Drea Bachman has experienced mental health challenges for most of her life. She tried different treatments for her depression, including psilocybin microdosing and electroconvulsive therapy, but didn't find relief. In addition to experiencing depression, Drea has also experienced disapproval and hurtful comments from others because she is a transgender woman.

At one point, Drea spoke to her psychiatrist about the possibility of using lithium to treat her depression. Her psychiatrist recommended trying ketamine infusions first. Under the influence of ketamine, Drea experienced a beam of energy that she could feel clearing things in her head. It felt like something changed in her brain and the thoughts that used to cause her pain weren't causing pain anymore. Ketamine has given Drea relief from depression and given her space to find purpose and pursue things she’s passionate about in life. 

The purpose of the podcast is to entertain and educate. Please consult a physician and your local laws before trying anything mentioned in this episode. Please also understand that you may not hold us liable for relying on any information contained in the podcast or on our website.

Jillian Scheel decided to write her thesis for her Human Resources degree on the cannabis legalization movement back in 2016 while attending school in Idaho. As part of the research for her thesis, she explored the business side of the cannabis industry and made her first legal purchase of cannabis, an edible cookie that resulted in a high lasting nearly 24 hours. Jillian also discusses her experience as a Human Resources professional in the cannabis industry, and how the dreamlike states of her ketamine treatments have improved her mental health.

The purpose of the podcast is to entertain and educate. Please consult a physician and your local laws before trying anything mentioned in this episode. Please also understand that you may not hold us liable for relying on any information contained in the podcast or on our website.

Jennifer Janvier's friend, an experienced mushroom grower, offered her some mushrooms during the pandemic. Jenny took a large dose and interacted with a younger version of herself. Jenny's inner child told her she could do whatever she wanted in life. That experience set in motion a period of shadow work for Jenny in which she navigated through a number of difficult experiences from her childhood. Eventually, Jenny tried ketamine treatments for depression and found that those experiences also surfaced childhood trauma. In one ketamine experience, Jenny time-traveled back to a difficult memory from her youth and spoke with her father, who transformed into a child himself and conversed with her. 

The purpose of the podcast is to entertain and educate. Please consult a physician and your local laws before trying anything mentioned in this episode. Please also understand that you may not hold us liable for relying on any information contained in the podcast or on our website.

Bernard Kold has had a number of experiences with psychedelics and other substances. On his first day at college, he tried LSD and had a number of positive experiences. He also tried mushrooms, but after three successive bad trips he set aside mushrooms. He then took up heroin, resulting in addiction for several years. Years later, after healing from heart surgery, Bernard began experiencing serious depression. His wife and a physician friend suggested he try ketamine to treat his depression. Bernard shares some of his ketamine experiences, including one in which he felt as if he had died and entered something similar to the Bardo, spoken of in The Tibetan Book of the Dead. He had the feeling he was a God particle and that life is part of a simulation. 

The purpose of the podcast is to entertain and educate. Please consult a physician and your local laws before trying anything mentioned in this episode. Please also understand that you may not hold us liable for relying on any information contained in the podcast or on our website.

Links:

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

Be Here Now
A book by Ram Dass

Rob High's first psychedelic experience was with a friend in high school. He had a great time with his friend but realized the experience had some added benefits. LSD had helped him work through his parent's divorce that had occurred a few years before. Later in life, Rob became addicted to pain pills and had an unintentional overdose that caused him to flatline. His son found him and fortunately he was revived by emergency responders. Rob also describes a recent psychedelic experience in which he and a friend used ecstasy, LSD, and ketamine in one day. After that experience, he decided he was probably done with psychedelics but left the door cracked a little and said he may reconsider down the road.

The purpose of the podcast is to entertain and educate. Please consult a physician and your local laws before trying anything mentioned in this episode. Please also understand that you may not hold us liable for relying on any information contained in the podcast or on our website.

Ed Prideaux became interested in psychedelics as a teen when he came across news about a Johns Hopkins study indicating psychedelic experiences were among the most meaningful experiences of study participants' lives. Ed also became interested in the music, culture, imagery, and use of psychedelics during the 1960s.

Ed's story serves as a cautionary tale for anyone interested in psychedelics. As he started using psychedelics, he began experiencing anxiety and Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder or HPPD. Ed describes some of his trips and subsequent experiences with HPPD, including one in which the hiring manager at a job he interviewed for was saturated with psychedelic visuals and coated in a bright blue aura. Ed's experiences highlight the fact that, like most decisions in life, choosing to use psychedelics has risks that should be studied and understood.

