In many discussions around psychedelics, there can be a tendency to focus on how these compounds alleviate various ills, rather than on what they can positively add to people’s lives. This speaks to a more general theme in the psychological field, where there is a preference for trying to resolve the negative and maladaptive aspects of human experience while ignoring or undervaluing the promotion of positive thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. The latter is – a lot of the time – a secondary consideration. This is why the approach of positive psychology originally emerged – it aimed to complement (not replace) psychology’s negative bias.
Helping individuals to function well and overcome emotional suffering should, of course, be prioritised, but human drives go well beyond functioning well and simply being free from suffering – there is also the strong desire for happiness, joy, inspiration, love, gratitude, resilience, and compassion. Positive psychology is the scientific study of how we can best help people to cultivate these mental states; in a nutshell, how to help people flourish.
It is uplifting to see how effective psychedelic therapy is in treating numerous conditions that are often hard-to-treat, treatment-resistant, chronic, severe, and debilitating. However, I’m also interested in the potential of psychedelics to increase the kinds of positive mental states already mentioned. By supplementing a positive psychological approach when discussing the benefits of psychedelics, we can see that many of these substances are helpful in terms of building strengths and enhancing life satisfaction, for both people who are unwell and for people who are more or less feeling well and not in need of mental health treatment.
One particular positive state that psychedelics seem to elicit is existential joy. This mental state can feel highly pronounced and meaningful during the experience, as well as remain, to some degree, for weeks, months, or years following the experience; perhaps even lasting a lifetime.
What is Existential Joy?
Existential joy is to joy what existential depression and existential anxiety are to depression and anxiety, respectively. Existential joy is the kind of joy that is related to the human condition, just as existential depression involves depressive symptoms that follow from the fundamental themes humans are concerned with: death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness. Ordinary joy has specific triggers, such as a personal achievement, being in a new relationship, or exploring a new country. Existential joy, conversely, is not so much related to life events as life itself: it tends to be more of an underlying and longer-lasting joy that flows from a different, clearer, or fuller appreciation of the human condition.
Existential joy could arise out of grappling with existential depression or existential anxiety: the finality of death can make one’s existence – and that of others – seem incredibly precious (and therefore joy-inducing); there can be a joy in using one’s innate freedom, each day, to be true to oneself; there is joy in the opposite of isolation, the intimate connection that comes with compassion and unconditional love; and lastly, strong feelings of joy can accompany the attainment of personal meaning, whether that be in one’s interpersonal life, work, projects, acts of kindness, or a cause one is dedicated to.
However, you can also experience existential joy outside of the context of overcoming an existential crisis. For example, you may experience it while dealing with depression or anxiety that is non-existential in nature, or you may experience it while feeling mentally well. The very fact of one’s existence and the tapestry of experience that entails can also be a source of joy.
Psychedelics and Existential Joy
Many people who use psychedelics, especially at high enough doses and in the right kind of set and setting, may experience a spontaneous and profound feeling of existential joy. This may be the very first instance of existential joy in their lives, or at least its most palpable manifestation. To reiterate, reflecting on the fundamentals of human existence can be a cause for joy. Specifically, this joy can relate to the basic fact of being alive and sentient. This includes having the ability to think, perceive, feel, imagine, create, and connect with others; in other words, to have experiences and so many varieties of experience.
Psychedelics can be useful in viewing the human condition in this more joyous way for different reasons: they can reconnect you with your emotions, such as the existential side of joy; they are perspective-shifting, allowing you to see the other side of the human condition, not just its negative side; they can boost mindfulness (allowing you to experience the richness of the present); and they can quiet or dissolve the ego, the structure of your mind that makes you focus on egoic-centred thoughts, feelings, and behaviours (e.g. how you stack up against others and the kind of self-image you want to impress the world with). When the ego is dampened or dissolved, your mind is free from these concerns and what you are left with is raw existence, the ever-present background of pure awareness. But this never usually captures your attention, because the noisy ego is in the foreground and doesn’t let down.
When this ego does dissipate during a psychedelic experience, you can discover the joy of simply existing and feel that existence itself is enough to feel exalted and satisfied. This is a highly valuable experience, not just for people struggling with mental illness or a personal, spiritual, or existential crisis; psychedelics can also benefit healthy people by promoting positive feelings like existential joy. Being well is the minimum we should aim for. To really enjoy the human experience is to go beyond feeling relief from suffering, towards a life charged with positive states, in all their diversity and intensity.
Psychedelics are promising catalysts for states like existential joy. This contrasts with many people’s experiences with traditional antidepressants, which can have a general blunting effect, reducing both negative emotions (sometimes very beneficial) and positive emotions (not so desirable). Meanwhile, psychedelics – providing the set and setting are right – can significantly reduce troubling negative emotions, while significantly increasing life-affirming positive emotions. This is not to say that anyone feeling empty of positivity should rush into a psychedelic experience. Preparation and harm reduction is crucial. When sensibly approached, however, it may only take a single psychedelic experience to open someone up to mental states that brighten existence. These are the kinds of states that make life worthwhile.
So, in the spirit of creating more balance in discussions surrounding psychedelics, we should take more seriously the outlook of positive psychology. The psychedelic experience has the potential to make us well, but it also has the potential to make us more fully human.
