Welcome to the 51st episode of the Back to Human Podcast.

In this deeply human and introspective conversation, I sit down with Julian Bermudez—a psychedelic integration guide whose work centers around emotional healing and reconnecting with our authentic selves.

Julian shares how his own upbringing and personal struggles led him to explore the power of psychedelics as a means of true emotional integration—not escape. Together, we unpack the emotional imprints of childhood trauma, addictive patterns, and how modern busyness can mask our deepest pain.

In this episode we dive into:

• ​ Julian’s journey into psychedelic therapies and the events that shaped his path
• ​ The messages we internalize from childhood, including the cost of “crying it out”
• ​ How we often trade one addiction for another—from destruction to obsession
• ​ The subtle ways we sacrifice authenticity for attachment—and why that matters
• ​ Why resisting emotion gives it more control over us
• ​ What makes an experience “bad” during a psychedelic session
• ​ The value of having a guide: holding space vs. controlling outcomes
• ​ Success as a front—what are we really chasing? Respect? Control? Worth?
• ​ How busyness can be a distraction from distress
• ​ The unintended messages we send our children when we’re always “busy”
• ​ Why we’re so driven to escape discomfort—and how psychedelics disrupt that pattern
• ​ My personal experience with food addiction and where it really came from
• ​ The importance of showing up for your family with presence
• ​ Understanding addiction as short-term relief with long-term harm
• ​ How your environment shapes your behavior, often unconsciously
• ​ The potential to misuse plant medicine—and bypass the real work
• ​ Our disconnection from nature, each other, and ourselves
• ​ What are the core human emotions?
• ​ Tools for managing emotion: not suppressing, but accepting
• ​ How acknowledging a child’s emotion often diffuses its intensity
• ​ The power of painful emotions as portals for growth and reconnection
• ​ How “negative” emotions can bring us back to the present
• ​ The connection between repressed emotion and physical pain

This episode is a compassionate exploration of the emotional landscapes we often avoid—and how the right tools, perspectives, and conversations can help us come back to ourselves and show up for those we love.

Enjoy the conversation, and if it resonates with you, share it with someone who’s doing the inner work.