Menu

Psilocybin Mushrooms

Linda’s first psychedelic experience

What Changed After 38 Years Sober: Linda’s First Psychedelic Experience

, ,

  • At 65, after 38 years of sobriety, Linda reflects on her first psychedelic experience and how an intentional psilocybin journey reshaped how she understands herself, her past, and her life. She speaks about releasing long-held anger toward her brother, living without the anxiety she carried for decades, and walking away from her business with a calm she had never known.

    In this story, Linda reflects on:

  • Her first psychedelic experience after 38 years of sobriety, approached with intention and care
  • Releasing anger toward her brother that had quietly shaped her inner life for decades
  • Stepping away from her business with a calm and clarity she had never known
  • How microdosing supports her ongoing integration, improving sleep, deepening her sense of presence in nature, and helping her process daily life with greater clarity and peace

It changed how I see the world. It changed how I see me.

Watch: Psilocybin After 38 Years Sober: Letting Go of Control and Anxiety

https://youtu.be/Ja_jeimdqLA

Watch: Other First-Experiences with Psilocybin Mushrooms

In Linda’s Words

What drew you to your first psychedelic experience after nearly four decades of sobriety?

Linda: I had been reading about how psychedelics were being used therapeutically for trauma and PTSD. At first my recovery mindset told me, “You can’t do this, you’re sober.” But the more I learned, the more curious I became. Eventually I realized this wasn’t about escaping anything. It was about understanding myself and my trauma more deeply.

Was there a moment during the journey that changed how you see your past?

Linda: My brother came up during the journey. We hadn’t spoken for 15 years before he died by suicide, and I carried a lot of anger and resentment toward him and my family. Seeing his life differently gave me compassion and forgiveness I didn’t have before. It opened up space in my life that simply wasn’t there before.

What led you to walk away from your business?

Linda: I had raised that business like a child, and I had taken it as far as I could. It wasn’t aligned with who I was anymore. When I made the decision to walk away, a buyer showed up, and the entire process happened with zero anxiety. I sold my business and stepped out of my entire world without a plan, and for the first time, I felt completely calm about it

I sold my business and walked away from my entire world with zero anxiety.

How does microdosing show up in your day-to-day life?

Linda: I sleep better. I’m less hungry, and I naturally want to eat healthier food. It helps me process what’s going on in my head with more clarity. When I microdose, I take the same short walk each day and notice how present I feel with nature. Everything feels more peaceful.

This story was recorded in collaboration with Mycology Psychology. Linda references her personal experience with microdosing as part of her broader integration process.

Supporting Research

Psilocybin and Depression

 Psilocybin therapy and depression clinical trials
Psilocybin has been studied in multiple randomized and open-label clinical trials showing rapid and sustained reductions in depressive symptoms, including in major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression. These studies often involve one or two dosing sessions with psychological support and report improvements lasting weeks to months. Cambridge University Press

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of psilocybin for depression
Meta-analyses combining multiple clinical trials suggest psilocybin can produce both short-term and longer-term antidepressant effects compared with traditional treatments, with patients reporting meaningful decreases in symptom severity. Pubmed

Psychedelics and Addiction Recovery

Psilocybin in substance use disorders
A 2025 systematic review identified preliminary clinical evidence that psilocybin-assisted therapy may reduce alcohol and tobacco use and related symptoms when combined with psychotherapy, although larger trials are still needed to confirm these findings. Pubmed

  • Classic psychedelics and addiction treatment research
    Reviews of the literature suggest classic psychedelics like psilocybin show potential in supporting addiction recovery processes — for example, reducing heavy drinking days or supporting smoking cessation — though research is still emerging and exploratory. Pubmed

You Are Not Alone

If Linda’s story resonated with you, we invite you to explore more psychedelic experiences or share your own story with Normalize Psychedelics.

Explore other experiences with psilocybin

Share your own story

About Normalize Psychedelics​

Normalize Psychedelics is a nonprofit working to change public understanding of psychedelic medicine by sharing real stories of healing. Through firsthand accounts, we aim to reduce stigma and broaden the conversation around mental health and wellness.

Support Us

MAKE A DONATION

Your donation will help us publish more personal stories involving psychedelics to transform public opinion, reduce stigmas, and redefine wellness. It can also help self lives.


Power The Next Story

Joe V Thumbnail-min

After 21 Years of Traditional Sobriety, I Lost 40 Pounds Through Plant Medicine || Joe V

, ,

Watch: Other Inspiring Stories of Recovering from Addiction

Joe Valenzuela is a 61-year-old lifestyle and wellness advocate who grew up in Los Angeles. His life story includes multiple chapters of addiction and recovery, having been in 12-step programs five different times totaling over 21 years of sobriety. Despite these periods of sobriety, he never felt he achieved the complete peace and freedom promised by the programs.

Watch: Five Attempts at Sobriety: What Finally Worked for Me

https://youtu.be/o-i1OzsAU5s?si=d7f6289KJ8v7v6-7

Watch: Other Inspiring Stories of Recovering from Addiction

 I got to see myself in a whole different way, and it shifted my consciousness about everything I either put into my body. I’ve been able to lose 40 pounds, transform my body, be in some of the best shape I’ve been in my life,  and that’s at 61 years old.
-Joe V

Normalize Psychedelics is a nonprofit 501c3 on a mission to gather 1,000 powerful healing testimonials involving psychedelics to transform public opinion, reduce stigmas, and redefine wellness.

Read: After 21 Years of Traditional Sobriety, I Lost 40 Pounds Through Plant Medicine

After reading Michael Pollan’s work and exploring alternative healing methods including breathwork and plant medicine, Joe began a personal transformation. Using a combination of breathwork, psilocybin microdosing, and cannabis, he lost 40 pounds and achieved what he considers his best physical condition at age 61.

An avid skier with 45 years of experience, Joe also enjoys mountain biking and beach volleyball. He’s found that microdosing certain substances helps him ski pain-free and recapture the feeling of his younger years. While embracing these alternative approaches to wellness, he remains mindful of his addictive personality and maintains a disciplined approach, ensuring that roughly 95% of what he puts in his body serves his health and well-being.

