A$AP Rocky and Ben Stiller recount their wildest psychedelic drug experiences in the star-studded Netflix documentary 'Have A Good Trip'

• The new Netflix documentary "Have a Good Trip," which premieres on May 11, delves into the world of psychedelic drugs.
• Celebrities recount their wildest psychedelic trips, actors reenact the moments, and psychedelic researchers explain the science behind the drugs.
• Existing research suggests psychedelics like LSD and "magic" mushrooms can help treat anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

When rapper A$AP Rocky did acid, a rainbow shot out of his penis. When Sting did, the grass started talking to him. And for Rosie Perez, her psychedelic trip made it feel like her body became one with her mattress.

Their stories are all part of Netflix's upcoming documentary, "Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics."

In the documentary, which premieres May 11, celebrities recount what it was like to take mind-altering drugs like LSD and "magic" mushrooms and actors reenact the wild moments. Viewers can expect stories from Ben Stiller, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Silverman, and others. Actors will also perform drug trips described by late stars Anthony Bourdain and Carrie Fisher.

The kooky vignettes are given a serious edge by researchers who explain the science of psychedelics and their potential to treat anxiety, depression, and addiction.

Indeed, existing research on LSD and psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in psychedelic mushrooms, suggests that the drugs could open dormant neural pathways in people's brains to help them have spiritual experiences and even find relief from mental health disorders.

Psychedelic drugs are largely illegal, but but existing studies suggest they could be treatments for anxiety and depression

Magic mushrooms have been on the psychedelic scene for decades, but they're currently gaining traction in the medical community as a potential treatment for depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

But only a handful of studies on the substance exist because of the its current status as a Schedule I drug (one with no currently accepted medical use, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration).

A small study, published in November 2016 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, looked at 29 cancer patients who reported feeling depressed or anxious due to their cancer diagnosis. For seven weeks, each patient went through psychotherapy sessions and received either a single 0.3 mg dose of psilocybin or niacin (vitamin B) afterward. Researchers noticed that the patients who received psilocybin had an immediate reduction in anxiety and depression, which held at the six-and-a-half-month follow-up.

In another small study, published in 2006 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, researchers gave 36 medically and psychiatrically healthy participants 30 mg of psilocybin, with dose adjustments made depending on patients' weight. The psilocybin was distributed during two or three separate sessions, and at a two-month follow-up, 50% of the participants said their psilocybin experience improved their personal well being or life satisfaction moderately. 29% said it improved their life satisfaction "very much."

Psychedelic drugs change the way information moves through the brain

One potential reason psilocybin has this effect, as Business Insider previously reported, is its ability to change the way information moves through the brain.

Author Erin Brodwin compared the brain to a series of highways. Normally, traffic tends to buildup on some highways more than others. But when a person uses psilocybin, the brain reroutes some of the traffic onto the underused highways, freeing up space on the overused ones.

For a person with depression, overused highways can lead to more negative thoughts, self-criticisms, and overwhelming feelings, so psilocybin has the potential to help decrease those effects.

• Read more:
• A woman who tripped for 34 hours on LSD after taking 550 times the normal dose said the drug cured her pain from chronic Lyme disease
• Denver just became the first city in the US to decriminalize magic mushrooms. Here's what they do to your body and mind.
• A best-selling author tried LSD, 'shrooms, and DMT — and wrote about all 3 psychedelic trips