Everyone's Taking Psychedelics. Should I?

Lately, everywhere I turn, someone’s talking about psychedelics. At dinner parties, at my kids’ school pickup, even at the hospital. From the typical Netflix documentary to everyone and their cousin traveling to Costa Rica or Mexico for plant medicine ceremonies, it seems like psychedelic consciousness expansion is on the rise.

Alan Watts said, “Psychedelics are simply instruments, like microscopes, telescopes, and telephones. The biologist does not sit with eye permanently glued to the microscope; he goes away and works on what he has seen.” This captures something essential about these experiences: they’re meant to show you something, not become your permanent residence.

As a physician who prescribes ketamine therapy, I get asked about this constantly. And I have my own story to share. Years ago, I had a profoundly life-changing experience with psilocybin that fundamentally altered the trajectory of my life. It wasn’t just healing, though there was healing. It was a complete shift in how I saw reality itself.

The veil lifted, and suddenly I could see patterns in my life, my relationships, and my thinking that had been invisible to me before. Religious trauma that I’d carried for decades, fears I didn’t even know were shaping my decisions, limiting beliefs about what I was capable of creating in this world. All of it became visible, and more importantly, it lost its power over me.

What emerged was something I can only describe as excessive heart. A sense of oneness with everything and everyone. A love towards all beings that felt like coming home to my true nature. Ram Dass gave me the language for it: “I Am Loving Awareness.” That became my intention, my mantra, the lens through which I try to see the world.

That experience gave me the confidence to create businesses, to make art, to write, to step into creative expression I’d been afraid to claim before. I lost fears that had governed my life. Through intensive integration work: writing, mantra meditation, yoga, sitting with what had been revealed and letting it reshape me from the inside out.

So I come to this conversation not just as a physician, but as someone who has walked this path and continues to walk it. Let’s take an honest look at what you should consider before joining the psychedelic renaissance.

The Psychedelic Resurgence Is Real

There’s no denying that interest in psychedelic substances has exploded. Clinical research into psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, and other substances for treating depression, PTSD, and anxiety has produced genuinely promising results. Major universities are launching psychedelic research centers. Oregon, Colorado, and other states have decriminalized or legalized certain psychedelics for therapeutic use.

This renewed interest isn’t just narishkeit. Decades of research suppression are finally lifting, allowing scientists to explore what indigenous cultures have known for millennia: when used appropriately, certain psychedelic substances can facilitate profound healing and personal insight.

As Ram Dass beautifully taught that psychedelics showed him different levels of consciousness, but he had to come back and integrate what he learned. The real work happens in your daily life.

That resonates deeply with my own experience. The psilocybin journey gave me clarity and insight, showed me the nature of consciousness itself, revealed the interconnectedness of all things. But the real transformation happened in the months and years afterward as I integrated what I learned into my daily choices, my creative work, my spiritual practice, my relationships.

But “Everyone’s Doing It” Isn’t a Reason

The fact that psychedelics are becoming more socially acceptable doesn’t automatically make them appropriate for you. These are powerful substances that affect brain chemistry in significant ways, and they deserve serious consideration and respect. This isn’t like trying a new meditation app.

My own experience was profound precisely because I approached it with intention, in a safe setting, with proper preparation. It wasn’t casual. It wasn’t recreational. It was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life, but also one of the most challenging. I saw things about myself, my conditioning, my ego structures that were uncomfortable to witness. But that discomfort was part of the healing.

A Little Cheshbon Hanefesh

Why Do You Want to Try Psychedelics?

Your motivation matters enormously. Are you seeking relief from treatment-resistant depression or anxiety? Looking for personal growth or spiritual exploration? Curious because of media coverage or peer pressure? Hoping to escape or avoid dealing with problems? Seeking healing from religious trauma or childhood wounds? Wanting to expand your consciousness or explore the nature of reality?

The most successful psychedelic experiences typically come from intentional, thoughtful use rather than recreational experimentation. As we say, have some kavanah, some intention behind what you’re doing.

