Psychedelics don’t just change who we are. They change our relationships with others.
In this newsletter, we’re discussing how our personalities can be altered through psychedelic experiences, answering these questions and more:
Do psychedelics change our relationships with others?
Where do psychedelic-induced personality changes come from?
How do I navigate career changes after a trip?
How have psychedelics shaped careers?
How do psychedelic-induced personality changes impact our relationships?
Our large-scale naturalistic psilocybin study found that magic mushrooms can alter personality. Participants reported increased extraversion and decreased neuroticism following psilocybin use.
If psychedelics can alter personality traits, they can fundamentally shift how we perceive and interact with the world.
Psychedelics could, in turn, induce “relational aftershocks,” changes that impact our sense of self, and thus our social identity, inducing rearrangements of our social webs.
Learn more by reading our full paper.
— Matthew X. Lowe, PhD, Executive Director —
What do you think?
Asked on the Info Line
We commonly get asked questions regarding personality changes on our Psychedelic Info Line. We like to respond with a combination of neuroscience and personal reflection:
How do psychedelics change your personality?
Studies show that psychedelics can improve cognitive flexibility and emotional regulation, especially in people with mental health challenges (including personality disorders), pointing to real, lasting psychological changes after use.
When the Info Line gets questions like this, our Navigators like to stay curious. Our next question might be something like: “What potential changes in your personality would support the life you’re trying to create?” Our goal is to invite callers to reflect intentionally on their values and hopes, framing any psychedelic experience as something that should align with conscious personal growth.
What do you think?
Psychedelics and Career Changes?
By altering personalities, psychedelics encourage profound life changes. Whether inspiring you to gain a new degree or shift careers, these feelings seem unshakable.
As we explore in our recent blog posts, “psychedelic experiences reduce fear-based thinking and amplify clarity around what truly matters. When those two things collide, change becomes not just possible, but necessary.”
Career Changes Shape the Psychedelic Space
The leaders of the psychedelic movement were on vastly different paths before their first psychedelic experience. From researchers to policy advocates, it only takes one trip to change everything. Our Executive Director experienced this calling during early experiences with psilocybin:
“It showed me where to go. It showed me what to do and the path I needed to take”
– Matthew X. Lowe, PhD –
What about you? The psychedelic space always needs new voices, and each voice comes from the same place: a psychedelic experience. The next time you end a trip thinking about a career change, take a second to reflect on the opportunities before you!
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