Melanie Boling

April 19, 2023

Melanie Boling, Extreme Environments Neuroscientist, Harvard University.

Melanie Boling

April 19, 2023

Dopamine.

It’s our motivation to dominate our environment.

Winning.

Eating.

Sex.

Dopamine gives us access to food or partners.

When dopamine splashes over your brain, it’s a rush of pleasure.

Good grades.

Praise.

Dopamine just feels good.

The Human Brain.
(*Greg Dunn Neuro Art- Brain and Neuroscience Fine Art Paintings*, n.d.)

Dopamine pleasure differs from here & now pleasure, which is satisfaction.

A dopamine surge triggered by winning leaves us wanting more. It’s not enough to win. Dopamine wants anticipation. Winning is never enough for dopamine. Pursuit and victory are the surge, and more times than not, the urge for more.

Giving into the craving that dopamine provides does not guarantee your pleasure; simply, because wanting something versus liking something are two completely separate things.

Dopamine will only choose one.

The brain’s substantia niagra (Substantia Niagra, 2021).

This explains WHY human beings are willing to repeatedly put themselves into the extremes; it becomes a loop.

The brain LOVES loops, and this particular brain loop often times goes unnoticed because it’s become comfortable. Humans gravitate toward what is easy and requires no extra effort. As they say, checking all the boxes; but, at what cost?

When the human brain is engaged with this repeated cycle; to identify a goal in order to achieve their specific desire, one chemical in the brain takes control above all others, that is dopamine.

Becoming a master of your own homeostasis while mitigating allostatic load are the countermeasures to dopamine overload and the key to dopamine control.

(Neuroscientifically Challenged, 2015)

Dopamine Pathways, Melanie Boling, Harvard University — (*Dopamine Pathways*, 2013)

A principal mediator of the impact of stress on the brain and behavior are activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis, which results in widespread hormonal, neurochemical, and physiological alterations.

Inflammatory stimuli on brain and behavior have consistently reported evidence that inflammatory cytokines affect the basal ganglia and dopamine neurotransmission.
Findings have included inflammation-associated reductions in ventral striatal responses to reward, decreased dopamine and dopamine metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid, and decreased availability of striatal dopamine (Felger & Miller, 2012).
Dopamine response exhibits increased peripheral cytokines and other inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein or autoimmune and/or fibromyalgia response to stressors such as extreme environments (Felger & Miller, 2012).

Could mastering Dopamine Control lead to neurogenesis in extreme environments as opposed to neurodegeneration?

Can personalized countermeasures mitigate potential negative variables within extreme environments?

Reinforcing our neural pathways over time through repeated exposure therapy would strengthen our own dopamine control, which could make space for wise-mind decisions through self-mastery. Thus, desensitizing our brain from the things which cause a negative neurophysiological response to stressful stimuli (Boling, 2021).

These physiological emotional-regulation tools will carry over into the everyday life of the practitioner by providing a renewed self-awareness, and the ability to maintain homeostasis, even in the direst of circumstances (Boling, 2021).

Brain Neurogenesis.
(*Greg Dunn Neuropsychology Art- Brain and Neuroscience Fine Art Paintings*, n.d.)

Coming Soon:

Dopamine in Extreme Environments: Dopamine Control, Part Two.

References:

Boling, Melanie. (2021). Melanie Noelani Boling. Imagery Beyond Borders. https://imagerybeyondborders.org

Boling, Melanie (2021). Reported results of Amazonian Entheogens for treatment of Complex-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD); Military Sexual Trauma (MST); and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among U.S. Military Veterans and the benefits of application through small group indigenous shamanic ceremonies. The Amazon Rainforest: From Conservation to Climate Change-research. Harvard Summer School, August 9, 2021.

