FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Health

How to Change Your Mind with Psychedelics

In his new book, health and food reporter Michael Pollan explores the science and future of psychedelics as mental health treatments.
Image: Jeannette Montgomery Barron

Over the years, the same psychedelic drugs that inspired Timothy Leary's "turn on, tune in, drop out" movement are now being studied as potential mental health treatments for everything from PTSD to depression. In his new book, How to Change Your Mind, journalist and author Michael Pollan took a personal and even-handed approach to this latest resurgence, exploring the way various psychedelics can be possible tools for guiding people through anxiety, addiction, PTSD, and other matters of the mind and brain. In reporting on their possible health benefits, he also wove in his personal experiences with the drugs, and the testimonies of dozens of other people alongside the latest data and rhetoric.

Advertisement

On today's episode of the VICE Guide to Right Now Podcast, Pollan talks about the valuable role that psychedelic experiences can play in helping people transcend their usual habits and thought patterns.

You can catch The VICE Guide to Right Now Podcast on Acast, Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. And sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.