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e one of the most important skills in the near future.Nadya: Thank you for sharing; I totally agree with that. Mental health is just as important, if not more, than physical health. Could you touch on psychedelic-assisted therapy and how it has helped your journey of healing?Samantha: Psychedelic-assisted therapy punctuated incredible spurts of progress in my healing journey. What people do not talk enough about is that psychedelic-assisted therapy is a small part of the therapeutic intervention — 90% of the work is in the integration through somatic therapy, EMDR, Mindfulness practice, and other healing modalities.Nadya: Wow, that’s so impactful. What are some of the misconceptions around psychedelics?Samantha: We need to reframe how we think of psychedelics: If people analogize psychedelic-assisted therapy to drug use, then they may be unconsciously preventing people who need help the opportunity to do so. Instead, they need to educate themselves about what it means to use psychedelics as a therapeutic. Today, many people aren’t comfortable talking about mental health or trauma, but thankfully it’s becoming more common. If you, or I, talk openly about our journeys towards building well-being and even one person is positively influenced, then the ripple effects for the people they come in contact with and how they are able to live their lives is tremendous — it is so worth it.During the pandemic, many people suffered from anxiety, depression, PTSD, and more generally languished. It made the importance of mental health more mainstream. Psychedelics are a breakthrough treatment in mental health and people, especially investors, are paying attention. We are in a real moment where LSD and Ibogaine are already on the Nasdaq.Nadya: Yeah, I know there’s been a “Psychedelic Revolution” and it’s so interesting to hear about the research that’s been going on regarding this field. Do you think there are other barriers that prevent us from breaking the stigma around psychedelic therapy?Samantha: Oh for sure — there are many. I have interviewed hundreds of people on their decision-making process around psychedelic-assisted therapy. When people miscategorize psychedelic-assisted therapy for the appropriate conditions as drug use, they may prevent people who need help from getting it for multiple reasons. Beyond the stigmatization generally of drug use, many people have experienced drug addictions, which have led to broken relationships with themselves, so they are trying to heal that relationship through therapeutic intervention — not “using drugs.” Many people may have had me

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mbers of their family experience substance abuse, which leaves them with an aversion to a therapy that is often misconflated with substance abuse. Someone may have survived date rape, and have an aversion to any mind-altering substances, or have survived cancer treatment that included mind-altering chemo experiences. If someone has been hurt by substance abuse, or negative experiences with even healing mind-altering treatments, in their social ecology before, then there’s a potential barrier for the possibility of using substances to heal.It’s the same way anything else could be triggering for someone based on a traumatic life experience. The idea of ingesting a substance as treatment can be triggering and a barrier based on someone’s personal life experience and the ways in which substances were previously contextualized. We can all take a part in helping people access cars by not conflating drug use and psychedelic-assisted therapy.Honestly, psychedelics are often misunderstood — people incorrectly think it’s addictive, and they don’t yet realize it can be therapeutic in the appropriate context. They associate with the 70s and hippie culture but don’t seem to mention the ways in which mind-altering substances were used as religious sacraments throughout antiquity.Large amounts of research have gone into set and setting for therapeutic use, and there are psychedelic research centers now popping up at all of the major institutions.Nadya: I love that so much. I think I’ll definitely have to give psychedelic-assisted therapy a try! Do you have any closing thoughts?Samantha: Trauma separates you from yourself in order to help you survive. You have to be back in connection with life — the oneness with the universe to heal. One of the many reasons psychedelic-assisted therapy works is that having a facilitator there to hold space and guide your therapeutic experience is that it re-enforces a sense of belonging.I’m currently hosting a discussion series on psychedelic science you can access <a href="http://wombkind.com/bookclub">here</a>.Read more about Samantha’s journey at <a href="https://www.samantharosestein.com/">Wombkind</a> and her <a href="https://www.samantharosestein.com/wombkind-media/tag/Plant+Medicine">article on plant medicine</a>!Read more about psychedelic-assisted therapy in my article,<a href="https://asweatlife.com/2021/05/psychedelics-and-mental-health/"> </a><a href="https://asweatlife.com/2021/05/psychedelics-and-mental-health/">Psychedelics Are Emerging Into The Mainstream Mental Health Space</a>, published on May 17, 2021.</article></body>

Q&A With Samantha Rose Stein: Mental Health and Psychedelic Assisted Therapy

TW: Mental Health, Creativity, Well-Being, PTSD

I was honored to sit down with Samantha Rose Stein from Wombkind — a community of over 200k+ people globally, using creativity as a well-being practice — to talk about all things mental health and about her experience with psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Nadya: It’s so good to speak to you Samantha! To start, could you tell me a bit about yourself and Wombkind and the inspiration behind the name?

Samantha: Nadya, great to see we are both focused around the womb, for you via menstruation, and for me a powerful metaphor for creativity.

What would the world look like if emotional fitness were as sexy as physical fitness? In the 1950s, if you told someone you were going for a run, they likely would have asked you what or who you were running from. Yet, today working out is an integral part of our idea of well-being, health, and even for most attractiveness. They say necessity is the mother of invention. Fast food helped popularize workouts in the same way social media and covid will be popularizing factors in emotional fitness.

My career started in conflict resolution, then as spent in startups, followed by media before I became an artist.

The Wombkind community explores the intersection of art, technology, and consciousness. We tradeoff creativity for productivity, and the ability to get outside of our comfort zone through expression helps us expand ourselves.

Your creative energy is divergent, meaning it breaks through conditioning, allowing you to see outside of ‘the regular frame,’ to widen and evolve your perception.

We bring together neuroscientists, comedians, mindfulness teachers, and others to explore both the mystery and the known to heal, and evolve ourselves.

Nadya: Amazing, I love that message! Can you tell me about your personal experience with trauma and mental health?

Samantha: Yes, I have been on a healing journey recovering from PTSD. Before the pandemic, I worked for a long-time to be outside, and around people and feel comfortable, and safe again. I never would have predicted I would heal and then be told to stay away from others it isn’t safe!

We need to talk more openly about mental health as a normalized integral part of our well-being. We also need greater emotional literacy. It will be one of the most important skills in the near future.

Nadya: Thank you for sharing; I totally agree with that. Mental health is just as important, if not more, than physical health. Could you touch on psychedelic-assisted therapy and how it has helped your journey of healing?

Samantha: Psychedelic-assisted therapy punctuated incredible spurts of progress in my healing journey. What people do not talk enough about is that psychedelic-assisted therapy is a small part of the therapeutic intervention — 90% of the work is in the integration through somatic therapy, EMDR, Mindfulness practice, and other healing modalities.

Nadya: Wow, that’s so impactful. What are some of the misconceptions around psychedelics?

Samantha: We need to reframe how we think of psychedelics: If people analogize psychedelic-assisted therapy to drug use, then they may be unconsciously preventing people who need help the opportunity to do so. Instead, they need to educate themselves about what it means to use psychedelics as a therapeutic. Today, many people aren’t comfortable talking about mental health or trauma, but thankfully it’s becoming more common. If you, or I, talk openly about our journeys towards building well-being and even one person is positively influenced, then the ripple effects for the people they come in contact with and how they are able to live their lives is tremendous — it is so worth it.

During the pandemic, many people suffered from anxiety, depression, PTSD, and more generally languished. It made the importance of mental health more mainstream. Psychedelics are a breakthrough treatment in mental health and people, especially investors, are paying attention. We are in a real moment where LSD and Ibogaine are already on the Nasdaq.

Nadya: Yeah, I know there’s been a “Psychedelic Revolution” and it’s so interesting to hear about the research that’s been going on regarding this field. Do you think there are other barriers that prevent us from breaking the stigma around psychedelic therapy?

Samantha: Oh for sure — there are many. I have interviewed hundreds of people on their decision-making process around psychedelic-assisted therapy. When people miscategorize psychedelic-assisted therapy for the appropriate conditions as drug use, they may prevent people who need help from getting it for multiple reasons. Beyond the stigmatization generally of drug use, many people have experienced drug addictions, which have led to broken relationships with themselves, so they are trying to heal that relationship through therapeutic intervention — not “using drugs.” Many people may have had members of their family experience substance abuse, which leaves them with an aversion to a therapy that is often misconflated with substance abuse. Someone may have survived date rape, and have an aversion to any mind-altering substances, or have survived cancer treatment that included mind-altering chemo experiences. If someone has been hurt by substance abuse, or negative experiences with even healing mind-altering treatments, in their social ecology before, then there’s a potential barrier for the possibility of using substances to heal.

It’s the same way anything else could be triggering for someone based on a traumatic life experience. The idea of ingesting a substance as treatment can be triggering and a barrier based on someone’s personal life experience and the ways in which substances were previously contextualized. We can all take a part in helping people access cars by not conflating drug use and psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Honestly, psychedelics are often misunderstood — people incorrectly think it’s addictive, and they don’t yet realize it can be therapeutic in the appropriate context. They associate with the 70s and hippie culture but don’t seem to mention the ways in which mind-altering substances were used as religious sacraments throughout antiquity.

Large amounts of research have gone into set and setting for therapeutic use, and there are psychedelic research centers now popping up at all of the major institutions.

Nadya: I love that so much. I think I’ll definitely have to give psychedelic-assisted therapy a try! Do you have any closing thoughts?

Samantha: Trauma separates you from yourself in order to help you survive. You have to be back in connection with life — the oneness with the universe to heal. One of the many reasons psychedelic-assisted therapy works is that having a facilitator there to hold space and guide your therapeutic experience is that it re-enforces a sense of belonging.

I’m currently hosting a discussion series on psychedelic science you can access here.

Read more about Samantha’s journey at Wombkind and her article on plant medicine!

Read more about psychedelic-assisted therapy in my article, Psychedelics Are Emerging Into The Mainstream Mental Health Space, published on May 17, 2021.