An experiment using the hallucinogen psilocybin on terminally ill cancer patients found that it helped to ease their anxiety.
Another study using larger doses of the drug is planned. Link -via reddit
The study included 12 patients who took a small dose of psilocybin -- the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms" -- while under the supervision of trained therapists. In a separate session, the participants took a placebo pill, which had little effect on their symptoms.
By contrast, one to three months after taking psilocybin the patients reported feeling less anxious and their overall mood had improved. By the six-month mark, the group's average score on a common scale used to measure depression had declined by 30 percent, according to the study, which was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
In follow-up interviews with the researchers, some patients said their experience with psilocybin gave them a new perspective on their illness and brought them closer to family and friends.
"We were pleased with the results," says the lead researcher, Charles Grob, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, in Torrance, Calif.
Another study using larger doses of the drug is planned. Link -via reddit
Perhaps this explains why power structures (governments and organized religions) attempt to suppress the use of psychedelics, cannabis, and other plants which reduce such fear.
That sounds messy.
I think the idea that you know your body is going to shut down on you when you least expect it has something to do with the anxiety too. You know it's going to happen, but you don't know when or how with no control or choice in the matter. I do agree though that worry is not for the dead.