Through his experiences, Joe has developed a lifestyle brand focused on adventure, health, and well-being called Santa Cruz Fun Guy

“My body tells me what to do intuitively. So I feel really lucky that I’m connected”

Q&A with Joe

What is your history with 12-step recovery programs?

Joe: I have a very sort of unusual story for people in 12-step recovery in that I’ve been in it 5 different times for a total of over 21 years being completely clean and sober. The longest period was 10 years and 3 months, which ended in 2018. While I remain an open-minded person, it never felt like the end all for me – I never got to what they call happy, joyous and free.”

What sparked your willingness to try plant medicine in a conscious way?

Joe: I read a book by Michael Pollan. It resonated with me because anytime I had done psychedelics in college, it was always a love connection with nature, with humans, with animals.

Through breathwork and seeing a psychedelic therapist, I came to see myself where I am today. From that point, with microdosing as support, specifically psilocybin and cannabis, I’ve been able to lose 40 pounds, transform my body, and be in some of the best shape I’ve been in my life at 61 years old.

How do you balance your current wellness practices with your history of addiction?

I always keep in mind that I have an addictive personality, so that never leaves my forefront, whether I’m at Burning Man, a festival, a barbecue.

I’m not putting things in my body that aren’t going to serve me about 95 percent of the time. I’ve still got 5 percent to work on, but I’m okay with that for today.”

About Normalize Psychedelics​

Normalize Psychedelics is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) working to transform public perception of psychedelic medicine through real stories of healing. Our mission is to collect 1,000 powerful testimonials from individuals whose lives have been transformed by psychedelic experiences. By sharing these authentic voices, we aim to reduce stigma, advance the conversation around mental health, and expand our understanding of wellness.

Your donation will help us amplify these important stories and create lasting change. Every contribution, whether $5 or $500, directly supports our work to document and share these transformative experiences. As a registered 501(c)(3), all donations are tax-deductible. Join us in building a future where psychedelic healing is better understood and accepted

Make a Donation

Your donation will help us publish more personal stories involving psychedelics to transform public opinion, reduce stigmas, and redefine wellness. It can also help self lives.
$
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Terms

Acceptance of any contribution, gift or grant is at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19. The Alone Covid 19 will not accept any gift unless it can be used or expended consistently with the purpose and mission of the Alone Covid 19.

No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.

The Alone Covid 19 will refrain from providing advice about the tax or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisers to assist them in the process of making their donation.

The Alone Covid 19 will accept donations of cash or publicly traded securities. Gifts of in-kind services will be accepted at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19.

Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind gifts, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting tax requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, the Alone Covid 19 will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.

The Alone Covid 19 will not compensate, whether through commissions, finders’ fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to the Alone Covid 19.

Show Terms Hide Terms

Donation Total: $100

Mama Ayana Iyi

Motherhood and Mushrooms: How Psychedelics Shaped Mama Ayana Iyi’s Parenting Journey

, , , ,

We met with Mama Ayana in San Francisco during Spirituality and Beyond 2024 (organized by the Church of Ambrosia). Mama Ayana is the wife of the legendary Kilindi Iyi. In this interview she discusses conscious parenting and her approach to open family dialogue about sacred plant medicine. She shares personal insights about mindful use during pregnancy and nursing, while emphasizing responsible practices and the importance of preserving traditional wisdom.

The mushrooms open you up so you can say YES to new life and not NO to life.

-Mama Ayana Iyi

https://youtu.be/MLvMGmHD5ac?si=P4VROITuqtUFYhR5

Read

Tell us about your own personal deep inner work with mushrooms

Eating the mushrooms just changed the trajectory of my life. This pure love that I felt,  I’ve never felt anything like that before.

 Mama Ayana Iyi: So my husband gave me five grams, 25 years ago and that was my first dose. And he said, here,  I’m like, well, what is it? He was like mushrooms. I’m like, well, where’s the pizza at? You know,  but he didn’t give me any kind of information or knowledge. He’s just like, eat this baby. 

Eating the mushrooms just changed the trajectory of my life. This pure love that I felt,  I’ve never felt anything like that before. It was just something that took over my entire being and I knew that there was so much more to life than getting up going to work, punching in, coming home, kicking the dog, feeding the kids.

 It was just so much more and I wanted more of that so the mushrooms just kind of helped strip away the illusions of what this is.  You know like trying to chase the money and always get it the more you chase it the more elusive it becomes so it let me know that that wasn’t the key, but mind manifesting was the key, and we know that that’s what psychedelics mean, mind manifesting.

So that changed me in the sense of, I want to know more, but I want to give what I know.  I wanted everybody to hear what I had to say. You know, I was excited and I see the young people now going through this, that they’re so excited and I just want to feed that energy

How did mushrooms help you become a better mother?

So in terms of a better mother, it just led me to not bullshit my kids to tell them the truth.

Mama Ayana Iyi:  So in terms of a better mother, it just led me to not bullshit my kids to tell them the truth. You know, if you’re old enough to ask me, then you’re old enough to give to take what I’m giving you.

And to listen from another place, not of that whatever that sternness, but opening myself up and allowing them to speak. My son, when he was 11, he said, mama, I really appreciate you telling me the truth about this whole Santa thing. He said, I just really appreciate that.

 So in terms of bringing our babies forward now. These Children are amazingly bright as we see. They have to be because we’re in this age of technology. I mean, they come out the womb and know how to do the thing, you know, but we want our babies to be strong enough to deal with what’s coming. Okay, because it’s coming. You could feel it coming.

 We think that they will be they will be consciously more aware of the energy that’s around them If we give them mushrooms while they’re in the womb, if we are giving birth through the psychedelic experience. Because you hear a lot of women who are in labor who say no, no, oh, no, oh, you know, say yes, allow this process to happen and the mushrooms open you up so that you can say yes to it.

 And then through the breastfeeding process. I’m not saying you gonna be on a macro trip and feeding your baby, you know, little stuff flying around, but microdosing. You know, to just kind of get that energy inside that child and then do that eye locking technique with the babies, you know, because  we have to listen to them.

How did Detroit become such a big hub in the psychedelic scene?

Mama Ayana Iyi: In 2014 my husband decided to bring the psychedelic conference energy to Detroit. I don’t know if he was the first one to do a psychedelic country conference in the United States, but I know in 2014, everything was hush hush and underground and you had to go over the water over to Europe to get more information.  And nobody could really afford to do that. To go to these conferences in Europe, to pay the amount, the plane fare.

