Healing Anxiety & Depression Through Ayahuasca: Science & Personal Stories

One of our most asked questions: Does Ayahuasca help with depression?

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In short, yes, those who take Ayahuasca could see a healing path for depression, but it’s not a straightforward answer.

It's not a simple answer because depression itself is not simple. For many, this word is a mix of overlapping factors that all merge into a big ball of life rolling over us, for a time. In today's western world, people who report suffering from depression are quickly prescribed antidepressant medication before doctors have taken the time to get to the roots of the issues. Understanding the root cause of depression is critical to map out a plan for healing and recovery. That is how we will begin looking at antidepressant effect of Ayahuasca.

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I want to understand the root of my pain.

It happens fast, we go to a doctor to get some help, and before we know it, we've been 'diagnosed' with depression. We find ourselves heading home with a new medication in our pockets...a miracle cure as we're told, and for many people, it is.

Depression can manifest in various ways. For some, it has biological roots, for others, it stems from terrible life events...which happens, it’s life - it is beautiful and yet unpredictable. Many experience a deeper disconnection, a quiet but relentless feeling that something essential is missing from their life. For me personally, I’ve had a hollow feeling at the pit of my stomach for as long as I can remember, telling me something just doesn’t quite fit. This, to me, is the very definition of spiritual depression. In later blogs, I will get into this further but not today.

This idea that there is more to it all, leads to some deep existential questions and if they cannot be answered, eventually the symptoms of spiritual depression and clinical depression can be interchangeable. This mistake can lead to treatment-resistant depression, because it was never about our brain chemistry. This is why it is essential to understand the real root causes.

The good news is that the psychedelic plant medicine Ayahuasca can address depression on each level, so let's get into it.

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Getting to the Roots of Your Depression

At Behold Retreats, many of our guests are coming to us seeking to lift their depression through Plant Medicine therapy. We hear it often…after years of therapy, personal development work, or medication, they are still carrying the heavy weight of it.

But here’s something to consider before stepping into the therapeutic potential of Ayahuasca:

Not all depression is the same. And understanding the core of what you’re feeling will shape a more intentional, healing journey.

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Is Ayahuasca more effective than antidepressants?

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The Three Dimensions of Depression

Ayahuasca can offer profound healing, but the experience and how to prepare for it, will vary depending on the nature of the depression the guest is facing. Many people on spiritual paths encounter a phase that looks like depression which may not need medication or diagnosis. It may need surrender, deep inner work, or spiritual guidance.

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1. Clinical Depression: It is Brain Chemistry

For some, depression is a persistent condition tied to neuro-chemical imbalances and genetic factors.

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Common Signs:

• Life is grey with a persistent low mood, even when things are objectively “good”, it almost feels like we are not seeing or experiencing life the way the people around us are seeing it. We feel slightly outcasted, standing on the sidelines of life while everyone else seems to be on the field.
• Difficulty experiencing pleasure (anhedonia). Events, birthdays, social events, there was a time when these concepts were really exciting, and now feel like an obligatory chore where we might feel a need to even put on a very strong mask to even ‘get through’ the evening.
• Changes in sleep, appetite, and energy. The energy in the body is low and yet one night finds it very difficult to sleep. Our appetite may come in rollercoasters of no appetite at all, or a binge eating frenzy. Neither option leave us feeling good about ourselves.
• Feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness. This state of depression sometimes will even have us reevaluating our self-worth. Even accomplishments we have seem like distant foggy memories.

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If these sound familiar, proceed with caution and care.

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Is Ayahuasca safe if I’m on antidepressants?

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Use of Ayahuasca interacts directly with the neurochemistry of the brain and brings significant help and relief. This will be covered in the next section of the blog below however we ask for readers to exercise caution if they are taking medications like SSRIs - guests must consult with qualified medical professionals before considering a plant medicine ceremony. Behold Retreats will perform a physical and emotional examination prior to accepting any guests on retreat.

How Ayahuasca Can Help:

While it may not be a stand-alone “cure,” and a single dose of Ayahuasca intake is not a ‘one and done,’ Ayahuasca can alter you neuro-chemically while supporting you to change perspectives and initiate healing on a soulful level. Many find it acts as a catalyst for deeper therapeutic breakthroughs when combined with ongoing professional support. Basically, having an experience with Ayahuasca can help get to the root of your depression, helping you to face it, understand it, and move through it.

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Integration Tip:

Focus on combining your insights with steady, grounded practices such as continued therapy, movement, and community support. Healing is a journey, not a single ceremony, we are aiming for lifelong change all powered by your inner ability to heal.

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2. Spiritual Depression: A Soulful Disconnection

This form of depression is often called the Dark Night of the Soul. This version of depression is not about a chemical imbalance but rather a deep yearning for meaning and connection that is missing. A deep sense of something missing, or life is not quite right. This type might not require medication, rather it may need surrender, deep inner work, or spiritual guidance in order to understand this longing.

Common Signs:

• Feeling empty despite external success. From an objective standpoint, your life might be everything you dreamed about, things such as wealth, status, tangible belongings, are a dream come true - and yet one might feel completely detached from enjoying them anymore.
• Questioning the meaning of life or your life’s purpose. For so many years you may have been working towards a goal only to reach it and realize it’s nothing as you might have hoped for, sparking a wonder about what a true life’s purpose is.
• A sense of disconnection from your soul or higher self. You feel there is more to you than you are allowing to shine through, however you are not quite sure how to even access that part of you.
• Longing for something greater, but unsure what that is. Depression can feel a lot like being stuck in mud, you know the direction you should be going towards but you can’t seem to take even the first step in the right direction, your feet feel heavy, your vision blurry, and yet you know there is a beautiful world out there somewhere.

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How an Ayahuasca Experience Help:

The antidepressant effects of the psychedelic can greatly help here. Many who suffer from long-term effects of spiritual depression experience profound mystical encounters during ceremony, oftentimes with clear visions of their life’s purpose, a reconnection to the divine, or the rediscovery of their beloved yet long-lost joy.

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Integration Tip:

Your work doesn’t end when the Ayahuasca retreat is over. The key is to live the vision revealed during the ceremony. Establish daily spiritual practices such as meditation, breathwork, time in nature, acts in service to others; These are what will help you sustain the higher frequencies you’ve touched.

3. Circumstantial Depression: When Life Events Have Hit Hard

Sometimes, sadness and grief is a perfectly human response to difficult circumstances. Loss, a painful breakup, violence, financial hardship, burnout - these are all a part of life and we can be swept up in these circumstances causing circumstantial depression. You are not weak.

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Common Signs:

• Low mood directly tied to recent life events, with a severe loss of passion for life.
• Grief, emotional exhaustion, or situational anxiety disorder
• Improvement in mood when circumstances improve
• A deep sense that things are not going to work out.

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How an Ayahuasca Session Can Help:

Ayahuasca can help process the heavy emotions tied to grief, trauma, and life transitions through a deep process of 'ecstasis', an emotional and spiritual catharsis that can bring us into deeper connections with the Universe, and all that exists around us. It may not change external circumstances, but it often shifts your relationship to them, and works on a deep soul level that ends in acceptance of life on life's terms and in turn, improvement in depression.

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Integration Tip:

Here, the focus after the ceremony is getting into fast action. What needs to change in your life? Are boundaries missing? Is there a difficult but necessary decision waiting to be made? Support this process with coaching, integration circles, or therapy.

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Preparing for the Path Ahead to Treat Depression

Before you sit with the psychedelic medicine, take time to reflect:

• Which form of major depression resonates most with my experience?
• Am I seeking a quick fix, or am I ready to commit to ongoing healing and integration?
• Do I have the right support network in place for before, during, and after the Ayahuasca ceremony?

At Behold Retreats, we believe that true healing might trigger in the ceremony, but it’s also about how you prepare and how you integrate the experience into your life. The Journey of crafting a lifestyle that keeps you connected to the larger forces in life.

If you’d like personalized guidance to prepare for a transformational journey, we’re here to walk this path with you.

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The Science of Ayahuasca Use and Depression

Before we end this blog, let's go deeper into the clinical neuroscience of the psychedelic state induced by Ayahuasca works on anxiety and depression.

First off, I will attempt to strip the jargon and clinical terms out of most of this explanation, but if you are like me, it is also good to understand through the lens of medical science. For those who like to geek out on neuroscience, there is a bibliography, and glossary, of the clinical studies this data was pulled from.

Research and Academia is actively exploring the potential neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effects of how Ayahuasca works with depression to restore neuroplasticity. This is what it knows so far:

Ayahuasca contains several psychoactive compounds, primarily DMT (N,N-Dimethyltryptamine) and harmala alkaloids (harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine).

• Serotonin Receptor Agonism: DMT is a potent agonist of serotonin receptors, particularly the 5-HT2A receptors. This receptor works in mood regulation, and many conventional antidepressants, such as SSRIs, indirectly affect serotonin signaling to this receptor. It seems to be a key player when DMT activates 5-HT2A receptors and is believed to play a role in the altered states of consciousness and potential therapeutic effects of ayahuasca.
• Monoamine Oxidase Inhibition (MAOI): The harmala alkaloids in Ayahuasca act as reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase (MAO), an enzyme that breaks down monoamines like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine in the brain. By inhibiting MAO, ayahuasca can temporarily increase the levels of these neurotransmitters, which are also implicated in mood regulation.  Basically, because it has low activity, and Ayahuasca increases activity, depressive symptoms are quickly reduced.
• Increased Brain Connectivity and Neuroplasticity: Emerging neuroimaging studies suggest that Ayahuasca can alter brain connectivity patterns…cognitive repatterning. For instance, studies using fMRI have shown increased functional connectivity in brain regions after ayahuasca administration, which seem to be related to the enhanced emotional processing and cognitive flexibility reported by users. Even more, the subjective experiences of profound insight and perspective shifts show that ayahuasca may promote neuroplastic changes in the brain.
• Impact on the Default Mode Network (DMN): Some research suggests that Ayahuasca will reduce activity in the default mode network (DMN), a brain region connected to the Ego-thought and rumination - which is painfully overactive with depression. Ayahuasca will basically silence this brain region for a short time, the DMN, which leads to the ego dissolution and the feeling of interconnectedness experienced during Ayahuasca journeys, potentially offering a break from negative thought patterns.

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Bridging the Mystical and the Scientific

As clinical research starts to understand Ayahuasca's neurobiological effects, it’s wise to leave room for the dimensions of altered states, and the unexplainable experiences we all go through in ceremony. These transformative experiences, marked by expanded emotional clarity, spiritual connectedness, and profound introspection, contribute significantly to the therapeutic outcomes. In short, it gives us a rare opportunity to ‘empty the vessel’ and begin again.

This creates an amazing opportunity to integrate personal elements that are traditionally difficult to measure with observation for future studies. By designing trials that allow participants to engage in ceremonial practices under controlled conditions, researchers can gain insights between the mystical and the measurable. This will allow altered states of consciousness to complement biological mechanisms, enhancing the efficacy of ayahuasca-assisted therapy.

Even with the emergence of medical science understanding how ayahuasca heals depression, it is important to sit with trained facilitators from traditional lineages that have been working with these sacred medicines for generations, and to embrace integration afterward, remain pivotal to maximizing therapeutic benefits.

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Ayahuasca Retreat For Depression

We offer a unique and tailored approach, by blending ancient traditions with modern therapy approaches. It is our mission to provide a high level of care with professionalism, safety, expertise, and personalized support that are non-negotiable. Our retreats provide a safe container for deep transformation, you will feel held and cared for.

Sacred and Safe

We prioritize safety above all else, with experienced facilitators trained in both traditional practices and modern safety protocols. Our retreat centers are located in beautiful, tranquil settings that promote relaxation and introspection.

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Expert Guidance

Our ceremony leaders are not just guides, they are experienced in holding space for emotional processing and deep integration. You will have personalized attention to ensure you are seen, heard, and supported in your healing journey.

Integration Support

The Ayahuasca ceremony is just the beginning. We provide comprehensive integration support to help you translate your experience to lasting change in your life. This includes one-on-one sessions, on-going virtual groups with lifelong support, and continued resources to support your continued growth. Once you are our ‘Alumni’, it is for life.

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Personalized Approach

We recognize that your journey is unique. From the start, we take the time to understand your needs and intentions, tailoring the approach to support your transformational growth. If you are dealing with depression, and it has been difficult to heal, please reach out and let’s see if a retreat will work for you.

Behold Retreats offers an opportunity to step outside the confines of the familiar and explore a powerful new avenue for inner peace. It's an invitation to go beyond the known and find the profound healing your soul is seeking.

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