⬇️ Prefer to listen instead? ⬇️
- A 2023 global survey found that nearly 50% of people are “very” or “extremely worried” about climate change.
- Psilocybin therapy shows promising results in treating depression, especially where traditional methods fail.
- Patients report increased ecological sensitivity and reduced fear after guided psychedelic experiences.
- Psychedelics may help the brain change and let go of the sense of self, changing how it deals with trauma and grief.
- Researchers caution that proper clinical settings and post-session integration are vital for safe psychedelic use.
The planet is warming—and so are emotions. As wildfires, megastorms, and reports of mass extinction grow more frequent, another kind of crisis is growing: climate grief. For many, it's not just the Earth burning—it's a deep pain inside.
But as common mental health tools don't fully help with this generation’s deep worry about the future, psychedelics are again being talked about as a possible help. Specifically, psilocybin therapy is being looked at for how it might help with the emotional standstill caused by climate anxiety. Could a mushroom offer new ways to care for ourselves—and for our world?
Understanding Climate Grief and Eco-Anxiety
Climate grief, also called "ecological grief" or "eco-anxiety," is a new kind of worry many people feel today. It means feeling strong sadness, loss, and a lack of power because of harm to the environment. This is different from common depression, which often comes from personal problems. Climate grief comes from seeing big, lasting changes—like ice melting, coral dying, stronger storms, and animals disappearing. People feel helpless because they can't stop these things.
This feeling is strongest among younger people and those who work with the environment. Sometimes it happens after seeing nature ruined up close. Other times, it comes from reading upsetting news about the environment all the time.
A key global survey in 2023 found that almost half of 50,000 people questioned felt “very” or “extremely worried” about climate change (Marks et al., 2023). Many of these people talked about feeling afraid, helpless, guilty, and even let down by governments. Importantly, lots of people said they weren't sure about the future. They wondered if it would be possible—or right—to have children in such a world.
Eco-anxiety is not just a small problem anymore. It is quickly becoming a big part of talks about mental health worldwide.
Depression on the Rise in the Climate Generation
As people feel more sadness and disappointment, more proof shows that worries about the environment are causing more depression. This is especially true for young people. They see the breakdown of the climate not as something far off, but as their life now and in the future.
Think about Rachael Petersen. She works to protect nature and is deeply involved in saving rainforests. The more she learned, the less hopeful she felt. Seeing facts about trees being cut down every day, and seeing governments not acting, built a wall between her and the simple joy she used to find in her job. Over ten years, her mental and emotional health got worse, turning into a long-term depression.
This happens often. People who study the environment, activists, and even reporters sometimes feel what experts call "vicarious eco-trauma." Seeing nature harmed again and again, along with not being able to stop it, leads to feeling burned out, numb, and stuck in a state of worry about existence.
People want to live on a healthy planet, but they see nature getting worse. When they try to deal with this, normal therapy methods often don't help enough. Antidepressants might dull the pain, but they don’t fix the deep feeling of wrongness or being cut off from Earth. Now more than ever, we need ways to help mental health that do more than just hide problems. We need ways that change how people see and feel things.
Psilocybin Therapy: An Ancient Substance in Modern Medicine
Psilocybin is the main active part in many kinds of psychedelic mushrooms. People have used it in sacred practices for thousands of years. groups of people who lived on the land in the Americas and other parts of the world used mushrooms with psilocybin to feel connected to nature, have spiritual experiences, and heal past hurts.
Today, this old plant medicine is being studied again by Western science. Researchers and doctors are looking at psilocybin again because it can cause big, lasting changes in how people feel and think. Places like Johns Hopkins University have been leaders, doing careful studies to see if it helps treat major depression, PTSD, anxiety, and addiction.
Unlike regular antidepressants, which often take weeks or months to work and need to be taken daily, psilocybin can make mood and thinking much better after just one or two sessions. It doesn't just work on the body. Psilocybin helps the brain change and build new connections (Carhart-Harris & Goodwin, 2017). It helps people be more flexible in their thinking and go back to difficult past events without feeling buried by them.
