Nearly 1 in 8 Americans—about 43 million people—take SSRIs like Prozac, Zoloft, or Lexapro today.
Among women over 60, it’s nearly 1 in 4.
Prescriptions have surged since the pandemic, especially among young adults, as rates of depression and anxiety continue to rise.
On the surface, SSRIs seem simple: they don’t increase serotonin, they just block its reabsorption so that it lingers longer in the brain.
For many, this dulls symptoms just enough to get through the day.
And, that’s where the first philosophy of healing comes in.
Two Very Different Philosophies of Healing
If I can put it quite simply:
SSRIs cut the weeds at the surface.
Psychedelics and plant medicine pull the roots from the soil.
That’s the difference.
One manages the appearance.
The other transforms the environment.
Neither is “right” or “wrong”.
SSRIs have helped millions function, while psychedelics and plant medicines (when used intentionally) can open deep pathways for healing at the source.
But, they represent two very different approaches to health: suppression versus resolution.
I don’t write about this often, but I’ve personally experienced the power of plant medicine in different ways.
I’ve sat in ceremony with psilocybin, both in full ceremonial settings and through microdosing protocols.
I’ve worked with kanna, a heart-opening plant used traditionally in South Africa, in microdose form.
And, I’ve had the honor of sitting in ceremony with peyote, one of the most sacred plant teachers in indigenous traditions, during my 14-day detox immersion in Costa Rica. I’m still integrating this profound experience, and I’ll write more about the experience soon.
Each of these experiences taught me something incredibly different about my body, my mind, my spirit, and the hidden places where healing lives.
None of them were shortcuts.
All of them required surrender, intention, presence, and integration.
The Hidden Costs of Suppression
What most people don’t realize is that SSRIs don’t just manage symptoms—they fundamentally change brain chemistry by suppressing natural processes.
This is the model we’ve built much of modern medicine on: reduce, block, suppress.
Anti-depressants, antacids, anti-inflammatories.
We fight the body instead of working with it.
The result is that you see relief in the short term, but often dependency, side effects, and an even more disconnected relationship with the body, mind, and spirit in the long term.
Creating Conditions for Healing
By contrast, psychedelics and plant medicines represent a philosophy of creating the right internal conditions for the body and mind to heal.
They don’t erase pain—they often force you to meet it, integrate it, and release it.
And, it’s not just psychedelics.
Other modalities—somatic experiencing, somatic movement, craniosacral therapy, breathwork, meditation, detoxification, EMDR, energy work, reiki, sound healing, dance, trauma-informed movement—all share this philosophy.
They create openings.
They clear blockages.
They move stuck energy.
They bring buried pain to the surface so that it can finally be let go.
Healing isn’t always about adding more. Rather, it’s about removing what’s in the way.
The Detox Parallel
This is the same truth I see in my work with deep cellular cleansing and detoxification.
You can take supplements, stack peptides, try every new protocol under the sun, but if your colon is backed up, your liver is stagnant, your lymph isn’t moving, and your cells are burdened with toxins…nothing will actually land.
You can’t optimize a body that hasn’t been cleansed.
Just like SSRIs vs. psychedelics, the real choice is:
Do we want to keep trimming weeds? Or, are we ready to pull the roots?
The Future of Mental Health
The future of mental health will force us to confront this question:
Do we want to simply manage symptoms?
Or, do we want to transform the environment that created them in the first place?
Because the truth is, both approaches exist and can be beneficial.
But, in my opinion, only one leads to true liberation.
What has been the most powerful healing modality you’ve ever experienced? And, did it suppress the weeds or pull the roots? Are there any you’d like to explore soon? I’d love to hear more about your experience in the comments.
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This makes so much sense to me and I can attest that psychedelics have helped me more with my mental health and healing than SSRIs ever have! I completely agree with pulling up the roots! I’ve a big fan of getting to the root of the problem and fixing it vs. slapping a bandaid on it which seems to be modern, Western medicine’s solution for everything 🙄
I have only done them in a casual setting, never in a therapeutic setting but I am very curious to explore that. I just don’t know where to find that sort of stuff, but I would love it if you could message me privately!
I think psychedelics could absolutely change the landscape of mental health!
This is so true, I am currently on a microdosing protocol and feel like for the first time there is space to air out and process some deep grief and the lifetime of judgement against myself. there is so much wisdom and loving kind patience in plant medicine. the west seems to just get on something other cultures have known and practised for so long