Ayahuasca
Effects
Effects
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### Adverse effects

Ingesting Ayahuasca can cause nausea and vomiting in the short term. Rarer side effects include breathing difficulties and [seizures](/wiki/Seizure "Seizure"). Ayahuasca is suspected of triggering psychosis in people with a predisposition to the condition, and there is a lack of safety information for Ayahuasca's possible effects on pregnancy and breastfeeding.

### Psychological effects

People who have consumed ayahuasca report having mystical experiences and [spiritual](/wiki/Spirituality "Spirituality") revelations regarding their purpose on earth, the true nature of the [universe](/wiki/Universe "Universe"), and deep insight into how to be the best person they possibly can. Many people also report therapeutic effects, especially around depression and personal traumas.

This is viewed by many as a spiritual awakening and what is often described as a near\-death experience or rebirth. It is often reported that individuals feel they gain access to higher spiritual [dimensions](/wiki/Dimension "Dimension") and make contact with various spiritual or extra\-dimensional beings who can act as guides or healers.

The experiences that people have while under the influence of ayahuasca are also culturally influenced. Westerners typically describe experiences with psychological terms like "[ego death](/wiki/Ego_death "Ego death")" and understand the hallucinations as repressed memories or metaphors of mental states. However, at least in [Iquitos](/wiki/Iquitos "Iquitos"), Peru (a center of ayahuasca ceremonies), those from the area describe the experiences more in terms of the actions in the body and understand the visions as reflections of their environment, sometimes including the person who they believe caused their illness, as well as interactions with spirits.

### Potential therapeutic effects

There are potential [antidepressant](/wiki/Antidepressant "Antidepressant") and [anxiolytic](/wiki/Anxiolytic "Anxiolytic") effects of ayahuasca.

Ayahuasca has also been studied for the treatment of addictions and shown to be effective, with lower [Addiction Severity Index](/wiki/Addiction_severity_index "Addiction severity index") scores seen in users of ayahuasca compared to controls. Ayahuasca users have also been seen to consume less [alcohol](/wiki/Alcohol_%28drug%29 "Alcohol (drug)").


How does Ayahuasca affect Westerners compared to people from Iquitos, Peru?