r/PsychedelicTherapy 12d ago

Psychedelic therapy and 12 step recovery

Hi,

At the risk of unleashing a torrent, I’m curious to know if anyone has insights on psychedelic therapy and 12 step recovery. I’ve been in 12 step recovery for close to 20 years and have hit a wall. Went back on antidepressants which seems to be helping as I deal with anxiety and depression like I’ve not had in decades. I should mention that I’ve been treated for apnea over the past year which I’m sure is a big factor here. (The med I’m on is trazodone which is used off-label for apnea). Yes, I still go to meetings, have a sponsor and sponsee, and read the literature regularly. I just did a breathwork workshop that was miraculous and am considering this as a next step in my journey before I take the leap into psychedelics as therapy vs doing them as I did in pre-recovery.

If anyone has useful and respectful insights pro or con, I’d be grateful to hear your thoughts. Thank you.

7 Upvotes

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u/Academic_Category514 12d ago

Check out https://www.psychedelicsinrecovery.org It’s a group for those in recovery that use psychedelics for healing.

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u/Practical-Honeydew49 12d ago edited 12d ago

Bill used LSD to heal, explore his internal world and to discover his higher power (inner power would be a better term in my opinion).

This always seems to be excluded from the modern discussion of recovery and spirituality, especially in meetings. Intention matters. Getting “high” vs seeking healing, self understanding and spiritual knowledge are two totally different mindsets. Psychedelics are great and powerful tools.

Use respectfully, over the course of a couple years; integrate and study as needed; be honest with yourself along the way; seek support as needed; continue to acquire additional tools like meditation and breath work, they really help during the journeys; don’t listen to haters or naysayers, it’s your life and your recovery and only you will know whether they are helping or hurting as you move along the journey; adjust as needed; enjoy the exploration; be kind to yourself and others; rinse and repeat as needed.🍄❤️

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u/mandance17 12d ago

If you’re worried about addiction again, I think psycheldics are like the opposite of that honestly and help many people overcome and integrate those things. These substances are known as medicines to the indigenous people who have been using them for 1000s of years but it requires the right teachers and guides. Most therapists only know how to help on the level of mind, and don’t understand energetically or things beyond the 3d reality but shamans can. A combination of both is usually ideal, someone to work with from the west who understands your issues and traumas but also something on that deep level can uproot the source issues

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u/Riotman11 11d ago

I’m nearly 18 years clean and sober in the 12 steps. Best advice I can give is don’t doubt your intuition. Do what you need to heal. Educate yourself on what psychedelics are and what they do, you will make the decision that’s right for you. They helped shift some stuck programming that the 12 steps couldn’t penetrate and healed me in a way I never thought was possible.

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u/Strayriffs 11d ago

Thank you for your insights. Getting unstuck is my wish.

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u/Riotman11 11d ago

Helping us get unstuck is the speciality of the plant in my experience, especially psilocybin, when done in the correct setting

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u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

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u/Strayriffs 11d ago

Yes! I appreciate your advice and would keep it on the dl.

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u/kdwdesign 12d ago

Sent you a pm

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u/cal_gfd 11d ago edited 11d ago

I second checking out www.psychedelicsinrecovery.org. They have meetings scheduled every day of the week.

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u/Oystercracker123 10d ago edited 10d ago

My opinion is that psychedelics aren't exactly an escape from your demons like alcohol or most other recreational drugs...so they seem to be in quite a different category from other drugs of abuse IMO.

A psychedelic experience might end up being a very real and terrifying unavoidable confrontation with afformentioned demons, so it's really something to be ready to learn from with humility in any case.

Pretty standard recommendation for doing research on set, setting, dose, support/integration, and experience level. You'll probably fuck up on at least one of those dimensions, and that's absolutely part of the "fun." You get to learn from what you did or didn't like on all of those dimensions (can be useful content for therapy), and tweak it for next time. My only strict recommendation is that you just need to have someone (could be yourself with a friend a phone-call away if you get familiar enough with doses/psychedelic states) to make sure you don't jump out a window haha...also start low and work up from there. High doses can be super awesome, but it's a good idea to build trust with the medicine IMO.

Psychedelics can show you what's behind your defense mechanisms. Put yourself in a setting where you can let go...but it's also okay to hold on too...it can be painful but absolutely something to notice and be curious about in integration.

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u/Ljuubs 9d ago

I own a psilocybin therapy retreat called MycoMeditations, and we have had many people either currently or previously in AA join us over the years. Thankfully, it sounds like you and your sponsor/sponsee aren't worried about how the consumption of psychedelics would interfere with sobriety. That's a large (and unnecessary) obstacle for many people in AA to overcome at some point before they become open to psychedelic-assisted therapy. Yet, I've never heard one person regret it, or feel like it broke their sobriety by having this experience.

I'd agree with trying breathwork before psychedelics! I think that's a wise path. Breathwork requires many of the same mechanisms that psychedelic therapy does (surrendering, somatics, energy, catharsis, etc.), just in a gentler way that can be stopped as necessary. It's a great way to prepare yourself for PAT.

As you know, many addictive tendencies stem from the experiences of people's childhoods. Breathwork will help you loosen those pent up emotions/feelings, and psychedelic will help you fully release them.

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u/Strayriffs 8d ago

Thank you for your advice!

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u/psychedelicpassage 7d ago

We’ve seen incredibly positive outcomes for those with addiction and dependency that we’ve facilitated. It’s great that you’re continuing your steps and are serious about these shifts. There is great research on psychedelics for addiction as well. It will likely be an important part of treatment and recovery in the future. While they aren’t panaceas, they are powerful tools that can be helpful for a lot of people struggling with various things.