For decades, psychiatry has been stuck treating the symptoms of depression, not the cause.
But a new theory from Professor Gerhard Gründer and his team at Heidelberg University suggests psilocybin could change that.
Their paper, published in Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (2024), reframes psilocybin as a “salutogenic” medicine - meaning it doesn’t just fight disease, it helps generate health.
From symptom relief to real change
Traditional antidepressants mostly tweak brain chemistry to manage mood. They often help, but for many people the effect fades or never quite restores a sense of wholeness.
Psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, seems to work differently.
Across multiple clinical trials, a single or double dose has produced rapid and lasting improvements in depression, including treatment-resistant cases where nothing else worked.
Unlike SSRIs, which need daily dosing, psilocybin can shift a person’s mental state for weeks or even months after just one guided session.
Why it may work: plasticity and connection
Gründer’s team proposes that psilocybin doesn’t simply "correct" serotonin levels like SSRI's are claimed to do. Rather, it reopens the brain’s capacity to learn and connect.
The implications of this are incredible.
Animal studies show a single dose of psilocybvin can reactivate critical periods for social learning (like when you're young), while brain-imaging research reveals increased connectivity between regions that usually operate separately.
In plain English: psilocybin seems to loosen rigid thought patterns and make the brain more flexible.
That window of flexibility - paired with skilled psychotherapy - may allow deep emotional breakthroughs, new perspectives, and a re-wiring of the habits that keep depression alive.
A shift from treating illness to cultivating health
The researchers call this a salutogenic approach. The word salutogenic comes from the Latin salus, meaning health, and the Greek genesis, meaning origin or creation.
So, salutogenesis literally means the origin or creation of health.
Instead of endlessly medicating symptoms, a salutogenic approach strengthens the inner resources that keep us well, like energy, resilience, meaning, and connection.
They write that psychedelic-assisted therapy “could be the first disease-modifying treatment in the history of psychiatry.”
That’s a bold claim, but it’s grounded in a growing body of science showing how psilocybin helps not just depression, but also anxiety, addiction, PTSD, and existential distress.
Again, it doesn't just reduce symptoms, it improves overall wellbeing, cognition, and emotional openness - underlying processes that show up in many conditions, and not only metal conditions...
Mind and body: two sides of the same coin
Interestingly, new research suggests these mental benefits may have physical foundations too.
A 2025 study from Emory University, published in npj Aging, found that psilocybin extended the lifespan of aged mice and delayed cellular aging in human cells.
In lab experiments, the active compound psilocin:
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Extended cell lifespan by up to 57%
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Preserved telomere length (a key marker of biological youth)
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Reduced oxidative stress and DNA damage
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Increased SIRT1, a longevity-linked enzyme that protects mitochondria and metabolism
Even more striking: in older mice, monthly doses of psilocybin improved survival rates from 50% to 80% over ten months.
While it’s early research, it hints that psilocybin might influence not just the mind’s plasticity but the body’s metabolism, perhaps through shared cellular pathways that link mental health, stress, and ageing.
The bigger picture
Gründer’s group isn’t claiming psilocybin is a cure-all. It’s not suitable for everyone, and risks still exist, especially without therapeutic guidance.
But they’re pointing toward something psychiatry - and the entire western health care system - has long overlooked. And that is that health is not merely the absence of illness. It’s the presence of connection.
If this theory proves true, psilocybin therapy might not be seen as a way to unlock depression as it's based on an outdated view of health. Instead, it may be appreciated as a powerful tool that helps us rediscover what it means to feel fully alive.
References:
- Spangemacher M. et al. (2024). Psilocybin as a Disease-Modifying Drug: A Salutogenic Approach in Psychiatry. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, 121(868–874). DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.m2024.0224.
- Kato K. et al. (2025). Psilocybin Treatment Extends Cellular Lifespan and Improves Survival of Aged Mice. npj Aging.
