A quarter of a psychedelic trip is spent recalling past memories.

Scientists know little about how psychedelics make people remember personal life events, even though this could help or harm therapy. To investigate, researchers tracked people taking classic psychedelics in everyday life. They gave participants online surveys before their trip, 1-3 days later, and 3-5 weeks later. They wanted to see how much people remember, what they recall, and whether these memories connect to breakthroughs or mood changes. They found that participants spent around a quarter of their experience recalling past events, though individual times varied widely. Positive and recent memories showed up most often. Many participants dug into difficult territory. Four in ten recalled usually avoided memories, nearly half recalled potentially traumatic events, and a quarter recalled things they had never remembered before. Digging up avoided memories linked to more psychological insights, emotional breakthroughs, and feelings that the trip was useful, though memories did not predict changes in well-being.

Why it matters

For anyone using psychedelics, whether in therapy or on their own, this study shows that memory recall is a central part of the experience. That matters because it suggests psychedelics could help process trauma, but also that people might recall things that never happened. Therapists and users need to be aware of these effects to maximize benefits and minimize risks.

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