We know psychedelics are being increasingly used to treat mental health conditions. But not enough is made of the effects they can have on healthy people. In this long-read article, Sam Woolfe argues that psychedelics go beyond simply being useful for mental health conditions, and explores some of the existential and philosophical import psychedelics can have. Woolfe argues that humans, and possibly even the universe itself, have an innate desire for increasingly novel experiences. 

In many discussions surrounding psychedelics, there can be a tendency to focus on how these compounds alleviate various ills, instead of 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 seen as secondary. 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. People also have a 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.