Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After a Psychedelic Experience, a Case Report.

A young man developed posttraumatic stress disorder after a psychedelic experience induced by LSD and DMT, during which a repressed memory of childhood sexual abuse was recovered. This is the first reported case of PTSD onset following a psychedelic experience. The authors note that trauma history is common among people with substance use disorder and that medical staff should be aware of such irregular presentations.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In the last 2 decades, there is a renaissance in the scientific investigation of the therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds. It is studied for the treatment of many psychiatric disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder. The treatment is always done in the setting of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. A little is known about the potential effects, outside of the setting of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, on people diagnosed with a mental disorder or have a significant trauma history. In this case report, we present a young man who developed posttraumatic stress disorder after a psychedelic experience, induced by both Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) and N, N Dimethyltryptamine (DMT). In the psychedelic experience, a repressed memory of childhood sexual abuse was recovered. To our knowledge, this is the first report on posttraumatic stress disorder onset after a psychedelic experience. We believe that this case report is important since the history of trauma is prevalent among individuals with substance use disorder. Medical staff that treat people with either substance use disorder or trauma should be familiar with irregular presentations, such as the one described in this case.