Episode 79 - “Plant medicines can help us through COVID and after it.”
If you’re like me, you’re using more cannabis these days. Dr. Julie Holland, psychiatrist and author of the upcoming Good Chemistry, talks about how to use plant substances to encourage connection and heal our heads and hearts in these challenging times.
There aren’t many psychiatrists who comfortably use the word “soul” in their work or who speak openly about the extraordinary states of connectedness that substances like cannabis, MDMA, and psilocybin offer -- connection with ourselves, with each other or with the cosmos. But Dr. Julie Holland is not a typical prescription-pushing psychiatrist. She understands that medications like SSRIs and sleeping pills don’t provide pleasure or peace or even truly restful sleep and that they may be actually interfering with the brain’s capacity to fix things in our lives that aren’t working.
Her new book, Good Chemistry, is a deep exploration of the neurotransmitter Oxytocin that allows us to trust and bond. It provides a fresh look on how our brains are wired to reward us for being and working together and liberate us from what Julie calls the “epidemic of disconnection and loneliness. (Listeners of this podcast will be familiar with this topic that was covered in Episode 40, “How to Access Your Brain’s Stash of Pleasure Chemicals.”)
It may seem like a terrible timing for a book about the biochemistry of connection, given the enforced states of isolation and Zoomification we’re learning to grow accustomed to. But in fact, the timing is perfect for this enlightening and deliciously readable book that explains our hard wired biological and biochemical need for connection. Julie is an entertaining writer and an empath who explains in human terms the biological and psychological reasons we’re all feeling buried under an avalanche of stress, distraction and lack of focus these days and offers some practical, plant based ways of coping. It’s also got some of the best, up-to-the-minute info on cannabis and CBD I’ve read anywhere, all delivered with Julie’s warm hearted sense of humor.
I know I’m not alone when I say that mustering motivation is a struggle these days. Just a few weeks ago when this pandemic hit I fantasized about using some of this extra time to finally get fluent in Spanish, start that new book proposal, or read Jane Austin, maybe even Melville. But the Great Pause has turned into the Great Paucity of achievement. Finding focus has been near impossible. The background worrying about my health and that of everyone around me, the existential dread of economic ruin, the daily trauma of watching Trump and the country melt down have resulted in chronic distraction and lack of inspiration. Most days I feel like I’m swimming upstream in a river of tar just to get through my email.
This is why I wanted to talk to Julie – to get her take on fortifying our mental health to help us endure the new normal of our COVID and post-COVID worlds. Of particular interest: How can we utilize plant meds to brace ourselves for what is to come? How can they help us replace that distressing “fight or flight” response with the gentler “protect and connect” response or ease our physical or emotional pain? Or even just enable us to view this crazy period with a bit of distance and levity, the power of which is not to be underestimated. As Julie observes in Good Chemistry: “What else can make you stressed? Paradoxically, both being separated from those we love and spending time with those same people. Isn’t life funny? If you smoked cannabis, you’d think so.”
So consider this interview your very own free 50-minute hour with one of the smartest, switched on psychiatrists working today.
It’s my gift to you, as is this link to advance ordering of “Good Chemistry.” It’s out in June from Harper Wave. It’s a great read.
Here's another bonus gift: Molecular biologist Dr. Kevin Spelman tells you how to boost your your immune system with a mix of cannabis meds and herbal supplements. This is great stuff, very next level.