 When they scheduled him, they would put him maybe on the, 13th floor at eight o’clock in the morning on a Sunday after everybody hung out on a Saturday. And so nobody would be there, maybe three or four people. 

So the word got out. Did you hear the man on the 13th floor in the corner?

He was talking some really deep stuff, but he knew that he was being censored. He knew there was a lack of diversity there. And so he said, you know what, I’m gonna have the strength enough to bring it to Detroit. I can speak as long as I want to. I can say what the hell I want to say, and I’m going to open the doors up for everybody to come through.

Watch the full interview with Mama Ayana

About Normalize Psychedelics

Normalize Psychedelics is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) working to transform public perception of psychedelic medicine through real stories of healing. Our mission is to collect 1,000 powerful testimonials from individuals whose lives have been transformed by psychedelic experiences. By sharing these authentic voices, we aim to reduce stigma, advance the conversation around mental health, and expand our understanding of wellness.

Your donation will help us amplify these important stories and create lasting change. Every contribution, whether $5 or $500, directly supports our work to document and share these transformative experiences. As a registered 501(c)(3), all donations are tax-deductible. Join us in building a future where psychedelic healing is better understood and accepted

 

Make a Donation

Your donation will help us publish more personal stories involving psychedelics to transform public opinion, reduce stigmas, and redefine wellness. It can also help self lives.
$
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Terms

Acceptance of any contribution, gift or grant is at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19. The Alone Covid 19 will not accept any gift unless it can be used or expended consistently with the purpose and mission of the Alone Covid 19.

No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.

The Alone Covid 19 will refrain from providing advice about the tax or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisers to assist them in the process of making their donation.

The Alone Covid 19 will accept donations of cash or publicly traded securities. Gifts of in-kind services will be accepted at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19.

Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind gifts, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting tax requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, the Alone Covid 19 will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.

The Alone Covid 19 will not compensate, whether through commissions, finders’ fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to the Alone Covid 19.

Show Terms Hide Terms

Donation Total: $100

Chris Sproul shares his story here

How MDMA and Psilocybin Helped an Attorney Overcome Suicidal Thoughts and Find Freedom

, , , ,

Chris Sproul, an environmental attorney who represents nonprofit environmental groups and Native American tribes, shares his journey with mental health challenges and psychedelic therapy. For most of his life, he suffered from depression, anxiety, PTSD, and insomnia, trying various conventional therapies and psychiatric medications (SSRIs, lithium, benzodiazepines) with limited success.

His healing journey began with ketamine therapy, undergoing five intravenous administrations in a psychiatrist’s office. While he found the hallucinogenic experience surprisingly comforting and beautiful rather than frightening, it provided only short-term relief from his depression.

Watch: How Psychedelics Helped me ESCAPE the PSYCHIATRIC TRAP

https://youtu.be/wmQFuV_GBiw

Watch: Inspiring stories of transformation from depression

“I was suicidal at one point, and I mean that’s the farthest, it seems like that was a different person. I mean I feel most of the time now happy, joyous and free.”
-Chris

Read: From Suicidal to ‘Happy, Joyous and Free’: How Psychedelic Therapy Transformed an Attorney’s Life

The breakthrough came when a trusted therapist friend guided him through an all-day session combining MDMA and psilocybin. During this experience, he felt safe and had a profound encounter with what he describes as his “totem animal,” a purple and green glowing octopus. This led to further journeys with various psychedelics.

“I now tell anyone who’ll listen, I feel 90 percent cured of depression, 70 percent cured of anxiety, 55 percent cured of PTSD. And I don’t have insomnia anymore. I sleep like a baby.”

The results have been transformative. Chris reports feeling “90 percent cured of depression, 70 percent cured of anxiety, 55 percent cured of PTSD,” and no longer suffers from insomnia. He has discontinued all conventional psychiatric medications and even stopped microdosing psilocybin. What began as a desperate search for mental health relief has evolved into a spiritual quest.

Chris emphasizes that his healing came not just from the substances themselves but from the therapeutic context—the set, setting, and human connection involved in the process. He describes his current state as not just the absence of pain but “the presence of joy and possibility,” a dramatic contrast to his previous suicidal thoughts and constant struggle.

Q&A With Chris

What traditional treatments did you try before turning to psychedelic therapy, and how effective were they?

Chris: I’d suffered for a lifetime of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and tried various forms of therapy and traditional psychiatric medicines, various SSRIs, lithium, terrible insomnia. I took a lot of benzodiazepines to sleep and cope with anxiety. Some of these things helped, but they were never really that effective.

How would you describe the difference in your mental health before and after psychedelic therapy?

Before I was so much of the time just white knuckling it. I mean, I felt so anxious, just so clinging. And then I would vacillate to feeling just crushing depression. And then just really anxious, a different form of anxiety that I would identify as PTSD. Just very easily startled and so on. That would manifest in not being able to sleep. And now I feel 90 percent cured of depression, 70 percent cured of anxiety, 55 percent cured of PTSD. And I don’t have insomnia anymore. I sleep like a baby. It’s not just the absence of pain, it’s the presence of joy and possibility

What aspects of psychedelic therapy were most important for your healing process?

A key component for me is not been just the medicine. It’s really the therapeutic element, the set and setting, and how much it has allowed me to trust and open up and feel connected to others. And then the healing power of that loving connection to other humans has been so much part of it.

About Normalize Psychedelics​

Normalize Psychedelics is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) working to transform public perception of psychedelic medicine through real stories of healing. Our mission is to collect 1,000 powerful testimonials from individuals whose lives have been transformed by psychedelic experiences. By sharing these authentic voices, we aim to reduce stigma, advance the conversation around mental health, and expand our understanding of wellness.

Your donation will help us amplify these important stories and create lasting change. Every contribution, whether $5 or $500, directly supports our work to document and share these transformative experiences. As a registered 501(c)(3), all donations are tax-deductible. Join us in building a future where psychedelic healing is better understood and accepted

Make a Donation

Your donation will help us publish more personal stories involving psychedelics to transform public opinion, reduce stigmas, and redefine wellness. It can also help self lives.
$
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Terms

Acceptance of any contribution, gift or grant is at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19. The Alone Covid 19 will not accept any gift unless it can be used or expended consistently with the purpose and mission of the Alone Covid 19.

