Launched by Subreddit r/HPPD in partnership with the scientific research app Quantified Citizen, the retrospective, observational study aims to investigate possible links between Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder and anxiety.
Subreddit r/HPPD is an online community that provides support for and resources about Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) – a disorder in which a person experiences persisting visual hallucinations following the use of psychedelic drugs, or other drugs such as SSRI’s.
There is currently limited research on HPPD, which has been associated with conditions such as epilepsy, manic episodes and anxiety disorders.
The study, entitled Anxiety and Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder, Can You See It?, will investigate potential connections between anxiety and HPPD, as well as HPPD symptom clusters and current substance use. Substances include alcohol, nicotine, psychedelics and other non-psychedelic drugs.
r/HPPD moderator and study lead Sophia Alcala provided the research focus, drawing from observations of community members frequently discussing experiencing anxiety with HPPD.
Alcala stated: “I wanted to partner with Quantified Citizen in order to figure out how anxiety relates to HPPD symptoms reported by our members.
“I’ve noticed that anxiety seems to worsen our member’s HPPD, and it would be helpful if we could find out more about it and other factors that may relate to HPPD symptoms’ worsening or improvement.”
The study will target r/HPPD community members but will also be open to anybody who has or has had HPPD. Participants can join by downloading the Quantified Citizen app available on iOS and Android.
Psychedelic Researcher at Quantified Citizen, a citizen science-powered health research app, Sarah Paschall, MSc, stated: “With this community-led study, we hope to help shed light on this understudied disorder that can be quite debilitating.
“We hope that the personalised insights shared with participants at the end of this study will help daylight links between HPPD and certain disorders or substances so that folks can make more informed decisions moving forward.”
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