With a new year comes new ideas, habits, and goals. Many strive for transformation and adaptation to life’s ever-flowing change. In order to break through the cocoon and become the acclaimed butterfly we could be, a journey to self-consciousness and self-mastery are obligatory. Usually, year after year individuals have turned to exercise, diets, new hobbies and goal setting to evolve and grow. More recently, more and more have used psychedelics as a tool to unlock their minds and potentials. So, can a psychedelic experience help improve this new year so more can better understand their innate power to transform into healthier and stronger versions of themselves? It’s likely.
Can A Psychedelic Experience Improve Quality of Life?
Psychedelics are powerful — there’s little debate around that. These magical substances have the ability to give us emotional awareness, understand our inner beings, drive, motivations, and habits. Psychedelic experiences have led plenty of people to be fully present with their emotions and to reflect on their pasts, present, and futures. The emotions that rise to the surface help us better understand what needs to change in order for us to thrive and become even healthier versions of ourselves.
In fact, through psychedelics (and mediation), brain activity is significantly lower, allowing us to become conscious of our negative thought patterns. These thought patterns often cause us to enact harmful habits such as overdrinking, unnecessary substance use, indulging in unhealthy foods, and any other form of escapism. Becoming conscious of what needs to change can be the benefactor of success, both in our internal and external lives. With every new year, comes reflection on previous years to better understand what needs to change and fine-tune ourselves to show up stronger this year.
With the right setting, people, and intentions, psychedelics have the potential to lead you into the year with a bang. Synthesis, a transformation wellness retreat, says, “One indication that psychedelics have the potential to help improve health behaviors is that, well… they often do. For example, in a US survey of 343 people who claimed to have stopped or reduced alcohol consumption after a psychedelic experience, 63% of the sample also endorsed ‘improved diet,’ and 55% reported ‘increased exercise’ as a result of their psychedelic experience.”
Understanding Our Role
All of us play a significant role in other people’s lives. We are the mother, the father, the sister, and friend, all through these intrinsic relationships we’ve developed our sense of self, and of course, our ego. We’ve attained certain perspectives based on our environment, and through the journey with both external and internal experiences came together personality, goals, fears, patterns, our education, and so much more. Every single exposition, of everything and anything, gave us some sense of purpose, whether that was through our hobbies, the love we’ve felt, the pain, and even our failures. And without any of it, what are we?
What can happen if everything we thought we were, is gone? The walls we put up to protect ourselves, or our ego diminishes, and it feels as if we are naked. Psychedelics have the possibility to do that. Shed every inch of who we thought we were — many call this ego death. The question is just another rabbit hole, but one thing that is for certain, is beneath all of our layers there is something so profound and mystical that leaves many speechless: the connection to our soul.
This connection and understanding can be the reason why these psychedelic experiences are so overpowering. They connect us in ways that we couldn’t have even imagined before. “Experiencing ego death is life-changing, intense, and sometimes terrifying, but it can also lead you to your soul’s nature and allow you to live a life in harmony with your deepest truth,” said Sarah Regan, spirituality writer for MindBodyGreen. “So whether you’re in the throes of your own ego death right now, or are just getting started, in the words of Kaiser, ‘There is no need to worry—the real you is emerging.'”
Healing Effects of Psychedelics
The healing effects of psychedelics are a paradigm shift in western medicine, and possibly, the future of psychiatry. With consistent research, study after study has proven several beneficial effects on mental health.
“In October, the Food and Drug Administration took the extraordinary step of granting psilocybin therapy for depression a “breakthrough therapy” designation. That means the treatment has demonstrated such potential that the FDA has decided to expedite its development and review process. It’s a sign of how far the research and the public perception of psychedelics have come.”, Vox.
Many people, even after using psychedelics recreationally, have felt transformed in various ways, such as knowing deeper aspects of themselves, improved mood, better focus, and stronger relationships. Though psychedelic retreats are still illegal within the US, many guides have found underground locations to host these ceremonies, particularly in trendy locations such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. During these psychedelic experiences, the effects last anywhere between 4-6 hours, yet the after-effects and healing can last months, if not years.
Benefits of Psychedelics
Psychedelics are becoming progressively popular for the potential it holds to treat and decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety. Their benefits overshadow the dangers of some pharmaceuticals in western medicine, and studies have shown that through one or two psychedelic therapy sessions, many participants let go of their negative thought patterns and had the ability to break through some lifelong battles of severe self-judgment. The experience lasted only 2-6 hours, and its effects have the potential to last a lifetime as people felt less stressed, broke through bad habits, and connected more with their loved ones.
What do you think about psychedelics to improve 2022? If you have any input on the matter, let us know in a comment below. We want to hear from you!
Resources:
–https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/can_a_psychedelic_experience_improve_your_life
–https://observatory.synthesisretreat.com/can-psychedelics-improve-healthy-habits
