Mediation of Self-Rumination on Mental

Health Related Aspects: A Multidimensional

Approach

José Arturo Costa Escobar,Antonio Roazzi,

Bruno Campello de Souza & Alexsandro M. do Nascimento

Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil

• Ayahuasca is an ancient Amazonian psychoactive drink with effects on human consciousness and behavior (Schultes et al, 2001).

• Its effects are due the ingestion of a tea made by decoction of two plants, DMT and beta-carbolines containing (Nichols, 2004; Riba, 2003).

Introduction

Introduction

• First use in shamanism• 1920s – First Brazilian ayahuasca religion• Expansion of the use as sacrament in some

syncretic religions, mostly Christianity(Labate & Araújo, 2002; MacRae, 2004; Lira, 2009; Escobar, 2013)

União do Vegetal Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca Santo Daime

Introduction

• Promotion of an altered state of consciousness: transient psychosis/schizophrenia-like experience (hallucinogen), expanding-mind (psychedelic), Psychointegrator (Pomílio et al., 1999; Winkelman & Roberts, 2007).

• Clinically safe; Potential as psychotherapeutic tool (Escobar & Roazzi, 2010, for review; Winkelman & Roberts, 2007).

• DMT acts mainly on serotonergic brain areas modifying consciousness and cognitive process (Nichols, 2004; McKenna et al.; 2004)

• Low body levels of serotonin are related with psychopathology, suicide and addiction (Markou, et al., 1998; Nemeroff & Vale, 2005; Nestler et al., 2002; Quan-Bui et al., 1984; Sullivan et al., 2006; Telles-Correia & Barbosa, 2009).

Introduction• Human beings: Thinking styles and different modes of functioning

in the world could be related to psychopatology.

• Private self-consciousness: mechanism designed to produce critical reflection upon constitutive contents, creating self-perception in the experience of awareness, making the subject him or herself as a reflexive observer processing self-information (Morin, 2004, 2006; Nascimento, 2008).

Self-Consciousness

Public

Private

Self-awareness activity with self-focus turned to the visible self attributes to other selves (behavior, physical appearance, etc.)

Related to non-observable events (sensations, perceptions, values, own opinions, beliefs, memories, etc.); to internal factors that relate to the self itself

Introduction• Self-rumination as trait had been correlated in the occurrence of

anxiety, depression and other mental problems.

Self-reflective factor of Private

Self-Consciousness

Self-Reflexion

Self-Rumination

Intellectual, related to positive affect. Attentional self-focus on self-information producing pleasure, acceptability.

Related to negative affect, recurrent. Attentional self-focus on self-information producing anxiety.

(Fenigstein, et al., 1975; Morin, 2002a; Takano & Tanno, 2009; Trapnell & Campbell, 1999; Yook, et al., 2010)

Goals

The goals of the present study were to explore the occurrence of signs of psychopathology in

ayahuasca users of different religiosities and to study the relationships with self-rumination and

self-reflexive activities

MethodPARTICIPANTS

• Cross-sectional study (sample of convenience)• N= 110; three ayahuascan religions from the state of Pernambuco:

Santo Daime (StD; 20,9%), União do Vegetal (UDV; 61,8%) and Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca (SPA; 16,4%).

• 56 male subjects (51.9%) and 52 females (48.1%)• Mean age = 38.8 years (SD = 12.70; 20 to 68). • Most had a bachelor’s degree or higher (63.3%)• The average length of ayahuasca use was 94.2 months (SD = 88.36)• Ethics Committee on Human Research of the Center for Health

Sciences, Federal University of Pernambuco (protocol no. 384/11)

Method

INSTRUMENTS

• Access of stress, anxiety, hopelessness, depression, non-psychotic disorders, social abilities, visual neglect, self-rumination and self-reflection.

• Lipp’s Inventory of Stress Symptoms (ISS); Beck’s Anxiety Index (BAI); Beck’s Hopelessness Scale (BHS); The Depression Scale of the Center of Epidemiological Studies (CES-D); Goldberg General Health Questionnaire (GHQ); Inventory of Social Abilities (ISA); Manual Line Bisection Test (MLBT).

• Factor analyses and reliability were accessed by the KMO index and Cronbach’s Alpha – CES-D, ISA (2 factors each).

• The participants answered all scales in a single protocol after informed consent (settling time ranged from 1:30 to 2:30 hours).

• Data analyses: non-parametric tests: Kruskal-Wallis and GLM (SPSS 21.0)

Results

INSTRUMENTS MEASURES

• The members of the ayahuascan groups presented low psychopathology scores (ISS, BAI, BHS, CES-D, GHQ, and MLBT); means values not exceeded their predicted cutoff values.

• Differences found to BHS indicated that the UDV group was less hopeless than the other two.

• Differences found to RRQ, showed the SPA participants being more self-reflexive. On the other hand, self-rumination activity was higher in the StD participants.

• Ratio of the RRQ factors was 1.24 (3.92/3.16; range 1.11 to 1.34); Self-reflection was higher than self-rumination in all religions.

Results

Results

ResultsSSA ANALYSIS

• Structural Similarity Analysis (SSA), method of external variables as points (Guttman, 1968, 1991; Cohen & Amar, 1999; Roazzi & Dias, 2001).

• We identify the relationships between the various psychometric instruments themselves and with the three religious groups studied.

• It was found two distinct facets indicating 1) good mental health and 2) mental health disorders.

• Ayahuascan groups was posited in the facet of the good mental health.

• Self-consciousness presented antagonists processes related to mental health with self-rumination related to disorders aspects.

Results

SSA Plot3-D axis 1 vs. axis 2,

coefficient of alienation = 0.10

Mental Health Disorders

Good Mental Health

Discussion

• The findings obtained are in line with some studies that failed to find an association between such a use and psychological and psychiatric problems and sustain this relationship as anecdotal.

• Faith, social support, and noetic experiences contribute to provide the subjects with a balance between themselves and others. It can occurs fast based in evidence of the profound impact in the contact with psychedelics (Barbosa, et al., 2005; Halpern, et al., 2008; Kjellgren, et al., 2009; Lira, 2009; Trichter, et al., 2009; Winkelman, 2007; Winkelman & Roberts, 2007).

• Relation of self-rumination with the psychopathological indexes, although the absence of mental health problems in the sample, replicate results found in other studies (Jones & Fernyhough, 2009; Joormann, et al., 2006; Koster, et al., 2011; Yook, et al., 2010; Luyckx et al., 2007; Takano & Tanno, 2009; Morin, 2002).

Conclusion

• Ayahuasca used in a ritualistic context does not promote psychopathologies, but it also seems that it might be protective or even therapeutic against mental health problems.

• The present study used SSA and Facet Theory to demonstrate the role of self-rumination in the mediation of psychopathological processes.

• Future research on the subject needs to develop a way to isolate the biological, psychological, and social mechanisms involved in order to produce a better understanding of the potential role of the use of ayahuasca in the improvement of mental health.

• LIMITATIONS: Sample size; Absence of control group with individuals not users of ayahuasca.

Thank you!jac_escobar@yahoo.com.br