How do psychedelic users view links between psychedelics and spiritual struggles?

Abstract

Although psychedelics are linked with spirituality and mystical experiences, the relationship between psychedelics and spiritual struggles remains unclear. Cross-sectional online surveys of United States adult Mechanical Turk workers (via CloudResearch's approved MTurk worker list) will be used to explore retrospective reports of the effects of psychedelic experiences on spirituality. Specifically, this study will investigate the beliefs psychedelic users have about how their past use affected six types of spiritual struggle (divine struggles, demonic struggles, interpersonal struggles, struggles with doubt, moral struggles, and struggles of ultimate meaning) and longer-term spiritual growth and/or spiritual decline. It will consider the role of related variables, such as psychedelic attitudes, religiosity, and mystical experiences that occurred while taking psychedelics. This project will analyze quantitative data and explore qualitative data about why psychedelics affected participants’ spiritual struggles in the ways they report.

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