New research published in Psychedelic Research Journal found that people who had meaningful psychedelic experiences reported a significantly reduced fear of death, as well as an increased sense of connection to themselves, others, and the world around them. Furthermore, the degree of connectedness closely tracks the degree of freedom from fear related to death.
Researchers have long argued that death anxiety is at the root of an astonishing range of psychological struggles, from depression to broader existential distress. Studies have observed that psychedelic experiences (first noted in terminally ill patients in the mid-20th century and later confirmed in modern controlled studies) can significantly reduce this fear, but the mechanisms of why this occurs remain unclear.
One of the main explanations is enhanced connectedness, or a heightened sense of relatedness to oneself, others, and the wider world. Because psychedelics reliably enhance these emotions, researchers sought to investigate whether enhanced connectedness could be one of the specific pathways by which psychedelics reduce fear of death.
The team, led by Noah N. Barr from the University of Wollongong in Australia, recruited 106 adults (59 men, 44 women, 2 non-binary, average age 31 years) who had personally meaningful psychedelic experiences using classical substances. Psilocybin (the active compound in “magic mushrooms”) was the most common, but LSD, ayahuasca, DMT, and mescaline were also included.
Using an anonymous online survey, participants retrospectively reflected on the 3 months before and after the experience. They completed a validated questionnaire measuring fear of death, tendency to avoid thinking about death, sense of connection (with self, others, and the wider world/universe), and intensity of mystical-type experiences during psychedelic sessions.
The results were consistent. Participants reported significantly less fear of death and significantly less death avoidance after a psychedelic experience than before. At the same time, they reported significant improvements in connectivity across all three domains.
Importantly, this study found that these changes occur simultaneously. People who experienced a greater sense of connection to themselves, others, and the world were also more likely to experience a significantly reduced fear of death. Stronger mystical experiences, characterized by a sense of cosmic unity and transcendence, were similarly associated with stronger connectedness and less fear of death.
But when we focused on death avoidance, defined as the tendency to actively keep thoughts of death out of consciousness, the findings were more mixed. Increased connectedness to oneself and others was associated with decreased death avoidance. However, increased connectedness to the world or intense mystical experiences did not predict decreased levels of death aversion.
The authors suggest that this divide points to two very different ways of handling people’s deaths after traveling. Feeling more connected to oneself and loved ones seems to promote true existential acceptance, and people stop avoiding the topic of death and stop fearing it.
Conversely, intense mystical experiences can promote a “defensive shift.” People who feel connected to the universe may not fear death, but they actively avoid thinking about it. This is probably because the drug changed metaphysical beliefs, allowing humans to avoid death by believing that they would become one with the universe upon death.
“An important open question is whether the reduction in death anxiety following a psychedelic experience results from defensive negativity avoidance or from acceptance and integration of mortality,” Dr. Barr and colleagues concluded.
There are important limitations to be aware of. The study’s retrospective design, which primarily asks participants to recall and compare their mental state from months or years ago, is inherently vulnerable to recall bias, selective memory, and the tendency to unconsciously exaggerate how bad one felt before a life-changing event to make the change seem more severe.
The study, “Exploring the Association between Psychedelic Post-Experience Bonding and Death Anxiety,” was authored by Noah N. Barr, Bryony Larance, Matthew J. Schweikle, and Sam G. Morton.
