July 25,2024

Finding Healing Through Psychedelic Therapy in Mexico

Olivia has struggled with depression and forming romantic attachments since she was sexually assaulted. Traditional counseling and medication provided little relief. In September 2023, seeking alternative treatment, she traveled to Mexico to join a retreat that uses 5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic compound, for therapy. Initially terrified, Olivia found the experience transformative, describing it as an "opening" that allowed her body to "feel what it needed to feel to start processing" her trauma. She plans to return to Mexico for further psychedelic therapy this year.

Indigenous people across Latin America have used naturally occurring psychedelics for centuries, leading to their legal and accessible status in the region, unlike the United States where they are banned. Interest in therapeutic psychedelics grew after Life magazine published an article in 1957 by Gordon Wasson, an amateur botanist, about his experience with magic mushrooms in Mexico. This drew hippies and rockstars to the region. Today, an increasing number of people like Olivia are seeking psychedelics for therapeutic rather than recreational use. This category includes well-known substances like LSD, and others such as 5-MeO-DMT (found in certain toads and plants), psilocybin (from mushrooms), mescaline (from cacti), and DMT (found in ayahuasca, a brew made from a South American vine).