Psychologists have been trying to treat addiction for decades. What about the Amazonian plant Ayahuasca, is a new promising solution?
Even though it may sound contradictory to treat abuse of substances addiction with a Psychedelic drug that induces hallucinations, this sacred plant has a lot more to offer than just a psychoactive trip. It has the potential to heal the body, mind, and spirit in such a deep level that creates an inner and outer transformation in the human psyche and how it operates in the world, opening a window for spiritual evolution.
In the last few decades, this plant has caught scientist’s attention in the psychological field.
Many studies have been made proving the potential of ayahuasca retreats for healing addiction problems more than any conventional psychotherapy or chemical drug treatment.
The only thing needed is a strong desire for healing and trust in the wisdom and mystery of natural medicine that can not be fully logically understood but is getting more known by its particular way of transforming the lives of thousands of people.
Let’s explore the facts, fun, and magic results of it.
A quick view of Addiction
Addiction is a complex problem and has become one of the most critical health issues of modern society.
Whether is drugs, eating, sex, alcohol, an addicted person holds a deep pain within, mostly coming from past trauma, creating a dissociation and a significant amount of suppressed emotions which they may or may not be in touch with.
This leads to irrational impulses coming from frustration, denial, emptiness, and depression, trying to fill the space that is in lack.
After entering into this never-ending cycle, the person can be stuck harming themselves for years and often denying the problem as a result of a rejection of their own shadow, using addiction as the escape exit door.
Conventional therapeutic treatments have not made much of a dent on this social epidemic as they assume a somewhat linear trajectory out of addiction, typically framing rehabilitation and recovery in terms of managing addiction, rather than ‘curing’ or overcoming it completely.
By this means, it is necessary to look for alternative methods that involve more than abstinence and that can take to radical transformation by deepening to the core of the condition, and that is the main function of using Ayahuasca retreats as a therapy modality.
Ayahuasca as the Solution.
Reports claim that Ayahuasca facilitates consciousness of self and restructures the meaning of life, being both very important mechanisms to succeed in stopping self-destructive behaviors and the addictive cycle.
Ayahuasca’s ‘anti addictive’ properties are thought to arise from its action on increasing the neurotransmitters of dopamine and serotonin in the brain most known as the “happy chemical.”
The brew increases neuroplasticity, facilitating adaptive neural architectural changes, and breaks down triggers and cues associated with addiction.
The result of these neural changes opens the possibility for greater integration of different networks in the brain, increasing somatic awareness and subjective feelings.
The person is driven to a state of heightened suggestibility because of the suspension of the frontal networks that are typically used to maintain control over the mind, enabling repressed memories to come to the surface to see what was buried in the unconscious mind that needed to be addressed for healing.
How does it Work?
The ceremonies are held in a Ritual environment where a specialized shaman serves the brew previously prepared by mixing two main plants of the jungle: the ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and chacruna (Psychotria viridis), together they contain Alkaloids that act as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) helping with the activation of the DMT inside the tea.
The blend of these two induces a hallucinogenic state thirty minutes after being orally ingested, switching off completely your rational mind but keeping you with a sense of awareness of the environment which allows you to stay grounded in the experience and become the observer.
The visions come with deep introspection and physical purge, very often the person has to vomit in order to go deeper into the subconscious mind, this is known in the tribes as detoxification of mind and body that clears all the “garbage” for the experience to take place.
Soon enough, visions might appear and also deep memories that were unconsciously buried or denied by the protection mechanism of the ego-mind.
Relaxing and Surrendering to see what the spirit of the plant wants to show you is the key for healing, as once it is observed from a third-person perspective it brings a deep sense of compassion and forgiveness, creating empathy for the suffering and releasing the grip.
Its effectiveness in the treatment of addiction blends somatic, symbolic, and collective dimensions as it works directly with the unconscious realm bringing the unresolved issues into the table.
The guidance of these effects given to the person through ritual circumscribes the experience and provides tools to render it meaningful.
After the ceremony, a new window of possibilities is open accompanied by a feeling of relief, connection with self, and the surroundings.
Space is created for growth and evolution by being able to see things from a different perspective and an opportunity for re-creating a new chapter of life.
An effective treatment.
Ayahuasca has been used as a healing treatment and a tool for transpersonal and spiritual transformation for ages in the ancient Jungle tribes of South America, but only recently it is gaining public recognition after several studies made by western scientific universities that researched the effectiveness as an alternative therapy solution for mental and health conditions.
One of the first studies in substance addiction treatment with this plant medicine was initiated by Dr. Jacques Mabit, who spent years in Peru in the early 1980s studying Ayahuasca retreats and became an apprentice shaman, it was then that the outside world became aware of ayahuasca’s potential.
Healing in Ayahuasca Retreats.
Today, Ayahuasca therapies are growing worldwide and are available to anyone who wants to receive treatment with this plant.
Ayahuasca retreats are getting popular and with easier access within western culture, they are mostly held in South America with a duration of 7-30 days. You can find Ayahuasca retreats in Ecuador as well.
They consist in a full immersion inside a remote place in nature where you are asked to follow a specific diet that consists in the absence of meat, dairy, sexual activity, smoking and privation of chemical substances and medication along with the consumption of specific plants that prepares your body for receiving the medicine, all this is given by the “shamans” according to your intention.
Several ceremonies are held with a gap of days in between for resting, entering in a deep inner work together with other holistic therapies such as breathwork, yoga, somatic therapies, energy healing, that will help for the integration process and completion.
It is a complete soul-level transformation and an intercultural therapeutic tool that needs to be addressed like it, as it is a gift that comes from the earth and its healing properties have been used by our ancestors, they carry an enormous amount of wisdom that in this modern times, it is what we need to regain the true meaning of life.
Written by
Vera Lucia Zamora
18/08/2020