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- About 70% of psychedelic users report shifts in sexuality or sexual experiences.
- 1 in 10 participants experienced changes in gender identity or expression.
- Psychedelics like psilocybin promote ego dissolution and neuroplasticity, potentially altering identity.
- Non-binary and gender-diverse individuals reported higher rates of transformation.
- Some users improved relationships, while others chose to end limiting partnerships.
The area of psychedelics is getting bigger, going past mental health treatments into very personal parts of life like identity. According to a new study published in The Journal of Sex Research, psychedelic use might cause big changes in how people feel about sexuality, how they show their gender, and their love lives. This article looks at how these substances—especially psilocybin mushrooms—might open doors for finding out about yourself, confirming who you are, and even changing love itself.
Zooming Out: The Broader Impacts of Psychedelic Use
Psychedelics work like no other substance because they can take down ego walls, make you feel emotions more, and boost neuroplasticity. This means the brain can build new connections. This special combination lets users temporarily let go of deep-set social and personal ideas. This creates good ground for identity changes and finding out who you are.
During a typical psychedelic experience, users might feel more caring, feel connected to others, or feel like their fixed identity goes away. These effects have looked promising for helping with depression, PTSD, and addiction. But they also seem to shift personal ideas about gender and sexuality. Ideas once seen as set in stone might soften, making room for new thoughts about who someone is attracted to, their orientation, and how they show who they are.
Because of this, psychedelics are showing up as strong tools. They are not just for healing. They also help people broaden how they see themselves and their connections to others.
Key Research Findings at a Glance
A large survey done by researchers from several universities looked at the long-term effects people felt from using psychedelics on identity and relationships. The study had 581 people in it, ages 18 to 85. They had used different substances, like psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and ketamine. The group was varied in age, gender identity, sexual orientation, and background.
Some of the study’s most striking findings include
- 70% of respondents reported some change in their sexuality or sexual experiences following psychedelic use.
- About 10% of participants experienced transformation in gender identity or expression.
- Psilocybin and LSD were the most common substances used in experiences linked to identity changes.
- Participants used full doses more frequently than microdoses, reinforcing the role of peak experiences in starting change.
These findings show how identity is not fixed, but keeps changing. And psychedelics might help cause that change (Kruger et al., 2025).
Sexuality Changes: Enhanced, Fluid, and Changing
Maybe one of the most striking things from the study was how psychedelics affected sexuality. The 70% of people who said their sexuality or sexual experiences changed after using psychedelics talked about different kinds of changes. These went from small changes in attraction flexibility to completely shifting their orientation.
Fluid Attraction and Orientation
For many, the experience wasn't just flipping from one identity to another. Instead, it was a softening of strict groups. Words like fluid, curious, freed, and open showed up often in what people said. Women especially were more likely to say they felt more attraction to other women after the experience. 25% of women and 12.5% of men said this change happened.
Letting go of these sexual limits might come from taking apart old societal stories during the psychedelic experience. When users felt free from labels and expectations, they often felt more in touch with true desires they had hidden or didn't know they had before.
Heightened Intimacy and Connection
Beyond orientation, psychedelics seemed to make emotional and sexual closeness better between partners. Some users talked about feeling "deeply connected" to their partners in ways they had never felt before. Others found back desire, pleasure, and arousal in long-term partnerships. They often said this renewed feeling came from being more open and finding things together.
This shows what this means for sexuality: psychedelics might not only help some people change who they are attracted to. They might also help existing partnerships do better in ways that feel more real and emotionally linked.
Gender Expression and Identity Shifts
Another clear point from the study was how using psychedelics affected people's experiences with gender. About 1 in 10 people said their gender identity or expression changed. These changes were different for everyone, from insights inside their head to changes they made in their life.
Detachment From Gender Norms
For many, the experience began with feeling disconnected from gender roles set by society. Men said they let go of being emotionless or hiding feelings. Women talked about dropping expectations to be caregivers or meet beauty rules. This detachment often led to fun, expressive, and experimental changes in how they dressed, the words they used, or how they acted with others.
People said they started to feel less held back by ideas like masculinity or femininity. Instead, they felt guided more by what felt true inside. Doing this, they often chose to try out their gender in ways that felt impossible or scary before.
Embracing Non-Binary and Trans Identities
Some people talked about fully realizing or transitioning their gender identity after a psychedelic experience. For many trans and non-binary users, psychedelics were tools that confirmed who they were. They helped them accept who they already thought they were with more belief and clarity.
Interestingly, gender-diverse participants were much more likely to say they had major identity shifts. This suggests psychedelics might help people who are already living outside traditional gender norms in a special way (Kruger et al., 2025).
Relationships Reimagined: More Love or Letting Go?
While many studies look at changes within a person, this one also looked at how people's relationships changed. This was especially true for romantic or sexual ones. People talked about changes that ranged from finding love again to ending relationships that were not healthy.
Deepening Love and Intimacy
Many people said they felt closer emotionally to their partners. Psychedelics seemed to create a space for honest talks, letting out feelings, and being open. Sometimes, these shared experiences made partners feel refreshed. This often led to trying new relationship styles, like consensual non-monogamy or polyamory.
Breakups and Boundary Making Clear
Others shared that, after a psychedelic experience, they could no longer ignore warning signs or unhealthy patterns in their relationships. Feelings of feeling free or seeing things clearly helped them see which relationships didn't fit with their growth anymore. It was remarkable that some people left long-term marriages after these insights, starting new parts of their lives based on what felt true.
Changing Relationship Models
There was also a clear change in how people thought about relationships themselves. After psychedelic experiences
- Fewer people said they were strictly monogamous.
- More said they were in open or polyamorous relationships.
