Addiction Recovery: Healing Addiction with Plants Like Ayahuasca and Iboga
By Kat Courtney
A few years ago, in North America, the #1 cause of death for people under the age of 50 was no longer a result of car accidents; opiate addiction took over instead. It is now more common for young people to die of a drug overdose than anything else. This doesn’t even cover deaths caused by addictions like alcoholism, substance abuse, eating disorders, and other dangerous substances.
Our culture is in a devastating pandemic of addiction. It isn’t because we are weak or broken; it’s because we are profoundly traumatized, and we don’t have the tools to process our hurts and emotions. So, instead, we are self-destructing. Effective addiction treatment is crucial in managing addiction and addressing the needs of the whole person in the recovery process. Addressing mental health issues is essential in addiction recovery, as many individuals misuse substances to cope with stress or trauma.
It’s no accident, then, that as we become aware of these wildly intense collective wounds, Plant Medicines like Ayahuasca and Magic Mushrooms have become mainstream. These incredible allies have the capacity to help us heal the underlying wounds that are the catalysts for addiction and self-destruction, but not as a magic pill or an immediate remedy. They don’t do the work for us, but they can make the process possible. And that by itself is an outright miracle. Drug addiction treatment often involves medications and therapies that guide individuals through different stages of recovery. The National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse and the National Institute on Drug Abuse provide authoritative data on addiction recovery, relapse rates, and treatment effectiveness.
Let’s explore what has transpired in order for our work to be so riddled with pain and addiction and the path forward that the sacred plants have helped to illuminate.
My Personal Story of Overcoming Addiction with an Ayahuasca Addiction Recovery Treatment
In 2004, I had a parcheesi moment that would save my life, and change it in endless miraculous ways: I followed a beautiful man to the Amazonian jungle. At the time, I was a functioning alcoholic struggling with alcohol abuse and a severe bulimic, and my day-to-day rituals had more to do with self-abuse than vitality and love. I was also diagnosed bipolar, cast aside by the allopathic system as broken and in need of medication.
My first dive with Ayahuasca was simple and powerful: She helped me to realize I wasn’t broken, and that I too could heal. I was traumatized. My nervous system felt perpetually disregulated. Addressing unresolved childhood trauma was crucial in my recovery process. But there was a path of healing for me if I claimed it. Treatment programs play a significant role in addressing both alcohol abuse and bulimia, providing comprehensive support for medical, mental, social, and legal needs.
I claimed it with my whole heart. The alternative was a slow suicide, so I felt like I had nothing to lose.
Almost twenty years later, I love the being I see in the mirror. I am not an alcoholic, and the bulimia has released. I choose daily habits that are based in self-love. Cognitive behavioral therapy helped me process and evaluate my thoughts and feelings about trauma. I am no longer an addict. The plants helped me claim my freedom.
The Demon of Addiction: Where it Really Comes From — Emotional Trauma
Trauma is a Greek word, and it means, quite literally, “wounding”. When we are wounded or injured, we scar. We carry that with us whether we’re conscious of it or not. When that wounding is ignored, and compounded by additional events and life choices, we often seek any means of escape. Addiction and substance use disorder, like other chronic diseases such as heart disease or asthma, require ongoing treatment and management.
Escapism is offered in endless ways in our world: Sex, drugs, food, media—basically anything that separates us from the experience of our conscious wholeness can be a distraction. When these escapist tactics become habitual, and we have no tools to actually process our wounding, we can find ourselves in the throes of an addiction. Emotional trauma can significantly impact our mental and emotional well-being, making it crucial to address and process these feelings.
It can happen to anyone. Addiction is not a genetic disease, or a sign of a weak person. It’s pain. And almost all addictions are slowly killing us – none are actually healing, because they are a reaction to our wounding. The tricky thing about addictions is they actually work to remove us from the pain of our trauma, temporarily. But over time, the addiction starts to compound the pain of our traumas, and eventually, they masquerade as the trauma itself. This part of their remarkable shadow. Unresolved traumatic events can lead to further trauma if not addressed, creating a vicious cycle.
In other words, an alcoholic isn’t miserable because they are an alcoholic. That is a façade. They are hurting because of the underlying trauma. So you can take away the alcohol and still have a depressed person. This is why most rehab and detox techniques, including 12 Step, do not actually help people heal long-term. They can help rescue people from an inevitable demise, but they do not heal the root cause of the addiction. Treatment facilities play a crucial role in providing support for individuals with substance use disorders, guiding them towards change without blame or judgment.