When I approached my psilocybin experience, I had specific questions I was wrestling with about my life’s direction, unresolved religious trauma, and a sense that there was something beyond the narrow, fear-based existence I’d been living. That intention helped shape a meaningful experience rather than just an interesting trip.

Are You a Good Candidate?

Psychedelics aren’t appropriate for everyone, and that’s okay. You should absolutely not use psychedelic substances if you have a personal or family history of schizophrenia or psychosis, are taking certain medications (especially MAOIs or some antidepressants), have unmanaged severe mental health conditions, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have certain cardiovascular conditions.

A thorough medical screening is essential before considering any psychedelic therapy. This is not the place to play fast and loose with your health. In my practice, I conduct comprehensive evaluations before ever prescribing ketamine because safety comes first, always.

What’s Your Set and Setting?

This classic psychedelic principle remains crucial. “Set” refers to your mindset: your expectations, mental state, and intentions. “Setting” refers to your physical and social environment.

Are you considering medically supervised therapy in a legal clinical setting? A guided retreat with experienced facilitators? Taking substances in a safe, intentional setting with trusted companions? The context dramatically affects both safety and outcomes.

My own psilocybin experience was in a safe, controlled setting with a shaman I trusted deeply. That safety allowed me to go deep without fear, to face difficult emotions and challenging truths knowing I was held and supported. I could surrender to the experience because I knew I was physically safe.

Treatment Options and Legal Considerations

Here’s where things get complicated, so pay attention.

Legal options exist in certain states:

- Oregon has legalized psilocybin therapy through licensed facilitators

- Colorado has decriminalized certain psychedelics and is developing regulated access

- Ketamine therapy is legal nationwide through medical channels (clinics and telemedicine)

- MDMA may receive FDA approval for PTSD treatment in the near future

- Ibogaine, 5meoDMT, Psilocybin, mescaline, and other psychedelics may be legal in other countries, do your research

More Legality and Safety:

Most psychedelics remain Schedule I substances federally. Using them outside legal medical or state-approved contexts carries real legal risks. I’m not here to tell you what to do, but know what you’re getting into. Use your seichel.

Even where substances are legal or decriminalized, safety requires proper supervision, medical screening, and integration support. The Wild West approach of taking unknown substances in uncontrolled settings? That’s recklessness.

In my ketamine practice, every patient gets a full medical history, mental health assessment, and ongoing monitoring. The same standard should apply to any psychedelic therapy.

The Integration Piece

Jack Kornfeld spent years teaching meditation and referencing spiritual insight, he titled his book, “After the ecstasy, the laundry.” The real transformation happens in how you integrate insights into your daily life.

Integration can take many forms. Some people work with therapists or integration coaches. Others, like me, find their path through spiritual practices: meditation, yoga, writing, creative expression, contemplation. What matters is that you have a practice, a container, a way to metabolize what you’ve experienced and embody it in your life.

After my psilocybin experience, I wrote constantly. Pages and pages of processing, trying to capture and understand what I’d seen. I deepened my meditation practice, sitting with mantras that helped me return to that sense of loving awareness. I started doing yoga, using the body as a vehicle for integration. I began creating art without the self-consciousness that had always stopped me before. I started businesses I’d been afraid to start. I wrote things I’d been afraid to write.

The medicine showed me who I could be without fear, without the weight of religious trauma, without the limiting stories I’d been telling myself. But I had to do the work of actually becoming that person. The excessive heart, the oneness, the loving awareness, these weren’t permanent states gifted by the mushrooms. They were possibilities revealed, and my job was to practice them, to choose them, to orient my life around them. To embody the simple teachings of the great Maharajji, Neem Karoli Baba, “Love everyone, Serve Everyone, Remember God, and tell the truth.”

“I Am Loving Awareness” became my mantra, my intention, my goal. When I forget, when I contract back into fear or judgment or separation, that phrase brings me home.

What the Research Actually Shows

Recent studies on psychedelic-assisted therapy have shown promising results for conditions like depression, PTSD, anxiety, addiction, and even existential distress in terminal illness. However, let’s be clear about what the research really says: most successful studies involve careful medical supervision, therapy and integration support are key components, not everyone responds to psychedelic treatment, more research is still needed on long-term effects.

