The psychedelic drug LSD has shown to be effective in treating generalised anxiety disorder – a study has found. 

LSD has reduced the symptoms of anxiety for participants in a midstage drug trial, paving the way for further drug trials and possible medicinal uses. 

Mindmed tested several different doses of LSD in patients with moderate-to-severe generalised anxiety disorder, and found that for these users, benefits lasted as long as three months.

In America, the FDA has designated psilocybin, MDMA and now LSD as potential “breakthrough” therapies for several conditions based on early results in studies.

The LSD study, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, gave patients a single dose under professional supervision before following how they felt for three months.

For the study, researchers measured anxiety symptoms in nearly 200 patients who randomly received one of four doses of LSD or a placebo.

After 12 weeks, 65% of patients who took the most effective LSD dose – 100 micrograms – continued to show benefits weeks after, and nearly 50% were deemed to be in remission.

It is thought that nearly 60% of us could suffer from generalised anxiety disorder.

With plenty more tests to be done in the future, who knows what advancements scientists will make when it comes to finding a cure for anxiety.