What can? Thankfully, there are lots of processes, but the one we are celebrating today is the power of Plants.
How Natural Herbal Medicine Can Help Us Heal Addiction
Every single plant in this majestic and powerful planet can teach us about healing – yes, every single one. Even Poison Hemlock is a teacher; anything that harms us is still a teacher about what makes us more whole. There are a few Master Plants that are the quintessential healing allies, however, and many of those are entheogens, also known as the psychedelic plants. Herbal medicine, including traditional Chinese medicine, aromatherapy, Ayurveda, and Bowen therapy, showcases the use of plants in different healing systems and techniques.
Let’s explore a few, and how they help us return to our natural states.
: Since she saved my life, I have to pay homage to the Queen first and foremost. Ayahuasca helps bring healing to addictions through psychospiritual and physical ways. She can help balance neurotransmitters and relieve of us trapped traumas. She moves energy, and can help us release toxicities and dense emotions. Ayahuasca gets us in motion again, blasting through stagnation and assisting in closing trauma loops so we no longer have to numb ourselves. It is important to consult healthcare providers before using herbal supplements to ensure safety and avoid potential interactions with conventional medicines.
Huachuma: The king of hearts, this glorious cactus, has been used by indigenous people for generations to help heal alcoholism and drug use. Huachuma balances dopamine levels, and since he is quintessential heart medicine, he can do wonders to help us love ourselves deeply, which can be the catalyst to shift addictive behaviors. Huachuma also teaches us that it is safe to feel our emotions, which for an alcoholic is often the opposite intuition. This emotional freedom is critical to healing alcoholism. This is precisely the medicine that helped me stop repressing my emotions through excessive drinking. Herbal supplements like St. John’s wort have been used for centuries to treat mental disorders, including mild to moderate depression. Prescription pain relievers can also play a crucial role in treating addiction, complementing herbal medicine and behavioral therapy for a comprehensive approach.
Iboga: Straight-shooting, truth-loving, quintessentially masculine Iboga is a game-changer for addiction, but that comes with a lot of complexity. Iboga is a West African shrub that has been revered for spiritual and physical healing properties by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. What makes Iboga a miracle maker in the field of addiction is that one of his alkaloids (Ibogaine) has the ability to reset an opiate addict’s neurochemistry back to a pre-addicted state in less than an hour. Thousands of people who have been near death because of the demon of addiction have found incredible healing with Iboga. But this precious plant is near extinction, so in order to receive his life-saving healing, we absolutely must be committed to sustainability. There are other plants that are showing promise with the same alkaloid (Ibogaine), but none as trusted and potent as Iboga yet. Furthermore, Ibogaine can cause cardiac complications, which makes it essential to seek out highly experienced clinical specialists for treatment. Prescription medicines, unlike herbal supplements, undergo stringent testing and regulation to ensure the purity and safety of their ingredients.
Psilocybin Mushrooms: Magic Mushies have their own capacity to help curb addiction, but they are often best after a reset with one of the beings above. Mushies can help us get to the root of our pain and trauma, and rewire our neuropathways to create healthier and happier brain patterns. So, while Psilocybin can’t do a hard reset the way Ibogaine can, they are incredible allies to create new lifestyles, new ways of treating ourselves, and lasting freedom from self-destruction. Research-based methods are being developed to help individuals with substance use disorders stop using drugs and resume productive lives.
There are many, many more plants – psychedelic and otherwise – that are godsends on the path to healing addiction, but the essential part to understand is that nature does not ever cure us, she helps us access the root causes of our pain and dis-ease, and empowers us to heal ourselves. Just like any great mother would ☺ Taking herbal supplements should be done with caution, and it is crucial to consult healthcare providers to ensure safety and effectiveness.
About the Author
Tina “Kat” Courtney is a traditionally trained Ayahuasquera and Huachumera; she apprenticed for over a decade in the Shipibo-Conibo and Quechua-Lamista traditions. She’s the author of Plant Medicine Mystery School Vol 1: The Superhero Healing Powers of Psychotropic Plants. Kat is a pioneer in the Psychedelic Integration space, as well as an expert in cultivating life-changing relationships with plant spirits. She leads Master Plant Diets both in person and remotely and is available for coaching and consultations about this and all shamanic topics. Kat is also a certified Death Doula, honored to help people make peace with the inevitable and beautiful transition into the afterlife. She has spent her adult life cultivating a bonded and trusting relationship with the darkness, and she’d love to help you do the same.