No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.

The Alone Covid 19 will refrain from providing advice about the tax or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisers to assist them in the process of making their donation.

The Alone Covid 19 will accept donations of cash or publicly traded securities. Gifts of in-kind services will be accepted at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19.

Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind gifts, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting tax requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, the Alone Covid 19 will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.

The Alone Covid 19 will not compensate, whether through commissions, finders’ fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to the Alone Covid 19.

Show Terms Hide Terms

Donation Total: $100

Johnny shares his story on Normalize Psychedelics

Unlocking Health with Mushrooms: Johnny’s Weight Loss Journey || Johnny Haronian

, ,

Summary of Experience

Johnny Haronian, a Los Angeles resident working in real estate and construction, shares his profound experiences with psychedelics, particularly mushrooms, over the past year. Struggling with being overweight and the loss of family members, Johnny found mushrooms to be life-changing. Encouraged by his brother, he discovered that psychedelics motivated him to lead a healthier lifestyle and connect better with his emotions. Despite facing a frightening trip, he believes that even bad experiences can be beneficial. Johnny advocates for the benefits of psychedelics, especially in addressing modern mental health issues, and expresses hope for their future legalization.

it’s given me the motivation to be healthy and exercise
-Johnny

Watch: Can Mushrooms Help You Lose Weight? Johnny’s Inspirational Story

How did you first find psilocibin mushrooms?

My name is Johnny Haronian. I live in Los Angeles. I work in real estate and construction. I’m newly into psychedelics Within this past year, I would say it’s really saved my life in, many ways, specifically mushrooms. I haven’t experienced the other psychedelics yet.

but I’ve experienced death in my family, and I’ve tried so many different things, like different therapy, and I’ve went through different addictions, alcohol and other drugs. Finally, I, gave mushrooms a try. After years, my brother, pushing me to try it, I finally took it just to shut him up.

I’m glad he pushed me as much as he did, because my life has gotten better, used to be extremely overweight. Not anymore. it’s given me the motivation to be healthy and exercise. when, you’re overweight and you’re on a trip, like it punishes you, like you want to feel good.

 

In what other ways has psilocibin helped you in your life?

 I’m extremely health conscious. I don’t drink a sip of alcohol since this journey, so I don’t put anything in my body that’s, that is not safe. It’s made me a lot more vulnerable. Being able to connect with my emotions a lot better.

So yeah, my relationships are better. I experienced microdosing a little bit, even a microdose where you don’t even feel it like a trip, it’s just like a natural mood enhancer. Better than any of these prescriptions that we’ve all been prescribed by his doctors.

On the stigma around psychedelics

I think  there’s some things that you won’t know until you try it. You can’t explain  what a color is to a blind person. The best things in life.  Are, some of these things that you have to just take a leap of faith and you won’t know till you try it. With all the mental health problems that we have  in today’s world.

It’s I think it’s not just important It’s like  it should it needs to be the priority. There’s so many people that are hurting and are messed up in the head and  They, they just, they need this. And it’s just so sad to me that it’s just looks so down upon. I just know how many people could help. I know how it’s helped me.

And I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to try it. I don’t know when psychedelics will be legal. If it’s 10 years from now, that’s 10 more years of pain that people are going through. It’s sad, but I’m optimistic for the future

Make a Donation

Your donation will help us publish more personal stories involving psychedelics to transform public opinion, reduce stigmas, and redefine wellness. It can also help self lives.












$

Select Payment Method



Personal Info




Terms

Acceptance of any contribution, gift or grant is at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19. The Alone Covid 19 will not accept any gift unless it can be used or expended consistently with the purpose and mission of the Alone Covid 19.

No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.

The Alone Covid 19 will refrain from providing advice about the tax or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisers to assist them in the process of making their donation.

The Alone Covid 19 will accept donations of cash or publicly traded securities. Gifts of in-kind services will be accepted at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19.

Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind gifts, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting tax requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, the Alone Covid 19 will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.

The Alone Covid 19 will not compensate, whether through commissions, finders’ fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to the Alone Covid 19.

Show Terms
Hide Terms


Donation Total:
$100





Chris Leisinger Normalize Psychedelics

Psychedelics Helped Veteran Ditch 16 Medications || Chris Leisinger

, , , , , , ,

Chris Leisinger, a retired army vet and former scout sniper, shares his profound journey of healing from PTSD with the help of psychedelics after 12 years of service and three tours in Iraq. He explains how traditional medications from the VA left him emotionally numb and suicidal until an encounter with psychedelics, facilitated by his motorcycle club, changed his life. Psychedelics helped veteran ditch 16 medications and Chris is here to share his story.

We signed up to defend our country writing a check to include our life. And the VA they just want to throw pharmaceutical meds at you and it makes you emotionally numb.

-Chris

Summary

Chris now collaborates with Mike Manion and Healing Frontline Warriors, helping other veterans through ceremonies in Mexico where they provide free psychedelic treatments. Chris describes personal experiences and transformations and emphasizes the importance of reaching out for help, underscoring that it’s okay not to be okay.

 

Watch: How Psychedelics Helped a Veteran STOP Depending On Pills

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFK2h3PeIT0

 

What condition were you in after leaving the military?

My name is Chris Leisinger. I’m a retired army vet of 12 years. I was a scout sniper for those 12 years. I did 3.5 years in Iraq. 16 different psych meds from the VA, as a matter of fact. 6 of them were to treat the PTSD. The other 10 were to treat the side effects of that.

I was on 16 different psych meds from the VA. 6 of them were to treat the PTSD. The other 10 were to treat the side effects of that.

Life before psychedelics was rough. I was emotionally numb. I didn’t care about anything. I actually tried to kill myself once. And my 230 pound Mastiff Repo stopped me from doing it. And when I say stop me, I had the gun in my lap. He picked it up, carried it to the back fence, dropped it in the dirt, and then sat on it.

