MDMA Shows Promise For Autistic Adults With Social Anxiety
by:MADELINE FERGUSON
It seems like week after week new studies, predictions and anecdotes surface about psychedelics and their abilities to heal, often leaving ailed patients awe-struck and full hope. Recently the Multidispclinary Association For Psychadelic Studies (MAPS) recently posted about a study finished in 2017 looking at the use of MDMA therapy to help autistic adults with social anxiety.
There are currently no-known treatments of autism. Autism begins in utero and affects everyone differently, this is known as the autism spectrum. It is genetics-based and a neurological variant. Autism is a massive subject with so many different presentations and plenty of nuances, so for this article, let’s focus on the problem researchers are trying to alleviate with MDMA: social anxiety.
MDMA is also known more casually and molly or even the love drug. It is known for it’s euphoric effects. Users report feeling a greater sense of community and general sense of openness. Currently, it is a schedule 1 substance, meaning that by the United States Government standards, there is no accepted medical use, and the drug has a high potential for abuse. But, many therapists and limited research suggest MDMA is promising in a therapeutic setting to treat PTSD and even has benefits in couples counseling. Here is a full rundown on MDMA.
One of the main challenges for autistic people is that their brains work differently and our society tries to make them conform to our non-autistic world, which can cause severe social anxiety.
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“Autistic individuals frequently experience difficulty in the realm of social interaction. Comparative studies suggest that autistic adults, especially those who are verbal and whose autism might not be immediately recognizable to others and who are faced with strong pressure to conform to non-autistic social norms, are at greater risk for lifetime and current psychological disorders, especially social anxiety,” reads an introduction to the purpose of the study.
Conventional medications normally used to treat social anxiety lack effectivness in autistic adults, but based on anecdotal reports MDMA assisted therapy may help offer releif. With this information MAPS sponsored a double blind study that confirmed improvement in social anxiety by measuring score on the Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS).
This study hit all of the important requirements; double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled. The intention of the study was to not only test the efficacy of MDMA on social anxiety in autistic adults but to test the safety and feasability of it as a treatment.
The study focused on two treatment sessions, lasting eight hours each. Participants were given between 75 and 125 milligrams of MDMA, while the control-placebo group was given none.
Results of the study showed an improvement in LSAS scores that was greater for the MDMA assisted therapy group than the control group. Follow up score were taken six months later and showed the same positive trend of results. MAPS says more studies like this must happen to make the treatment more widely availble.
It’s not often we come across research on ways to improve some of the negative symptoms of autism, so this study could truly be groundbreaking. Autism is just another way people live but being able to relieve symptoms of social anxiety could help improve the quality of many lives.
This article should not be considered medical advice. Any potential healing modalities should be advised by your doctor.
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