They are psyche-holics.
A reformed UK party animal who runs psychedelic retreats claims that psychotropic drugs are “the new booze” – with health-conscious people ditching bottles for mushrooms.
“They change your perspective for the better without making you dependent on them,” Jack Hunt, 36, declared while advocating the benefits of psychotropic mushrooms to Jam Press.
He runs The Utopia Frequency, an events company that offers chemically enhanced ritual nature retreats where participants ingest psilocybin mushrooms – a fungus with hallucinogenic properties – to facilitate psychological healing.
“It’s all about mental healing and it’s an opportunity for people who are suffering in their lives,” explained the psychedelic pied piper.
“Mushrooms really are the new booze — they change your perspective for the better without making you dependent on them,” says Jack Hunt. Jack Hunt / SWNS
Hunt’s psychotropic journey began a decade ago following a night full of booze and drugs in Spain.
The Kingston native, who is used to the UK’s booming nights where “everyone drinks themselves into oblivion,” explains, “My relationship with alcohol and drugs escalated badly, and probably came up when I went to Ibiza during party season.”
Embarrassed by her behavior, Brit decided enough was enough.
“As soon as I got home, I started reading about psychedelics and my spiritual journey began,” says Hunt, who began microdosing — taking very small “sub-hallucinogenic doses” of psychedelic substances for long-lasting effects — on magic mushrooms.
According to a recent study, just one dose of psilocybin – the psychoactive active ingredient in the “magic” mushroom – can help treat depression.
Hunt conducts mushroom ceremonies six times a year. Jack Hunt / SWNS
Psychotropic travelers eventually graduate to ceremonial doses — “large doses of about three and a half grams or higher,” per Hunt — from the good stuff in a group setting. That’s when “everything changed”.
“I went from an angry person who suffered to an empathetic person who was very compassionate,” Hunt explained. “It was almost like a narrow tunnel vision where I suddenly went and my view of reality suddenly changed and I realized we are all one, we are all connected.”
The mushroom enthusiast, who takes a ceremonial dose every few months, says he hasn’t had a drink since starting his hallucinogenic journey.
“Since discovering the magic mushroom – it’s given me back control,” Hunt gushed. “I can enjoy one drink whereas before I was on a mission to go out completely.
He added, “It’s not a part of me anymore. I have freed myself from it.”
Hunt with his partner, Melissa.Jack Hunt / SWNS
Hunt described mushrooms as “the new booze” because it shifted people’s perspective without the addiction and other bad side effects of other narcotics.
He also credits her with unearthing a long-buried childhood trauma during a hypnotherapy session in May. “I found out I was sexually abused as a child after getting hypnotherapy,” she said.
“I look back and suddenly I can see what happened to me when I was a child,” added the nature lover, describing taking a “trip” down memory lane.
And Hunt isn’t the only one who has benefited from this alternative medicine. The Brit says many of his friends have followed suit and ditched the booze in favor of taking high doses naturally.
Hunt claims that more and more of his friends are throwing away the bottle in favor of mushrooms.Getty Images/iStockphoto
Hoping to further spread the gospel, Hunt runs retreats six times a year where up to 250 people gather in the countryside to engage in these psychedelic Jim Jones-like therapy sessions.
“90% of the participants are people who come on their own – that takes a lot of courage,” says the mushroom messiah “Many of these people have been through a lot of trauma.”
He added, “But they come to one of our events and their mindset is completely changed. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
Hunt hopes that in the future the drug will be “legalized” in the UK and around the world so that people can experience its healing effects.
“I truly believe all governments in the world should have ceremonial mushrooms, if they did we would live in a very different and better world,” said the psychedelic devotee.
“Since discovering the magic mushroom – it’s given me back control,” Hunt gushed. “I can enjoy one drink whereas before I would be on a mission to go out completely. Jack Hunt / SWNS
Although currently illegal in the UK, the use of magic mushrooms is legal in certain parts of the US, including Oregon and Colorado.
However, experts advise not to use this free mushroom session because stumbling on shrooms without medical supervision can cause various adverse effects.
These include nausea, irregular heartbeat, vomiting and in rare cases, psychosis and seizures, according to The Alcohol and Drug Foundation.
The microdosing movement is gaining ground across the US — and not just among your typical modern chemical trustees.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has dropped the magic mushroom while SpaceX and X boss Elon Musk reportedly uses small doses of ketamine to treat depression.
“Depression is overdiagnosed in the US, but for some, it’s really a brain chemistry issue,” the magnate said in a July Tweet. “But being jealous of people on SSRIs is definitely overdone. From what I’ve seen with friends, occasional ketamine is a better option.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
