In the final part of our four-part blog series, ‘Understanding the attitudes, experiences, and needs of women who attend psychedelic retreats,’ we explore how women’s experiences may be influenced by the sex of their retreat facilitator.

In the third- of our four-part blog series, ‘Understanding the attitudes, experiences, and needs of women who attend psychedelic retreats,’ we explore how the gender make-up of the retreat group influences the experiences of its female participants.

In this segment, we explore safety concerns within psychedelic retreat settings that specifically relate to women or pose a different or disproportionate risk to women. We will then discuss evidence-based best practices to ensure women’s safety in these settings.

In this four-part blog series, we delve into the unique experiences, attitudes, and needs of women who attend psychedelic retreats. Committed to advocating for safe and effective psychedelic use for all women, we recognise the importance of designing, conducting, and reporting research relating to psychedelic use outside of the clinical trial setting.

The historical narrative of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), has predominantly associated the disorder with males and the military. However, after modern and extensive studies on gender differences in PTSD, it has been acknowledged that women are found to be two to three times more likely than men to develop PTSD during their lifetimes, with a lifetime prevalence of 10-12% in women and 5-6% in men.

An Exploration of Psilocybin use in Women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) - Independant Qualitative Research

Explore the impact of sex bias in clinical trials and its effects on women's healthcare. Our article reveals the urgent need for inclusive research and gender-specific analysis in the development of treatments, particularly in the burgeoning field of psychedelics.

The pioneering study by the University of Maastricht is exploring the intriguing possibility of how microdosing could influence one's menstrual cycle. At Hystelica, we're excited to witness such groundbreaking research unfold, particularly as psychedelic microdosing practices gain widespread attention.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is an incredibly contentious diagnosis and debate around it within healthcare is rife. Research investigating the prevalence, diagnosis and potential causes of this disorder is often polemic in nature and even in this age of “it’s okay to not be okay”, stigma around the diagnosis remains. BPD is characterized by emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, extreme rejection sensitivity, unstable self-concept, and volatile behaviour.

Following on from the MAPS Psychedelic Science Conference 2023, which spanned five days with 12,000 attendees, nearly 400 speakers across seven stages, covering a wide range of topics related to psychedelics, I must ask, where were the women?

Inevitably women will reach a point when they can no longer become pregnant; however, the age at which fertility success begins to decline varies.

So far there is little relief to gain for women suffering from the complications of menopause, but could microdosing psychedelic substances have potential benefits for women in the menopause, and can that benefit reach beyond just symptomatic relief?

Despite the huge surge in psychedelic studies to come out in the past decade, we still know very little about how they affect or may be affected by the menstrual cycle. However, as more and more people experiment with psychedelic substances and these therapies move closer to clinical application, understanding this interaction is a growing necessity.

For this reason, we’ve looked into the science, personal stories and online reports to get a clearer understanding on psychedelics and the cycle.

Throughout medical history, scientists have long-overlooked women's-specific biology, ignoring how factors like menstruation, reproduction, and menopause may affect or be affected by drugs.

In fact, it wasn't until 1993, under the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act, that health authorities even required women to participate in clinical trials.

Psychedelic research has made significant advances in approaches to healthcare and therapy. Yet, when it comes to the unique needs of women, the psychedelic field is no different from other areas of research, and there’s still very little we know about how psychedelics affect women’s-specific needs and biology.

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is part of the endocrine system of hormones used to maintain homeostasis of the body; this pathway is involved in stress response. This axis links the central nervous system (CNS) with the body; the hypothalamus acts as a primary interface.