Travel Far Enough, Meet Yourself: Subjective Interoception, Emotion Regulation, and the Psychedelic Experience—Implications for Crisis Management in Middle Adulthood

Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence of crisis episodes in middle adulthood (ages 35 to 60) and possible relationships between crisis/stress, interoception, emotion regulation, resilience, and psychedelic experiences. A wide-ranging methodological approach was implemented to fill gaps in knowledge regarding etiology and management of crisis/stress in middle adulthood, inclusive of multi-dimensional measures to investigate causes and outcomes of chronic stress states and 1) whether a higher prevalence of maladaptive traits is associated with an increase in crisis episodes in middle adulthood, 2) if the presence of crisis states in midlife is associated with negative traits down-regulating subjective interoception, emotion regulation, and resilience, and 3) if positively perceived psychedelic experience(s) in midlife are associated with a decrease in incidence and/or intensity of crisis states and upregulating subjective interoception, emotion regulation, and resilience outcomes.

The data analysis was largely insignificant except almost all respondents stating they were currently in crisis or had experienced one, with most crisis episodes taking place between the ages of 41 to 50 (N=42). The common age of onset was between 35-40 and 41-50 years of age and most cited causes of crisis were professional dissatisfaction, changes to central relationships, the onset of illness or disease, and existential despair.

Along with higher alcohol and tobacco intake/frequency in the 41 to 50 age group, particularly amongst those who reported experiencing a crisis state, many participants in crisis experienced changes in their interoceptive and emotive capacities with significant numbers ignoring physical tension or distracting themselves to avoid unpleasant interoceptive sensations and emotions, which impeded their resilience and ability to cope with stress. People in crisis generally felt more upset, hostile, nervous, and afraid, as well as less alert, attentive, and active. Negative emotionality trends emerged between crisis and non-crisis groups with the former undergoing frequent mood swings, not “being relaxed most of the time,” getting upset easily, and feeling blue. Generally, survey respondents who were/had been in crisis had significant and near-significant difficulties in exercising resilience in the face of longstanding episodes of stress/crisis.

There were no significant associations between a positively perceived psychedelic experience and upregulation of interoception, emotion regulation, and resilience, 26 participants had sought a psychedelic experience at some point in their lives and cited doing so for curiosity, fun, and personal growth. Psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD were the most used substances and only one respondent took psychedelics in a clinical setting for therapeutic purposes—they perceived it to be an unsuccessful treatment. Although the role of the psychedelic experience in augmenting interoceptive and emotive tone for resilience and stress/crisis recovery was largely insignificant, this could largely be attributed to the sample size in question as no respondents reported seeking a psychedelic experience to expressly deal with a current crisis episode.