Half of people on an SSRI or SNRI reported weaker mushroom effects, lasting up to three months after stopping
In 611 reports of taking mushrooms with an antidepressant, the probability of weaker than expected effects was 0.47 on SSRIs, 0.55 on SNRIs and 0.29 on bupropion. After stopping, reduced effects persisted "as long as 3 months".
Suggestive but preliminary. Not settled. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Online retrospective self-report; selection and recall bias both plausible, and dose was self-reported. The Becker 2022 controlled trial found positive effects preserved after 14 days of escitalopram, so the size of the blunting in ordinary use is uncertain.
People taking mushrooms while on an antidepressant report a specific thing: it does less. This survey measured how often, and for how long after stopping.
Significant findings
Gukasyan and colleagues (Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2023) ran an online retrospective survey of people who had used psilocybin mushrooms with an antidepressant or within two years of stopping one, comparing the strength of effects with the same dose before the antidepressant or with companions not on one.
"In reports (n = 611) of taking mushrooms with an antidepressant, probabilities [95% CI] of weaker than expected drug effects were 0.47 [0.41-0.54] (selective serotonergic reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs), 0.55 [0.44-0.67] (serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, SNRIs) and 0.29 [0.2-0.39] (bupropion)."
After stopping: "Following SSRI/SNRI discontinuation (n = 1,542 reports), the probability of reduced drug effects was not significantly different from the earliest post-discontinuation timepoint (within 1 week) until 3-6 months, probability = 0.3 [0.20-0.46], p = 0.001." Removing fluoxetine, which lingers in the body, did not change that. "SSRI/SNRIs appear to weaken psilocybin drug effects relative to a non-serotonergic antidepressant. This dampening effect may last as long as 3 months following antidepressant discontinuation."
Worth asking
A survey of people who chose to answer cannot give a true rate, and "weaker than expected" is a memory. What it does show is the shape: serotonergic antidepressants blunt psilocybin, bupropion much less, and the blunting outlasts the drug by weeks to months. The Becker 2022 row beside this one is the controlled trial, which found the good effects intact and the bad ones reduced after two weeks of escitalopram. The two are not in conflict; they measured different things over different durations. What neither supports is stopping an antidepressant to make mushrooms work, which trades a known risk for an unmeasured one.
Source
Attenuation of psilocybin mushroom effects during and after SSRI/SNRI antidepressant use — Gukasyan N, Griffiths RR, Yaden DB, Antoine DG, Nayak SM (2023)
Reputable peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811231179910
DOI: 10.1177/02698811231179910
How this was scored
- Study design
- Cross-sectional study / survey
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
- Published in
- Reputable peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 2,153
- Preregistered
- not recorded
- Conflicts disclosed
- not recorded
- Independent of proponent
- not recorded
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published September 21, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
veisund rates this source "early signal". Suggestive but preliminary. Not settled. It scores 45 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Online retrospective self-report; selection and recall bias both plausible, and dose was self-reported. The Becker 2022 controlled trial found positive effects preserved after 14 days of escitalopram, so the size of the blunting in ordinary use is uncertain. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Attenuation of psilocybin mushroom effects during and after SSRI/SNRI antidepressant use — Gukasyan N, Griffiths RR, Yaden DB, Antoine DG, Nayak SM (2023). Published in: Reputable peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1177/02698811231179910. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Cross-sectional study / survey. Funding: Funding not disclosed. Independence from the proponent is not recorded. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.