On the use of Ayahuasca and psychedelics in recovery

An old take on an exploding topic

Dear reader —

This was something I wrote in 2017 — six years ago and four years into my recovery.

Reading it today (August 7, 2023) is both inspiring and humbling. Inspiring because the me back then was so certain of some things (she would never relapse, she would never change her mind about psychedelics, she would always feel this strongly, she felt deeply responsible to her readers and community, she felt like her sobriety was what kept other people sober).

Humbling because wow, how certain we can be about things we later feel entirely different about.

I’m leaving it mostly in tact. I clean up some old essays where necessary for readability, remove potentially harmful language/language I wouldn’t use now (so many fucks).

I would refer to more recent writings on psychedelics (mostly in my roundups, or partially reflected in this guest opinion piece); I’d also refer to Alex Olshonsky’s work, specifically this piece on Addiction and Ayahuasca.

I have since used psychedelics — a few tim…