Will Psychedelics Disrupt the Pharmaceutical Industry
Mental health is going through a new wave of momentum.
In the 90s, marketing campaigns for Prozac broke all stereotypes about clinical depression and ushered in a new era for mental health. Now the pandemic and quarantine are making clear just how integral mental wellness is to our physical health. It’s no longer just about treating severe mental illnesses — it is about proactively supporting all the factors that contribute to our mental wellbeing: from personal connections and resilience skills to exercise and self-care.
We are on the cusp of new innovations in treating mental health and promoting mental wellness through herbal and medicinal mushrooms.
Mushrooms are showing promise as a practice to get our minds right. Some of the ways people are benefitting from the psilocybin in mushrooms:
Adaptogens: We’re eating more mushrooms because they improve our cognitive function, helping us focus and achieve mental clarity and balance. The beverage category is becoming a veritable forest full of mushroom lattes, coffees, seltzers and energy shots. Adaptogenic mushrooms are in vogue right now. The younger generations’ willingness to seek out and try functional, non-alcoholic beverages is driving the creation of a flurry of new products, all vying to become the next big thing.
Microdosing: Taking psychedelics consistently in small quantities has been shown to spark creativity, boost energy, promote emotional balance, and successfully treat anxiety, depression and addiction. Microdosing’s momentum is on the rise, 150% where it was just last year. In May 2021, microdosing had an MFactor score of 43, up from a 28 in May of 2020.
The MFactor for Microdosing. MFactor is a proprietary tool that measures cultural momentum through topic modeling and sentiment analysis.
Spiritual experimentation: Spas and wellness retreats are using shrooms to facilitate guided spiritual journeys aimed at opening up participant’s minds to deeper understanding, spiritual breakthroughs, and belief transformation. “Now more than ever, people are struggling with mental health issues and prioritizing their mental and physical wellbeing.” Companies like Silo Wellness understand the opportunity to help people and are using psychedelics to create transformational deep healing experiences.
Alternative Investments: Investors believe the psychedelic research happening worldwide will lead to a major “shroom boom” when it comes to investing. Shark Tank veteran Kevin O’Leary thinks “the potential of psychedelics far exceeds the potential of cannabis.”
As May is closed, mental health leaders are committed to making mental health awareness an ongoing, year-round conversation. Expect that in the future mushrooms and psychedelics will play a much larger role in the mental health conversation.