Lord will perform a surprise appearance at Sydney Nightclub and dance with the fans
Fans were shocked when New Zealand pop star Lord made a surprise appearance at Mary’s subway nightclub in Sydney.
In her song “What Want That,” from her new album “Virgin,” Lorde sings about “MDMA” about “MDMA” that blows students away.
After all, psychedelic drugs, also known as ecstasy and molly, are said to have done more than that for the singer.
Recently appeared in “Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Lord revealed that Lord, whose real name is Ella Yellich O’Connor, has overcome the fear of a crippling stage thanks to MDMA therapy.
“I was really scared of the stage, because I was really 5 years old and I was doing community theater,” Lord told host Colbert, adding that MDMA therapy “really changed the game” because of her stage fear.
MDMA Therapy – and common psychedelic therapies are growing through controversial areas. Some mental health experts have advertised issues, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder and PTSD, as a future of treatment, but the FDA has not approved it.
“For a long time, psychedelics have kind of frowned,” psychotherapist Amy Morin previously told USA Today. “We thought they were more recreational medicines, but if you look closely, you can see that they are actually really good treatments for depression, anxiety, substance abuse issues and more.”
What is psychedelic, MDMA therapy?
Unlike typical psychiatric drugs, psychedelic therapy is a talk therapy experience that requires special care and supervision. Matthew W. Johnson is a senior researcher of excellence for psilocybin research and treatment, previously spoke to the US at Shepherd Pratt’s Institute of Advanced Diagnosis and Treatment.
“It’s not just giving me medicine,” he said. “It involves therapeutic relationships, where you are encouraged to dive into experiences, learn something from the experience you have with substances, process it, and integrate it (and) in the next few days.”
The data suggest that the real benefits of psychedelic therapy come from both experience and conscious reflections of it, Johnson added.
“It’s not working at a surface level,” Johnson said. “People come out of stories,” this is what I learned about myself. This is how I see myself now and this is how I saw myself before. And then there’s the shift.
This form of treatment may help people who are not able to help other forms of treatment, but Johnson said it is important not to view psychedelic therapy as an alternative to traditional methods. Rather, he describes it as another “toolbox tool” for mental health treatment.
Where is MDMA therapy standing now?
Despite growing interest in MDMA and other forms of psychedelic therapy, the Food and Drug Administration is refraining from MDMA approval for mental health treatments.
In August 2024, the FDA rejected a California pharmaceutical company’s request to sell MDMA in combination with Talk Therapy as a treatment for PTSD. Federal drug regulators told San Jose of Lykos Therapeutics in California that it has completed a review of the company’s application but will not approve MDMA as a treatment for PTSD. Instead, federal regulators requested that Ricos conduct another, advanced stage clinical study on drug safety and efficacy.
In June 2024, the FDA’s Psychopharmacological Drug Advisory Committee voted 9-2 for MDMA as an effective treatment for patients with PTSD, with 10-1 voting that the benefits of the drug do not outweigh the risks. During the advisory committee discussion, members acknowledged the need for new PTSD treatments, but raised questions about the company’s data and research design.
Time indicates how mainstream MDMA therapy evolves, whether it is a road song.
Contributions: Sara M. Moniuszko, Ken Alltucker
