I've done psychedelics plenty of times over 25+ years and can see the potential they have but I'd never in my life do so in one of these retreats.
Drugs aren't, alcohol isn't, etc.
What seems to work is... work. Working on yourself, trying to confront past traumas, talking to others about it, opening up. You know, the sucky parts that everyone hates to do.
i’ve been dealing with low grade trauma for a long time so kept doing the work
i will never know if i finally put enough work or if going crazy on moderate shroom trip rewired the brain just enough to see
this stuff is so hard since personal experiences are hard? unwise to generalize.
yet, feeling better about existing is nice.
also recovery is always tenuous since life can deal you a hand that can break you and maybe your new healthy mindset can’t handle it.
yet, the old broken mindset would have at least kept you alive.
too young to comment on which it will be for me
Ayahuasca with proper support is very beneficial for a lot of people. Some other therapies (someone mentioned EMDR which is excellent, also somatic experiencing) are incredibly synergetic with it. They are very good at showing you the root of the issue, but they are absolutely not magic. It takes quite a bit of courage to go in and face yourself and to do the necessary work. Often the work doesn't start until after the ceremony finishes and you're back in "real life".
I've seen a lot of positive change from plant medicine. I've also seen a lot of people rebound back in to darkness after failing to do something with the message they got (after an initially positive experience)