We’re Going on a Trip: The resurgence of psychedelics and a new frontier for healing
In case you haven’t noticed, psychedelics are kind of having a moment right now. Soccer Moms are packing THC gummies in their purses, star quarterbacks are going on ayahuasca retreats, Ketamine clinics are opening up in neighborhoods, CBD is in everything, and psilocybin mushrooms are parts of large-scale clinical trials. After more than a century of prohibition and decades of an unwinnable war, we’re seeing real movement in what was once seen as one of our largest taboos. We’ve reached an inflection point for what’s culturally acceptable, though this “new” trend isn’t so new.
Humans and substances go way back. Animals and substances go back even further. There are plenty of documented cases of animals in the wild purposely seeking out substances that change their state of consciousness. Unfortunately, it’s hard to determine the behavior of extinct animals, but it’s hard to believe these are new behaviors. This is especially hard to believe when we know our own history. With us, Opium dates back 8,000 years, Cannabis 10,000, the Betel Nut 13,000, and there are dozens of other natural compounds found throughout our past. Whether it was medicinal or ceremonial, we’ve always been drawn to altered states. So what is it about these altered states that’s so special? Obviously, the first answer is that many hijack neuroreceptors to produce euphoric or numbing states. Our brains are designed to repeat behaviors that produce certain neurochemicals, so if a drug produces them, we’ll keep using that drug. That’s the basis for addiction. It’s why we’re dealing with an opioid crisis at the moment, opioids are extremely addictive, especially modern pharmaceutical ones. What people may not realize though, is that not every drug does this. Many psychedelics aren’t addictive. The feelings that psychedelics produce may appear similar to some other drugs but their effects on you are fundamentally different. There are still neurochemical reactions going on but these reactions aren’t just the simple pleasure-producing ones like with opioids or alcohol. Instead, they’re highly complex, altering the way you see the world and yourself. These states are much more than a high, they’re constructive and enlightening.
To the anti-drug crowd, everyone who does drugs is just trying to escape reality. I will say this is true of certain substances like heroin or cocaine. With those, all you can really do is get fucked up or numb yourself to reality. Other drugs though, like Psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and Ayahuasca, are a different story. Like with anything there is abuse, but those substances do more than you think. This is going to get extremely heady, but when you think about it, consciousness itself is inherently psychedelic. We take all of these inputs of waves and particles and then our brain outputs it as experience. That’s the experience that we’re aware of and interact with every day. By taking some of these substances you don’t escape that experience as much as you just open a new door or tune into different bandwidths. For example, it’s been shown that Psilocybin can dampen the default mode network. The default mode network is a system in the brain related to our sense of self and mental time travel. By inhibiting it we can find a greater connection with the world around us and the present moment. Many psychedelics do something similar. When we open ourselves up to these different experiences, it allows us to see things differently and get out of our routine. It’s related to the feeling when you travel to a new place, that’s why it’s called “tripping”. When you’re traveling to a new place, every experience is novel which allows you to be more grounded in the moment. You can see the world and yourself in it as you never have before. While taking a “trip” with these substances you have a novel experience of you and you’re surroundings. This allows you to gain some incredible insight because you're not trapped by decades of conditioning. With the space they create, you can work through personal challenges like trauma or other hardships.
I’m aware of how this all sounds. You may be picturing that one friend who’s perma-fried and goes on about their “spiritual experiences”. I get it, and I don’t advocate for constant psychedelic use, but I have experienced the benefits of them firsthand. Usually on Breakdowns & Breakthroughs, my goal is for the themes and conversation to be front and center, then I can add some personal commentary here and there. In this case, I think I have a little more to offer though. If you’ve read my writing you might know that anxiety and depression were a large part of life. I had a rough childhood that left me pretty devoid of happiness and joy. At some point during my freshman year of college, I made a decision to turn my life around. That decision is what allowed me to reach the heights I’m at now, but it wasn’t just all willpower that got me here. There was a crucial moment towards the end of that school year when a friend from back home invited me to do mushrooms. While I had done a lot of things up to that point, mushrooms still felt like something a bit alien. I was nervous but my gut told me to take the leap, so we drove out to the woods and I went on a trip. A trip that changed everything. There was this separation from all of the trauma, anxiety, and depression. I finally had the space to just take a step back from it all. The weight dropped from my shoulders and felt something I never had before. Happiness. Not just the giggly contentment of being stoned, but real joy. That feeling at that moment gave me the understanding that I not only deserved to be happy but was capable of feeling it. There was this general sense of just being ok for once, and that I was capable of living the life I wanted. I found faith in myself that I could build that life. That was almost seven years ago now, and I’m still grateful for that day. Everything hasn’t been smooth since then, and I had to work extremely hard to get here but that moment still matters. It was exactly what I needed in order to finally get on the track I wanted to be on. I’ve had other trips since then and dabbled with microdosing, but that first trip made the biggest difference. Seven years later, I’ve built a life I couldn’t have even dreamed about before then.
The type of experience I described is exactly why researchers at John Hopkins are studying the healing power of psilocybin. It can have profound effects in helping people get out of their own heads and find themselves. Michale Pollan’s book “How to Change Your Mind” is filled with examples of how psychedelics can help treat persistent issues like anxiety, depression, and addiction. Things that despite all of Western medicine's advances, it just hasn’t been able to treat effectively. The power of these substances is why our ancestors had such deep relationships with them. Getting in touch with themselves and the world opened up extraordinary opportunities. I won’t get into the Stoned Ape theory because it’s not exactly objective science. Even if that particular theory isn’t true I think our relationship with substances altered the course of human history. We were able to gain insights about our internal and external experiences which helped us live and grow. Humans can do incredible things but we can’t do everything on our own. At times we need others to help get us through and at other times we just need to step outside of ourselves for a moment.
It’d be naive to say that everyone who uses psychedelics is doing so to heal or grow. Just look at Coachella. While they’re incredibly powerful healing tools, they can also be really fun. Sometimes it’s nice just to take an edible and watch a movie on a Sunday night. There are also real problems when people develop drug habits or addictions. Drugs are drugs and can cause serious issues, especially pharmaceuticals. At the end of the day though we’re facing a mental health crisis in this country. One brought on by all the different crises I’ve mentioned time after time in my other writing. People need help right now, help finding themselves and help navigating the world. Those are things that some of these substances can do and have been doing for thousands of years. I think that’s why we’re seeing such a resurgence in culture right now. People found their way back to the tools we’ve used for millennia. It may not be for everyone, but maybe you should take a trip and just see what you discover.