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Embracing change: impermanence acceptance mediates differences in death processing between long-term ayahuasca users
Jonathan David1,2,3, Aviva Berkovich-Ohana4,5,6, Yair Dor-Ziderman7,8,9
1Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. yonidavid9@gmail.com.
Psychopharmacology
|April 23, 2025
Summary
Ayahuasca use is linked to reduced death anxiety and greater acceptance of impermanence, a key mechanism for managing existential fears. This study explored these effects in non-clinical settings.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Human interaction with death shapes cognition, emotions, and behavior.
- Psychedelic interventions influence death-related psychological phenomena.
- Limited research exists on non-clinical psychedelic effects on death processing, especially with ayahuasca.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate death processing differences between ayahuasca veterans and non-users.
- Identify potential mechanisms and predictors of change in death processing.
- Compare death anxiety, acceptance, and avoidance in both groups.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study comparing 54 ayahuasca veterans and 53 non-users.
- Utilized questionnaires and behavioral assessments for death processing.
- Evaluated mediators: personality, afterlife beliefs, mindfulness, and impermanence.
Main Results:
- Ayahuasca veterans showed lower death anxiety, fear, and avoidance, with higher death acceptance.
- Impermanence acceptance, not demographics or other factors, mediated group differences.
- Lifetime ego dissolution experiences predicted impermanence acceptance in ayahuasca users.
Conclusions:
- Ayahuasca use is associated with significant, multi-dimensional changes in death processing.
- Impermanence acceptance is a critical mechanism for managing existential fears.
- Ayahuasca experiences can yield lasting psychological effects, suggesting therapeutic potential.
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