? Future Normal: Psychedelic wellness

Understanding The Future Normal often involves taking a trip back into the past.

Modernity, for all its achievements, certainly doesn’t have all the answers. And ancient wisdom might offer some answers that we let slip through our fingers in our rush to standardize and industrialize. That’s the tantalizing promise at the heart of this week’s newsletter.

Turn on. Tune in. But don’t drop out until you’ve read to the bottom ;)

The Normal.?

The mental health crisis is a more pervasive and destructive pandemic than coronavirus. The statistics are frightening, especially given how little we do to address them:?

• 1 in 4 people will suffer from a mental health issue in their lifetime.
• The cost of mental health issues to the global economy by 2030 will be $16 trillion .?
• Over 40 million Americans suffer from mental illness, including depression and anxiety.
• 1 in 5 people dealing with mental illness say their needs are going unmet.
• Nearly half of Gen Z and Millennials feel stressed all or most of the time.

The experience of the past 15 months – in direct suffering, as well as increased inequality and societal polarization –?has only worsened our collective mental health.?

The Future Normal.?

What if psychedelics could tackle many of these disorders more effectively than modern medicine has been able to??

Imagine if people suffering from terminal diseases could find themselves at peace with the thought of dying? In the words of one end-of-life cancer patient after undergoing psychedelic therapy: “Oh God, it all makes sense now, so simple and beautiful.” The same might be said for the compounds themselves.?

While not a secret – Steve Jobs’ famously said taking LSD was “a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life” – most people have bought relatively unthinkingly into the idea that pyschedelics are dangerous, thanks to the legacy of the moral panic of the late 1960s. As a result, these substances have traditionally sat within the counter-cultural or indigenious communities, away from mainstream attention.?

However, three groups are coming together to challenge this and bring about a psychedelic wellness revolution: scientists and researchers, capitalist investors, and technologists.?

Instigators & innovators

None of this would be possible without credible data. Universities with psychedelic research centers include prestigious institutions such as John Hopkins, UC Berkeley, and Imperial College London; Nature reported that in 2020 there were a record 13 psychiatric trials involving psilocybin.??

Regulators are opening the door to psychedelics: Oregon approved psilocybin therapy in late 2020, while Singapore approved ketamine for treatment of major depressive disorder in mid-2021.???

Psychedelic therapy is also becoming more visible in mainstream media and culture:?

How to Change Your Mind , the 2018 book by Michael Pollan, was a watershed moment. A serious journalist talking openly about the benefits of psychedelics in major media outlets, from the New Yorker to Time to The Late Show with Steven Colbert.?

The Psychedelic Trial is a BBC documentary that explores the implications of a major study at Imperial College.?

Lamar Odom Reborn is a documentary detailing the former NBA player’s recovery from addiction using psychedelic medicine.?

A host of startups are investigating the medical potential of psychedelics and the experiences they unlock:?

Compass Pathways is perhaps the most controversial startup in the space. Supporters point to its FDA breakthrough therapy designation, and believe that its desire to create reliable, high-quality synthetic psilocybin will help psychedelics reach millions more patients. Skeptics fear its restrictive approach to patents, and claim bringing overly capitalist motivations into the psychedelic realm will be detrimental to patient care.

Atai Lifesciences is a Peter Thiel-backed, Berlin-based biopharmaceutical company that has raised over $400 million to research and develop psychedelic compounds that promote mental health and longevity.

Mindbloom is a digital telehealth platform that offers patients guided virtual psychedelic experiences. Patients are prescribed ketamine which they take at home, with a clinician watching and guiding via video call.?

Tripp is a VR meditation app that guides users through breathing exercises while they immerse themselves in trippy visuals. Nanea Reeves, Tripp’s CEO, says “[for] many people that will never feel comfortable taking a psychedelic, this is a low-friction alternative that can deliver some of that experience in a more benign way.”?

What if…??

• The war on drugs becomes the war for drugs? Where people have a whole range of natural and synthetic psychedelic compounds to manage and treat their mental health.
• Technology means we understand and unlock the full power of psychedelics? Real-time brain analysis and synthetic production means psychedelics could be safely personalized to every individual.
• Psychedelic tourism becomes the new spa holiday? Legal arbitrage and the desire for 'authentic' experiences will drive a boom in travel for both medical and recreational trips.
• We embark on a new, mass psychedelic culture trip? Psychedelic wellness won't happen in a vacuum. Expect ripples and opportunities to emerge in adjacent spaces, from art and media, to design and politics.
• Psychedelics truly changed our world? True believers argue they can help us deal with 'climate grief ' and world peace . Now that’s a trip worth taking…??

Note / Thanks to Nick von Christierson from Woven Science for inspiring me to dive deeper into this important topic.

The Future Normal ?is an exploration of where we’re heading, featuring the ideas and instigators building a fairer, healthier and greener future for us all.

But The Future Normal isn’t pre-determined. We must build it.

If you know someone who can take these optimistic glimpses of what’s around the corner and run with them, then please share it with them!