A thesis surveying 233 psychedelic users found that mystical-type experiences, often linked with psilocybin, mediated the connection between psychedelic use and both cognitive and affective empathy. Ego dissolution did not explain the link, but the sense of “oneness” and transcendence did. In other words, people who reported deeper mystical experiences after psychedelics also reported being more empathetic, suggesting that emotional openness may be a key psychological outcome of these states.