And then when I reached to grab it, he growled and snapped at me and then coward like I was going to beat him. That was my big, aha, wake up moment through my motorcycle club, Roland Locos. That’s what got me into the psychedelics. And it changed my life. It helped rewire my brain. So that I’m off all the meds.

I can actually enjoy life again. I’m not angry. I’m actually probably one of the calmest individuals there is. It used to, I didn’t go to Walmart unless it was like three or four in the morning. Cause if you bumped into me, I’m ripping your head off because I was just so uneasy. I was so agitated, so angry.

How many ceremonies have you been a part of?

I’ve done 16 to 20 different ceremonies to the point now. I can actually help facilitate and help other people. I can dive into people’s psyche and help them clear the cobwebs. Or as I like to say, wake up from the matrix.

I’ve done mushrooms, I’ve done ayahuasca, I’ve done bufo, which is from the Sonoran Desert Toad.

I’ve done mushrooms, I’ve done ayahuasca, I’ve done bufo, which is from the Sonoran Desert Toad.

On helping your Veteran brother overcome alocohol addiction

My little brother, John, he was a Marine. He was field artillery and he had a lot of trauma. And he finally told me one day, and he was against drugs. He didn’t even smoke weed. He was like, that’s just not my thing.

He came up to me one day and said he was ready to go for a spirit walk. And I set it up with Big Mike and it completely changed his life. I pulled the gun out of his mouth at one point because he had a bad alcohol problem. Not anymore. Now he just drinks recreational and has fun with it. But two words is what changed his life. I told him to go left.

I pulled the gun out of his mouth at one point because he had a bad alcohol problem. Not anymore.

In our ceremony, him and I are both Norse Pagan. He said everything to his right was just dark and cold and creepy, but everything to the left was Valhalla. It was a feast. It was everybody he loved, everybody he cared about. And I told him, go left. That’s what he needed to hear as something as simple as two words changes someone’s life.

That’s why I’m a big advocate of it. I’m down to help anybody and everybody that needs it. I always tell people, like, three or four days afterwards, you’re going to start getting these serendipity moments, where things just start connecting, and things you didn’t realize before.

A message to other veterans who are struggling

I would tell them, you’re not alone. And one of the things I’ve told people, it’s okay to not be okay. I was a scout sniper where I was told, unless you’re dying, you don’t go to sick call. If you’ve got a sore knee, you just suck it up and drive on. And that’s part of the reason why I’m 100 percent disabled through the VA now.

Because that’s what the Army, Marines, the Air Force, that’s what they condition your mind to do. And, when people think they’re alone, they’re not.

And, when people think they’re alone, they’re not.

I was always told going to sick call was a weakness. It’s not a weakness, it’s taking care of you. Because when you’re out, you’re out. The Army, the Marines, the Air Force, it doesn’t slow down.

You’re easily replaced. The Army didn’t slow down. They had someone to fill my shoes and take my spot. Maybe they were as good as me, maybe they were better, maybe they were worse. But they didn’t slow down.

Make a Donation

Your donation will help us publish more personal stories involving psychedelics to transform public opinion, reduce stigmas, and redefine wellness. It can also help self lives.
$
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Terms

Acceptance of any contribution, gift or grant is at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19. The Alone Covid 19 will not accept any gift unless it can be used or expended consistently with the purpose and mission of the Alone Covid 19.

No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.

The Alone Covid 19 will refrain from providing advice about the tax or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisers to assist them in the process of making their donation.

The Alone Covid 19 will accept donations of cash or publicly traded securities. Gifts of in-kind services will be accepted at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19.

Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind gifts, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting tax requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, the Alone Covid 19 will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.

The Alone Covid 19 will not compensate, whether through commissions, finders’ fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to the Alone Covid 19.

Show Terms Hide Terms

Donation Total: $100

Nicole shares their story about cluster headaches and psychedelics

Magic Mushrooms for Cluster Headache Relief || Nicole Foerster

, ,

Meet Nicole Foerster

Nicole Foerster is a health care professional, community organizer, and policy advisor. They were a big part of policy reform in Denver around plant medicine and are a part of Decriminalize Nature Denver. In our interview with Nicole, they discuss how they used magic mushrooms for cluster headache

After trying psilocybin for the first time, I didn’t have another headache for three years.
-Nicole

Watch: How can PSILOCYBIN help with Cluster Headaches? (3+ YEARS without an episode)

https://youtu.be/ySXYhqPC6zo

Summary of Nicole’s Experience with Psilocybin Mushrooms

Nicole shares their personal experience with cluster headaches, which began at age 16. After finding traditional pharmaceutical treatments only 30-40% effective, Nicole discovered online testimonies suggesting a 70% success rate with psilocybin.

Despite initial reluctance due to a conservative upbringing and anti-drug sentiments in her family, Nicole took a chance on psilocybin at age 18. This decision, supported by research from Cluster Busters, led to a significant improvement, with no headaches for three years!

What are Cluster Headaches?

Nicole:
Cluster headaches are often called suicide headaches because one in five people with them eventually try to commit suicide, and I’m part of that statistic. Three or four months out of the year, I was having them really severely.

After trying psilocybin for the first time, I didn’t have another headache for three years.

After trying psilocybin for the first time, I didn’t have another headache for three years.

Why did you decide to try psilocybin?

I personally came to use these medicines because I was diagnosed with cluster headaches when I was 16 years old and found that there was a lot of information online about people healing themselves with psilocybin.

A lot of the research shows that the pharmaceutical options to treat cluster headaches are only about 30 to 40% effective.

And anecdotal evidence shows that psilocybin and other psychedelics have about a 70% success rate and completely putting the disorder into remission.

Anecdotal evidence shows that psilocybin and other psychedelics have about a 70% success rate and completely putting the disorder into remission.

So it’s been personally transformative for me. I was looking online for really anything. Cluster headaches are often called suicide headaches because one in five people with them eventually try to commit suicide and I’m part of that statistic.

And I was really just looking online for anything I could find.

I was 16 years old and had never even smoked weed. I grew up in the South where alcohol abuse was really prevalent and had, or came from a family that was really anti drug. And so it was very like had a lot of stigma built up around anything illegal.

But found that this was really my only option for gaining control of my life back.

When I was 18, I tried psilocybin for the first time after reading a lot of people’s just personal testimonies online through an organization called Cluster Busters that had put together a lot of the first research on psilocybin.