In safe and supervised settings, people often say the experience opens their mind, feels deeply spiritual, or changes their life. They report that feelings of being alone and afraid fade away. Instead, they feel more connected, calm, and able to handle hard things.
Rachael Petersen’s Shift: From Despair to Perspective
Rachael Petersen had depression for over ten years. When common treatments didn't help anymore, she decided to try something different and joined a psilocybin therapy study at Johns Hopkins. At first, she felt unsure and scared. She worried the psychedelics might make her feel even more lost. But her experience gave her the strong emotional support she needed, which medicines had not provided.
During her psilocybin sessions, Rachael said she felt like she was part of one big living thing. She felt like herself, but also like something much bigger: the Earth itself. When those feelings of being separate faded, she felt a sense of relief. She didn't feel crushed by the problem of climate inaction anymore. Instead, she found new energy that came from feeling thankful and accepting things.
Importantly, her psychedelic experience didn't make her stop caring. It did the opposite. It helped her connect again with why she protected nature in the first place. Not because she felt guilty or afraid, but because she felt love and wonder.
How Psychedelics Change How the Mind Relates to Time and Death
One special thing about psilocybin therapy is how it can break down the ego. This is the mental idea that we are separate from others, from time, or from death. In brain science, this is called “ego dissolution.” It might sound scary, but it can be very healing.
Studies show that psilocybin changes how parts of the brain talk to each other. It makes the Default Mode Network (DMN) quieter. This part of the brain is linked to thinking too much, thinking about yourself, and worrying about the future or the past. When this network is quiet, people can step out of their usual ways of thinking. They can feel a sense of timelessness or being fully in the present moment.
For people struggling with climate grief, this change in how they see time can help. It shifts the focus away from thinking the worst about the future. Instead, it helps them feel connected to the present moment. Many patients say they feel more okay with the idea of death. They see it not as the end, but as a natural part of life's cycle.
This does not mean they lose hope. Instead, it is about taking action from a calm place, caring for the Earth with respect, rather than trying to save everything in a panic.
Clinical Research: Psilocybin and Depression
Studies done now show that psilocybin is very promising in medical use. One important study looked at patients who had cancer that could not be cured. They felt very anxious and worried about dying. These patients were given controlled psilocybin sessions with help from professionals.
The results were very good. Almost 80% felt much less depressed and anxious six months after the treatment (Griffiths et al., 2016). Besides feeling better, patients talked about big emotional shifts. They felt more okay with death and felt connected to the beauty of life again.
These strong changes in how people feel could also help those who are sad about a world that seems to be hurting. Psilocybin won’t change the problems outside of us. But it can greatly change how we see those problems and how we react to them.
Healing Beyond the Self: Connecting Environmental Consciousness with Psychedelic Experiences
The healing that happens with psilocybin is not just inside a person. It often affects how they relate to others and to nature. Many people who use it feel a stronger connection to the world around them. They report feeling more like they want to care for the Earth and having more hope.
Studies that just watch people have seen that those who have used psychedelics in the past often act in ways that help the environment more. This includes eating less meat, recycling more, working to protect nature, and wanting to spend more time outside in nature.
Following up after the psychedelic session is important. This helps people keep the good feelings and ideas they had. This could mean writing in a journal about what they realized, working with a therapist who knows about psychedelic support, or changing how they live to match their new feelings.
Risks, Ethical Questions, and What’s Still Limiting Things
Psilocybin therapy shows promise, but it does have risks. Psychedelics can bring up very deep feelings. This can be too much for some people if they don't have support. People who are likely to develop conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or some anxiety disorders should not use psychedelics without a doctor's help.
Laws are another problem. In most places, psilocybin is still a controlled substance. This makes it hard to get into therapy programs or do research. But this is slowly changing. Oregon and Colorado have made rules to allow legal therapy use. More places will likely do the same.
We also need to think about other important things. Like where the psilocybin comes from, making sure the knowledge of native peoples is respected and included, and supporting people who are going through the healing process.
