Journal of contextual behavioral scienceSep 1, 2020

Psychological flexibility may link immediate psychedelic effects to reduced depression and anxiety

Psychedelic Science Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Apr 4, 2026

Abstract

A survey of 985 psychedelic users found that acute mystical and insightful experiences are significantly associated with decreases in depression and anxiety.

Acute subjective effects of psychedelics are linked to reductions in depression and anxiety.
Increases in psychological flexibility fully mediate the relationship between these acute effects and mood improvements.
The sample predominantly consisted of males (71.6%) and Caucasian/white individuals (84.1%), with an average age of 32.2 years.
Controlling for age and sex, the analysis suggests psychological flexibility may play a key role in the therapeutic outcomes of psychedelics.
Future research is needed to explore the impact of psychedelic drug administration on psychological flexibility.

Simplified

Prior research has shown that acute subjective psychedelic effects are associated with both spontaneous and intended changes in depression and anxiety. Psychedelics are also theorized to produce increases in psychological flexibility, which could explain decreases in depression and anxiety following a psychedelic experience. Therefore, the present cross-sectional survey study sought to examine whether psychological flexibility mediated the relationship between acute psychedelic experiences and spontaneous or intended changes in depression and anxiety among a large international sample of people who reported having used a psychedelic (n=985; male=71.6%; Caucasian/white=84.1%;=32.2,=12.6). A regression analysis showed that acute effects (i.e., mystical and insightful effects) were significantly associated with decreases in depression/anxiety following a psychedelic experience. A path analysis revealed that, while controlling for age and sex, increases in psychological flexibility fully mediated the effect of mystical and insightful experiences on decreases in depression and anxiety following a psychedelic experience. This suggests that psychological flexibility may be an important mediator of the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs. Future prospective experimental studies should examine the effect of psychedelic drug administration on psychological flexibility in order to gain a better understanding of the psychological processes that predict therapeutic effects of psychedelics. M SD age

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Psychological flexibility may link immediate psychedelic effects to reduced depression and anxiety

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