How Often were you having cluster headaches?

When I was 18, I had these headaches at points daily but mostly maybe three or four months out of the year, I was having them really severely.

And after trying psilocybin for the first time, I didn’t have another headache for three years.

Make a Donation

Your donation will help us publish more personal stories involving psychedelics to transform public opinion, reduce stigmas, and redefine wellness. It can also help self lives.
$
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Terms

Acceptance of any contribution, gift or grant is at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19. The Alone Covid 19 will not accept any gift unless it can be used or expended consistently with the purpose and mission of the Alone Covid 19.

No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.

The Alone Covid 19 will refrain from providing advice about the tax or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisers to assist them in the process of making their donation.

The Alone Covid 19 will accept donations of cash or publicly traded securities. Gifts of in-kind services will be accepted at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19.

Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind gifts, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting tax requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, the Alone Covid 19 will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.

The Alone Covid 19 will not compensate, whether through commissions, finders’ fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to the Alone Covid 19.

Show Terms Hide Terms

Donation Total: $100

Deidra Normalize Psychedelics

ER Nurse’s Life-Changing Experience with Psilocybin Mushrooms || Deidra Dwyer

, ,

Summary of Experience

Deidra, a nurse from Santa Cruz, shares her experiences with psilocybin mushrooms which she began using three months ago after a friend’s recommendation.

Initially skeptical, Deidra found that the mushrooms allowed her to uncover deep-seated psychological issues that traditional therapy couldn’t access. She recounts a significant trip where suppressed childhood memories of witnessing animal suffering surfaced and were processed emotionally. Deidra believes that psychedelics have profoundly impacted her mental health, offering insights and healing that surpassed conventional talk therapy. She advocates for the decriminalization and normalization of psychedelics, criticizing the current war on drugs and its impact on society. Deidra emphasizes the importance of trusting nature, being open to alternative healing modalities, and integrating lessons from psychedelic experiences into daily life.

Watch: ER Nurse’s Life-Changing Experience with Psilocybin Mushrooms (Deidra’s testimonial)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/LPmMy5z0yyI?feature=oembed

Deidra’s history with psychedelics

I’m very new to psychedelics. About three months ago, I had a friend recommend psilocybin mushrooms to me, and so I did go up to Zide Door Church and become a member and got Loving Teacher mushrooms for my first experience, and I had some really good experiences.

I had happy, lighthearted, incredible experiences the first couple of times I used mushrooms. But it amazed me. I had a mushroom experience where in the three or four hours that I was on that trip, I had things come out that I didn’t realize were bothering me. I’ve been to a lot of therapy in my life and at different times.

I’m a nurse, so I’m aware of the medical world and mental health and that sort of thing. What the mushrooms brought out had never come out in my therapy sessions with anyone.

What the mushrooms brought out had never come out in my therapy sessions with anyone.

Deidra’s mushroom journey

They showed me that when I was little, I was with my dad who was a veterinarian. And from the time I was an infant until I was an adult, I was with him all the time. I was with him as his clinic. I helped him a lot. And I witnessed a lot and I didn’t forget any of these memories.

The mushrooms showed me these memories were bothering me and that I had experienced as a very young child, witnessing a lot of suffering and pain of animals, and I didn’t know what to do with it. Yeah, so really I had no idea. like frozen that in my subconscious. I think frozen it in my psyche. It was as if it was all there. I still had all the memories.

So in that time, I just saw myself as that little child witnessing lots of things happen to animals at my dad’s hands. Just things that they do in medicine and in farming. Things in documentaries, de-horning, lots of different types of veterinary medicine. I witnessed all of it and the animals not getting anesthesia and they’re in pain.

And I’m very empathetic and very sensitive to energy and always have been and I’m just standing there watching this from the time I was tiny.

The mushrooms helped me access things that were almost locked up in the basement of my psyche or the attic of my psyche that I didn’t even know were there, didn’t even know were bothering me.

One of the biggest changes I’ve seen since that trip is I don’t wanna die anymore. I had a whole year where I really just didn’t want to live, and not that I was.

One of the biggest changes I’ve seen since that trip is I don’t wanna die anymore.

As an ER nurse, what would you share with others about psychedelics?

I’ve been front lines helping people in mental health crisis and we throw a lot of medications at them. We sedate them, we restrain them chemically and physically and then we put them on drugs.

They keep having to go back to that don’t necessarily help. So I would love for this to be completely legalized and normalized everywhere. It’s plants. It’s plants.

I would love for it to just be accessible to everyone. And not gate kept. And not illegal.

I’m really angry at our American system and the whole war on drugs. It’s really been a war on people. It’s mostly a war on people of color and certain communities.

I’m really angry at our American system and the whole war on drugs.

Make a Donation

Your donation will help us publish more personal stories involving psychedelics to transform public opinion, reduce stigmas, and redefine wellness. It can also help self lives.
$
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Terms

Acceptance of any contribution, gift or grant is at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19. The Alone Covid 19 will not accept any gift unless it can be used or expended consistently with the purpose and mission of the Alone Covid 19.

No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.

The Alone Covid 19 will refrain from providing advice about the tax or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisers to assist them in the process of making their donation.

The Alone Covid 19 will accept donations of cash or publicly traded securities. Gifts of in-kind services will be accepted at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19.

Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind gifts, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting tax requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, the Alone Covid 19 will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.

The Alone Covid 19 will not compensate, whether through commissions, finders’ fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to the Alone Covid 19.

Show Terms Hide Terms

Donation Total: $100

Adrienne shares her story on Normalize Psychedelics

Psychedelics Helped Triathlete In Her 40s Rediscover Marriage

, , , ,

Summary of Adrienne’s Experience

Adrienne Smith, a yoga studio owner and former triathlete, shares her transformative experiences with psychedelics. She delves into how her perspective on life and relationships changed after rowing across the Pacific Ocean and subsequent experiences with psilocybin and MDMA. She focuses on how psychedelics helped her rediscover marriage and improve the overall environment of her household.

Adrienne discusses the impact of psychedelics on her marriage, personal growth, and the importance of normalizing these substances for mental and emotional healing. She highlights the significance of creating intentional downtime, feeling emotions deeply, and how these practices have enhanced her connection with herself and others. Adrienne advocates for the responsible use of psychedelics.

