My daughter took her own life over two years ago. In the months following her death, I went on antidepressants after spiraling into a deep depression. I was fortunate to have a good therapist and a caring medical doctor providing talk therapy and pharmaceuticals. Though the antidepressants did help me at a very critical time, after almost two years, I felt a lonely despair that I don’t have the words to describe. After doing a lot of research, I sought help from a friend who had experienced healing with psilocybin. I was able to participate in a safe, controlled session using psilocybin that has given me new tools and a deeply meaningful connection with myself and others, moving me out of the dark and desperate sadness from which I thought I would never leave. As a society, we have become far too dependent on prescription medications over the long run rather than seeking and implementing therapies that have the potential to offer much more than just numbing with side affects which keep us from real, sustainable healing. I wish I had known about psilocybin years ago and had been able to seek out this treatment for my adult daughter who suffered from severe depression and anxiety. I truly believe it could have saved her life. It has definitely saved mine.
-k.W.