Writing by Alex Aller // illustration by Nea Valdivia
If you haven’t noticed, there’s a psychedelic renaissance happening at this very moment, with a highly organized and motivated community of respected shamans, practitioners, doctors, researchers, healers and facilitators working under legal constraints to destigmatize psychedelics and bring their potential for healing to the masses.
As a writer and consultant in the psychedelic and healing space, despite the continued criminalization of most psychedelics (with the exception of ketamine), to my surprise and delight, I’ve found one unlikely but bold demographic not only adopting psychedelics for the betterment of their own mental health and their families, but rebelling against western medical systems and practices – mothers.
You might have seen headlines on psychedelics’ proven benefits for neuroplasticity and efficacy for veterans and those who suffer from traumatic brain injury, but it could be said that there is no group of people who have more to gain than moms on mushrooms. One wouldn’t assume, but mothers very much fit the profile of the average seeker of psychedelic medicine. This is a person often left at their nervous system’s wits end, feeling stuck in their circumstances and conditions. Whether it be mental or physical illness, this person might feel trapped or dissatisfied with their options for treatment or care. This person might also feel insufficiently supported medically, economically and socially and like their cries for help have gone unheard, unanswered and plainly disregarded.
It’s no secret that mothers (and parents) are insufficiently supported by maternity and paternity protocols in America, but the roots are far more deep and splayed. Women’s reproductive care, research and rights have been widely disregarded for centuries. We’re only now growing privy to the countless studies that never included testing on female bodies. One infuriating example of neglect; according to Yale Medicine, there is a “four-to-11-year delay between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis” for endometriosis, a uterine disease that affects up to 10% of women and adolescents (that we know of) because of poor access to healthcare and the disregardment of female physical pain. And this is just at the beginning of a woman’s fertility journey.
Homebirths and birthing centers have always been viable options, but have undoubtedly been viewed as the “alternative” less opted for method with more women pursuing hospital births, considering them the “safer than sorry” route. As of February 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says homebirths are at the highest rate in 30 years. We are seeing a real widening fear of hospital medical interventions’ negative impact on the natural process of birth and on the birthing person, shifting the view of these emergency centers as the creators of emergencies.
78% of people affected by autoimmune disease (illness linked to trauma) are women. We’re seeing an uptick in the declining mental and physical health of our female populations. Or perhaps, we’re only just beginning to really listen.
It’s clear women and mothers not receiving what they need from healthcare providers or the government within their lifetimes (and the last) means sending them in pursuit of alternative approaches, even if those avenues are in fact illegal.
From corporate settings discriminating against mothers who need time off post-partum to hospitals failing mothers in their birthing journeys, to the now growing knowledge of harmful dyes like Red 40 and Yellow 6 and cancer-causing ingredients like titanium dioxide being put into our children’s food, mothers and mothers-to-be are now seeking more holistic methods of healing themselves, bringing health and balance into their household, and raising their children – and they’re not being shy about it.
The popular organization and online community known as M.O.M aka Moms on Mushrooms dedicated to helping mothers learn how to safely use psilocybin for the purpose of improving their mental health, just went on national television to discuss the benefits of microdosing and psychedelics for stress, burnout, postpartum depression and anxiety.
There’s an expanding social-digital biome where mothers like Ebby Moyer are sharing and passing around information like homeopathic recipes, non-toxic food, medicine and product lists for children, and natural birthing methodologies. Homesteaders, holistic creators, even certified psychiatrists like Dr. Laila Contractor have outspokenly adopted integrative medicine to compensate and address the growing distrust and disappointment towards healthcare systems and big pharma (off the back of the opioid crisis no less). Though it’s also illegal in America, it’s only earshot away that there is a growing demand for raw milk from mothers and homekeepers, the farmer-only sold product because of its high iron, vitamin A and antimicrobial properties.
All in all, this isn’t to say that every “granola” mom is also using mushrooms or that the mother choosing to microdose mushrooms instead of pouring a glass of wine at the end of the night has a home apothecary but there is an undeniable overlap in conversation and timing.
From ideologies to ingredients, there is a fascinating intersection of the modern psychedelic frontier and a new ripple in feminism catalyzed by mothers on a rebel mission to do better in what Gabor Maté calls a toxic culture, for themselves and the generations to come.
