Why psychedelic drugs could transform how we treat depression and mental illness?
The first time I tried ayahuasca, a plant concoction containing the natural hallucinogen DMT, I remember thinking: “Just let go. Whatever happens, just let go.”
Eventually, I did let go, and what followed was the most rewarding, and harrowing, experience of my life. I was forced to confront my own ego in a way I never had before, and I wasn’t quite prepared for what I saw.
Even today, several months after, the impact lingers. I tried to recount the experience in this essay for Vox, and yet every time I read it, I can’t help but think how poorly my words captured what happened.
Michael Pollan, perhaps best known for The Omnivore’s Dilemma, has just released a new book about the science of psychedelics, titled How to Change Your Mind. Although he writes mostly about food, Pollan is a deep thinker whose core interest has always been our relationship to nature.