Preparing for the Medicine: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me

Caitlyn Sweat is a trauma-informed licensed psilocybin facilitator and Navy veteran whom I met at the PS2025 conference this past June. After hearing her story and learning about her work, I invited her to write an article about it for this blog.

Though psilocybin isn't legal and isn't offered at or endorsed by WIMHS or its practitioner, it is a powerful natural substance that current research has found can be helpful for many people when given in a safe and legal setting. I believe that it is important to share the voices of those who have experience receiving it as patients and giving it as practitioners.

-BB

When I was 15, I fell into a deep depression that would span the majority of my lifetime. During that time, I did everything I could to try to climb out of it. I worked with therapists and psychiatrists. I tried multiple medications. I leaned on coping mechanisms—some healthy, most not. I sought out shamans, drowned myself in productivity, and filled every moment of my day in an attempt to avoid stillness, thinking if I could just stay busy enough, I wouldn't have time to be depressed.

But it didn’t work. Eventually, when I did stop—when there was a pause between one commitment and the next—I would collapse under the weight of it. The depression didn’t go anywhere. It just waited for silence. I had no internal stability, and that was mirrored in the instability of my outer life.

Worse still, I was also dealing with symptoms of PTSD. Over time, I came to a painful realization: I didn’t love myself. Not even a little. I had internalized every painful thing that had happened to me and twisted it into a story about how it must have been my fault. That I was broken. Unlovable. It’s heartbreaking to think about now—especially because I would never have believed that about anyone else. Only myself.

For years, I was surviving—barely—just trying to manage the surface symptoms of my life. Then, I found mushrooms.

They weren’t a magic cure. But they opened a door. And everything I had done before—the therapy, the personal work, the spiritual searching—paved the way for what mushrooms helped me access.

If you’re reading this and any part of my story sounds familiar, I want to share what I wish I had known earlier. Today, as a licensed psilocybin facilitator, here are five truths I’ve learned through both personal experience and professional practice:

---

1. Preparation Is Everything

Taking a high-dose journey without preparing is like setting out on a road trip with no map. Preparation helps you clarify your intentions and create a sense of inner safety. It allows you to begin understanding your inner world before the medicine takes you deeper into it. You're still the driver of your life—psilocybin just hands you a new lens. What you do with it is up to you.

2. Letting Go Is a Skill—Practice It

Before the ceremony even begins, spend time noticing where and how you can let go in your everyday life. What does surrender feel like in your body? Think about sinking into a warm bath or resting under the stars. That feeling—softening, trusting—is what you’ll need when the journey gets intense. Fighting the experience often makes it harder. Surrender, on the other hand, makes space for transformation.

3. Integration Is a Way of Life, Not a To-Do List

Integration isn’t just journaling after your journey. It’s how you live afterward. It’s how you stay open, curious, and gentle with yourself as you make sense of what you experienced. Without integration, a journey remains just a peak moment. With it, the medicine can ripple into your daily life in meaningful, lasting ways.

4. There’s No Magic—You Still Have to Do the Work

Mushrooms are powerful, but they’re not a shortcut. The insights you gain won’t implement themselves. You still have to choose—again and again—to show up differently. It takes courage, effort, and patience. And, perhaps most importantly, it takes self-kindness.

5. Community is a Must—Especially in the Post Journey Phase

Breaking down old patterns is necessary, but it can also feel disorienting. That’s why community is essential. Whether it’s trusted friends, a support group, or a psychedelic integration circle, surrounding yourself with others who get it makes the reconstruction process feel less lonely. This is also why I believe group work with mushrooms can be so powerful—it reminds us we’re not alone in our healing.

Psilocybin therapy isn’t for everyone. There are real risks, especially for individuals with a personal or family history of psychosis or those on certain medications. This path should always be approached with care, intention, and respect.

But for me—and for many others—it’s been a profound tool for healing. If you’re curious or considering your own journey, I hope these lessons help light the path.

---

Caitlyn Sweat is a trauma-informed licensed psilocybin facilitator and Navy veteran, dedicated to supporting others through intentional, heart-centered journeywork. She offers private and small group experiences with a strong emphasis on preparation, integration, and personal transformation. To learn more, visit www.caitlynsweat.com or reach out directly at introspect.oregon@gmail.com.