What Psilocybin Might Offer That SSRIs Don’t

Good morning! Thanks for reading another edition of The Drop In, DoubleBlind’s newsletter, delivering independent journalism about psychedelics to your inbox.

Today’s lead story dives into a new analysis looking at how the effects of psilocybin therapy and antidepressants impact our ability to feel life’s emotionally rich, magical moments. To be extra clear, we are not throwing shade at people who take antidepressants, nor are we saying you should stop taking them! We support evidence-based mental health interventions, and that includes medications like SSRIs and SNRIs. It also extends to psilocybin-assisted therapy.

If you keep scrolling, you’ll find pieces on everything you need to know about LSD, AI-psychedelic therapy, and a wellness influencer who is going to prison. That story is a doozy.

Have a beautiful week 🫶
Mary Carreón
Senior Editor

Unwind Naturally with Enhanced Relief Gummies

Feel the calm set in with these Enhanced Relief Gummies—crafted with 5mg THC + 75mg CBD for stress relief, reduced anxiety, and deep relaxation without the hangover.

Perfect for evenings when you need to truly unwind. Get 25% off your first order with code RLX25 and experience why this brand has over 48k 5-star reviews.

Shop & Relax Now

Do Psilocybin and Antidepressants Affect Joy Differently?

A fresh look at brain scan data hints that psilocybin may help preserve the nuances of emotional richness in ways that differ from how SSRIs typically work.

SSRIs can be profoundly helpful in mitigating symptoms of depression. But, sometimes people report feeling emotionally subdued after taking them for a while. Now, a new analysis published in Molecular Psychiatry looking at data from 2021 suggests that taking psilocybin in conjunction with therapy may help preserve emotional responsiveness to pleasurable and surprising experiences, which antidepressants, like escitalopram, may diminish.

The study was centered around one main question: How do different treatments for depression affect our ability to feel joy? Using music to track unpredictable emotional responses, researchers scanned study participants’ brain waves while they listened to music designed to trigger feelings of pleasure and surprise. The results provided researchers with more insights into how psilocybin and antidepressants impact our natural emotional responses.

To join the study, participants had to have a prior diagnosis of major depressive disorder. They were then assigned to receive either psilocybin-assisted therapy or escitalopram (without therapy). Researchers then observed them while they listened to music inside an fMRI scanner and reported dramatic differences between the two therapies. 

"Psilocybin therapy caused a greater decrease in anhedonia scores compared with escitalopram," the study's authors wrote. "Escitalopram led to reductions in surprise-related affective responses, whereas psilocybin therapy showed no significant change." 

In other words, the participants who received psilocybin therapy were more readily able to access feelings of pleasure than those who received the SSRI. After going through psilocybin-assisted therapy, patients showed "greater activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and sensory regions [of the brain], and reduced activation in the angular gyrus," the study says. This suggests that psilocybin may help shift the brain’s focus away from overthinking and rumination, and more toward sensory-rich and emotionally open experiences. 

Escitalopram, by contrast, seemed to level the emotional playing field. "Following escitalopram, valence rises for unsurprising events while declining for surprising ones," the authors wrote. "This shift abolishes the previously significant difference between event types, suggesting a modulation of emotional responses that diminishes the distinction between surprising and unsurprising stimuli." Put simply, the SSRI appeared to tamp down the intensity of emotional responses the music was meant to evoke.

Of course, every study has limitations. In this trial, the two treatment groups weren’t provided with the same therapeutic framework. Participants who received psilocybin also took part in guided therapy sessions designed to support emotional processing, while those taking escitalopram were prescribed the drug without any structured therapeutic support.

Additionally, the study's sample size is tiny. Only 41 patients’ fMRI data were usable, which makes the study vulnerable to variability and raises questions about its applicability to the general public. 

(It’s also worth noting that just because this study suggests psilocybin “preserves emotional richness” and SSRIs might not, it doesn’t mean you should stop taking your meds, consider tapering off, or feel bad about using antidepressants. They’re a crucial and evidence-backed mental health tool, and we firmly believe that if you need ‘em, take ‘em. While we’re critical of the pharmaceutical industry and its drive for profits, it doesn’t make Western medicine less effective.)

Despite its limitations, the study suggests that psilocybin-assisted therapy may be able to help people with depression reconnect with emotional nuance in ways that other interventions may mute. Further research is needed; however, if these insights are supported, it could affect how the mental health field treats mood disorders.

Can Psychedelics Help Us Face the Grief of a Dying Planet?

This Friday, we’re publishing a story about what happens when climate despair meets the radical perspective shift of psychedelics. From forest-monitoring satellites to polar bear visions, one ecologist’s mushroom trip cracked open a new way to live with the pain of environmental collapse — and offers a blueprint for the rest of us struggling with the crushing worry of climate catastrophe.

Journalist Mattha Busby pens an excellent piece that is both devastating and hopeful. Don’t miss this one. Upgrade your subscription here to read it first!

DoubleBlind Digs

Here are today’s recommendations to help you live more psychedelically… 

ATTEND: Sacred Medicines: A Gathering of Indigenous Wisdom runs online from May 30 to June 1. Organized by Sunflower Sutras, the Confederacy of Amazonic Nationalities of Peru, and ICRL, the event invites participants into small cohort circles with Indigenous Elders and scholars. Use the discount code SacredMedicinesAlly for 15% off registration. Get ticket information here.

COMMUNITY: The 2025 Psychedelic Community Survey is live. It’s a research project for the psychedelic community by the psychedelic community. Help shape the future of psychedelic research by sharing your (anonymous) perspective. Learn more here.

READ: Zach Leary’s new book, Your Extraordinary Mind, is a soulful and practical guide to navigating the psychedelic experience, from safe use to spiritual integration. Rooted in tradition and informed by today’s rapidly evolving landscape, it’s a must-read for anyone looking to turn mind-expanding moments into lasting transformation. Get it here.

RESEARCH: Researchers from the University of Michigan are inviting people around the world to share anonymous insights about psychedelic use to inform future research—available in multiple languages and open for a limited time.