Finding Solid Ground: How Psychedelic Journeys Can Support PTSD Recovery
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
aka… PTSD. It's a heavy term, isn't it? And if you're reading this, chances are you understand its weight firsthand, or you care about someone who does.
Traditional paths to healing, while valuable and beautiful in their own right, don't always fully address the physiological changes that PTSD presents.
That's why we're exploring something different, something that's showing real promise: psychedelic-assisted therapy.
As a psychedelic assisted therapy provider, I am definitely biased towards the infinite power that psychedelics hold. I do believe psilocybin has and will continue to change the world for the better.
As I began my work as a grief and trauma therapist around 2017, I started hearing about psychedelics from trusted peers.
In my personal journey towards understanding myself and finding peace, psychedelics have always had a role. Now, I can’t imagine my personal or professional life without psychedelics, specifically psilocybin.
Back to PTSD - we know it isn't just a collection of symptoms; it's a profound disruption to our sense of safety, our ability to connect, and our overall well-being.
The flashbacks, the hypervigilance, the emotional numbness – it's like living with a constant echo of trauma. And sometimes, the conventional tools we have feel a bit…lacking.
Understanding the Complexities of PTSD
Let's be honest, talking about trauma isn’t always the most effective path towads. It requires using your logical/smart brain, and trauma really lives in the body, the soul, the heart, and the psyche.
Traditional therapies, like CBT and prolonged exposure, can run the risk of asking the wrong questions and the session can turn re-traumatizing.
Opening up and poking at traumatic material without the proper support isn’t helpful.
Your grief and trauma therapist REALLY SHOULD be trained in interventions that work with the body and soul, not just he brain.
And, while medications can help, they're not a one-size-fits-all solution. We're looking for something that goes deeper, something that can help you truly heal.
The Potential for Transformation: Psychedelics and PTSD
Here's where psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA come into the conversation. Research is showing us thatthese substances can create a unique window for healing. This is called the opening of the critical window.
It's not about escaping; it's about facing, processing, and ultimately, integrating your experiences in a way that allows you to move forward.
How These Experiences Can Offer Support:
Creating a Safe Space for Emotional Processing: Imagine having a space where you can gently explore those difficult memories, without being overwhelmed by fear. Psychedelics can help create that space, allowing you to process emotions that have been locked away.
Encouraging Neural Flexibility: Our brains are amazing, but trauma can create rigid patterns. Psychedelics seem to encourage neuroplasticity, essentially helping your brain create new, healthier pathways. It’s like rewiring the circuits that have been stuck.
Fostering Self-Compassion and Understanding: PTSD can often lead to self-blame and shame. These experiences can help you cultivate a deeper sense of self-compassion, recognizing that you've endured something incredibly challenging, and you deserve healing.
Reducing the Grip of Fear: Those intense fear responses that come with PTSD? Psychedelics can help modulate the amygdala, the part of your brain that triggers fear. This can help you feel less reactive and more in control.
Building a Strong Therapeutic Connection: The relationship between you and your therapist is crucial. Psychedelic-assisted therapy often strengthens this bond, creating a foundation of trust that supports your healing journey.
MDMA and Psilocybin: Specific Paths to Healing
MDMA-assisted therapy, for instance, has shown remarkable results. It can create a sense of openness and connection, making it easier to engage in therapy and process those difficult experiences.
Psilocybin holds significant promise in PTSD recovery due to its ability to disrupt the rigid thought patterns that trauma often solidifies.
By temporarily altering brain activity, it creates a unique window where individuals can observe their traumatic experiences from a detached perspective. This shift reduces the emotional intensity typically associated with those memories, allowing for a more objective view and breaking the cycle of being trapped within the trauma's narrative.
Psilocybin facilitates the surfacing of deeply ingrained, often negative, beliefs and emotional layers. It allows you to lovingly examine these beliefs, fostering self-compassion and understanding. Metaphorical and symbolic insights gained during the experience can provide personalized, profound understanding of the trauma's impact, helping to reframe how it's perceived.
Psilocybin can help you to see your trauma from a different angle, offering a potential integration of the senes. This recalibrates your relationship with the trauma(s) and brings your Self into the process.
The Importance of Guided Support
It can be a beautiful thing to work recreationally with psilocybin or other psychedelics. This is not advice or recommendation in any ways shape or form!
Psychedelic-assisted therapy is a structured, therapeutic process. It's about having a trained professional guide you, support you, and help you integrate your experiences.
It's about creating a safe container for deep healing. PAT is not “better” than recreational experiences - it’s just different.
Navigating the Path Forward: Research and Considerations
We're still learning about the full potential of these therapies. Research is ongoing, and it's important to approach this with a sense of informed curiosity.
Ethical considerations are critical. We need to be mindful of potential risks and ensure these therapies are used responsibly.
Facilitators, therapists, guides, whatever you want to call them, need to be trained rigorously and have personal psychedelic experiences.
As a white woman born and raised in the US with no ancestral ties to psychedelic healing work, you will never catch me calling myself a shaman or any other culturally appropriating title. Just no.
In Conclusion
This blog post explores the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy, specifically focusing on psilocybin's potential to aid in PTSD recovery.
We’ve discusseed how psilocybin can disrupt rigid thought patterns, facilitate detached perspectives on trauma, and uncover underlying beliefs, offering you a chance to reframe your experiences and find a path towards healing.
If the potential of psilocybin-assisted therapy resonates with you, or if you're simply curious to learn more, please send me a message.
A Gentle Reminder
Healing from PTSD is a deeply personal journey, and exploring every avenue for support is a courageous step.
Give me a call today, and let's have a confidential conversation. We can discuss your individual needs, explore whether this approach might be a good fit, and answer any questions you may have.
Remember, healing is a process, not a destination. It takes time, patience, and the right support system. While psilocybin may be a powerful tool, it's just one part of a comprehensive approach to well-being. Creating a system that works for you full of noursing practices and love is vital. No idea what that means?
Let’s chat - self confidence is possible.
You are not alone, and there is hope. Together, we can explore paths to healing and help you reclaim your happiness.