This isn’t a magic cure-all. It’s a tool, and like any tool, it works better in skilled hands with proper preparation. What I see in my ketamine practice is that patients who commit to some form of integration work, whether therapy, spiritual practice, creative expression, or other modalities, have far better outcomes than those who view it as a quick fix.

So, Should You?

There’s no universal answer, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.

Consider psychedelic therapy if:

- You have treatment-resistant mental health conditions

- You’ve exhausted conventional treatment options

- You’re seeking healing from trauma, including religious trauma

- You’re willing to do the integration work before and after

- You can access safe, legal, professionally supervised options

- You’re prepared for a potentially challenging but meaningful experience

- You have realistic expectations about outcomes

- You’re drawn to spiritual exploration or understanding the nature of consciousness

- You’re ready to face uncomfortable truths about yourself and your conditioning

Skip it if:

- You have medical or psychiatric contraindications

- You’re acting purely on social pressure or FOMO

- You’re looking for a magic bullet without personal work

- You can’t access safe, legal, appropriate settings with proper supervision or trusted support

- You’re not ready for potentially difficult emotions to surface

- You’re in an unstable life situation that can’t accommodate the process

- You’re unwilling or unable to commit to integration practices

A Path Forward

If you’re genuinely interested in exploring psychedelic therapy, the responsible path forward involves consulting with a qualified mental health professional, getting a thorough medical screening, exploring legal, medically supervised options in states where they exist, preparing mentally and emotionally with proper guidance, and committing to integration work afterward.

That integration work might look like therapy, or it might look like meditation, yoga, journaling, creative expression, spiritual practice, or some combination. What matters is that you have a way to process and embody what you learn.

The psychedelic renaissance offers genuine hope for many people struggling with mental health challenges, seeking healing from trauma, or yearning for deeper understanding of consciousness and reality. But like any powerful tool, these substances deserve respect, caution, and thoughtful consideration rather than casual experimentation.

As Ram Dass reminds us, “We’re all just walking each other home.” If psychedelics are part of your journey home to yourself, to loving awareness, to your true nature beneath the conditioning and fear, make sure you’re walking with guides who know the path, in places where the journey is honored and legal.

The question isn’t whether everyone’s doing it. The question is whether it’s right for you, in this moment, with proper support and preparation. Only you, ideally in consultation with qualified professionals and trusted guides, can answer that.

My psilocybin experience was transformative because it was approached with reverence, preparation, and a commitment to integration. It showed me that beneath all the fear and conditioning, I am loving awareness. We all are. That’s not just a nice idea, it’s a lived reality that I practice returning to every day.

If you choose this path, may you approach it with the same respect and intention. May it reveal to you your own true nature. And may you do the work to embody what you discover.

L’chaim to making wise choices for your health and wellbeing, and to the courage it takes to seek truth and healing.

DISCLAIMER: This blog post is for informational and educational purposes only. While I am a licensed physician who prescribes ketamine therapy, this content does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship or medical advice specific to any individual reader. The information presented here, including personal anecdotes about my own experiences, should not be used as a substitute for professional medical consultation, diagnosis, or treatment.

Psychedelic substances (other than ketamine prescribed through legal medical channels) remain Schedule I controlled substances under federal law and are illegal in most states, with limited exceptions in jurisdictions like Oregon and Colorado. Use of illegal substances carries legal risks and potential health consequences.

Before considering any psychedelic therapy, you must consult with qualified medical and mental health professionals who can evaluate your individual circumstances, medical history, and contraindications. Never use psychedelic substances without proper medical supervision and screening. The experiences and outcomes described in this post, including my personal experience, may not be typical and will vary significantly between individuals.

My personal account is shared to provide context and perspective, not as a recommendation or prescription for others. Each person’s journey is unique, and what worked for me may not be appropriate or safe for you.

This content reflects my professional experience and personal perspective but does not represent medical guidance for any specific individual or situation.