Category: Health and Wellness

Psilocybin can be good for your brain!

When I started my “Year of Learning” project, I didn’t expect “psilocybin” to be on my list of something to try or even learn about!

Unlike many of my peers, I never tried “magic mushrooms” (or even pot!) in my youth. I’ve always been sort of a nerdy rule-following health nut, and was never even tempted by any kind of drugs. I remembered the “This is Your Brain on Drugs” commercial and the last thing I wanted was to fry my brain.

But for the past couple of years I’ve been really interested in Brain Health, and was amazed to learn that psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”) has been proven, with proper usage, to actually be good for your brain!

Since talking to Neuroscientist Susan Greenfield on my podcast, I’ve known that building neuroplasticity in our brains is a key to preventing Alzheimer’s.

Learning that psilocybin actually builds that neuroplasticity… improving our brain health, rather than destroying it, was an incredible discovery!

Besides wanting to build neuroplasticity to prevent Alzheimers, I’ve learned that building these pathways in our brains helps us gain clarity and cognitive skills, helping us find new ways to solve problems.

How does one try psilocybin?

Despite the discoveries of the benefits of psilocybin, there is still a lot of stigma and legalities associated with its use. I live in Colorado where possession and use are decriminalized.

However, I don’t take any mind-altering substance lightly. Taking psilocybin does come with risks. I wanted to be fully informed, safe, and legal.

I got my opportunity when I found out through Facebook that one of my trusted friends, a therapist, was co-hosting a women’s wellness retreat in Manitou Springs, which included a guided plant-based medicine “journey.”

The Psilocybin Journey

The Psilocybin Journey was the original reason I signed up for this retreat. I had wanted to try psilocybin in a safe and controlled environment and, without me even seeking it out, the opportunity presented itself.

The “journey” itself, for me, was like conscious dreaming. We were in a comfortable bed with eyeshades and headphones, listening to curated music, designed to evoke different emotions and heighten the experience. For me, it did evoke a variety of emotions including grief as well as gratitude and contentment. At the same time, with eyes closed, there were the psychedelic images, shapes, and colors that seemed to flow with the music and my thoughts.

I especially appreciated the “integration session” in which the group shared their experiences with their journeys. It was wonderful to have the guidance of Heather and Monica who reassured us all of the magic of the mushroom. The “download” and neuroplasticity will continue in the coming weeks, helping us gain clarity in areas that we may have previously felt stuck.

They are passionate about removing the previous stigma associated with mushrooms and instead honoring it as plant-based medicine, designed to heal.

I’m excited to think that this acceptance and appropriate use will become more available for people over time, helping people to overcome depression and PTSD.

Sharing the experience with Megan

It’s funny how this memorable weekend materialized. I’m quite logical so don’t talk too much about ‘manifestations’ or anything too ‘woo woo.’ However, I do believe in being intentional about living our dreams.

One of my primary intentions is to spend time with the people I love.. to share new and memorable experiences and adventures with them. I don’t often get the opportunity to have a 1:1 adventure with my daughter, Megan. She’s married with two kids of her own so her priority, of course, is her own family. I felt so lucky and excited that she was able to join me on this special women’s weekend! She even drove us (no hands!) down to Manitou Springs in her new Tesla!

Indulging in a Women’s Retreat

Besides the adventure of trying psilocybin for the first time, there were so many other memorable moments throughout the weekend.

I’ve never splurged on a “retreat” before. It always felt too indulgent. But this is the time of life to try things I’ve never done before… not just psilocybin, but also treating myself to a luxury weekend. I’m so glad I did!

Admittedly, yoga is one of my least favorite activities. It seems to be the main attraction at most women’s wellness retreats. At this retreat, the main attraction, of course, was the psilocybin journey, but an optional pre-journey yoga class was offered.

Wanting to take advantage of everything offered, I joined, and was, once again, surprised at how the experience exceeded expectations. The beauty of the studio with the magnificent view inspired awe with every stretch. The yoga instructor repeatedly reminded us that there were no ‘rights’ or ‘wrongs’ and put my over-thinking mind at ease.

Each meal was prepared so beautifully, full of healthy, colorful deliciousness. There was ritual and sharing and a feeling of tribal sisterhood throughout the weekend.

On our final night, we had a surprise full-moon ceremony at the gorgeous Garden of the Gods (Goddesses!) How wonderful that the park was open at night!

As we stood together, hand in hand, an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love filled my soul. Maybe it was the mushrooms building the new pathways in my brain. I felt the presence of past spirits, the moon, the sisterhood, the wind, the magnificent universe.. and God. Maybe I’ve become more woo-woo after all. It was magical.

Coursera Class: Understanding Memory through Movies

This month in my Year of Learning, I’ve been focusing on Memory. It’s been enlightening and interesting, and … well, hopefully, memorable!

I enrolled in the Coursera Class: Understanding Memory: Explaining the Psychology of Memory through Movies offered by Wesleyan University and taught by John G. Seamon. By the way, Seamon has a book available with the same content.

This has been one of my favorite Coursera classes. Each lecture highlights a movie. Seamon gives an overview of the plot and then explains concepts from the movie that help us learn more about how our memory works.

I’ve seen many of the movies that are from the course, and it’s been super-interesting to me to dig deeper into the psychology of the characters and the plot and for Seamon to help us understand what’s realistic and what’s not.

First Lecture: Sometimes Life Imitates Art – Film:Fifty First Dates

In the first lecture, Seamon gives us an example of how the movies we see may influence what we believe and affect our brains in unexpected ways.

He showed us clips from the movie, 50 First Dates, in which Lucy (played by Drew Barrymore), suffers from a type of amnesia that she gets as a result of a car accident. Each day when she wakes up she can only remember her life up until the day of the accident (which she doesn’t remember.)

She creates new memories only for a day, but she loses those memories at night when she goes to sleep.

We learn in this first lecture that amnesia doesn’t really work this way.

If Lucy’s brain damage were severe enough to stop her from making lasting memories, she would find it hard to remember anything new for more than a few minutes. 

Lucy would be able to follow short commercials on television. But longer stories would leave her baffled and confused, as she would forget earlier scenes.

Lecture 1: Sometimes Life Imitates Art – Film: 50 First Dates

However, shortly after the film came out, there was a patient (known as FL) who experienced a similar type of amnesia as Lucy. The doctors were baffled because the brain scans did not indicate any damage that would cause this amnesia, but also didn’t think FL was faking her amnesia.

They discovered that FL’s favorite actress was Drew Barrymore and that she had seen the movie, Fifty First Dates, before her accident.

The researchers surmised that FL was experiencing amnesia, but it was functional not organic amnesia. The origin of each type of amnesia is different. Functional amnesia has a psychological origin, while organic amnesia has a biological basis.

Lecture 1: Sometimes Life Imitates Art – Film: 50 First Dates

Movies and other media affect our beliefs and our brains

I found it incredible that a movie could affect someone’s psyche enough that it could create functional amnesia. I’m finding that there is so much more that might affect our brains than I realized. And, in turn, our brains and what we think, affects our health – mental and physical!

News, social media, music, and movies will influence our beliefs and our brains!

Summary

Water Drinking is not usually considered fun, but it’s time to change that!

It’s a new year and I’ve really been struggling with figuring out my 2023 “theme.” The year of Microadventures was so successful and I wanted to figure out something equally fun that I could blog about each week.

I had a lot of different ideas that sort of fizzled.. a year of learning, a year of helping, a year of new people, a year of healthy habits. My friend, Michael Bolé shared an article about a woman who did a new thing every day! Oh! That’s appealing!

I’m nixing any of the “every day” ideas, though. I’m already pressured enough not to break my Duolingo streak (I’m on Day 1403, thank you very much!)

Healthy Habit For Week1: Drink More Water

The “healthy habit” I was focusing on for Week 1 was “Drink More Water.” So trite and boring. Been there, done that. Certainly water-drinking is about as opposite of a “new thing” as you can get. We literally do it every day and it doesn’t even taste that good! Which I guess is why it’s so hard to drink as much as we’re always told to drink. And don’t get me started at how inconvenient it is to have to pee so much!

Making Water Drinking Fun: Hydration Bars

But that new-thing-every-day article got me thinking: How can I have an “adventure” with water drinking – do something I’ve never done before.. I’d remembered hearing something about “hydration bars” and I excitedly googled “Hydration Bar near me” and several local-area options came up!

“That’s it!” I thought. “I will have an adventure at a Hydration Bar this week!” I pictured myself in a new-age spa doing something really edgy and trendy, yet healthy… a healthy version of a Hookah Bar experience. (This idea excited me. I once wanted to try a Hookah Bar experience… but then I learned it involved smoking.)

Anyway, I checked into Hydration Bars and found out that these aren’t really “bars.” They are IV treatments that start at about $150!

This idea quickly lost its appeal. I’ve had an IV and it’s not at all exciting. Also, I’m really cheap. I don’t even like to pay for the fancy waters in the grocery store.

And just because they call it a “Cocktail” does not make it a fun drink! Those are cockamamie tales! “Crocktales!” That will be my new word for these “Hydration IV Treatments” that you get at “Hydration Bars.” (Not to be confused with Mocktails, which really are quite lovely non-alcoholic drinks you can now get at some real bars.)

I googled “Why do people go to hydration bars when they can just drink water?” thinking I must be missing something. The AARP article, The Truth Behind Trendy IV Vitamin Water Therapy confirmed my assumptions that basically, this would be a ridiculous over-priced “adventure.” (Come to think of it, that’s true of many “adventures” but I’ll save that rant for another day).

Cheaper Ways to Make Water Drinking More Fun

I decided to “be me” and do something cheap, yet pretty and different to liven up my water-drinking experience: Making infused water.

The result was not nearly as pretty as the pictures in the article.. are the strawberries supposed to float? Of course, the “Squeeze the Day” quote on the water bottle makes it fun even if this doesn’t look like the magazine or taste much different from water.

I also splurged on a “fancy water” from the grocery story! ($2.49 is much better than a $239 Kate Crocktale!)

This was surprisingly delicious. It was sweet. I’m guessing that whatever sugar (or fake sugar) they put in this drink to make it so tasty negates any of the health benefits from drinking it. Oh well. It still was a new experience.

Finally, to round out this exciting water-drinking adventure, I bought a new water filter pitcher. This will not only keep my water clean, but helps me monitor that I’m drinking my daily quota. (Logging was not working for me.)

As for me 2023 theme? I’ve decided on “Healthy Aging.” .. on the cheap!