What if post-psychedelic difficulties are sometimes forms of health anxiety? When fear of harm might sustain the harm

The piece examines whether some post-psychedelic crises may partly take the form of health anxiety, in which fear that psychedelic experiences have caused lasting harm could itself help sustain distress. It introduces the case of Pat Berlinquette, a 41-year-old marketing expert from Long Island, as an example that changed the author’s thinking about post-psychedelic difficulties. The supplied excerpt does not provide the full case history, the specific psychedelic involved, the clinical assessment, or the author’s final conclusions. It therefore supports a cautious focus on the possible relationship between perceived harm, anxiety, and ongoing symptoms rather than a general claim that post-psychedelic problems are caused by health anxiety.