Castelli, V., Cimini, A., & Ferri, C. (2020). Cytokine Storm in COVID-19: “When You Come Out of the Storm, You Won’t Be the Same Person Who Walked in.” Frontiers in Immunology, 11, 2132. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.02132

Cools, R., & Roberts, A. C. (2004). The Role of Dopamine in Cognition: Insights from Neuropsychological Studies in Humans and Non-Human Primates. In S. Otani (Ed.), Prefrontal Cortex: From Synaptic Plasticity to Cognition (pp. 219–243). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-7949-4_10

Dopamine Pathways. (2013). Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University OIST. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.oist.jp/news-center/photos/dopamine-pathways

Felger, J. C., & Miller, A. H. (2012). Cytokine effects on the basal ganglia and dopamine function: The subcortical source of inflammatory malaise. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 33(3), 315—327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2012.09.003

Felger, J. C. (2017). The Role of Dopamine in Inflammation-Associated Depression: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, 31, 199–219. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2016_13

Foo, C., Lozada, A., Aljadeff, J., Li, Y., Wang, J. W., Slesinger, P. A., & Kleinfeld, D. (2021). Reinforcement learning links spontaneous cortical dopamine impulses to reward. Current Biology, 31(18), 4111-4119.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.069

Frontiers | How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing | Human Neuroscience. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2021, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353/full

Garofalo, S., & di Pellegrino, G. (2015). Individual differences in the influence of task-irrelevant Pavlovian cues on human behavior. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 9, 163. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00163

GREG DUNN NEURO ART- Brain and Neuroscience Fine Art Paintings. (n.d.). GREG DUNN NEURO ART. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.gregadunn.com/

Keltikangas-Järvinen, L., & Salo, J. (2009). Dopamine and serotonin systems modify environmental effects on human behavior: A review. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 50(6), 574–582. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2009.00785

Lieberman, D., & Long, M. (2018). The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity--and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race. Faculty Bookshelf. https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/books/249

MIND Foundation. (2019, December 22). Ayahuasca’s afterglow: Improved mindfulness & cognitive flexibility | Ashleigh Murphy-Beiner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WADjcFNbhrg

Murphy-Beiner, A, and K Soar. “Ayahuasca’s ‘Afterglow’: Improved Mindfulness and Cognitive Flexibility in Ayahuasca Drinkers.” Psychopharmacology 237, no. 4 (April 2020): 1161–69.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-019-05445-3.

Peter, A. E., Sandeep, B. V., Rao, B. G., & Kalpana, V. L. (2021). Calming the Storm: Natural Immunosuppressants as Adjuvants to Target the Cytokine Storm in COVID-19. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 11, 2305. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2020.583777

Plotkin, M. J. (2021). The Amazon: What everyone needs to know. Chapter 8 seminar. Lecture notes The Amazon Rainforest: From Conservation to Climate Change- seminar. Harvard Summer School. Delivered 3 August 2021.

Speaking of Psychology: The molecule of more—Dopamine. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2021, from https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/dopamine

Spiny Neurons Receive Dopamine. (n.d.). Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University OIST. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.oist.jp/news-center/photos/spiny-neurons-receive-dopamine

Substantia nigra. (2021). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Substantia_nigra&oldid=1045490165

Sudevan, S., Muto, K., Higashitani, N., Hashizume, T., Higashibata, A., Ellwood, R. A., Deane, C. S., Rahman, M., Vanapalli, S. A., Etheridge, T., Szewczyk, N. J., & Higashitani, A. (2021). Loss of Contact in Space Alters Dopamine System in C. elegans (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3919931). Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3919931

Tang, L., Yin, Z., Hu, Y., & Mei, H. (2020). Controlling Cytokine Storm Is Vital in COVID-19. Frontiers in Immunology, 11, 3158. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.570993

Toenders, Y. J., Laskaris, L., Davey, C. G., Berk, M., Milaneschi, Y., Lamers, F., Penninx, B. W. J. H., & Schmaal, L. (2021). Inflammation and depression in young people: A systematic review and proposed inflammatory pathways. Molecular Psychiatry, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01306-8

About the author:

Melanie began attending Harvard in 2020 to complete a Graduate Certificate in Human Behavior with a specialization in Neuropsychology. Boling’s research has examined extreme environments and how they can have a potential negative impact on humans operating in the extreme environment. During her time at Harvard, she has built a mental wellness tool called a psychological field kit. Implementing these tools will allow an individual to thrive in an extreme environment while mitigating negative variables such as abnormal human behavior which can play a role in team degradation.

Melanie Boling

February 1, 2023

Addiction Medicine. // Melanie Boling, Harvard University; Boling Expeditionary Research; U.S. Air Force OIF, OEF Veteran

Melanie Boling

February 1, 2023

Certificate in Addiction Medicine from The American Society of Addiction Medicine.

I invested my time in the expert track certificate program in Addiction Medicine offered by the American Society of Addiction Medicine - ASAM for many reasons.

The three courses in the series are A Survey of Substance Abuse Disorder, The Neurobiology of Addiction, and Understanding The Impact of Stigma On Addiction Treatment.

This program has allowed me to have a better understanding of a disease that has impacted me because substance use disorder has been prevalent within my own family, and among the many people who have crossed my path both personally and professionally throughout my lifetime.

In the United States Military, consuming substances in excess has often been looked at as part of the culture because caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol are what keep the machine running and are socially accepted just like the red, white, and blue. However, MANY military brothers and sisters out there struggle with these particular socially accepted vices, among many others.

The sentiment that I try to convey to mental health professionals and those who have not served in the military is that we were trained to do a job. If that job took us to the most violent and austere places around the globe, we did our job because that is what we were trained to do. On the other hand, we were never taught how to return to the world and function in society after doing our job.

Even interactions with your own friends and family present a challenge.

Military Veterans are probably the most diverse community on the planet. Veterans come in all colors, shapes, and sizes; from all walks of life, and our abilities and disabilities tip the global scale. Whether the veteran served in combat or not, military service is a heavy burden to bare once you return home because unless you walked the walk, you would never understand. It does not matter if you are a family member, a partner, or a best friend, you will never get the boots or the path that every veteran has walked.

Substance Abuse Disorder and other forms of addiction plague 1 in 10 veterans. The rate among Active Duty Military Members is much higher; though, mostly unreported due to non-treatment, or a common theme in military behavioral health is to under-diagnose the military member and treat symptoms as opposed to the source all in an effort of retention.

Active Duty deployments are well-known to be associated with smoking initiation, unhealthy binge drinking, excessive drug use, and risky behaviors. I have seen this first-hand while on my own active duty deployments or as I watch my peers suffer as a result of their own actions. These behaviors are a significant problem that does follow you home and become the source of contention in most, if not all of your relationships.

Military Behavioral Health providers are known to start the service member on several medications to treat the symptoms not the source; anxiety, sleep and circadian rhythm disorders, depression, substance abuse, high-blood pressure, GI issues, sexual dysfunction, etc.

It may sound like I’m talking directly to some of you because this “package” has become the standard, especially among active duty male service members.

The most important component that is missing from “the package” is regularly scheduled behavioral therapy so that the member is being actively treated and monitored by their behavioral health team.

The end result is that the military member continues on their path of consuming all the wrong things whether it be substances or other impulses like excessive consumption of shopping, video games, pornography, sexual partner or emotional and/or physical relationships (people), gambling, or seeking external validation through “helping”.

Essentially the military member continues on their path of destruction all the while mixing toxic behaviors and substances with prescription medication.

As a United States Service Member or Military Veteran, you do not have to wait until you leave active duty or hit rock bottom to seek out and receive the appropriate healthcare that you need.

Quality of life for yourself and your own military family is available right now.

All it takes is for you to move past the stigma, take your first step, and ask for help.

You and your military family will thank you later.

Knowledge is Power.

This program from the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), I learned the knowledge and skills necessary to treat patients with substance use disorders, the neurobiology of substance use disorders, the biological, psychological, and social factors that produce a risk for addiction, and how stigma affects a patients with substance use disorders.

About the author:

“Melanie began attending Harvard in 2020 to complete a Graduate Certificate in Human Behavior with a specialization in Neuropsychology. Boling’s research has examined extreme environments and how they can have a potential negative impact on humans operating in the extreme environment. During her time at Harvard, she has built a mental wellness tool called a psychological field kit. Implementing these tools will allow an individual to thrive in an extreme environment while mitigating negative variables such as abnormal human behavior which can play a role in team degradation.”

Melanie Boling

September 12, 2021

Conclusions and Recommendations: Amazonian Entheogen Therapy for the treatment of U.S. Military Veterans. // Melanie Boling, Graduate Student of Neuropsychology, Harvard University.

Melanie Boling

September 12, 2021

Conclusions and Recommendations

“Ayahuasca brew consists of the ayahuasca vine or Banisteriopsis caapi and an admixture like the chacruna leaves or Psychotria viridis. Ayahuasca effects are caused by the synergistic interaction of β-carbolines (harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroarmine) contained in Banisteriopsis caapi stalks combined with the N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) from Psychotria viridis leaves, a potent agonist to serotonin (5-HT) receptors.” — “Ayahuasca brew consists of the ayahuasca vine or *Banisteriopsis caapi* and an admixture like the chacruna leaves or *Psychotria viridis*. Ayahuasca effects are caused by the synergistic interaction of β-carbolines (harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroarmine) contained in *Banisteriopsis caapi* stalks combined with the N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) from *Psychotria viridis* leaves, a potent agonist to serotonin (5-HT) receptors.”

Many veterans are trapped in their trauma and plant medicine has provided the means for releasing trauma during their psychedelic experience (Veterans Are Turning to Ayahuasca for PTSD Relief, n.d.).

A small shamanic ceremony would also allow for facilitators and shamans alike to stay true to their culture. Plant Medicine Healing Centers and Clinics allow shamans; tribal members; and facilitators to continue practicing the traditions of their culture and making a living while doing so; all the while preserving and safeguarding a living history allows for more generations to learn the way of the rainforest through plant medicine.

Healing centers lower the dependent variable of a tribe from going extinct; or moving further away from traditional ways that are not successfully being passed onto the younger generations (Plotkin, 2021).

Melanie Boling and Expeditionary Service Dog River Roux with the healers of a Shibipo Tribe Healing Center in the Andes Mountains of Peru (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

“Benefits obtained from the brew intake, such as mind healing, increased self-knowledge, improved memory and persistently elevated mood. It has gained recent traction with U.S. Military Veterans for seeking healing from treatment-resistant mental illness such as Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Depression.”

Amazonian Entheogens or Psychedelic Plant Medicine hold great potential for the treatment of U.S. Military Veterans, and applying this through small group indigenous shamanic ceremonies, holds space to guide survivors into a journey within themselves for those seeking therapeutic healing for specific treatment-resistant illnesses such as Complex-Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or C-PTSD; Military Sexual Trauma or MST; and Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI.

Trust and safety are the key components to the overall success of Psychedelic Plant Medicine.

“The most important tool used by shamans is the icaro. These traditional songs sung or whistled by shamans before, during, and after an ayahuasca ceremony not only comprise the setting of the experience, they also positively influence the internal landscape of a person’s psyche. While we’re still trying to understand icaros in therapeutic terms, there’s no doubt that these songs play a vital role in the healing aspects of ayahuasca.” — “The most important tool used by shamans is the *icaro*. These traditional songs sung or whistled by shamans before, during, and after an ayahuasca ceremony not only comprise the setting of the experience, they also positively influence the internal landscape of a person’s psyche. While we’re still trying to understand icaros in therapeutic terms, there’s no doubt that these songs play a vital role in the healing aspects of ayahuasca.”

I feel that the answers to all of the world’s problems lie within the world’s rainforests, specifically the Amazon Rainforest. There is much more to learn about Psychedelic Plant Medicine and questions to be answered used for the healing of the United States Military Veteran Community.

Some questions that I have for the scientific community that has yet to be researched are:

If different parts of the same ayahuasca plant are said to cause different experiences with the same user; could these different parts of the same plant be used to treat different illnesses?
Would cultivation and/or harvesting of the ayahuasca vine at different periods of the plant’s growth cause a different experience for the user or could it be used to treat different illnesses? IE. CBD vs CBG?
Does adding the ayahuasca vine with various admixtures beyond the charunca leaf be used to treat other specific illnesses? IE. Cancer, or Stroke.
Can different lineages of the ayahuasca vine be used to treat more specific illnesses? IE. Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s Disease.
Will the consumption of ayahuasca brew in an “extreme environment” such as “high-altitude environments” cause a warp-speed healing event in patients/users such as someone with a traumatic brain injury or brain damage caused by stroke? (I already know the answer to this, to be revealed at a later time).
If ayahuasca, psilocybin mushrooms, and San Pedro Cactus or “huacuma” were to be administered in a clinical setting, even as a microdose; then combined with a “simulated extreme environment”, such as Hyper-Baric Oxygen Therapy or HBOT which is used to promote neurogenesis in the brain after TBI; could these variables also play a role in the “warp-speed” healing of neurogenesis on the brain and body?

Ayahuasca inhibits various parts of the brain associated with cognitive flexibility. It produces structural changes within the brain that are responsible for activity within 24 hours of ayahuasca consumption which leads to positive increases in cognitive flexibility. Results show that mindfulness is beneficial and lasting to the first-time or experienced ayahuasca user. Ayahuasca’s use allows the loosening of one’s cognitive grip which helps alleviate the feeling of being stuck and the depression associated with similar behavioral patterns (Murphy-Beiner & Soar, 2020).

My wish is that with my own scientific field research I can solve problems; provide the answers to some of these scientific questions; and do my part in guiding others within my own United States Military Veteran Community and the world, to realize the full potential of Entheogen Therapy or Psychedelic Plant Medicine from the Amazon Rainforest.

United States Air Force Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom Combat Veteran Melanie Boling in the Peruvian Andes as part of her scientific research for Harvard University, where she is pursuing a Masters Degree in Neuropsychology; and Graduate Certificate in Environmental Policy and International Development. Boling is an Extreme (ICE) Environments Behavioural Ecologist for her NGO, Peer Wild (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

Would you like to know more?

Be sure to read back on all of our articles about Entheogen Therapy or Psychedelic Plant Medicine derived from the scientific paper, “Reported results of Amazonian Entheogens for treatment of Complex-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD); Military Sexual Trauma (MST); and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among U.S. Military Veterans and the benefits of application through small group indigenous shamanic ceremonies.”

References:

Boling, Melanie. (2021). Melanie Noelani Boling. Imagery Beyond Borders. https://imagerybeyondborders.org

“Veterans Are Turning to Ayahuasca for PTSD Relief.” Accessed July 15, 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/a3kaye/veterans-are-turning-to-ayahuasca-for-ptsd-relief.

About the author:

Melanie Boling

September 11, 2021

Small Shamanic Ceremonies stay true to the culture and provide space for healing U.S. Military Veterans. // Melanie Boling, Harvard University.

Melanie Boling

September 11, 2021

Small Shamanic Ceremonies stay true to the culture and provide space for healing.

Melanie Boling, Extreme (ICE) Environments Behavioural Ecologist and Graduate Student of Neuropsychology, Harvard University in the Peruvian Andes (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

The human condition beyond the understanding of the United States Healthcare System and even academia seems to be the path that some United States Military Veterans are on in order to find relief for themselves (Plotkin, 2021).

If the ‘psychedelic renaissance’ continues to proliferate in the United States at the pace it is currently at, this could mean that more avenues of care will be readily available to civilians and veterans, alike.

However, until the United States Government deems these plant medicines legal, people will continue to seek refuge outside of the bubble of the United States or find other ways to be treated by plant medicine that strays from the more traditional methods used by shamans and other facilitators/practitioners of the Amazon Rainforest healing.

Shamanic Healing is said to “free the soul from the body in order to communicate with the spirit realm” (Plotkin, 2021). These “consultations” with the spirit world through traditional plant medicine healing techniques such as consuming the ayahuasca brew that stimulates the brain and body are often accompanied by a magic song; or in the Shipibo culture “The Icaros”. It is said that consuming ayahuasca makes you dizzy, and the dizziness brings about the magic song.

My scientific theory is that the icaro magic song sung by the shaman directly penetrates the vagus nerve which is the main component of the Human Parasympathetic Nervous System; one of the direct connections that allow your brain and your gut to communicate with one another. The vagus nerve controls mood; immune response; digestion; and even your heart rate. All bodily functions are directly affected by the consumption of ayahuasca and throughout the duration of the ayahuasca ceremony. During the singing of the icaro the vagus nerve is stimulated, creating a more euphoric experience for some, and for others an uptick in purging for the ayahuasca consumer; and in some cases bystanders who only are present for the ceremony itself. This is the power of ayahuasca.

Traditional Ayahuasca Healing Centers around the world are springing up from India to Costa Rica promising the patients a week or more of services that often come with a hefty price tag.

Plant medicine healing centers or clinics allow shamans; tribal members; and facilitators to continue practicing the traditions of their culture and making a living while doing so (Plotkin, 2021). Thus, preserving and safeguarding a living history allows for more generations to learn the way of the rainforest through plant medicine.

In Sacred Valley of the Andes Mountains just outside of Cusco, Peru, Ayahuasca Healing Centers allow tribes to continue practicing the traditions of their culture and making a living while doing so (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021). — In Sacred Valley of the Andes Mountains just outside of Cusco, Peru, *Ayahuasca* *Healing Centers* allow tribes to continue practicing the traditions of their culture and making a living while doing so (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

These healing centers lower the dependent variable of a tribe from going extinct; or moving further away from traditional ways that are not successfully being passed onto the younger generations (Plotkin, 2021).

With certain types of emotional trauma, like Complex-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or C-PTSD and Military Sexual Trauma or MST, small shamanic ceremonies would be the venue or “set and setting” of choice for those suffering from these types of mental illness. Largely, due to the extrinsic factors that play a centralized role in long-term post-traumatic stress or sexual abuse, assault, or trauma.

The idea of holding a small shamanic ceremony would also allow for facilitators and shamans alike to stay true to their culture while holding space to guide these survivors into a journey within themselves.

Nobody’s healing is more important than the other, and keeping a circle small would promote community, while also providing the participants to be on the same level with one another.

With regard to United States Military Veterans, offering the same level of understanding through these profound psychedelic experiences could promote a sense of unity and purpose. Being a part of something bigger than oneself is a core value instilled in those who have served their country in the military forces.

Larger groups at healing retreats can often breed chaos as well as trauma-bonding, which would potentially push certain at-risk veterans to get lost in the shuffle. In turn, this would be repeating the same patterns that of the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, ultimately potentially providing a short-term band-aid that would later fail the veteran with long-term relief.

Would you like to know more?

References:

About the author.

Melanie Boling

September 10, 2021

Effectiveness of Psychedelic Plant Medicine among United States Military Veterans: Part Three. // Melanie Boling, Harvard University.

Melanie Boling

September 10, 2021

Effectiveness of Hallucinogenic lianas of the Amazon Rainforest among United States Military Veterans.

The saying goes, “the toad always knows” or “toad you so” which are modern-cultural references to the Bufo alvarius, also known as the Sonoran Desert toad. Its most notable characteristic is the toxic, milky-white venom it secretes to poison predators. The substance derived from that venom is 5-MeO-DMT, an extremely potent psychedelic that is up to six times stronger than its better-known relative DMT. After just a single-use, “this psychedelic medicine lifts anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and provides an overall sustained enhancement of satisfaction with life” (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

United States Military Veterans are taking their mental health into their own hands and by doing so are stepping away from pharmaceutical interventions, and leaning in toward plant medicine solutions (“The Potential for Psychedelic Treatment for Veterans,” 2021).

Military Veterans seeking the potential relief through entheogen therapy or that specifically ayahuasca could provide for their Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD, outweighed the risks. Plant medicines are a way of “pulling the rug out from under you and beating the rug until it’s clean” (Stroder, 2014), a commonality among troops on how to handle their affairs in life.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Addiction are two mental illnesses that some veterans returning home are plagued with and preliminary research has shown that ayahuasca consumption can relieve some of the symptoms that accompany those illnesses and in some cases cure them.

Entheogen Therapy holds a space for many veterans trapped in their trauma and plant medicine has provided a space for releasing the trauma during their psychedelic experience (Veterans Are Turning to Ayahuasca for PTSD Relief, n.d.).

Each experience is different with the individual; but, the overall message is that relief is sought and found through ayahuasca therapy. Drinking ayahuasca brought veterans the healing they search for by providing love and acceptance of themselves after suffering through atrocities such as psychological abuse and sexual assault while serving in the military (Stroder, 2014).

Different types of research being conducted on veterans involving Psilocybin Mushrooms and MDMA, and a groundbreaking study on 5-MeO-DMT that shows positive results for those suffering from psychological and cognitive impairment (“The Potential for Psychedelic Treatment for Veterans,” 2021).

San Pedro Cactus or Echinopsis pachanoi is a fast growing cactus native to the Andes Mountains. The processing of the plant medicine is a sacred traditional ceremony because one puts their own intentions into the medicine in an effort to heal the consumer (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

The San Pedro Cactus or “Huachuma” is cut and boiled down to a brew with the consistency of agave nectar. Echinopsis pachanoi contains mescaline and is currently being used for treatment-resistant mental illnesses like Depression, PTSD, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

The sacred cactus tea is best consumed in a safe and trusted environment where one could express their creative-self for up to 12 hours. It’s been said that “The Incas built Machu Picchu while consuming Huachuma” (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

Researchers are just beginning to tap into the therapeutic potential for the treatment of depression and anxiety through the application of ayahuasca. Despite not knowing the exact “mechanisms'” (Murphy-Beiner & Soar, 2020) that make this plant medicine such a beneficial treatment option; research has shown that other psychedelics have offered a window of opportunity for additional psychotherapeutic tools to be introduced to help support the human subject after the acute effects had worn off (Murphy-Beiner & Soar, 2020).

One study utilized mindfulness and cognitive “mental” flexibility, which both approaches are defined as shifts of perspective in their own right. Both have been said to improve the practitioner’s quality of life or state of being.

Mindfulness increases the connectivity between the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) responsible for the emotional and cognitive center of the brain and the Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PSC) which is the hub of the Default Mode Network (DMN) where you create a sense of “self” (Murphy-Beiner & Soar, 2020).

Ayahuasca inhibits various parts of the brain associated with cognitive flexibility. It produces structural changes within the brain that are responsible for activity within 24 hours of ayahuasca consumption which leads to positive increases in cognitive flexibility.

Results show that mindfulness is beneficial and lasting to the first-time or experienced ayahuasca user. Ayahuasca’s use allows the loosening of one’s cognitive grip which helps alleviate the feeling of being stuck and the depression associated with similar behavioral patterns (Murphy-Beiner & Soar, 2020).

Sexual assault survivors in the military suffer from the fear of victim-blaming and feelings of shame and guilt that often continue to impact every aspect of the survivor’s life beyond their time in the military.

Relationships of any kind are impaired and ultimately the survivor has no room for trust with anyone.

More and more United States Military Veterans are being diagnosed with PTSD due to Military Sexual Trauma or MST, which could potentially deem sexual assault survivors as disabled without the ability to work again for the remainder of their life.

Entheogen therapy or Psychedelic Plant Medicine combined with mindfulness and cognitive flexibility is a potential avenue for relief for these particular individuals “seeking the light” (Veterans Are Turning to Ayahuasca for PTSD Relief, n.d.).

Facilitating this through small group ceremonies is a way of allowing the survivor to feel safe, and provide space for trust within themself and those around them, which can often be lost in a large group of individuals.

This particular recipe could be the key to improving the overall quality of life for the survivor and provide a path to finding their way back to themselves, despite the atrocities that were forced to suffer at the hands of others.

Trust and safety are the key components to the overall success of Psychedelic Plant Medicine.

Depiction of your mind on Ayahuasca. (Artist unknown, 2020)

Would you like to know more?

References:

HAVN Life. “The Potential for Psychedelic Treatment for Veterans,” March 11, 2021.

https://havnlife.com/the-potential-for-psychedelic-treatment-for-veterans/.

Stroder, Richard. “Veteran: My Search for a PTSD Cure Led Me to the Amazon.” CNN, October 23, 2014. https://www.cnn.com/2014/10/23/opinion/veteran-ptsd-ayahuasca/index.html.

“Veterans Are Turning to Ayahuasca for PTSD Relief.” Accessed July 15, 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/a3kaye/veterans-are-turning-to-ayahuasca-for-ptsd-relief.

About the author:

Capturing the beauty of the rainforest. El Yunque National Park, Puerto Rico

“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.”
”

— Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception