What is Recovery?
By Lauren Esmay, MS
If you were to ask your friends, family, and colleagues to define “recovery,” most would probably think of it as “a process of healing from an illness, disease or a medical procedure.”
Typically, if someone says they are “in recovery”, they are probably referring to healing from an addiction such as substance use disorder.
But what exactly is recovery, and why is it important that we discuss this topic in detail when also talking about plant-based medicine?
Recovery in Western Culture
The Western world often discusses recovery as a focus on abstaining from the substance(s) that led to addiction, with the help of a rehabilitation program, talk therapy, and oftentimes, psychiatric medications.
People enter typical recovery programs for a predetermined amount of time, separated away from the outside world. After discussing what led to their addiction and talking about how to heal, they are released after a short interval.
These programs may also be accompanied by 12-step programs, medications that affect brain biochemistry, religious groups, and even family therapy, all in an attempt to help the person succeed in their recovery efforts.
“There is a mindset within [traditional] treatment that there is only one way to do it.” —Deidra Fuller, LPC, Substance Use Counselor
Some of these programs are genuinely well-intentioned, while many are simply commercial enterprises looking to maximize their profits regardless of true efficacy.
Even worse, there are numerous documented instances of recovery service provider scams, preying upon vulnerable people and further harming them.
“There are examples of unethical and illegal conduct in all areas of medicine and healthcare, but substance use disorder has historically been largely unmonitored in comparison to other medical conditions, and so has been very publicly riddled with more than its fair share of deceits and deceptions that have exploited vulnerable patients for profit.” –Recovery Research Institute
While traditional treatment programs can be helpful for some individuals, statistics show that for the majority of people they are simply not effective in any kind of lasting way.
Often, people complete these programs without gaining tools to safely reintegrate back into society and the environment in which they were previously using.
Recovery from substance abuse necessitates much more than abstinence from a substance and discussing one’s use history.
Substance use disorders can ravage a person’s physical health, mental health, and emotional health — all of these must be addressed. And, what is often left out is a person’s spiritual health.
As a person becomes increasingly substance-dependent, their brain chemistry begins to operate in survival mode. Obtaining and consuming the substance is biochemically prioritized as a matter of life and death.
As a result, the person may choose actions and show behaviors that do not reflect their important core beliefs and personal values, which can create isolation from friends and family.
The resulting guilt and shame can then lead a person further into substance use and continue the cycle as the person becomes more and more isolated.
How do we help people with opioid use disorder when traditional treatment programs only work for a short amount of time for most people who access them?
How do we help people get off the difficult merry-go-round of entering different treatment facilities and fruitlessly trying various cocktails of pharmaceuticals just hoping the next one will actually work?
The Etheridge Foundation believes that plant medicine and psychedelic-assisted therapy offers new answers as a resource for people seeking recovery to reconnect with all of the elements of their health: body, mind, heart, and spirit.
Psychedelic-Enhanced Recovery
So how is plant-based medicine used in recovery? How do psychedelics offer different outcomes than the Western model of recovery?
Certain transformative medicines — such as ibogaine, MDMA, and psilocybin — allow the brain to experience neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to change and adapt. As the brain is able to change and adapt, it is also able to create new neural pathways and modify existing neural pathways in response to behavioral changes and environmental changes.
Simply put, psychedelics can help a person’s brain change the way they respond to situations, and to create new brain pathways – opening the way for therapy and other elements of recovery to have a tremendous impact..
By allowing psychedelics to heal and transform from the root of the addiction cycle, a person is able to create a new pathway to allow for real transformation to take place.
Think about caring for a lawn – perhaps one has been neglected for years, and overridden by weeds and pests. Will it quickly flourish just by throwing down some new seeds, watering it at the right times, and hoping for the best?
Well, no – before new seeds can be successfully planted, the weeds need to be cleared, the soil raked and tilled, and the lawn needs to be dethatched and aerated.
And lots and lots of patience is involved in this process – just as for someone in recovery from substance use disorder.
In the lawn care scenario, Western society’s recovery model often starts with the equivalent of the dethatching process or planting seeds first, whereas psychedelics allow a person to begin the cleaning process first so the proper steps of recovery can take place for a healthy life. By digging deeper and getting rooted in the person’s core values and beliefs with psychedelics, healing is allowed to take place beyond the surface level that Western treatment allows.
Along the way, as new pathways, behaviors, and decision-making processes are taking place, a person can begin to heal their spiritual self as their behaviors better align with their values.
Similar to the lawn procedure, patience is also a key in this process, too.
It’s also important to point out the intention of using transformational medicine when going into this healing space. Just as you would have an intention or image as to how you would like your lawn to appear, intention with plant-based medicine is critical to one’s journey.
Relapse and Maintenance
What about relapse rates using psychedelic assisted therapy?
In a study conducted at the University of Colorado, rodents were trained to self-administer an opioid by pressing a lever in response to certain light cues. The rodents were then either weaned off of the opioid or given one dose of tabernanthalog (TBG), which is a version of ibogaine that the researcher altered to be non-hallucinogenic.
When the light cues were reintroduced, the weaned rodents quickly began pushing the lever again, indicating a relapse. However, the TBG group of rodents had lower relapse rates, and the opioid cues were no longer effective at triggering a relapse for up to two weeks. Considering the average lifespan of a rodent, two weeks is a significant amount of time.
Recovery in the transformative plant medicine world not only involves the abstinence of the substance, but it also involves holistic healing of oneself — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
Psychedelic-assisted therapy allows a person to transform the way they have responded to certain situations into healthier behaviors and responses without the use of substances.
As we continue to have conversations regarding psychedelics and healing in a recovery space, it is our goal and mission to:
Fund ongoing research on how psychedelics can help transform people’s lives living with substance use disorders and mental health concerns
Fight the stigma surrounding the conversations about psychedelics, opioid use disorder, and mental health
Help those with opioid use disorders find lasting recovery
This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. It is best to consult a licensed health practitioner about any symptoms or conditions you have and to discuss the use of herbal supplements.
