Trauma and Ecstasy: How Psychedelics Made My Life Worth Living by Alex Abraham

Forget everything you think you know about psychedelics. They're not punchlines. They're not party favors for aging hippies. Instead, as Alex Abraham discovered, they are an innovative approach that can help heal trauma and chronic pain.

Trauma and Ecstasy takes a long, hard look at pain, from the sudden unexplained pelvic floor discomfort that afflicted Alex at the end of a trip abroad to the deeply rooted anxiety and shame of a childhood robbed of innocence. In this powerful and courageous memoir, Alex takes you on his journey of healing from sexual abuse while searching for answers to his health issues that traditional medicine failed to explain or treat.

Trauma and Ecstasy is quite likely the most engaging, honest, and compelling memoir of surviving childhood sexual trauma you'll ever read. It offers the hope of real help for healing from the emotional and physical aftermath of abuse and chronic pain.

 

[JBP]

I have the privilege and honor to know Alex. Our paths of our journeys merged a few years ago. It was through Alex that I learned about psychedelics and their use in trauma therapy. While I can say they are probably not for the faint of heart and may not be for everyone, I found them a powerful yet positive addition to talk therapy. They helped bring memories up that I needed to face and address. They helped open my soul to a spiritual wakening.

Facing my fears, my demons and ultimately facing myself in those experiences has had a profound influence on my psyche. It has helped deflate my anxiety, eased my OCD and stress, helped me understand my past and to look beyond what happened to me to see the better man I am supposed to be. For anyone considering this treatment, I highly recommend Alex’s book along with your own research to decide if it is right for you. I congratulate Alex on his book release and his openness and willingness to share his story and experiences in order to help others.

Blessings, Jeff

 

[Visitor]

I have a small container in my refrigerator with three tabs of MDMA that I was able with the help of a friend to buy five years ago when I first arrived on Male Survivor. I'd watched videos of trauma survivors who had participated in trials being run using MDMA and psychotherapy to unpack what happened and explore how to respond to it all. The videos were very compelling... here is one of them.

Alas, the FDA has not been moved by the success had with these efforts, so the drugs are not approved for this purpose. They are available... as I discovered. But those three tabs remain in my refrigerator. I don't know whether I'll ever use them. I do have two friends who have offered to guide me should I chose to do so.

There has been a very deep spiritual component to my healing journey, though I've never used psychedelic aids in my exploration... as have most of my friends. LSD was available when I was younger but it scared me. I feared that if I took it I'd be one of the people who stepped off the top of the building. I didn't remember the sexual trauma I experienced as a young boy but I was not well tethered to this world.

It saddens me that what is described in this book is not freely available to trauma survivors. Invariably we are burdened with shame as trauma survivors and that shame profoundly impacts our lives. Yes, we can still find a way through the shame and into worthiness, but that is hard work not every person can do. It is what happens here, however, and I'm eternally grateful for that... as I am for the therapy I've done, the 12 Step work I've done and the spiritual practices that have been part of my life. This is the "hard-work miracle."