The purpose of the podcast is to entertain and educate. Please consult a physician and your local laws before trying anything mentioned in this episode. Please also understand that you may not hold us liable for relying on any information contained in the podcast or on our website.

Links:

Ed's Email
[email protected]

Perception Foundation
A non-profit focused on ending the stigma, low awareness, poor treatments, and ill-understanding associated with Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder

Caroline Rabelo experienced feelings of depression and suicidal thoughts since she was a child. At the age of 13, Caroline convinced her parents to let her try medication for depression. Despite trying different medications, none of the prescriptions had lasting positive results and at age 16, Caroline attempted suicide. In 2017, Caroline signed up for a research study about familial depression. Her father also experienced depression and ended his life. The study gave Caroline access to different treatments and she chose to participate in ketamine therapy. Caroline discusses her experience with ketamine and describes how the treatments have given her breathing room from the constant negative self-talk she regularly experienced. While it hasn't cured her of depression, it has allowed her to experience feelings of happiness and accomplishment in life. 

The purpose of the podcast is to entertain and educate. Please consult a physician and your local laws before trying anything mentioned in this episode. Please also understand that you may not hold us liable for relying on any information contained in the podcast or on our website.

Rae Specter grew up in a home where she was physically, sexually, and emotionally abused. Despite her challenging childhood, Rae has a successful career as a nurse. At the height of the COVID pandemic, Rae was working with a patient who coded. Unexpectedly, many of her own traumas surfaced when her patient died, leaving her emotionally raw, depressed, and unable to work. Rae recently began ketamine treatments and describes how in one of her sessions, the universe communicated to her that we all belong and are of value.

The purpose of the podcast is to entertain and educate. Please consult a physician and your local laws before trying anything mentioned in this episode. Please also understand that you may not hold us liable for relying on any information contained in the podcast or on our website.

Links:

Adverse Childhood Experiences Quiz

Courtney McClure spent her childhood and adolescence as a dedicated athlete in the sport of figure skating. In university, she studied public health education and became employed as manager at a health food store after graduating. She often heard customers talking about the incredible health benefits they were experiencing from different mushrooms and supplements sold at the store. Around that time, Courtney began using cannabis and found that it help her let go of control and work through an eating disorder she developed during her time as a figure skater.

At one point, Courtney agreed to buy some "funky stuff" as her cannabis dealer described it, only to find that he was referring to fungi, not funky stuff. This eventually led to her first psilocybin experience with her roommate and another girl. That experience was great until one of the other girls got stuck in a loop. Courtney describes another psilocybin experience that didn't go so well, where she urinated on the floor and furniture at her then-boyfriend and now husband's house. The next day he was upset and she was embarrassed. Lastly, Courtney describes a women's psilocybin session she participated in where she was transported to a different era of time with people that felt familiar to her. It was in this realm that she had a very traumatic experience that taught her valuable lessons.

Courtney and her husband Eric founded a psilocybin church called Psanctuary and co-host a podcast called Psilocybin Says.

The purpose of the podcast is to entertain and educate. Please consult a physician and your local laws before trying anything mentioned in this podcast. Please also understand that you may not hold us liable for relying on any information contained in the podcast or on our website.

Links:

Psanctuary
Psanctuary is a non-denominational faith-based community that centers around the sacrament of sacred psilocybin-containing mushrooms for personal, communal, and global healing.

Psilocybin Says
A podcast co-hosted by Courtney McClure and Eric Osborne discussing the use of psilocybin for self-development.

Sam Hale returns to the podcast to discuss altered states of consciousness, the writer's journey, and mental health. In episode #002, Sam described some of his experiences with psychedelic substances and living with bipolar type II. After a difficult LSD experience, he decided it was best for him to stay away from psychedelic substances. I got to wondering what it's like for Sam to enter other realms as a writer in the story he's working on and asked him to share what that experience is like. Sam describes how when he's writing, it feels like he ceases to exist, and his fingers transcribe the thoughts, emotions, and lives of the characters in his book via his keyboard.

The purpose of the podcast is to entertain and educate. Please consult a physician and your local laws before trying anything mentioned in this podcast. Please also understand that you may not hold us liable for relying on any information contained in the podcast or on our website.

Links:

Twitter: @SamHaleYeah

Patreon: patreon.com/samhaleyeah (Receive updates on Sam's novel)

Link Tree: linktr.ee/samhaleyeah

Email: [email protected]

The War of Art by Stevem Pressfield

The Artist's Journey by Steven Pressfield

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamotte