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APRIL PRIDE

in the Wild

The podcast for women changing their minds with the help of psychedelics is hosted by April Pride, a trusted voice at the intersection of psychedelics and women’s health. Whether you're curious about microdosing, integration, or harm reduction, April's podcast offers clinician-approved guidance, personal stories, and expert insights to help you intentionally navigate personal transformation with psychedelic medicine.

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#133
Yesterday · 32 min
133. Psilocybin and Seniors: Cost, Potency, and What to Do When Nothing Happens
133. What If Nothing Happened During Your Trip? Someone in the room had done everything right. Careful preparation, a trained guide, two booster doses of psilocybin. Nothing happened. No altered state. In this episode, learn what that means and what to do next.This is the audience Q&A from the Psychedelics and Seniors Salon at Town Hall Seattle, the companion to episode 129, with Abbie Rosner, Scott Paul Wright, and Dr. Emily Whinkin.What you'll learn- What a session that produces no visible shift does and does not tell you- Why expectation is treated as a clinical variable in psychedelic medicine, not a soft one- Why microdosing protocols build in days off, and what those days are for- How much psilocybin content varies between mushroom varieties and within a single grow- What a legal psilocybin session in Oregon costs and what the price actually covers- What Seattle's 2021 psilocybin resolution protects, and what it does notAbout the guests Abbie Rosner is the author of Psychedelics and the Counterculture of Aging, based on interviews with 36 older adults, and writes ELDEREVOLUTION on Substack. Scott Paul Wright is a filmmaker and screenwriter and the director of the documentary The Next Chapter, who took his first psychedelic journey at 68. Dr. Emily Whinkin is a naturopathic physician and integrative mental health specialist licensed in Oregon and Washington, and a board-certified Fellow of the Psychiatric Association of Naturopathic Physicians, who runs a monthly virtual integration circle for older adults.0:00 Introduction 1:30 Should family members journey together 2:20 Medical disqualifiers and cardiovascular risk 3:30 Intergenerational trauma and encounters with ancestors 5:30 Grief that does not resolve in one session 8:00 What microdosing does, and how many Americans are doing it 9:40 Microdosing for creativity, and the pause 10:40 Psilocybin research for Alzheimer's and dementia 11:40 Microdosing, decision making, and why protocols include days off 13:40 Adjusting a microdose for mushroom potency 14:50 Cardiac conditions, atrial fibrillation, and valve issues 17:50 When a journey feels unimpactful, even with booster doses 19:00 Expectations as a clinical variable 20:00 What a legal psilocybin session costs and what it covers 23:00 Seattle, cultivation, and what decriminalization means 24:00 Integration circles and the isolation data 25:20 LSD compared with psilocybin, and the MM-120 anxiety trial 27:00 Mental health contraindications 28:20 SSRIs, SNRIs, and psilocybin 30:00 Ketamine compared with psilocybin 31:00 Cognitive benefits, neuroinflammation, and telomeresFollow April Pride for trusted information on psychedelics for women Substack Instagram YouTube Psychedelic SalonLearn more about April's services, events, and more at aprilpride.com
#132
September 15 · 29 min
132. The Acid Queen, Rosemary Woodruff Leary: An LSD Muse and Fugitive
Rosemary Woodruff Leary sat in a jail cell for a month rather than testify against her husband. While she was inside, Timothy Leary gave a ten page interview to Playboy about what LSD does to a woman's body and did not mention her once. She was his editor, his translator, the person who read the room for him, and the organizer who coordinated his 1970 prison escape across the Weather Underground, the Black Panthers, and the Brotherhood of Eternal Love. She called herself The Computer. Then he turned on her, pointed the FBI in her direction, and she spent twenty four years underground as Sarah Woodruff, running an inn in Provincetown with a go bag by the bed. Susannah Cahalan found her the way forgotten people usually get found. She was working through four hundred boxes of Timothy Leary's papers at the New York Public Library when she noticed a much smaller collection almost nobody had opened. Key Takeaways Rosemary Woodruff Leary served a month in jail rather than testify against Timothy Leary before a grand jury investigating Millbrook, and the Playboy interview that made him famous ran while she was inside. She was the coordinating point between the factions who organized Leary's 1970 prison escape, working with the attorney who also represented the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers. She called herself The Computer. Leary later decoded their letters for investigators and offered her mother money for her location. She spent twenty four years underground and could not hold any job requiring a Social Security number. She died at 66. Cahalan connects that directly to going without health insurance for the years she was a fugitive, which is the harm reduction point of the episode and has nothing to do with the drugs. Rosemary told students explicitly that psychedelics are not for everyone and that there is a shadow side, a position Cahalan argues is more relevant to the current renaissance than anything Leary said. LSD remains a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act. The April 2026 executive order directs faster federal review of psychedelic research; it does not reschedule anything. Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 2:38 Ketamine, the NMDA receptor, and the sense of self 3:18 Humphry Osmond, asylum architects, and where set and setting came from 4:38 Finding Rosemary in the New York Public Library archive 5:38 Signs, synchronicity, and the I Ching 6:38 What Rosemary changed in Susannah 9:26 The women who carried the archives while the men made headlines 10:26 Millbrook, the grand jury, and a month in jail 13:06 The Playboy interview she was in jail for 14:41 The prison escape, the FBI, and the letter that ended it 16:05 Twenty four years underground and what it actually cost 18:47 Cape Cod, a new name, and a secret affair 20:47 Invisibility after a certain age 22:32 A contradictory woman 24:32 The warning Rosemary gave about psychedelics 27:32 The Robot, overuse, and why integration matters Guest Spotlight Susannah Cahalan is a journalist and the number one New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness and The Great Pretender. Her third book, The Acid Queen: The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, was published by Viking in 2025 and named a Best Biography of 2025 by The Guardian. She spent years in archives at the New York Public Library and in Rosemary's family's hands to reconstruct a life that survived mostly in other people's footnotes. Additional Resources The Acid Queen: The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary by Susannah Cahalan (Viking, 2025). [LINK] The 2026 to 2027 Psychedelic Salon season [LINK] April on Substack: https://aprilpride.substack.com Visit April Pride: https://aprilpride.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/aprilpridecreates YouTube: https://youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates
#131
September 8 · 31 min
131. Can psilocybin help with menopause?
131. Can psilocybin help with menopause? A live audience of 300 at Town Hall Seattle asked Dr. Trish Singh and Kelly McGinty, C-FNP, co-authors of Mycelopause: Uncovering the Magic of Menopause with Psilocybin, the questions that don't come up in a doctor's office: whether psilocybin is safe after hormone-positive cancer, how it interacts with SSRIs, whether hormone therapy can start after 60, what's actually legal in Seattle in 2026, and where a sensitive beginner should start. This is the full audience Q&A from the Psychedelic Salon on psychedelics and menopause, with host April Pride adding current research, legal updates, and corrections throughout, including New Mexico's first-in-the-nation psilocybin treatment equity fund and King County's 2026 entheogen motion. The expanded written answers, with sources, are on Substack: aprilpride.substack.com The Psychedelic Salon returns to Town Hall Seattle October 8. Tickets and all resources mentioned are in the show notes at the Substack link. This episode is for listeners 21+ and is not medical advice. Questions about your own medications or medical history belong with your provider. What you'll learn:Why psilocybin's serotonin mechanism matters for women with hormone-positive cancer histories, and what hasn't been studiedWhat decriminalization actually permits in Seattle and King County in 2026, and where regulated legal access existsWhat current research says about combining psilocybin with SSRIs and how often high-dose sessions are spacedWhether hormone therapy can start after 60, and why psilocybin can't replace HRTWhy a quality dose sometimes does nothing, and where sensitive beginners should startAbout the guests: Kelly McGinty is a certified family nurse practitioner and Dr. Trish Singh is a licensed psilocybin facilitator in Colorado's regulated program. They guide therapeutic psilocybin experiences together and co-authored Mycelopause: Uncovering the Magic of Menopause with Psilocybin.Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 2:00 Psilocybin after hormone-positive cancer 4:00 Legal access in Seattle at any age 6:30 Psilocybin, menopause, and the restructuring metaphor 9:00 Access, equity, and who research leaves out 13:00 SSRIs, dose frequency, and serotonin syndrome 16:30 Fear of a first psychedelic experience 18:45 HRT after 60 and whether psilocybin replaces it 21:00 When mushrooms don't seem to work 23:30 Developmental trauma in guided journeys 28:00 Beginner varieties for sensitive systemsResourcesMycelopause: Uncovering the Magic of Menopause with Psilocybin by Dr. Trish Singh and Kelly McGinty.The Next Chapter, September 13. A thirty-minute documentary following men and women over sixty through a psilocybin retreat in Mexico, with a panel afterward featuring Kelly McGinty and Dr. Trish Singh. RSVP here: https://kinema.com/events/The-Next-Chapter-jaazqeWomen in the Wild, April’s micro- and low-dose gatherings. Apply here:https://form.typeform.com/to/ZW4Pq1ikListen on Substack: https://aprilpride.substack.com Visit April Pride: https://aprilpride.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/aprilpridecreates Psychedelic Salon: https://www.aprilpride.com/psychedelic-events-for-women/psychedelic-salonSubscribe to April Pride on Substack for weekly conversations on women, midlife, psychedelics, nervous system health, and integration: https://aprilpride.substack.com
#130
September 3 · 34 min
130. Psilocybin and Perimenopause: Two Clinicians Reframe Midlife for Women
130. Psilocybin and Menopause: Two Clinicians Reframe Midlife for Women Episode Summary Estrogen regulates the serotonin system, and psilocybin reaches the same receptor. That is where this Salon starts, and it is the most specific version of the psilocybin and menopause conversation I have heard in public. Kelly McGinty, a nurse practitioner, told a full room at Town Hall Seattle that the drop women feel in perimenopause is physiological rather than imagined. I asked whether that means psilocybin replaces estrogen. She said no, and that she would like more research. Her co-author, Dr. Trish Singh, added that research on menopausal women barely exists at any phase of the transition. Two clinicians describe what they see in their patients, then draw a line at the point where the evidence ends. Most people selling a reframe of midlife will not draw that line on a microphone. What sits on the other side of it: anxiety as a knock on the door rather than a malfunction, why women microdose intuitively instead of on a protocol, and the archetypes we inherit about aging women. Kelly's oldest client is 85, and she says the younger generation is watching to see how the older one heals. A woman in perimenopause deserves an explanation for what is happening in her body. Psilocybin is not what delivers that. A provider who knows the full symptom list is. 🔵 Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 2:15 Why these clinicians reframe menopause as a rite of passage 6:20 Estrogen, serotonin, and what psilocybin cannot replace 10:10 Anxiety and brain fog in perimenopause 14:55 Why women microdose intuitively instead of on a protocol 18:10 What the microdosing research actually shows 19:20 Consciousness, unnaming, and identity in midlife 21:35 Ending the shame around menopause 24:25 The FDA hormone therapy warning change, explained 25:30 Goddess, crone, and the archetypes of aging women 30:35 Elders, psychedelics, and the wellness industry problem 🔵 Guests Kelly McGinty, C-FNP, MSN is a family nurse practitioner accredited by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, with a master's in nursing from Gonzaga University. She spent more than a decade as an emergency department NP before training in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and she now works with first responders, people at end of life, and patients with treatment-resistant conditions. She is the clinician in this conversation who names the physiology and then names its limits. Kelly's website Dr. Trish Singh, PhD, LPCC is a licensed mental health counselor in New Mexico and California with twenty-five years in behavioral health. Her doctorate is in mind-body medicine with a specialization in integrative mental health, she is certified in psychedelic-assisted therapy through CIIS, and she founded A New Awakening Counseling, which serves people reentering society after incarceration. Her current research is on holistic weight strategies for menopausal women, and she is the reason this episode ends up talking about archetypes rather than symptoms. Trish's website Together they co-authored Mycelopause: Uncovering the Magic of Menopause with Psilocybin. Original Substack post: ⁠⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/psilocybin-and-perimenopause 🔵 Resources Psychedelic Salon at Town Hall Seattle - ⁠2026-27 Schedule⁠ ⁠⁠SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Women in the Wild application⁠⁠ The Next Chapter virtual live screening - RSVP here More about Mycelopause on Substack + Instagram Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates⁠ / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#129
August 18 · 29 min
129. Psychedelics for Seniors: Aging, Grief, and Meaning Making
129. Psychedelics for Seniors: Aging & What's Next Episode Summary The psychedelic renaissance gets covered like a young person's story: executives microdosing before board meetings, twenty-somethings on retreats. But the fastest-growing population interested in this medicine right now is confronting retirement, widowhood, the death of parents, the question of legacy. This episode is a live Salon recording built around psychedelics for seniors, with filmmaker Scott Paul Wright, writer Abbie Rosner, and naturopathic physician Dr. Emily Whinkin. We get into set and setting, medication contraindications, ketamine versus psilocybin, and what integration actually looks like once the journey is over. Abbie's research on 36 older adults turns up something worth sitting with: most of them called later life the happiest, most meaningful stretch they've had. 🔵 Key Takeaways Set and setting, not age, is the biggest predictor of a safe psychedelic experience. Older adults often prepare better than younger users because they're less inclined to wing it. If you're on an SSRI or SNRI, expect a blunted psychedelic experience. The evidence on whether that blunting reduces therapeutic benefit is still mixed. Ketamine and psilocybin are distinct molecules with different legal statuses and safety histories. Neither is automatically the safer choice for an older nervous system. Integration circles are the antidote to isolation, which among older adults carries measurable health costs, including a documented rise in dementia risk. The questions shift with age. Younger clients tend to ask what can I fix. Older clients tend to ask what my legacy is and how I can give back. 🔵 Timestamps [00:00] Welcome and introductions at Town Hall Seattle [00:01] Scott Wright on his first journey at 68 and how the documentary began [00:02] Why older adults report fewer bad trips: preparation and set and setting [00:04] Contraindications, health history, and working with SSRIs and SNRIs [00:06] Ketamine versus psilocybin: different molecules, different legal paths [00:08] Meaning making in later life and what psychedelics surface [00:10] What integration actually is, and why the work starts after the journey [00:13] Integration circles as community and clinical infrastructure [00:17] The questions older adults ask that younger clients don't [00:18] Aging, elderhood, and the Buddhist "three messengers" [00:20] Intergenerational journeys and psychedelics within families 🔵 Guest Abbie Rosner is a writer and cultural observer exploring how the modern psychedelic renaissance is reshaping our understanding of aging—individually and collectively. Psychedelics and the Counter Culture of Aging | website ELDEREVOLUTION on Substack Dr. Emily Whinkin (she/they) is a naturopathic physician and integrative mental health specialist blending psychedelic and entheogenic medicine with mental, reproductive, and generative health. Dr. Whinkin is licensed in Oregon and Washington, provides global consultation, and is dedicated to research, education, and individualized integrative mental health. emilywhinkin.com Scott Paul Wright is a filmmaker and screenwriter based in Paris and New Orleans. He took his first psychedelic journey at age 68 – resulting in his new documentary – The Next Chapter, which is now in post-production and scheduled for release in June 2026. The Next Chapter documentary Original Substack post: ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/psychedelics-for-seniors-aging-salon 🔵 Resources Psychedelic Salon at Town Hall Seattle - 2026-27 Schedule ⁠SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#128
August 4 · 1 hr
128. Ancestral Trauma, IFS, and the Real Work of Psychedelic Integration
128. Ancestral Trauma & Psychedelic Integration A 45-year psychedelic guide on ancestral trauma, Internal Family Systems, and why integration, not the ceremony, is the real medicine. Episode Summary Most conversations about psychedelics stay at the level of the ceremony: the dose, the visions, the breakthrough. This episode goes somewhere else. Sand Symes has spent 45 years supporting women, first as a social worker, then as what she calls a modern medicine woman, and she doesn't talk about psychedelics as a fix. She talks about them as a way back to parts of yourself that got buried decades ago and never fully addressed. In this live recording from Psychedelic Salon at Town Hall Seattle, Sand walks through Internal Family Systems, the neuroscience of fear memory, the "trauma of overdoing" that hides inside high-functioning women, and why psychedelic integration for women is the part almost everyone underestimates. If you've ever wondered what actually happens after the journey ends, this is that conversation. 🔵 Key Takeaways Internal Family Systems (IFS), developed by therapist Richard Schwartz, treats the mind as made up of protector parts, exiled parts carrying old pain, and a calm core self underneath. It's a mainstream therapy model, not something invented by the psychedelic space, though psychedelics often make those parts easier to access directly. The amygdala stores fear memory and drives the fight, flight, or freeze response before conscious thought catches up. Sand's description of medicine "lulling it to sleep" tracks with established neuroscience on how old memories can be revisited without the same emotional charge. The "trauma of overdoing" doesn't look like trauma. It looks like competence: the woman managing her career, her household, her aging parents, and everyone else's emotional temperature, who gets praised the entire way for never stopping. Integration, not the ceremony itself, is where the actual change takes root. Early research on post-psychedelic neuroplasticity is strongest in animal studies so far, but the pattern across integration therapists is consistent: the days and weeks after a journey are when new behavior is easiest to install. Community and ancestral wisdom show up as recurring threads for women in this work, both as ways of processing suppression carried across generations and as safeguards against re-entering ceremony without adequate support afterward. 🔵 Guest Sand Symes is a psychedelic guide and integration therapist who has spent 45 years supporting women, first as a social worker and now as what she calls a modern medicine woman. She has sat in over 150 ceremonies, assisted in 70, and facilitated more than 60, working primarily with psilocybin and her own ancestral Celtic lineage rather than ayahuasca, MDMA, or LSD. Follow Sand Symes: website | Instagram 🔵 Resources Ask April: How Do I Find a Psychedelic Guide? — column on legal access, licensed facilitators, and the Oregon versus Colorado distinction Internal Family Systems Psychedelic Salon at Town Hall Seattle Women in the Wild | small in-person gatherings in Seattle on September 12th, October 3rd, and November 7th Follow April on Substack Visit aprilpride.com Original Substack post: https://aprilpride.substack.com/sand-symes-ancestral-trauma-psychedelic-integration Hosted by April Pride IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates
#127
July 21 · 1 hr 1 min
127. Psilocybin and Anorexia: The First New Idea in Decades
127. Psilocybin for Anorexia: Inside UCSF's Trial Dr. Amanda Downey on UCSF's psilocybin trial for anorexia, why caregivers enroll, and what the medicine can and can't reach in eating disorders. Episode Summary Eating disorders are the deadliest psychiatric illness we have. Someone in the United States dies of one every 52 seconds, and two of every three people who get conventional treatment never fully recover. Anorexia nervosa has had no new FDA-approved treatment since the 1990s. That is the ground this conversation stands on, and it is why I sat down with Dr. Amanda Downey at Town Hall Seattle. Dr. Downey is a pediatrician and psychiatrist at UCSF and a lead investigator on an active Phase 2 trial studying psilocybin for anorexia in young adults. We talk about why her trial enrolls caregivers as participants, what psilocybin might reach that decades of treatment have not, and where the science is still honestly uncertain. This one is close to me. I recovered from anorexia myself, and I know how little the map has changed. 🔵 Key Takeaways Psilocybin is being studied as the first potential breakthrough for anorexia in a generation, but every honest researcher in the room is holding equipoise, not hype. The molecule is one component of a system, not a cure. The trial's design is unusually intensive because the population is unusually vulnerable. Two high-dose sessions, three preparation sessions before each, real-time heart monitoring, and blood draws throughout. Between 8 and 20 weeks of contact per participant. Families are part of the treatment. Young people rarely get better if they return to the same system in which the illness grew, so caregivers enroll and prepare too. Improving cognitive flexibility does not guarantee behavior change. People report expanded thinking and a better quality of life. Whether that translates to weight restoration is the open question this trial is built to answer. Access without support is the real risk. Psilocybin floods the body with sensation, and people with anorexia are often profoundly disconnected from the body. Unsupported, that experience can compound harm rather than heal it. 🔵 Guest Dr. Amanda Downey is a pediatrician and psychiatrist specializing in adolescents and young adults with eating disorders. She is the assistant medical director of the UCSF Eating Disorders Program, a member of UCSF’s Translational Psychedelic Research Program, and a lead investigator on an active Phase 2 trial of psilocybin therapy for young adults with anorexia nervosa, ages 18 to 25. Learn more about UCSF psilocybin and anorexia trial @ clinicaltrials.ucsf.edu 🔵 Resources Ask April: How Do I Find a Psychedelic Guide? — column on legal access, licensed facilitators, and the Oregon versus Colorado distinction Original Substack post: https://aprilpride.substack.com/psilocybin-for-anorexia-ucsf-trial Hosted by April Pride ⁠Follow ⁠⁠April on Substack⁠ IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at aprilpride.com
#126
July 7 · 1 hr 5 min
126. Psychedelics & Addiction: What the Research Actually Says
126. Psychedelics & Addiction: What the Research Shows Addiction psychiatrist Dr. Nathan Sackett on psilocybin, ibogaine, MDMA, ketamine, and what psychedelic-assisted therapy can and cannot do for substance use disorder. Episode Summary The conversation about psychedelics as addiction treatment is moving faster than the research. Dr. Nathan Sackett is trying to close that gap. Founding director of the Center for Novel Therapeutics at the University of Washington, Sackett is an addiction psychiatrist who still sees patients — which matters, because every study his center runs is rooted in clinical reality, not advocacy optics. In this live recording from the Psychedelic Salon at Town Hall Seattle, we cover what the evidence actually supports, what compounds carry genuine risk, and why the most important variable in treatment outcomes may not be the drug at all. If you've been following psychedelic news and want a clearer picture of what's real, this is the conversation. 🔵 Key Takeaways Psilocybin works as an accelerant, not a cure. It amplifies therapeutic work already in progress — which means the therapeutic work has to be there first. Ibogaine's cardiac risk is real and cannot be fully predicted even in pre-screened patients. Clinical monitoring with a cardiologist present is not optional — it is the protocol. Ketamine is habit-forming in a way classic psychedelics are not. Since the pandemic, Dr. Sackett has seen a meaningful rise in ketamine use disorder in his clinical practice. The variation in long-term outcomes across psilocybin trials may have more to do with integration therapy than with the drug. The field does not yet have standardized integration protocols. Kratom is available at corner stores and gas stations nationwide and contains a compound with opiate-like properties roughly ten times more potent than morphine. It is undersupported in the research literature and underrecognized as a dependence risk. 🔵 Guest Dr. Nathan Sackett is an addiction psychiatrist and the founding director of the Center for Novel Therapeutics at the University of Washington, where he leads clinical research at the intersection of psychedelic-assisted therapy, trauma, and substance use disorder. He sees patients in both an addictions clinic and UW's Psychedelic Education and Harm Reduction Clinic. Dr. Sackett on LinkedIn Center for Novel Therapeutics, University of Washington 🔵 Resources #46 Cultivating the Witness with Natasha Lannerd — on metacognition, integration, and the internal observer that makes psychedelic work stick #117 Ibogaine Treatment at Beond — a conversation with the co-founders of the Mexico-based clinic whose cardiac data Dr. Sackett is currently studying Ask April: Q: Does the president's executive order legalize psychedelics? — on the executive order, fast-tracked FDA review, and what access will actually cost patients ⁠Original Substack post: https://aprilpride.substack.com/psychedelics-addiction-research-nathan-sackett SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#125
June 23 · 47 min
125. What Women's Hormones, Cycles, and Lived Experience Have to Teach Psychedelic Medicine
125. The Wise Body: What Women's Hormones, Cycles, and Lived Experience Have to Teach Psychedelic Medicine Stephanie Karzon Abrams of Galilea on why psychedelic care must account for women's cycles, life stage, and the knowledge that predates clinical trials. Episode Summary The research on psychedelics was built around male bodies. Women were treated as a confounding variable — their cycles, hormones, and life stages filtered out of study designs rather than centered in them. The result is a clinical landscape where practitioners are guessing, women are underserved, and the knowledge that has existed for generations in women's bodies and lineages is treated as anecdote rather than data. Stephanie Karzon Abrams is the co-creator of Galilea and founder of Beyond Consulting, a practice focused on psychedelic-informed female care: what it requires, what the research does and doesn't tell us, and what women's lived experience is already teaching practitioners who are paying attention. 🔵 Key Takeaways Hormonal landscape will influence a woman's psychedelic experience — but the research is contradictory enough that we cannot yet say with certainty in what direction. GLP-1 medications slow gastric emptying and interfere with the onset of prodrugs like psilocybin, which must be metabolized into active psilocin in the gut. The distinction between knowledge and knowing is the foundation of the Wise Body framework. Knowledge can be published and replicated. Knowing is generational, intuitive, lived. Psychedelic therapy is more like surgery than a prescription. It requires preparation, skilled practitioners, and mandatory aftercare. We don't yet have adequate data on how diversity, culture, comorbidities, and socioeconomic background affect outcomes. And the ecosystems and communities that hold these medicines are not ready to be scaled. 🔵 Timestamps - 0:01 Intro & Disclaimer - 0:18 Welcome & Guest Introduction - 1:46 Shulgin Farm Event Preview - 3:09 The Research Gap: Hormones & Psychedelics - 4:44 Explainer: Serotonin & Glutamate - 5:58 Contradictory Research Findings - 8:18 The Structural Problem: Women Excluded from Trials - 9:51 GALILEA Toolkit & Practitioner Resources - 11:01 GLP-1 Drugs & Psilocybin Interactions - 15:35 Explainer: Pro-Drugs & Psilocybin Metabolism - 17:18 Lived Experience & Cyclical Awareness - 21:22 The Wise Body: Knowing vs Knowledge - 29:10 Root Cause, Ketamine & Expectations - 33:28 Ketamine for Postpartum Depression - 35:12 Reframing Treatment as Surgery - 37:51 Access, Equity & Slowing the Rollout - 44:48 Closing Reflections - 46:33 Where to Find Steph's Work 🔵 Resources Stephanie Karzon Abrams | Galilea, Beyond Consulting Psychedelics & the Whole Self: A Gathering for Womxn Ep. 33 | Therapeutic Psilocybin Use: Tea, Lemon Tek, and Healing Original Substack post: https://aprilpride.substack.com/women-hormones-psychedelics-practitioner-education SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#124
May 5 · 36 min
124. Psychedelic Integration and Intuition: What Actually Changes After Ayahuasca
124. Psychedelic Integration and Intuition: What Actually Changes After Ayahuasca Explore psychedelic integration and intuition through ayahuasca, grief, and leadership. What really changes after plant medicine? Episode Summary What actually happens after the ceremony ends? In this episode, April sits down with Lizzi Cutler to explore psychedelic integration and intuition beyond the peak experience. From ayahuasca to 5-MeO-DMT, Lizzi shares how plant medicine didn’t “fix” her but instead revealed who she already was. The conversation moves through grief and identity, including the emotional reality of not becoming a mother, and expands into how intuition can be applied in unexpected places like business and leadership. This episode will help you understand how to integrate psychedelic experiences into daily life, trust your intuition, rethink personal growth as an ongoing, nonlinear process. 🔵 Key Takeaways Psychedelics don’t fix you—they reveal patterns you’re already living inside True ayahuasca integration happens over years, not days or weeks Intuition isn’t mystical—it’s a skill that can be applied to leadership and hiring Grief and identity are deeply intertwined, especially around missed life paths Intuitive leadership may be the missing link in building aligned teams and cultures 🔵 Timestamps [00:00] Intro, disclaimer, and April’s context on consciousness + intuition[01:00] Introducing Lizzi Cutler and the theme of integration[02:00] Psychedelics and grief + upcoming salon context[03:00] Lizzi’s early work: yoga, meditation, and intuitive sensing[04:00] Naming subconscious patterns and how change begins[05:00] April’s narration: awareness, observation, and the double slit experiment[06:00] Applying intuition to business, hiring, and leadership[08:00] First ayahuasca invitation and entering ceremony work[09:00] Ayahuasca + San Pedro explained (context + risks)[10:00] First ceremonies: “feeling nothing” and frustration[10:30] Dieta explained: preparation, digestion, and intuition[12:00] First breakthrough experience and community bonding[13:00] Divorce, feeling “broken,” and seeking transformation[14:00] 30–40 ceremonies later: what ayahuasca actually revealed[15:00] “Own your power” and letting go of imitation[16:00] The apprenticeship dynamic + April’s ethical commentary[18:00] Surrendering to intuition and first real validation[19:00] Bringing intuitive work into real-world practice[20:00] Shifting from personal coaching to stress + behavior change[21:00] Breakthrough moment: intuition applied to business[22:00] Alignment, investing, and intuitive due diligence[23:00] Oneness, source, and early 5-MeO insights[24:00] Psychedelics don’t give gifts—they reveal them[25:00] Intuition as a natural ability vs learned skill[26:00] 5-MeO-DMT explained + non-dual awareness[26:30] “I am enough”: the end of the “I’m broken” narrative[27:00] Embodiment, love, and kintsugi (wholeness through integration)[28:00] Integration over time + relationships and emotional growth[29:00] Building an intuitive business model (CEO-focused work)[30:00] “Intuitive analysis” and reading organizational culture[31:00] AI vs intuition: human pattern recognition[32:00] Leadership decisions, restructuring, and team alignment[33:00] Working with investors, philanthropy, and impact[34:00] Money as energy + alignment in giving[35:00] Closing reflections + where this work is going[36:00] Outro + resources + psychedelic grief salon 🔵 Resources Original Microdosing for Midlife Substack post: https://aprilpride.substack.com/p/psychedelic-integration-and-intuition-ayahuasca-leadership ⁠SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#123
March 24 · 9 min
123. Microdosing for Midlife — Week 6: Emotional Resilience and Rewriting Old Patterns
123. Microdosing for Midlife: Emotional Resilience(Week 6) Week 6 explores extinction learning, emotional resilience, and how microdosing may support gradual rewiring of fear-based patterns in midlife. Episode Summary This episode is part Week 6 of Microdosing for Midlife—a 12-part audio companion to the original Substack series. In this conversation, April explores emotional resilience not as toughness or avoidance, but as the ability to update old responses in real time. Using entrepreneurship as metaphor, she reflects on how repeated attempts, setbacks, and recalibration build resilience—and how microdosing psilocybin intersects with that process. The episode introduces the neuroscience concept of extinction learning—the brain’s ability to replace outdated fear responses with more informed ones. Rather than positioning microdosing as a cure or shortcut, April frames it as a catalyst for noticing habitual reactions, pausing before reenactment, and building new neural pathways through integration. If the written post focused on the science and story, this episode explores how resilience is practiced—not performed—especially in midlife when old coping strategies no longer serve. 🔵 Key Takeaways What extinction learning means in practical terms How emotional resilience differs from emotional suppression Why microdosing is described as a catalyst—not a quick fix The role of integration in reinforcing new neural pathways How midlife transitions resurface habitual responses Why subtle shifts often matter more than dramatic breakthroughs One reflection to carry into the week ahead 🔵 Timestamps [00:00] Episode opening[02:00] Entrepreneurship and resilience as metaphor[04:30] Extinction learning explained[07:00] Personal example of breaking habitual responses[10:00] Integration and grounding practices[13:00] Midlife transitions and emotional awareness[16:00] What to carry forward 🔵 Resources Original Microdosing for Midlife Substack post: https://aprilpride.substack.com/p/microdosing-psilocybin-for-emotional-resilience ⁠SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#122
March 3 · 14 min
122. Microdosing for Midlife — Week 5: Mask Off — Authenticity for Real
122. Microdosing for Midlife: Stability & Nervous System Change (Week 5) Week 5 explores masking, authenticity, the Default Mode Network, and how microdosing may soften rigid self-narratives in midlife. Episode Summary This episode is part Week 5 of Microdosing for Midlife—a 12-part audio companion to the original Substack series. In this conversation, April explores authenticity not as a dramatic revelation, but as a gradual unmasking. Rather than chasing peak experiences or forced breakthroughs, she reflects on how microdosing intersects with identity, ego softening, and the quiet recognition of truths long postponed. The episode examines the difference between escape and exposure—and why midlife often demands something more sustainable than either. Drawing from neuroscience, lived experience, and even a bridge to quantum physics, April considers how the Default Mode Network (DMN) reinforces self-stories—and how gentle disruptions may create space for new ones. This is not about dramatic ego dissolution. It’s about noticing the yes that’s actually a no, the roles we’ve outgrown, and the parts of ourselves we’ve hidden to stay acceptable. If you’ve read the original essay, this episode deepens it. If you haven’t, it stands on its own—and may send you back to read more closely. 🔵 Key Takeaways How “masking” functions psychologically and neurologically The role of the Default Mode Network in identity and self-story Why escape and authenticity are often confused How microdosing may soften rigid self-narratives The difference between forced revelation and sustained alignment What flow actually represents in midlife transition One reflection to carry into the week ahead 🔵 Timestamps [00:00] Episode opening[02:00] Masking, escape, and authenticity[05:00] A personal mask-off moment[07:00] Default Mode Network and ego narratives[10:00] Observation and identity[13:00] Flow and sustained alignment[15:00] What to carry forward 🔵 Resources Original Microdosing for Midlife Substack post: https://aprilpride.substack.com/p/microdosing-for-authenticity ⁠SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#121
February 24 · 18 min
121. Microdosing for Midlife — Week 4: Stability, Change, and the Nervous System
121. Microdosing for Midlife: Stability & Nervous System Change (Week 4) Week 4 of Microdosing for Midlife explores how nervous system stability shapes identity, growth, and long-term change in midlife. Episode Summary This episode is part Week 4 of Microdosing for Midlife—a 12-part audio companion to the original Substack series. In this conversation, April expands on what it actually means to feel stable while undergoing change. Midlife often brings visible transitions—shifts in hormones, identity, relationships, ambition—but underneath those external markers is something quieter: the nervous system recalibrating itself. Rather than focusing on dramatic breakthroughs, this episode examines how safety, steadiness, and subtle internal shifts create sustainable growth. Instead of chasing intensity, April reflects on how microdosing can support capacity—capacity to tolerate discomfort, to remain present in uncertainty, and to integrate insight gradually. The real work is not in peak moments. It’s in the ability to return to baseline without abandoning yourself. 🔵 Key Takeaways How nervous system stability shapes long-term growth in midlife Why intensity is often mistaken for progress How subtle shifts accumulate into meaningful identity change What “capacity building” looks like beyond insight A reflection question to carry into the week ahead 🔵 Timestamps [00:00] Episode opening[02:00] Framing the week’s theme[08:30] Nervous system stability vs intensity[15:00] Capacity building in midlife[22:00] Integration reflection[27:00] What to carry forward 🔵 Resources ⁠⁠SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#120
February 17 · 11 min
120. Microdosing for Midlife, Week 3: Hormones, Perception, and Libido in Menopause
120. Microdosing for Midlife: Hormones, Perception, and Libido (Week 3) Exploring how menopause, perception shifts, and nervous system regulation intersect with midlife libido. Episode Summary This episode continues Week 3 of Microdosing for Midlife, April Pride’s 12-part audio companion to her Substack series exploring microdosing through the lens of midlife transition. In this conversation, April examines one of the most quietly asked questions among women in perimenopause and menopause: can microdosing influence hormones or libido? Rather than positioning psilocybin as a hormonal intervention, she reframes the inquiry around perception, serotonin signaling, emotional regulation, and nervous system safety. The episode explores how estrogen fluctuations affect mood stability, why cortisol and stress patterns shape desire, and how subtle perceptual shifts—rather than dramatic sensations—may influence connection and intimacy. Through personal reflection and grounded science, April centers integration over hype. 🔵 Key Takeaways • Sub-perceptual microdosing is about perception shifts, not noticeable psychedelic effects• Estrogen plays a role in serotonin regulation and emotional stability• Hormonal fluctuations in midlife can increase anxiety and mood vulnerability• Libido is influenced by stress regulation and psychological safety• Psilocybin research currently focuses on emotional systems—not hormone “balancing”• Interoception (body awareness) may shift during midlife transitions• Structured integration matters more than isolated insight 🔵 Timestamps [00:00] Episode disclaimer and introduction[01:00] The neurobiology of change and structured microdosing[02:00] Sensation vs. perception in microdosing[04:00] Rewriting grief narratives and identity shifts[05:00] Estrogen, serotonin, and cortisol interactions[06:30] Oxytocin, connection, and emotional openness[08:00] Interoception and body awareness[09:00] Libido and menopause[10:00] Emotional safety and renewed desire[11:00] Closing reflections 🔵 Additional Resources Micro-Psyched Microdosing Guide Original Week 3 post on Substack ⁠SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#119
February 11 · 16 min
119. Microdosing for Midlife, Week 2: Brain Science of Change
119. Microdosing for Midlife: Brain Science of Change (Week 2) Week 2 of Microdosing for Midlife explores estrogen, menopause, hormone therapy, and cognitive health—plus how psilocybin supports neuroplasticity. Episode Summary This episode marks Week 2 of Microdosing for Midlife, a 12-week audio series exploring how psilocybin microdosing for women intersects with hormonal change, emotional regulation, and cognitive resilience during midlife. In this installment, April Pride expands on a central question that surfaced after Week 1: whether being “spared” classic menopausal symptoms—or choosing not to take hormone replacement therapy—puts women at greater risk for cognitive decline. Drawing from current research, April reframes the fear-driven narrative around menopause, estrogen, and dementia, offering a more nuanced and reassuring understanding of what actually shapes long-term brain health. The episode also explores estrogen’s role as a neuroprotectant, how the midlife brain becomes more vulnerable to stress-based patterning, and why psychedelics like psilocybin may support neuroplasticity by softening rigid survival scripts. Through personal reflection and lived experience, April illustrates how subtle shifts in perception—not emotional erasure—can change one’s relationship to anxiety, grief, and uncertainty. This episode functions as an audio companion to the written Week 2 essay, adding scientific context, integration insights, and real-life application without replacing the original post. 🔵 Key Takeaways • Menopause as a neurological transition, not just a hormonal one• Estrogen’s role in cognition, mood, and neuroprotection• Why high symptom burden—not absence of symptoms—is linked to later cognitive risk• What hormone therapy does and does not do for long-term cognition• The default mode network and midlife rumination patterns• Psychedelics, neuroplasticity, and loosening fear-based survival scripts• Microdosing as a tool for integration rather than emotional suppression 🔵 Timestamps [00:00] Reflections on Psychedelic Salon and Women in the Wild[02:30] Introducing Week 2 and the HRT cognition question[03:45] Menopausal symptoms and cognitive risk[05:00] What hormone therapy research actually shows[06:30] Estrogen as a neuroprotectant[08:30] Brain changes during midlife[10:00] Psychedelics and neuroplasticity[11:30] Personal reflections on anxiety and action[13:30] Reflection questions for listeners[15:00] Micro-Psyched program overview and what’s next 🔵 Additional Resources Original Week 2 post on Substack Episode 55: Ketamine-Assisted Therapy: Brain Effects Explained Learn more about this episode: ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/p/microdosing-for-midlife-estrogen-cognition⁠ SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#118
February 3 · 14 min
118. Microdosing for Midlife, Week 1: Intention & Dosage
118. Microdosing for Midlife: Intention Setting, Integration, and Finding Your Dose (Week 1) Week 1 of Microdosing for Midlife explores intention setting, finding the right microdose, and integrating psilocybin gently during midlife transitions. Episode Summary This episode marks Week 1 of Microdosing for Midlife, a 12-week audio series exploring how psilocybin microdosing for women can support emotional awareness, intention, and integration during midlife transitions. In this opening installment, April Pride reads and expands on the first essay in the series, focused on intention setting and finding the right dose, while grounding the conversation in lived experience. Drawing from her own midlife hormonal transition, grief, and identity shifts, April frames microdosing as an integration practice that unfolds during daily life, rather than something that happens after a peak experience. The episode introduces why midlife—particularly during perimenopause and emotional regulation shifts—can be a uniquely potent time for this work. Listeners are invited to consider intention not as an outcome-driven goal, but as a present-moment orientation that supports nervous system regulation in midlife and long-term change. This episode serves as an audio companion to a Substack essay, offering context, reflection, and integration insights that stand on their own without replacing the original written post. 🔵 Key Takeaways • Why midlife is a neurological, hormonal, and emotional transition• How microdosing supports integration during daily life• Intention setting in microdosing versus goal-setting• Nervous system regulation in midlife• Hormones, neurotransmitters, and emotional resilience• Microdosing protocol safety considerations• Why community-based psychedelic education supports accountability 🔵 Timestamps [00:00] Series introduction and safety framing[02:00] Why this series is being shared as audio[03:00] Midlife as a period of sovereignty and transformation[04:30] Psychedelic integration practice in real time[05:30] Intention versus goals in microdosing[06:45] Hormones, neurotransmitters, and the midlife brain[07:45] Finding the right microdose and cadence[09:00] Safety considerations before beginning[09:45] Why microdosing should not be done in isolation[11:00] Listener questions and common concerns[12:30] What’s next in the 12-week microdosing series Learn more about this episode: ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/p/microdosing-for-midlife-intention-integration-week-1 🔵 Additional Resources Original Week 1 post on Substack Episode 72: Preparing for a Psychedelic Journey Safely ⁠SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#117
January 20 · 40 min
117. Ibogaine Therapy Safety & Ethics: What Responsible Care Really Looks Like
117. Ibogaine Therapy Safety & Ethics: What Responsible Care Really Looks Like A grounded conversation on ibogaine therapy safety and ethics—covering medical oversight, risks, integration, and responsible psychedelic care. Episode Summary Ibogaine is often described as a breakthrough for addiction, trauma, and PTSD—but it’s also one of the most medically complex psychedelic therapies in use today. In this episode, April Pride sits down with Tom Feegel and Talia Eisenberg, co-founders of Beond Ibogaine, to explore what ethical, medically supported ibogaine care actually requires. Together, they unpack the difference between iboga and ibogaine, why cardiac screening and clinical monitoring are non-negotiable, and how integration—not intensity—is where real change happens. Talia shares her personal recovery story, Tom explains Beond’s safety-first model, and April grounds the conversation in harm reduction, nervous system care, and responsibility. This episode will help you understand the real risks, the emerging science, and the ethical questions shaping ibogaine’s future—without hype or shortcuts. 🔵 Key Takeaways Iboga and ibogaine are not the same—and that distinction matters for safety, dosing, and ethics. Ibogaine carries real cardiac risk and should never be used without medical screening and monitoring. Post-acute withdrawal can last weeks or months and is a major relapse risk without support. Whole-plant medicines vary in potency; predictability is a safety issue, not a comfort preference. Integration starts before the medicine and continues long after—it’s a way of living, not a checklist. 🔵 Timestamps [00:00] Safety disclaimer, why harm reduction matters, and setting the context[01:00] Iboga vs. ibogaine: what’s the difference and why it matters[03:00] Tom’s story: trauma, recovery, and building the place that didn’t exist[07:30] Talia’s first ibogaine experience and the risks of unregulated care[09:00] What post-acute withdrawal really looks like[12:00] Spiritual seeking, Osho, and early inner guidance[14:00] “Root medicine” and why support after the experience is critical[17:00] Potency variability: mushrooms, cannabis, and iboga compared[18:00] Cardiac risk, medical screening, and ethical boundaries[23:00] PTSD, TBI, and what the emerging research suggests[27:00] Cannabis use disorder, ketamine, kratom, and modern dependency patterns[31:00] What a medically supported ibogaine program actually includes[34:00] Integration vs. activation: turning insight into lived change[38:00] How to evaluate whether ibogaine care is right for you 🔵 Guests Follow Tom Feegel & Talia Eisenberg: Beond Ibogaine | https://beondibogaine.com | https://www.instagram.com/beondibogaine Learn more about this episode: ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/p/ibogaine-therapy-safety-and-ethics 🔵 Additional Resources SetSet Psychedelic Cards Women in the Wild application Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at aprilpride.com
#116
January 6 · 38 min
116. Psychedelics and Aging: Meaning, Grief, and Integration in Later Life
116. Psychedelics and Aging: Meaning in Later Life An educational conversation on psychedelics and aging, exploring meaning-making, grief, safety, and integration through lived experience and research. Episode Summary What happens when psychedelic experiences arrive later in life—after careers, caregiving, grief, and loss have already shaped the nervous system? In this episode, April Pride sits down with journalist and author Abbie Rosner to explore psychedelics and aging through the lens of elderhood, meaning-making, and maturity. Rather than framing psychedelics as a return to youth, this conversation looks at how these experiences can land differently for older adults—bringing reflection, perspective, and emotional capacity rather than novelty or intensity. Together, April and Abbie discuss research on end-of-life anxiety, lived experiences of grief and joy, and why preparation, support, and integration matter more than peak experiences. This episode offers a grounded, harm-reduction–oriented exploration of what psychedelics may offer later in life—without hype, pressure, or promises. 🔵 Key Takeaways Psychedelics often land differently later in life because the nervous system carries decades of lived experience. Elderhood is not decline—it’s integration of youth, age, wisdom, and impermanence. Research on psychedelics and end-of-life anxiety points to increased emotional capacity, not the elimination of grief or fear. Challenging experiences are not uncommon, but preparation and support can reduce long-term difficulty. Community becomes increasingly important for integration, care, and meaning as we age. 🔵 Timestamps [00:00] Why psychedelics and aging require a different conversation[02:30] Abbie Rosner’s journey into psychedelics later in life[05:30] Seniors vs. elders and why language matters[07:15] Elderhood as integration, not decline[11:25] Meaning making, mortality, and end-of-life research[14:20] What older adults seek from psychedelic experiences[21:00] Harm reduction, challenging experiences, and safety[26:00] Preparation pathways: legal, underground, and supported options[29:00] Psychedelics, grief, and emotional release[33:00] Community, mutual care, and aging with intention[36:50] Integration over intensity: closing reflections 🔵 Guests Abbie Rosner is a journalist and author focused on psychedelics and aging, and elderhood. Her forthcoming book explores how psychedelic experiences intersect with meaning making, grief, and community later in life.Follow Abbie Rosner: Elderevolution on Substack | Instagram — @elderevolution Learn more about this episode: ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/p/psychedelics-and-aging 🔵 Additional Resources ⁠SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
#115
Dec 23, 2025 · 22 min
115. The 5-MeO-DMT Experience: Nervous System Surrender, Safety, and the God Molecule
115. 5-MeO-DMT Experience Explained A grounded conversation on the 5-MeO-DMT experience—how it affects the nervous system, how it differs from DMT, and why safety and integration matter. Episode Summary What is 5-MeO-DMT, and why do people describe it so differently from other psychedelics? In this episode, April Pride sits down with licensed clinicians and facilitators Roger and Dustin to explore the 5-MeO-DMT experience through both lived experience and emerging neuroscience. Often referred to as the God molecule psychedelic, 5-MeO-DMT is widely described as a non-visual psychedelic experience—one that quiets the nervous system rather than amplifying imagery, stories, or symbols. Together, they break down 5-MeO-DMT vs DMT, explain how this compound interacts with serotonin receptors in the brain, and discuss why many people report profound ego dissolution, nervous system regulation, and long-term shifts in how they experience safety and connection. This episode also centers women and psychedelics, examining why women—particularly those who have spent years in control, caretaking, or emotional labor—may feel especially drawn to this form of surrender-based medicine. If you’re seeking grounded insight into psychedelic harm reduction, integration after 5-MeO-DMT, and what makes this medicine fundamentally different from other psychedelic experiences, this conversation is an essential listen. 🔵 Key Takeaways The 5-MeO-DMT experience is often felt rather than seen, with little to no visuals or narrative content Unlike classic psychedelics, 5-MeO-DMT is widely described as a non-visual psychedelic experience Understanding 5-MeO-DMT vs DMT is critical—many vape pens labeled “DMT” contain N-N-DMT, not 5-MeO-DMT 5-MeO-DMT strongly activates both 5-HT2A and 5-HT1A serotonin receptors, impacting cognition and nervous system regulation The medicine often quiets the nervous system rather than stimulating imagery or meaning-making Synthetic 5-MeO-DMT allows for more precise dosing and supports harm reduction by protecting the Sonoran Desert toad Psychedelic integration after 5-MeO-DMT is essential; the effects unfold over time, not just during the session Screening, contraindications, and aftercare are non-negotiable components of responsible psychedelic use 🔵 Timestamps [00:00] What people mean when they describe the God molecule psychedelic [02:10] How Roger and Dustin came to work with 5-MeO-DMT [03:36] Why this is a non-visual psychedelic experience [04:22] Synthetic vs toad-derived 5-MeO-DMT and harm reduction [06:57] Why some therapeutic “stuckness” responds differently to 5-MeO-DMT [08:28] Serotonin receptors and psychedelics: the double-door explanation [10:00] Nervous system regulation and surrender, especially for women [11:14] Gamma brainwaves, endogenous release, and embodied remembering [13:41] April’s experience with DMT vapes and common confusion [16:19] Clear distinctions between 5-MeO-DMT vs DMT [18:30] Health risks, medications, and serotonin syndrome [20:30] Ketamine, DMT, and the limits of comparison [22:53] Why women and psychedelics intersect uniquely here [23:21] Integration, meaning-making, and what comes after the experience 🔵 Guests Roger & DustinLicensed clinicians and facilitators at Sky Mountain Retreats, specializing in carefully screened, harm-reduction-focused 5-MeO-DMT experiences with an emphasis on preparation, precision dosing, and long-term integration. Learn more about this episode: ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/p/5-meo-dmt-experience-nervous-system-safety 🔵 Additional Resources ⁠SetSet Psychedelic Cards⁠ ⁠Women in the Wild application⁠ Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at ⁠https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aprilpridecreates / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@aprilpridecreates ⁠ Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at ⁠aprilpride.com⁠
Dec 12, 2025 · 25 min
114. Why & How to Start Microdosing: The Gentle Revolution
114. How to Start Microdosing with Psilocybin A science-backed guide to microdosing psychedelics with SetSet’s 12-week protocol, featuring expert insight and lived experience. Episode Summary If you’ve been microdose-curious — or maybe you’re already experimenting and want a little more structure — this episode is your map. Host April Pride pulls together insights from SetSet collaborators including author Amy Wong, integrative therapist Kendra Bloom, and medicine woman Sand Symes. You’ll learn exactly what microdosing is, why it works, and how SetSet’s 12-week Micro-Psyched protocol guides real, sustainable shifts—especially for women navigating overwhelm, transitions, or burnout. Whether you’re a total beginner or an experienced journeyer seeking structure, this episode will help you align mindset, medicine, and method. 🔵 Key Takeaways Microdosing is a sub-perceptual, regular-dose protocol designed to shift your mental patterns gently over time. There are three main microdosing personas: psychedelic curious, psychedelic conscious, and providers supporting others. Microdosing supports subtle but profound behavior changes—like reducing compulsions or regaining clarity. SetSet’s 12-week structure mirrors the natural cycle of change: preparation, resistance, and consolidation. Real change doesn’t require fireworks. Tiny, steady choices reshape your reality. 🔵 Timestamps 00:36 What microdosing really is and how it works (Amy Wong)02:10 Three types of people who join SetSet’s protocol08:45 Why structure matters: stories from women in Micro-Psyched13:20 Real-life benefits from microdosing: cravings, clarity, choice18:00 Why 12 weeks? The brain’s timeline for transformation21:40 Live workshops: coming to Seattle in 202524:00 What’s included in SetSet’s Annual Membership27:10 Final reflections: microdosing as a relationship, not a hack 🔵 Guests Amy Wong: Author of Living on Purpose | amywong.com Kendra Bloom: Therapist, Integration Specialist | @kendrabloom Sand Symes: Medicine woman and facilitator | @sandsymes 🔵 Additional Resources Q: How Do Psychedelics Unlock Creativity? Micro-Psyched 12-Week Microdosing Program Women in the Wild application Learn more about this episode: https://aprilpride.substack.com/p/how-to-start-microdosing-psilocybin Hosted by April Pride Subscribe for April’s newsletter on Substack at https://aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe or at getsetset.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@getsetset⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@getsetset⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@getsetset Get full access to APRIL PRIDE at aprilpride.substack.com/subscribe

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