Therapeutic Potential of Psilocybin for Treating Neuropsychiatric Long COVID Symptoms: A Reddit Investigation

In an analysis of 110 Reddit posts from individuals with long COVID who used psilocybin, 78.2% reported any improvement in their symptoms, while 11.8% reported worsening. Among those reporting improvement, 77.9% said the improvement lasted beyond the acute psychedelic experience, and 5.8% reported improvement only during the experience. The most common symptoms were fatigue (47.3%), cognitive impairment (46.4%), and depression (30.0%). The authors suggest that controlled studies comparing social media data for other self-treatments or prospective observational studies of individuals self-treating with psychedelics may be warranted.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Long COVID lacks effective pharmaceutical treatment options. Psychedelic treatment for long COVID has received attention given anecdotal reports of neuropsychiatric symptom improvement. This study investigates the use of psilocybin for neuropsychiatric long COVID symptoms, examining online accounts of individuals with reported long COVID using psilocybin. We searched the Reddit communities, "r/LongCovid," and "r/covidlonghaulers" for terms, "psilocybin," "shrooms," and "magic mushrooms." Posts were included if they self-reported (1) neuropsychiatric symptoms of long COVID, (2) use of psilocybin, and (3) descriptions of the perceived effect or lack thereof on long COVID symptoms. Posts were manually coded to identify the nature of psilocybin ingestion, long COVID symptoms, and post's author's perceived effect on symptoms. The most common symptoms identified were fatigue (47.3%, N = 52), cognitive impairment (46.4%, N = 51), and depression (30.0%, N = 33). Of 110 posts meeting criteria, 78.2% (N = 86) reported any improvement in long COVID symptoms, while 11.8% (N = 13) reported worsening. For those with improvement, 77.9% (N = 67) reported improvement lasting beyond their acute psychedelic experience, while 5.8% (N = 5) reported improvement only during the experience. Given these findings, studies employing comparison social media data for other long COVID self-treatments and/or prospective observational studies of individuals self-treating neuropsychiatric long COVID symptoms with psychedelics may be warranted.