Adrienne is the owner of Power Of Your Om Yoga studio in Santa Barbara, California.

Normalizing psychedelics is important because we’re having conversations about so many other things and methods of healing and this one should be included. If something that occurs in nature can help, in my opinion, heal our entire planet. Why aren’t we using it?
-Adrienne

Watch: Triathlete Shares How MDMA Revived Her Marriage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4nCDu5uaps&t=43s

 

There is no amount of therapy that could have got us to this point. All the walls, the years of resentment, like, just issues and problems and disconnection that was present just dropped in an instant

Describe your first MDMA experience?

We cleared our schedule. My daughter was with my sister and we took some MDMA and went to the beach. And it was fascinating because it took quite a while to feel anything. And I was like, is anything happening?

And we’re laying there and my head’s up like the side of the ocean. My feet are facing shore where my husband and I are kind of facing each other. And he’s sitting in this chair and I asked him, I had my hand on my heart and I’m just laying there. We’re listening to music. And I said, how are you feeling?

And he’s like, nothing. I knew this would happen. And I said to him, I go, well, interestingly, I said, I’ve never seen you sit still for so long. And, classically people think of MDMA as like dance vibes. I had no expectations, really didn’t really do any research. I just trusted my friend.

And 10 minutes later, we’re laying down next to each other. And I said to him. There is no amount of therapy that could have got us to this point. All the walls, the years of resentment, like, just issues and problems and disconnection that was present just dropped in an instant and I mean, we had gone to therapists.

We were trying everything, but we couldn’t let go of stuff that was in the way. So no matter what kind of talk therapy or tools or skills or books that we were reading just like didn’t get through to us, like actually. feeling.

If I look back now, it’s like I felt whole and complete at that moment. And there was nothing else that I needed to do in order to feel that way. Like it was already present. And then he simultaneously having the same personal experience. And then we’re experiencing that together. And that was just the beginning of a completely new relationship, like what I now term is like, this is the real us.

that was just the beginning of a completely new relationship, like what I now term is, this is the real us.

The other way that we operate is just, When we get into our default patterns of operating so what started to shift from that day was the ability to go back and connect to each other to connect to that moment. And that’s just shifted the whole entire tone and energy of our house, even when I’m helping my daughter put her clothes on for school and I’m starting to get feeling having that feeling of, I don’t have enough time. She’s going to be late. We’re rushing. I’m able to really quickly and I know these are certain skills that we can learn just in a meditation practice and a yoga practice where you take a deep breath.

But there’s like an innate feeling that is remembered in the body, I can tap into instantly because of the experiences that I’ve had on psychedelics

Its just shifted the whole entire tone and energy of our house

How have psychedelics helped you as an athlete?

They’ve helped me feel my feelings and I’ve been an athlete since I was four. I’m 44 now, never in my wildest dreams thought that this would be a conversation that I would be having. Even one year ago today, I never could have even forecasted being interviewed for a normalizing psychedelics interview.

I did triathlon for a long time and I kept signing up for races. Because it was just what I was used to it was what I was good at and it’s what I got acknowledged for. The ego felt so good about that.

When I stopped doing it because I was like, I don’t like it anymore But I don’t have anything else to fill the space I started to realize that in a way just existing and giving myself this downtime has allowed me to see like, oh my god I like music.

I love dancing. I like going to concerts. I don’t even know how this came to be something that I practiced, but I would take a 500 milligrams or a gram of mushrooms and I would go on a walk just outside of my house, take maybe like 45 minutes to an hour, and then I would come home, I’d put in headphones, and I’d turn on a sound healing.

I would lay on my floor and just feel. And that would be the time of like the most intense sensory experience. Sound was louder. I could feel my body more. I would always put something over my eyes because I always noticed that during that time I do want to go internal and feel what’s happening.

Then all of a sudden, I just gave myself intentional downtime, different from watching movies and Netflix and scrolling on Instagram downtime. I like to call that, like, creative time. And, and then all of a sudden, that creation of space gives me ideas later. Like, the next day, I’m listening to people differently.

I’m able to listen. I think truly being able to identify that I’m feeling a physical sensation that I can then tie to feeling overwhelmed. So it’s like, oh, I’m feeling a tightness in my chest or my stomach is all weird.

And I can check and be like, yeah, I am feeling a little overwhelmed and overworked and irritated. And then as a result, I can look at my schedule for what I have to do over the course of a day and then prioritize what’s actually important today that I have to get done.

Watch: Triathlete on Psilocybin “It helped me FEEL my feelings”

Make a Donation

Your donation will help us publish more personal stories involving psychedelics to transform public opinion, reduce stigmas, and redefine wellness. It can also help self lives.
$
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Terms

Acceptance of any contribution, gift or grant is at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19. The Alone Covid 19 will not accept any gift unless it can be used or expended consistently with the purpose and mission of the Alone Covid 19.

No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.

The Alone Covid 19 will refrain from providing advice about the tax or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisers to assist them in the process of making their donation.

The Alone Covid 19 will accept donations of cash or publicly traded securities. Gifts of in-kind services will be accepted at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19.

Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind gifts, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting tax requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, the Alone Covid 19 will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.

The Alone Covid 19 will not compensate, whether through commissions, finders’ fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to the Alone Covid 19.

Show Terms Hide Terms

Donation Total: $100

Jennifer-Rotermund-Stacking-Cannabis-Psilocybin-full-interview

Stacking Cannabis & Psilocybin || Jennifer Rotermund

, ,

Integration Coaching

Jennifer Rotermund is a psychedelic integration coach. In this interview we discuss the healing properties of cannabis and how to stack it with psilocybin for additional benefits

Jennifer Rotermund is an Entheogenic Integration & Addiction Recovery Coach, a Cannabis Health & Wellness Coach and a Shamanic Practitioner/Sacred Ceremonialist. Jennifer operates a coaching business called Gaiaentheos https://gaiaentheos.com/

Cannabis is an amazing medicine. We have this incredible endocannabinoid system in our body that we’ve only known about in science for about 25 or 30 years.