- The number of people in committed or multiple relationships went up.
These findings suggest that psychedelics can bring up questions not just about “who I love,” but also “how I love.”
Who Reported the Most Change?
Even though changes were common among users, certain groups of people were more likely to say they had big changes in sexual orientation, how they showed their gender, or relationship styles.
Higher Rates of Identity Change Were Seen Among
- Young adults under 35. These people are often more open to finding out about and seeing identity in new ways.
- Non-binary and transgender respondents. These people often already live with identity that is not fixed.
- Full-dose users. This shows how important a big psychedelic experience is for causing change, compared to microdosing.
- Participants from lower-income brackets. This might be because there was a bigger difference between their life as they lived it and what felt true inside.
These factors show that the social and psychological situation is a very important thing that drives change with psychedelics (Kruger et al., 2025).
The Role of Psilocybin Mushrooms
Among the substances in the study, psilocybin mushrooms showed up as the most used and the most changing. Users often said their experiences with magic mushrooms were key to taking apart ideas based on identity. This let insights show up without resistance.
The Science Behind the Change
Psilocybin lowers the action of the default mode network (DMN) in the brain. This is a key system involved in keeping our sense of self and controlling how we act based on past experiences. When the DMN gets quiet, users might feel like their ego dissolves. This opens the door to seeing their identity in new ways without societal filters.
Plus, psilocybin increases connections across brain circuits and boosts serotonin activity. This makes a state that is uniquely good for finding yourself again and changing the brain.
Mushroom Growers and Identity Finding
As more people start growing mushrooms at home, especially where laws are changing, there's a growing group that mixes spiritual growth and medicine that is good for the earth.
Cultivation as a Ritual
Growers often say that the process of tending to mushrooms feels close and spiritual. Careful growing, watching them regularly, and picking them with thought help not just make a healthy crop. They also build a thoughtful link between humans and nature.
When done with respect, this practice can get you ready for inner change. Making the dose a ritual, setting goals, and learning from each experience can strongly tie this path to finding out about your identity.
Understanding the Mechanisms: How Psychedelics Might Help Change
Scientists are just starting to learn how these changes happen in the body. Research points to a few ways psychedelics might cause people to look at sexuality and gender
- Neuroplasticity: Psychedelics help brain cells form new connections. This offers good ground for changing behavior and how feelings are set up again.
- Ego Dissolution: Many users temporarily lose their normal sense of self. This makes way for a “truer,” less guarded version to come out.
- Emotional Amplification: By making feelings stronger, psychedelics can make feelings or memories that were hidden easier to see.
- Mystical Experiences: Many people report spiritual awakenings or feeling like everything is one. This challenges strong identity types.
When you put these together, they show how deeply psychedelics might work with the main parts of who we think we are.
Ethical Considerations and Limits of the Study
Even though the findings are helpful, they come with points to keep in mind. This study used self-reported info and was a cross-sectional study. This means it used people's memories and how they saw things, not proof from tests. Also, the group in the study was mostly people already involved in psychedelic groups. This might make the results lean towards seeing change as more positive and accepting.
What people expect also matters a lot. The idea of “set and setting”—a person’s mindset and the place they are in—greatly affects how a psychedelic experience happens. So, it is still hard to be sure exactly what causes identity changes after using the substance.
Still, the wide range and different kinds of experiences suggest a meaningful link. This link means more research should be done (Kruger et al., 2025).
Safety, Set & Setting: Guidance for Identity Work
Looking into your sexuality or how you show your gender through psychedelics can be helpful. But it needs careful thought about getting ready and putting the experience into your life:
Best Practices
- Set clear goals: Know why you are taking this path.
- Make a calm setting: Pick a quiet place with people you trust or someone sober to be there.
- Write notes, journal, or record thoughts: Strong feelings or ideas can be forgotten quickly if you don't write them down.
- See a therapist: Professionals—especially those trained in helping after psychedelic use—can help work through hard feelings.
Because identity work can be both happy and make you feel unsure, care after the experience is key. See your changing self with interest, not needing to rush.
From Theory to Practice: How to Look Into This Safely
If you are ready to look into your own identity by using psychedelics, take time to check if you are ready emotionally, mentally, and with your surroundings:
Ask Yourself
- Am I in a stable state of mind to hear things I don't expect?
- Do I have support later for thinking about big ideas?
- What questions or feelings inside me am I ready to face?
Using psychedelics slowly and with respect usually works best. Think about starting with small doses, working up to full experiences, and giving yourself time to put the experience into your life.
How Zombie Mushrooms Supports the Path
At Zombie Mushrooms, we believe in the power of growth—inside and out. Whether you are curious about trying a low dose or doing deep work that changes things, our ethically sourced mushroom grow kits are made to be safe, easy, and good quality. We care about growing mushrooms in a good way and give easy guides for beginners. This way, your path can start from a place of knowing what you want and how to do it.
Let us help you look into love, truth, and identity.
Psychedelics as Tools of Discovery
Psychedelics offer more than just seeing things or feeling emotions. They are tools for truly looking into yourself. For many, they help them find their identity again, free love and gender from ideas from society, and feel closer to others.
If used with respect and care, psychedelics can help you wake up not as someone new. They can help you wake up as someone who is finally whole.
Ready to look into your own mind? Find our beginner-friendly mushroom grow kits at Zombie Mushrooms and take the first step toward making changes on purpose.
Citation
- Kruger, D. J., Argyri, E. K., Mogilski, J. K., Herberholz, M., Barron, J., Aday, J. S., & Boehnke, K. F. (2025). Perceived impact of psychedelics on sexual, gender, and intimate relationship dynamics: A mixed-methods investigation. Journal of Sex Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2025.2479197
