Rachel Hope describes how MDMA dramatically transformed her life in just 6-8 hours. Rachel Hope is a mother of four who used MDMA to cure a life-long battle with PTSD. Rachel was given the MDMA as part of her participation in a Maps.org study. The study found MDMA-assisted psychotherapy cured 83% of participants with treatment-resistant PTSD, compared to 25% cured with psychotherapy alone.
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OH – MY – GOD!!!! This hits home in such a profound way!!! I can relate to EVERY BIT of what Rachel shares with us! (My own journey of living with PTSD has been one of 50 years and it started right two weeks into my life.) If only I could find someone in my country willing to treat me with MDMA (and someone else to pay for it as the condition had me disabled in 2008 and impoverished quickly from needing to exhaust my savings, ultimately going bankrupt and now depending on the meager stumps of a “welfare” system that spells “we’ll keep you alive and a roof over your head, and that’s it.”) I keep hearing from women that needing to care for children somehow gave them the strength and resourcefulness to somehow keep going. I don’t have children, so I can’t say whether this would have worked for me or not. I gather, it wouldn’t and I sacrificed my marriage to the condition, too. Talk about a life thoroughly driven into the wall on account of the condition. I’m still hanging on, working hard on getting the support and help I require and also self-treating in any way I can, with some of those ways being more healthy than others… :/ But hearing Rachel speak is another straw I can use to hold on to it all for dear life 🙂 Thanks for sharing! (P.S. and on a side note: I also found that my previously assumed IBS was a direct result of the massive panic attacks and as such a natural response to perceived lethal threats)
Thanks, Rachel Hope for your insights. I’m struck by your intelligence and poise. You clearly shatter the stereotype of those who have tried MDMA.
R.I.P Alexander ‘Sasha’ Shulgin thank you for your discoveries.
Sheesh, Amber – if I might say so: You got a good hand in picking testimonials! Rachel is so lifelike, she SO hits the nail on the proverbial head (don’t get me started…)!!! Wow!!! THIS – is what it’s like to be living with this “condition”. Maaaaan!
This is so refreshing to see such a candid and authentic conversation about MDMA. Really a better guest could not have been found, Rachael Hope comes across as articulate, intelligent, beautiful and composed. This is clearly not a person suffering from PTSD anymore, but her passion about the topic lends the credibility this treatment so badly needs. Bravo Rachael, well done!
How can we know where studies are happening and how to apply for it?
My dad has been struck with a serious case of anxiety/depression in the past year, so much so that he can barely function. He fits all the symtoms of having childhood onset PTSD and his therapist (and himself) are open to trying this type of treatment, but it is so hard to find these trials. Does anyone know how to find one of these, (most only apply to Veterans)??
OMG. Seriously… OMG. This is the craziest, most moving tale I’ve ever heard about what it can do. Keep up the good work +++
I must say this is some interesting stuff I’m reading here. I’ve never heard of MDMA until 3 years ago. I was always under the impression that it was a purer form of Ecstasy. Under the guidance of my peers (one being my roommate), I figured “oh what the hell” and tried it. One of the girls that I was with took a small amount and put some in a small piece of tissue paper, wrapped it tightly and inserted it into my mouth, then I swallowed it with water. I did so twice that night. There was definitely a feeling of euphoria which lasted a long time, and I was still aware of what was going on. So this went on all weekend, with breaks in between of course.
Now with the exception of the odd joint every now and then, I have never experienced a comedown like I did after using MDMA. A couple of days later I found myself using the toilet more often than ususal. Sleeping was a trip ’cause I would start getting nightmares, and found them hard to shake off. My roommate at the time was also experiencing the thing with the constant visits to the toilet and the nightmares. That night she called out for me in a panic in the middle of the night to come down and sleep next to her because was really scared of the nightmares that she was getting. As we lay next to each other, we held hand as we started to sleep, and almost instantly I went into a dream state. I could no longer feel her hands in mine, even though I knew she was there. I started getting all these gross and scary images and I couldn’t wake myself out from it. When I finally did wake up, my roommate woke up too, and we briefly spoke of our experiences, and it was crazy to find that they were almost the same. From since then I’ve never touched MDMA again.
Has anyone ever experience this? Did I take too much, or too little? Should I have taken it with food, or an empty stomach? We also drank alot that weekend. Is it possible that alcohol may have played a role in our bad trip? Would like to hear from you. Much thanx. ~Darryl.
Awesome podcast! Thank you so much for sharing that Rachel.
The first time I did MDMA was at a dance party. It was high purity molly. It was an amazing experience. It was supposed to be a crazy night out, but became an introspective self analysis of my life in the corner of a rave. It changed my life in the most beautifull way!!!!! It removed the fear and self hatred that I had taught myself since being a kid.
I’d put the experience up there with the birth of my 3 beautifull children.
Thanks Sasha Shulgin, you brought the divine to earth when you brought MDMA into public awareness.
Loving your work Amber.
I’ve watched videos and read a lot of information now about MDMA, LSD, etc, therapies. Just now I watched the short video ”MDMA Therapy and Healing” in which Rachel appeared. The participants in the MDMA therapy study use generic terms like ‘re-programming’ and ‘processing’ in reference to the changes that happen in their beliefs and attitudes. I would love for one of them to talk in detail about the step by step process they go through in their minds during a session from the time they access a memory, through “processing” it, all the way through to the place where they are healed. A really detailed break down of the process would be so revealing.
I can also see that if South America is the trailblazer that goes ahead with the legalisation of these drugs, it truly will lead the way in the collective expansion of consciousness that was touted with the Mayan calendar’s new phase starting around 2012. I envisage MDMA clinical centres opening in Peru and other countries there, and many people from the world flocking to experience the beautiful healing that these substances can provide in the right set and setting. I believe Ayahuasca has limited benefits for most (not all) people compared to MDMA and LSD therapy. I think the lack of a professional and experienced guide/councellor to assist one through the Ayahuasca ceremonies is only part of the problem. After several ceremonies at a very reputable retreat in Iquitos I personally did not experience anything other than some minor physical purging, though other participants had some interesting visions (mostly symbolic and difficult to understand). I have also since discovered I do not get any response from other strong herbs like calea zachatechichi, synaptolepis kirkii, and sceletium tortuosum. Research has led me to the possibility that I may have the gene/s that make me a fast metabolizer of the active constituents in these herbs so I plan on getting a DNA test to check this.
Amber,
Thank you for that fascinating video.
It is hard to believe that woman suffered through all of those illnesses. She looked so healthy in the video. If you told me she was a magazine model I would have believed. Like her, when I think of “psychonaughts” I think of burned out hippies ala “Reverend Jim” from the old sitcom “Taxi”, not down to Earth healthy, attractive, suburban moms.
It is truly horrible that woman had to endure all of those things in her life.
I really hope MDMA and some of these other drugs get reapproved for therapy. If they live up to the hype, history will look at their criminalization as backward.
i dont know how to even attempt this. i have ptsd from the iraq war. i just need help