Recap of our interview with Jennifer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyJSmCF4Im0

Watch the full interview with Jennifer Rotermund

https://vimeo.com/879582423

What do you do as a cannabis health and wellness coach?

Jennifer: There’s a lot to cannabis, It’s very nuanced. A lot of people, especially in a legal state like this, it’s easy to obtain cannabis and a lot of people just jump right in. They go to a dispensary, they just buy some product, try things and have the experience without knowing what they’re really taking.

It’s so easy to do and I’m glad I’m glad we at least have access. I’d rather that than not. But really,there’s a large variety of different cannabinoids, different Terpenes And each one of those in different combinations creates different medicine. And so with cannabis, we say start low and go slow.

I encourage people to be willing to give it some time to slowly move through different types, even all the ingestion methods available today. So there’s so much variety available with the medicine. And so it’s nuanced and it takes some time to figure out.

Can you microdose cannabis?

Jennifer: Yes, absolutely. I often hear from people. ‘Yeah, I tried some and I got way too high. I got way too paranoid and so I can’t do it. It’s just not my medicine.’

And when I hear that, I know that that means that they simply had too much THC for their body, for their system.

We have this incredible endocannabinoid system in our body that we’ve only known about for about 25 or 30 years. And that endocannabinoid system is a master controller and it actually we now know that it regulates just about every other system in the body.

Cannabis so potent. It’s so easy to take too much. And often people do. And so starting with really small doses is important. I work with people to start really low, start low and go slow as they say in the field. Somewhere between 2 to 5 milligrams.

I often start with CBD, which is incredibly healing, and it has most of the same properties as THC. Starting with like 2 to 5 milligrams of CBD and addressing whatever it is that someone has come to me to talk about whether it’s sleep or mood stabilization or something else. You can start really small and then slowly calibrate up from there and there’s no need to automatically go right into getting high. There’s just no need.

Can you stack psilocybin mushrooms with cannabis?

Jennifer: It absolutely is possible. Actually, the science has just come around to this and caught up to this. Our endocannabinoid system, which is the system that cannabis connects with, it’s a master regulator in our body. That endocannabinoid system actually beautifully harmonizes with our serotonin system. Serotonin is what is released when we take magic mushrooms or psilocybin and it’s the one neurotransmitter that works throughout our entire body.

Serotonin is at the basis of our grounded contentment and joy. It is often what is dysregulated when people are clinically depressed or anxious. Psilocybin has a healing realigning effect on the serotonin system.

Science beautifully and wonderfully has found that cannabis stacked or combined with psilocybin activates both the endocannabinoid system and the serotonin system in the body.

And the two of those already are working to harmonize with one another. And these medicines just actively support that.

It helps with mood stabilization. So depression can be supported for people and healed on some level. And just feeling really good often. And sleep comes right along with that. With that ability to to just feel calm and grounded and naturally really good during your day allows for better sleep.

There’s a lot of research being done around headache disorders and actually a lot of breakthroughs around the most serious headache disorders, migraines and cluster headaches are being directly impacted and in some cases completely eliminated for people.

I tend to work with people around the microdosing space so we’re looking at a 10th to a 20th of a journey dose.

We’re talking anywhere from 50 milligrams to maybe 500 milligrams or psilocybin. And in that 2 to 5 mg range for cannabis.

How do you approach integration with these medicines?

Jennifer: Integration is kind of a buzzword these days in the psychedelic field and for good reason. It’s really important taking this material or these insights or spiritual developments or clarity of mind, or whatever it is that people are receiving from these medicines. We want them to not just be a one time experience while you’re on the medicine. We want you to have this become part of who you are forever. and integration is that process.

Basically integration is making something whole. That’s one definition or interweaving something new that you’ve learned from new experience with knowledge you already have.

One way for integration is to reflect internally and put language to the experience you’re having, actually giving it language. And one really great way to do that is to circle around with other people in a safe and inclusive space and have the opportunity to share your experience. For some people it’s the first time they’re doing that. Putting language to the experience is that first critical step with integration, because once you’ve given it language, it becomes more real for you. And from there you can take actions.

Once you take an action, any action, even a small action, that is the thing that weaves this experience into your life long term. But you have to be able to language it first.

Can you talk about addiction, recovery and plant medicine?

Jennifer: These medicines have this way of cutting right through or moving beautifully, gracefully, right through all the layers of life. All the layers we build up: the calluses, the wounds that create these layers of traumas we’ve had that create layers around who we really are and coping mechanisms and then addictive behaviors.

And these medicines have this way of moving right through all of those layers, getting right to the true self and giving space for that true self.

They don’t do the work for you. There’s still work to be done in addiction recovery. They’re still the work, the work of recovery to do. However, these medicines are being found to make that work just a little easier.

By recovering your true self. And for some of us in the recovery field, that might be the first time in your life that you’re experiencing your true self, your divine self, that spark that you dream about knowing in yourself that you feel like is in there somewhere, but is maybe so covered up with all of the wounds and traumas of life that you have not felt that in a long time, or maybe not in a time that you remember.

With safe use of these medicines and with recovery support, people are finding that it just makes that healing path of recovery so much easier. So again, it doesn’t do the work for you, but it just makes the work you need to do easier.

Support The Normalize Psychedelics Project

It’s our mission to create a platform for healing testimonials involving psychedelics to help shift the public narrative in a meaningful way. If this content has given you value, please consider supporting us.

  1. Share these videos and other healing testimonials with your friends and family
  2. Subscribe to our YouTube and Instagram channels
  3. Consider becoming a sponsor











$

Select Payment Method



Personal Info




Terms

Acceptance of any contribution, gift or grant is at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19. The Alone Covid 19 will not accept any gift unless it can be used or expended consistently with the purpose and mission of the Alone Covid 19.

No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.

The Alone Covid 19 will refrain from providing advice about the tax or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisers to assist them in the process of making their donation.

The Alone Covid 19 will accept donations of cash or publicly traded securities. Gifts of in-kind services will be accepted at the discretion of the Alone Covid 19.

Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind gifts, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting tax requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by Alone Covid 19.

The Alone Covid 19 will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, the Alone Covid 19 will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.

The Alone Covid 19 will not compensate, whether through commissions, finders’ fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to the Alone Covid 19.

Show Terms
Hide Terms


Donation Total:
$100





Load More