I still feel as if 928 00:48:38,520 --> 00:48:40,760 the treatment worked. 929 00:48:40,960 --> 00:48:42,960 The big problem now will be 930 00:48:43,160 --> 00:48:44,680 to integrate 931 00:48:44,880 --> 00:48:47,360 this new self into everyday life. 932 00:48:48,040 --> 00:48:50,120 You come back 933 00:48:50,640 --> 00:48:53,480 to the practically unchanged world. 934 00:48:56,280 --> 00:48:58,720 And there are things 935 00:48:58,920 --> 00:49:02,880 that were perhaps very problematic, and now 936 00:49:03,080 --> 00:49:05,720 you don't want that 937 00:49:06,240 --> 00:49:09,360 or can't accept that. You suddenly know 938 00:49:09,560 --> 00:49:11,160 that this has to change, 939 00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:13,080 something has to change in the long term. 940 00:49:21,200 --> 00:49:24,240 The results of the study have not yet been evaluated, 941 00:49:24,440 --> 00:49:27,480 and it is still too early for a well-founded assessment. 942 00:49:29,520 --> 00:49:33,160 The study team reports that not everyone could be helped. 943 00:49:33,680 --> 00:49:36,400 However, some subjects experienced slight improvements, 944 00:49:36,600 --> 00:49:40,000 while others experienced significant improvements. 945 00:49:41,320 --> 00:49:43,080 And then something happened 946 00:49:43,280 --> 00:49:44,880 that neither Gerhard Gründer 947 00:49:45,080 --> 00:49:48,080 nor the subject Klaus expected. 948 00:49:50,280 --> 00:49:53,040 I fell asleep after the first session, 949 00:49:53,360 --> 00:49:56,040 slept well, dreamless, slept peacefully, 950 00:49:56,240 --> 00:49:58,480 woke up and knew: 951 00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:00,720 I am healthy, it's gone, 952 00:50:00,920 --> 00:50:02,760 I am healed after 20 years, 953 00:50:02,960 --> 00:50:04,760 and I no longer have any complaints. 954 00:50:04,960 --> 00:50:08,160 That was a wonderful feeling, and yes, 955 00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:10,520 I'm very happy and I'm very, very grateful. 956 00:50:11,200 --> 00:50:12,600 Such an experience 957 00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:14,960 is an exception within the study. 958 00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:18,680 Psychedelics, when they work, have the advantage that, 959 00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:21,480 unlike antidepressants, they do not have 960 00:50:21,680 --> 00:50:24,720 to be taken daily and possibly for the rest of one's life. 961 00:50:24,920 --> 00:50:28,200 Ultimately, we want to trigger a process 962 00:50:28,400 --> 00:50:30,200 that makes people healthy again, 963 00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:32,040 promotes their resilience, 964 00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:34,320 strengthens their resources, 965 00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:37,320 so that in the end, 966 00:50:38,000 --> 00:50:40,560 a sick person experiencing a depressive episode 967 00:50:40,760 --> 00:50:42,760 becomes a healthy person. 968 00:50:44,720 --> 00:50:46,800 The positive changes in people 969 00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:49,040 who were previously unhelped 970 00:50:49,360 --> 00:50:52,960 are causing people with depression 971 00:50:53,160 --> 00:50:56,080 to see great hope in psychedelics 972 00:50:56,280 --> 00:50:58,320 and to want this treatment. 973 00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:01,240 Demands are growing for rapid approval 974 00:51:01,560 --> 00:51:03,680 as findings are becoming public. 975 00:51:05,040 --> 00:51:06,880 But this still requires studies 976 00:51:07,080 --> 00:51:09,280 with more than 1000 test subjects, 977 00:51:09,480 --> 00:51:11,720 which would first have to confirm 978 00:51:11,920 --> 00:51:13,920 the results of current studies. 979 00:51:14,120 --> 00:51:16,280 Psychedelics definitely have 980 00:51:16,480 --> 00:51:18,720 the potential to transform 981 00:51:18,920 --> 00:51:21,080 the lives of many people 982 00:51:21,280 --> 00:51:22,720 suffering from mental illness. 983 00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:25,200 But we need a bit of patience 984 00:51:25,400 --> 00:51:27,880 to legitimise it. 985 00:51:28,200 --> 00:51:30,640 And in the end, we will hopefully have 986 00:51:30,840 --> 00:51:33,200 a treatment option that is scientifically sound 987 00:51:33,400 --> 00:51:35,720 and that is both reliable 988 00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:37,960 and can be used safely. 989 00:51:38,305 --> 00:52:38,508 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm