AYAHUASCA FOR ADDICTION: HEALING THE ROOTS

We’ve witnessed the healing capabilities that an Ayahuasca ceremony or retreat here in Costa Rica, can spark in someone who is looking to heal from trauma or addiction, many times over. Drinking Ayahuasca is not a magic pill but by helping us to understand our inner world, she can give us the tools to navigate a more meaningful, peaceful and connected life with addiction. 

Addictions used as a diagnostic tool for Ayahuasca 

Addictions tell us a lot about what’s going on beneath the surface for a person. Often addicts are misjudged as being the scourge of society, the lowest of the low. Being an addict carries a great deal of shame which is why people often hide or deny their addiction.

The disease of addiction knows no class limits nor does it solely impact those in poverty without touching the wealthy and the powerful. Addiction is a human issue and something all of us have in common in one way or another. Not all addictions are the same or equal but it is fair to say that we will all experience addiction in some shape or form.

Whilst some addictions such as alcohol or heavy drug use with heroin or meth amphetamines are commonly regarded as extremely damaging. And they are; not only to the addicted person but to the families and loved ones around that addicted person  who are also affected by the consequences of the addiction. 

It’s not merely the toxicity of a substance that creates harm in an addiction. Many more seemingly innocent addictions can be equally as harmful.

What is classed as an addiction?

In his book, The Realm of Hungry Ghosts, world renowned physician Gabor Mate, speaks candidly about his own compulsive shopping addiction with classical music. Sounds innocent enough. How can classical music be an addiction? The addiction wasn’t listening to classical music, it was about owning classical music. The addiction had consequences;

He once spent $8,000 on CD’s in a single shopping trip. Spending like Elton John without Elton John’s bank account. 

He lied to his wife about his purchases, neglected his family and ignored his children. In one instance he left his children alone in a shop for hours whilst he drove to the other side of town to buy classical music.

A self confessed workaholic, he once left a woman in the middle of delivering a baby to rush out and buy classical music. One addiction impacts another addiction.

What interested Mate the most, was that in his treatment of drug addicts at his Vancouver clinic, he could recognize the behavioral consistencies with his own patients. His own addiction may not have caused the same physical damage to the body, but the psychological roots were the same. 

He identified his addiction as an attempt to escape his own mind and soothe the uncomfortable feelings he was carrying inside from childhood. This included emotional pain and not feeling worthy of love and existence.

Why do we get addicted to things? 

As Gabor Mate, a world renowned successful physician, recognised this connection between himself and his patients he began to unlock what is at the core of addiction. 

It is in the avoidance of presence with ourselves and our emotions that we seek a vice. Within that there is nothing necessarily insidious. The initial intention is to give us peace from our pain. 

As we engage with the habit and it becomes an addiction it grows into something else. Something that we have no power over, something that becomes uncontrollable. 

An urge that overrides our sense of reason. Although some addictions are physiological it is the psychological power they have that makes them all consuming. The more we avoid ourselves the more terrifying the idea of facing ourselves becomes. We feed that fear, it grows and grows. Our courage fades and the need to escape and avoid reaches a point where it feels like our only option.

Any kind of addiction is in itself an attempt at escapism or avoidance of the true self. There are addictions that soothe such as alcohol and drugs in a way that helps us escape pain. There are addictions that distract us such as shopping, work, and exercising or our phone. The former obviously being more physically destructive but as we have alluded to, all addictions have their consequences.

How does addiction affects families and society?

Our humanity is largely rooted in our connection. To ourselves and to each other. When we avoid this connection in favour of an addiction there is a ripple of consequences. Our own loved ones feel neglected and the feelings of unworthiness that are causing said addictions begin to spread.

The reflection of our neglected and unloved internal world becomes the reflection of the external world around us. It becomes how we relate or don’t relate to the people in our life.

We cease to notice things, important things. We lack the presence to maintain a healthy relationship with those we love. Whatever love we may feel on our death bed is not demonstrated or expressed in life and so it is not known. It becomes unexpressed and dies and that death is felt not just by us but by the people around us.

The commonality of social media scrolling at the expense of those around us, friends, family and even our children being the flagship example of how our quest for distraction destroys our possibility for connection with those around us.

How does Ayahuasca help with curing addiction? 

We’ve spoken about the cause of addiction, the healing of any addiction is not an easy road. Not exactly the words any addict wants to hear. There is no magic pill. There is not even a magic plant medicine. If not handled with care one addiction can easily become another. Arguably it preferable to engage in an exercise addiction as opposed to a Cocaine addiction, the damage being less. Ideally a life of balance and presence will be more fulfilling for us all. As stated previously any kind of addiction has the potential to create damage in our life.

This is of course where the sacred mirror of Ayahuasca can help. The plants show us our internal world. This is not always literal and is often metaphorical, the mind and the subconscious often being a realm of dungeons and dragons. Where visions represent internal worlds and emotions.

Our fears become so complex and tangled that sometimes they can represent a labyrinthine, one of incredible depth and complexity. It is here where the work with Ayahuasca is. In this symbolic subconscious realm. Which is why people often refer to the experience as terrifying or even demonic. It is in this realm that we finally face ourselves. The longer we have distanced ourselves the greater and more formidable our fears and internal world may appear.

And yet ultimately and in any practical sense we are facing ourselves, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and cosmically. It’s why this medicine is no magic pill. There is a structural triangle of Ayahuasca, the humans holding the space, the human drinking the medicine who must find the courage to face themselves. Within this journey Ayahuasca serves as a guiding intelligence, pushing edges of perception and emotion to bring home the healing required.

It is here where we meet ourselves in our truest form, laid bare, that we can heal and rebuild.

Ayahuasca is not a magic pill to cure addiction: What are the limitations of Ayahuasca with addiction?

When we sit in ceremony with these plants there are many things happening. Our energetic structure within is repatterned. Neurogenesis occurs, new neural pathways are supported allowing areas of the brain to communicate more clearly.

We are able to feel emotions that were previously suppressed. Access memories that may have been lost to us and gain clarity on blind spots and negative patterns within the subconscious mind. We energetically and physically purge out what is not ours that we may be carrying.

In short, the ceremony teaches us how to live a life of greater alignment and awareness. It lightens the load of our emotional and energetic baggage. We become conscious of a great many things that previously we were unaware of.

It can be an extremely healing experience and even feel miraculous to those who experience Ayahuasca.

The feelings from ceremony can live on for weeks and months afterwards, however, there will come a point when we must consciously begin choosing for ourselves. Away from the ceremony, away from Ayahuasca and back within the unconsciousness of the world. With all it’s friction, temptations and challenges.

Life does not magically turn to sunshine and rainbows forever more. There will be stresses and strains, moments of difficulty and times where we are asked to face challenges under pressure.

It is in these moments that our work in ceremony will be tested.

The risk of some kind of relapse into old patterns and habits does not go away or cease to be a danger. 

We always remind people that failure is the path to success. You may not be addicted to heroin or alcohol. You may be addicted to drama, or your anger, or your victimhood. Ayahuasca may have shown you the pattern that keeps you trapped in a cycle. Either way, falling back onto that pattern post ceremony or retreat is not a failure. Sometimes we return as a reminder. A reminder of why we no longer do this. A reminder of how far we have come.

We fail but we fail with greater awareness. Greater understanding of ourselves and the situations around us. This kind of failure is the path of our learning.

Is Ayahuasca addictive?

This is a common concern and to this we say “No”, Ayahuasca is not addictive at all as a substance. However, there is a caveat to this ‘no’.

Working with Ayahuasca is a peak experience that can often connect you with like minded people with whom you feel a kinship. It can become one of the most foundational, transformational and memorable experiences of your entire life. 

For some people this peak experience in a community setting can be addictive. The release from the mundane of their lives can be addictive. In short the ceremony itself becomes a form of escapism.

This not always easy to spot and is a very nuanced topic involving the frequency at which people drink Ayahuasca. In 15 years of working with this medicine I have seen there is no one size fits all answer.

Some people find a single ceremony perfectly adequate to meet their needs.

Some people need a number of ceremonies over a short period of time.

For some this may extend over a number of years.

For others they may do these ceremonies with the space of a few months.

Some may never drink again.

Some find it helpful to drink every one or two years.

Some may think they’ll never drink again but find the needs arises five years down the line.

There is no right or wrong as much as people might want to impose a right or wrong. Everyone is unique and therefore the specific circumstances of each individual vary greatly. There is no one size fits all approach with this work.

There are certainly some signs that a person is becoming addicted to ceremony such as;

• They have no clear intention for drinking

• It is becoming their main source of any social life

• They feel the need to return when friends do as opposed to feeling a genuine call from the medicine

The benefits of integration when working with Ayahuasca

If you know that you’re dealing with heavy childhood wounds and have experienced addiction in your life then being prepared post ceremony is the best course of action.

The word integration is used a lot in the medicine space. For us it simply means bringing the lessons of ceremony into your life. Not just theoretically but in an embodied way. It becomes how you live, the words you speak, the decisions you make and the actions you take.

This doesn’t happen without effort, conscious effort and discipline. Consistency and a grounded connection to the reality of what is happening in your life.

A willingness to stay present with difficult emotions and situations without choosing escapism or numbing.

Trying to do this alone will often lead to higher levels of failure. This is well illustrated in the story of another substance derived from plant medicine, Ibogaine, used to treat opioid addiction. A powerful alkaloid that is administered medically and therefore much more closely studied than Ayahuasca.

About 80% of patients report feeling elimination or reduction of withdrawal symptoms 24 to 36hrs after administration. 

Around 50% experience a significant reduction in drug cravings for up to three months afterwards.

At a one year follow up the number of people continuimng to abstain drops to between 20-50%.

AFTER CARE & INTEGRATION SUPPORTS SUCCESS

A robust aftercare based on integration and psychotherapy and structured support for the year following treatment significantly increase their chances of abstinence from substance abuse.

It’s worth noting that those who did relapse reported much lower levels of use and 80% still reported lower levels of anxiety and depression.

Having some kind of support with a coach or therapist following your ceremonial/retreat experience will significantly improve your chances of recovering from any addiction.

When you return from a plant medicine retreat in Costa Rica it is likely all the same conditions that existed before the retreat will still be there. You may have changed but the world and the environment around you has not. Navigating this new you, this new reality can be a bumpy road. 

Having someone with the experience to support you in this journey after the ceremony is highly recommended. This is a key question that should be asked of any retreat centre or facilitator when choosing where to drink Ayahuasca.