Western science gives us names for the things that we know – the things that we can see and feel and touch. But it’s always been skeptical of the things we can’t measure. This skepticism dates back to Europeans’ first contact with indigenous cultures in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, and the unfamiliar medicine that they found there. Today in the west, those healing modalities are often still characterized as “alternative.” 

Mexico City-based integrative psychiatrist Dr. Carmen Amezcua is passionate about psychedelic plant medicine – treatments that are still stigmatized and misunderstood, even though they’ve been shown to be effective at treating depression, anxiety, and PTSD. But she prefers to describe her treatments as complementary, not “alternative.” 

In this episode, somatics coach Holiday Simmons says somatics can help us reconnect to our intuition – the knowledge of our ancestors. Dr. Carmen Amezcua says western psychiatry doesn’t get to the root of our issues. And both say that ceremony is how we connect with ourselves, with nature, with our pasts, and with each other. 

Transcript

LINKS

• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Southern Soul Wellness: https://southernsoulwellness.com/ 
• Dr. Carmen Amezcua: https://carmenamezcua.com/
• This Is What Ayahuasca Does To Your Brain 
• Psychedelics, the Law and Politics - UC Berkeley BCSP 
• Psychedelics and Neural Plasticity: Therapeutic Implications - PMC) 
• ‘Authentic’ ayahuasca rituals sought by tourists often ignore Indigenous practices and spiritual grounding 
• Magic Mushrooms Are Most-Used Psychedelic Drug; As States Change Laws, Federal Policymakers Face Urgent Questions | RAND