Growing Your Own Psilocybin Mushrooms Wisely
In places where it is legal or not against the law to grow psilocybin mushrooms, growing them carefully can help you feel closer to nature. Companies that teach about mushrooms, like Zombie Mushrooms, have grow kits that are easy for beginners. They offer learning materials that make growing them feel less scary.
When you work directly with the mushroom's life cycle—from the growing material to the mushrooms growing—you get a real connection to your medicine. You also get to see one of nature's best ways of renewing things. This hands-on way of doing things helps you feel thankful for the Earth's clever network of fungi. It also brings back a sense of wonder into everyday life.
Even growing gourmet mushrooms that don't cause psychedelic effects can help with mental health. It gives you something real to do, helps you stay in the moment, and connects you to other living things.
Eco-Spirituality, Mindfulness, and Other Ways to Heal
Healing climate grief does not just come from medicine. It grows from many things that offer support. Psychedelics can open the door, but things like deep connection to nature, yoga, breathing methods, art, and nature-focused spiritual guidance help keep it open.
Eco-spirituality means seeing humans not as rulers of Earth, but as family. It asks us to be in relation to nature, not just use it. Using psilocybin therapy along with spending time in special wild places or doing rituals can ground the experiences in something bigger than just yourself.
This is how new stories are made. Not stories of things ending badly, but stories of healing that connects everyone and everything.
The Future of Psychedelic Therapy as the World Changes
As climate change gets worse, so does the emotional weight on people. Common therapy that tries to hide or stop grief may not be enough for people who see animals disappearing and society changing in big ways.
Psilocybin therapy offers change instead of just making things quiet. It asks people to work through grief, find beauty again, and accept that things are uncertain. This is part of the relationship between humans and Earth. It changes the question from “How do we stay alive?” to “How do we live well—on purpose, with kindness, and fully—with the time we have?”
Encouraging Hope and Renewal Through Connection
Having hope isn't being unaware. It is a strong action when things are falling apart. True hope doesn't come from ignoring the problems. It comes from choosing love and staying involved even when things are hard. Psychedelics can be helpful. They can help people be stronger, see things in a new way, and feel more connected to their heart.
Whether through psilocybin therapy, being mindful, or building communities focused on the environment, we all have ways to heal. The work is inside us and outside us, spiritual and planned.
Places to Go for More Information
If you want to find out more:
- Look at studies and legal retreat centers at places like Johns Hopkins or MAPS.
- Join groups that focus on strength against climate problems and bring together help for the mind and for nature.
- Visit Zombie Mushrooms for kits to grow mushrooms and to learn about fungi.
- Find therapists or coaches who are trained in using psychedelics and connecting with nature for healing.
- Connect what you learn from psychedelic experiences with spiritual, cultural, and nature-based understanding.
Final Thoughts: Going Back to the Earth—Inside and Out
There are wildfires, not enough water, animals dying off, and lots of false information. Feeling emotionally tired is not a personal failure. It is a sign that many people are feeling this way. But in this time of problems, there is also a chance to connect again—to Earth, to ourselves, and to what matters most.
Psilocybin will not fix climate change. But it might fix the way we face it and act on it. And that could be the most important help of all.
Check out our blog at Zombie Mushrooms to learn more about fungi, healing, and ways to stay mentally well while helping the planet.
References
- Marks, E., Hickman, C., Pihkala, P., Clayton, S., Lewandowski, R. E., Mayall, E. E., ... & van Susteren, L. (2023). Young People's Voices on Climate Anxiety, Government Betrayal and Moral Injury: A Global Phenomenon. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(12), e863–e873. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00278-3
- Griffiths, R. R., Johnson, M. W., Carducci, M. A., Umbricht, A., Richards, W. A., Richards, B. D., ... & Klinedinst, M. A. (2016). Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 30(12), 1181–1197. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881116675513
- Carhart-Harris, R. L., & Goodwin, G. M. (2017). The therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs: past, present, and future. Neuropsychopharmacology, 42(11), 2105–2113. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2017.84
