Stories · Mind Medicine Australia
Mind Medicine Australia logo Menu

Psychedelic Healing Stories from Australia: Juleane’s Experiences with 5-MEO-DMT

In this blog series, we are sharing some of the healing stories from our recent book: Psychedelic Healing Stories from Australia. In this blog, we share the story of Juleane and her experiences with 5-MEO-DMT.

 

What led you to seek healing through psychedelic medicine?

It was by chance that a friend of mine was given some medicine and wanted to share the experience with me. I feel that psychedelic experiences aren’t only valuable to people with mental illness, but in fact everyone.

Although at the time I wasn’t seeking any healing, in hindsight I believe that it’s played a critical role in alleviating the pressures I felt in my everyday life.

What was your psychedelic experience like?

The anxiety I had around my life decisions and responsibilities, all changed in the months following my experience with 5-MEO-DMT. The actual experience was brief (lasting about 10 minutes) yet extremely profound.

It felt disorienting at first but once I relaxed and surrendered, I felt an intense, warm loving energy flow throughout my body. The experience is difficult for me to articulate — I felt like I was being told that I was loved, and I am safe, despite not actually hearing any spoken words. The visual distortions induced the 5-MEO-DMT were so vivid that I felt like I was living in video game, giving rise to a strong sense of wonder and awe.

How have you been able to integrate this experience? How has it contributed to your healing process?

Feeling unconditional love and safety brought about the biggest change in my life — the courage to embrace life’s uncertainties. The experience also made me realise that I was living under a lot of societal and self-imposed pressures.

It initiated a slow but steady process of healing my yearning for certainty of outcomes and recovering the people-pleaser in me. The subsequent reflections have enabled me to take bigger risks in my career, appreciate the novelty that comes from taking chances, develop a deep gratitude for life and trust my own feelings.

Curious to read more? Read the Stories of 53 Australians That Experienced Psychedelic Healing, In Their Own Words.

This book will show you the deeply human side of the effect this medicine can have, and give you hope, inspiration, and clarity around what is possible for Australians when we get fair access to these breakthrough medicines.

Psychedelic Healing Stories from Australia: Zinevara’s Story with Changa and MDMA

In this blog series, we are sharing some of the healing stories from our recent book: Psychedelic Healing Stories from Australia. In this blog, we share the story of Zinevara and her experiences with Changa and MDMA.

 

What led you to seek healing through psychedelic medicine?

I felt disconnected from myself and from life, like I was standing on the outside looking in. I’d never felt connected to anything. I spent years being told I will never heal from my traumas, that I will always be plagued by its shadow. I could only hope to be accepted as ok, as normal both by myself and others, constantly struggling to keep my head above water. I found psychedelic medicine after doing my own research.

What was your psychedelic experience like?

It was the most life-changing experience that I am still learning from every day. During my trip, I felt safe, gentle, and loved. That’s not to say the experience wasn’t painful. It was like labour, without the physical pain, just the emotional pain. Yet throughout this birthing experience I felt held in love, gentleness, and safety, and I did not feel scared. I did try and fight the process as I didn’t want to face my trauma but the harder I fought, the more I felt loved. This experience was magical, and my deep-seated trauma was diffused in fifteen minutes.

Now I can think and speak about my trauma without the waves of pain that once devoured me, triggering PTSD. I’m no longer attached to my trauma. I feel connected to myself and to life. I experienced so much more than this, like being taken to other places and times but I hesitate to explain this part because the focus of this story is on healing.

I have also found healing through another substance, which with a gentle chat from a trusted friend has allowed me to face the less intense parts of my traumas (I have several).

I want to stress the importance of doing these medicines in a safe place with a safe and trusted guide or therapist. I once had the misfortune of being maliciously triggered by someone while under the effects of a psychedelic and it was a difficult and horrible experience. This is why I STRESS the importance of being in a safe environment with a trained therapist to help deal with any trauma, painful experience, or unforeseen reactions.

How have you been able to integrate this experience? How has it contributed to your healing process?

My experiences with psychedelic medicines have shown me I’m not a lost cause. It didn’t “fix” me in fifteen minutes, but I experienced so much healing. Even now as I unravel the whole process, I find myself smiling. I now have inner strength, and a goal to fight for… me! I have hope that I will be able to heal completely. I am more aware of myself and my triggers, and I have the energy to keep working towards my highest and whole potential.

Curious to read more? Read the Stories of 53 Australians That Experienced Psychedelic Healing, In Their Own Words.

This book will show you the deeply human side of the effect this medicine can have, and give you hope, inspiration, and clarity around what is possible for Australians when we get fair access to these breakthrough medicines.

Psychedelic Healing Stories from Australia: John’s Experience with MDMA, Psilocybin and Ayahuasca

Man in Nature

 

In this blog series, we are sharing some of the healing stories from our recent book: Psychedelic Healing Stories from Australia. In this blog, we share the story of Maree and her experiences with psilocybin and LSD.

 

What led you to seek healing through psychedelic medicine?

I was bored with life.

I had money, a decent business, good friends, good health, a great lifestyle (I lived overseas for ten years) but despite all that, I wasn’t happy. I didn’t feel fulfilled or alive. I felt like life was basically meaningless. It was empty.

As a result, I drank too much alcohol. I smoked cigarettes. I took risks with my life, like racing motorcycles through the mountains of Northern Thailand and taking recreational party drugs. Anything to feel. Anything to feel alive.

I was disconnected from myself, disconnected from the people around me and I was not making the most of my potential as a human being. I was not contributing to society and to life in any meaningful way.

What was your psychedelic experience like?

I’ve had several psychedelic experiences and every single one was incredibly healing.

They showed me that I was totally shut down emotionally. There’s a lot of trauma in my family. Sexual abuse, physical violence, emotional abuse, drug and alcohol use, depression, anxiety, and more. My parents also got divorced when I was seven years old.

All of this led me to feel incredible pain when I was a child.

As a result, I shut down emotionally without realizing it. I totally disconnected from myself. Psychedelics showed me that this was why I wasn’t happy, this was why I wasn’t fulfilled. I’d lost parts of myself, and I needed to get them back. I needed to remember who I am.

That meant I needed to feel all the pain from the past. I need to turn towards my pain instead of turning away. I needed to embrace it and work with it, and in that embrace, I realised that I had the power to liberate myself from it. I had the power to heal.

How have you been able to integrate this experience? How has it contributed to your healing process?

I’m happier than I’ve ever been. More fulfilled and more alive. I rarely drink alcohol anymore, and when I do it’s usually only one glass. I quit cigarettes. I don’t use recreational drugs like I used to. I’ve never been on better terms with my immediate family. We’ve resolved all kinds of things from the past and I feel so much closer to them now. I feel lighter, as though I’ve let go of a massive weight that was on my shoulders.

It’s impossible to put into words how powerful and how positive psychedelics have been for me and my family. I think it’s a tragedy that these substances aren’t more widely available, and I hope that more people can experience what I’ve experienced.

Curious to read more? Read the Stories of 53 Australians That Experienced Psychedelic Healing, In Their Own Words.

This book will show you the deeply human side of the effect this medicine can have, and give you hope, inspiration, and clarity around what is possible for Australians when we get fair access to these breakthrough medicines.

Psychedelic Healing Stories from Australia: Maree’s Story with Psilocybin and LSD

Healing Stories

In this blog series, we are sharing some of the healing stories from our recent book: Psychedelic Healing Stories from Australia. In this blog, we share the story of Maree and her experiences with psilocybin and LSD.

 

What led you to seek healing through psychedelic medicine?

I experienced several traumatic events in my military career, which inevitably lead to moral injury and PTSD. I was experiencing depression, flashbacks, and nightmares, which, regardless of my best efforts seemed like I could not escape. I had tried talk therapy, mindfulness, gratitude, meditation, and other healing practices. I felt hopeless, life was void of joy and meaning. I could no longer see the good in the world or the value in my life. A friend mentioned how psychedelic medicine may help me. It was the only avenue I had not explored. I was nervous and hesitant to use the compounds at first but spent several weeks conducting my own research into the experiences, their benefits, and what conditions would lead to a beneficial experience.

 

What was your psychedelic experience like?

My first psychedelic experience completely changed my life. I gained a new perspective on myself, my experiences, life, the universe, and I felt a deep sense of connectedness to everything. It has been the single most potent spiritual experience of my life. I had a sense of being held, loved, and supported by the universe as I travelled with the medicine.

Consequent experiences took me deep within myself to directly address my trauma in a gentle way, which allowed me to shift my perspective and integrate the trauma. Not only was I able to explore my consciousness, but I was able to experience deep realisations that immediately and continue to improve my life. My psychedelic journeys have been the most healing, powerful, and spiritual experiences of my entire life.

 

How have you been able to integrate this experience? How has it contributed to your healing process?

I initially struggled to integrate the realisations I had in my early experiences simply because they were so profound and so mind-expanding. Over time they were integrated seamlessly, along with the insights and realisations I had during more gentle journeys. My psychedelic experiences were the single most important part of my healing process.

I have not experienced depression, nightmares, or any other negative consequence of my trauma to date. I can now look at them with appreciation, as these challenges have only contributed to my overall growth as an individual. Not only have I healed and become a happier person, but I now have a deeper respect for all of life, a relationship with the divine, and an appreciation for all of life’s experiences. I cannot be more grateful for these compounds entering my life.

Curious to read more? Read the Stories of 53 Australians That Experienced Psychedelic Healing, In Their Own Words.

This book will show you the deeply human side of the effect this medicine can have, and give you hope, inspiration, and clarity around what is possible for Australians when we get fair access to these breakthrough medicines.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Stay in touch with Mind Medicine Australia:

×