What Is Ayahuasca?
A plant medicine from the Amazon known as ayahuasca may potentially aid in helping people who have a substance use disorder. This type of plant medicine is used as part of a spiritual ceremony but has recently been offered as an alternative to traditional treatment for alcohol and drug addiction. Let’s look at ayahuasca, its effects, and how it can potentially help people with addiction.
What Is Ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca is a ceremonial drink made with leaves from the Chacruna shrub, the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, as well as other plants and herbs. It is an ancient medicinal tea that originated in Peru and other regions of the Amazon. The drink produces hallucinogenic effects.
Shamans oversee the ceremonial experience and help guide people through a spiritual and often purging event. People may cry, vomit, or have diarrhea, but this spiritual purging is considered a necessary cleansing for the journey.
Ayahuasca is often described as feminine, and if the plants speak to you, it is usually in a feminine voice. It is a plant medicine that has been used for healing since ancient times and is gaining traction as a potential treatment for addiction.
Sometimes, users have faced their past traumas and confronted issues that are now exposed to the conscious mind.
What Are the Effects of Ayahuasca?
Everyone experiences ayahuasca differently. Some people have a negative experience, while others describe a very positive one. Some of the reported effects include:
- Feelings of inner peace
- Feelings of love
- Ego death
- Emotional healing
- Euphoria and sedation
- Auditory and visual hallucinations
- Nausea
- Feeling connected to the Source, God or Universe
- Alternating between hot and cold sweats
- Fear
- Improved mental states
Ayahuasca experiences vary for each individual so it’s difficult to predict how someone is going to feel.
Using Ayahuasca To Overcome Addiction
Ayahuasca has been shown to help people with a substance use disorder. One of the potential reasons for this is that it allows people to get to the bottom of what causes their addiction during the healing experience.
There was a study concerning ayahuasca ceremonies and people who reported using substances. The participants reported that the urge to drink alcohol or use drugs significantly dropped after consuming the drink. People’s spiritual experiences after consuming it also led to reduced substance use. Another study found that ayahuasca had therapeutic effects in the treatment of substance use disorders.
Often, addiction is a symptom of something deeper. For example, people who have underlying trauma may turn to alcohol as a means of coping.
Ayahuasca activates certain areas of the brain, including the amygdala. The amygdala is a spot where trauma and deep-seated memories are often stored. By re-igniting some of these repressed memories, people may be able to move on from them after the journey is complete.
Another reason it may help people with addiction quit drinking or using is that people tend to walk away from an ayahuasca experience with a new perspective on their life and want to get rid of old behavioral patterns. This newfound perspective allows quitting to become much easier.
Just putting down alcohol is by no means going to solve an addiction. A beneficial step after you go on an Ayahuasca journey is to hire an addiction coach. After taking this plant medicine, addiction coaching is a way to gain the tools you need to ensure you never pick up a drink again. A sober coach has lived experience with addiction themselves and can help you figure out what your triggers are and how to avoid them in the future.
Sober Coaching Helps You Stay Sober
Taking ayahuasca under a professional Shaman or healer’s supervision may help someone with an addiction. If you try this experience yourself or want assistance getting sober, you need a sober coach.
At The Addictions Coach, we have certified sober coaches that can help you quit drinking and live a sober life. Reach out today for a sober coach to help you put the bottle down for good.
