In this revealing episode of the Ayahuasca Podcast, host Sam Believ explores the deeply challenging terrain of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans, and how plant medicine — specifically ayahuasca — can open a doorway to healing where conventional approaches often fall short.
The Hidden Wounds of Service
The veteran guests describe what they call the “second battle” — the struggle that begins after the uniform comes off. Years of deployments, high-stress missions, and the constant readiness of war leave a mark not just on the body, but on the psyche. One veteran states that: “Nothing else worked” — after therapy, medication, and traditional mental-health interventions, the relief remained partial.
For many, the transition home is a loss of identity, community and purpose. The camaraderie and mission focus of military life vanish, leaving a vacuum: hyper-vigilance, insomnia, guilt, shame and a sense of disconnection that many describe as worse than the battlefield itself.
Why Ayahuasca Became a Tool of Last Resort
After years of trying standard care, many veterans reached a point of desperation. As one articulates: “I had everything else, and I wasn’t happy or at peace.” This desperation led to exploration of alternatives — including plant-medicine retreats where ayahuasca is used in ceremony with trained facilitators.
One of the core themes is that ayahuasca doesn’t act like a typical “medication.” It becomes a kind of mirror, bringing into conscious awareness the trauma, the buried emotions, the unseen patterns. A veteran describes: “It’s not for everybody. It’s experimental.” But for those who’ve tried everything, it can become the turning point.
Transformation Through Ceremony and Integration
The process described isn’t instant. The retreat week may be the catalyst, but the real work happens before and after. Veterans recount that the medicine helps “lift the walls” — but once vulnerable, the guidance, safety, and integration support matter enormously. As one says: “If you don’t have good people guiding you … I’ve seen things go bad.”
During ceremony the veteran might re-visit moments of failure, guilt, lost comrades, or deep relational wounds. One shares: “We’re all not okay … but when we come home, we feel alone.” The medicine helps them see they aren’t the only ones — and they aren’t stuck in lifelong isolation. The sense of shared humanity, of being held in a container with others who’ve seen war, becomes part of the healing.
Post-ceremony, integration emerges as a crucial phase: dietary and lifestyle support, emotional processing, reconnection with purpose and service. One veteran noted that the mind-body work that followed the retreat — community rebuilding, meaningful work, alignment of values — was what anchored the change.
What Makes This Different From Standard PTSD Treatment?
Several insights stand out:
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Standard PTSD care often focuses on symptom-management (medication, talk therapy). The approach here looks at root causes: trauma, identity, meaning, connection.
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The veteran journey often involves loss of purpose, isolation, and institutional failure. The plant-medicine retreat offers a reset of narrative: I can serve. I can belong.
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The experience is not passive. One veteran said: “This was only 20% of the treatment … the rest was before and after.”
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Risk and caution are acknowledged. These are not panaceas. The veterans repeatedly stress that the setting, the facilitators, and integration determine the outcome.
A Balanced Perspective
This isn’t about glorifying psychedelics as instant cures for PTSD. Rather, the message is that for some veterans, when everything else has failed, entering a carefully held container with ceremony, vulnerability, and community offers a different kind of possibility.
It does raise many questions: about legality, research, long-term outcomes, ethical frameworks and integration support. As one veteran cautions: “Don’t knock it till you try it” … but also make sure you choose well. The plant medicine is a tool, not a guarantee.
Final Thoughts: A New Chapter for Veterans
For veterans who have served and returned yet remain in internal war zones, this conversation offers hope beyond conventional frameworks. It suggests that healing might require stepping outside what’s comfortable, entering the unknown, and being held in a space where trauma can be met—not avoided.
It proposes that identity matters: not just “ex-soldier,” but “survivor,” “healer,” “rebuilder.” When meaning, community, and honest emotion come together, recovery becomes less about managing trauma and more about reclaiming life.
As one veteran reflects: “Traumas don’t have a hold of us — we’re holding onto them.” And in that acknowledgement lies the key to letting go—and opening the possibility of peace.
Based on the Ayahuasca Podcast episode “PTSD in veterans” with Sam Believ.
Sam Believ is the founder and CEO of LaWayra Ayahuasca Retreat, the best-rated Ayahuasca retreat in South America, with over 520 five-star Google reviews and an overall rating of 5 stars. After his life was transformed by Ayahuasca, he dedicated himself to spreading awareness about this ancestral medicine to help address the mental health crisis. Sam is committed to making Ayahuasca retreats affordable, accessible, and authentic, with a focus on care, integration, and the involvement of indigenous shamans. He is also the host of the Ayahuasca Podcast.
