What the F*%k is Plant Medicine?
Hot Takes from My Conversation with Dr. Ellen Vora
Hi, good peeps. This week, I sat down with Dr. Ellen Vora. She’s the perfect combo of Ivy League prestige and alternative medicine “woo woo.” She graduated from Columbia University Medical School, did her undergrad at Yale, and has a private practice in New York City. She's a board-certified psychiatrist who is also certified in acupuncture, yoga, and nutrition. Her approach blends lifestyle changes and eastern medicine “woo woo” with evidence-based medicine. She specializes in depression, insomnia, anxiety, autoimmunity, adult ADHD, bipolar, and digestive issues.
Dr. Ellen is nailing all the hot topics, so let’s get our golden sh*t shovels ready for action. We’ll be digging deep into how to get better sleep, psychedelics, and how to tap into your midlife inner goddess.
Midlife Beauty Sleep
Dr. Ellen sees so many women in midlife who struggle due to lack of sleep. The fact is, having lower progesterone and hot flashes can cause us to sleep less. Just what we needed, right? We may not be able to control our hormones, but there are steps we can take to help us get the rest that we need. While we’re at it, let’s be nicer to ourselves and make sure that we don’t beat ourselves up for being tired.
What you should know about midlife and sleep:
Check-in on your stress levels. Ask yourself: are you taking care of everyone else’s needs before your own?
Be strategic about lighting. Make sure that you wear blue-blocking glasses after sunset, power down your electronics, get black-out shades, and wear an eye mask to bed.
Check your caffeine intake. Make sure you put down the espresso or the matcha by lunchtime.
Make sure that you’re getting enough dietary cholesterol. Try eating eggs for breakfast. Cholesterol can help with those pesky hormones.
Plants Are F*%king Magical
Plant medicine, contrary to what you have seen online, is not all psychedelic. Dr. Ellen cleared this up for me. “Cannabis is plant medicine, but so is Arnica. Herbalists have a whole arsenal of plant medicines that are not psychedelic.” (For reference, Arnica is the stuff you put on a sore muscle.) So then, what the f&%k are psychedelics? You know me, I’m thinking: tie-dye, The Grateful Dead, hippies…that type of thing. Well, thanks to scientists and medical professionals like Dr. Ellen, psychedelics are getting a much-deserved rebrand. But there’s still so much to learn. That’s why I asked Ellen to break it all down into a psychedelic toolkit.
The Psychedelic Toolkit:
Psilocybin: This is the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, which is still not legal. Dr. Ellen mentioned that it just got approval in Canada to begin trials for treating depression. It’s also helpful for trauma.
LSD or Acid: Unfortunately, acid is not talked about as much for clinical indications; however, studies have found that LSD can provide significant and positive short-term change in patients.
Ketamine: This is the legal psychedelic. In fact, there are ketamine clinics that you can go to and have a monitored psychedelic experience in a legal clinical setting. It can be helpful for dealing with trauma. There’s also evidence to show it can boost our brain health.
Ayahuasca: This is more of a religious sacrament that originates from indigenous tribes in South America. It should be done with experienced and initiated practitioners. The plant breaks down into a substance called DMT. Dr. Ellen says, if you are on any psych meds (i.e. SSRIs, Benzodiazepines (Benzos), etc.) it's really not safe to work with.
MDMA: This can be helpful for someone struggling with PTSD and C-PTSD or for struggling couples. Dr. Ellen speculates that there might be a fast-track process with the FDA to get it approved for PTSD.
*** This is not medical advice. It is merely a deep dive and a hot take. To learn more, listen to the full episode and make sure to consult your doctor about any changes you’re looking to make for your mental or physical health. ***
Midlife Is The Time To Connect To Your Inner Goddess
Dr. Ellen had some hot takes about connecting with our own divinity, especially in midlife. “I think we are systematically cut off from our own divinity. It impacts how much we let ourselves feel joy, how much we let ourselves be weird, how widely we let ourselves smile.” It’s our time to connect with what really matters to us and to realize how badass we truly are.
Here are some thoughts on how to connect to your divine self:
Honor your own needs. We talk about this all the time, but this is the secret sauce to the midlife remix that you’ve been waiting for. Your needs can unlock deeper parts of you.
Get rid of the miseducation from our culture. You’re not a Stepford wife! You’re a goddess. You can start off your midlife remix with some sweet unlearning. Who knows… maybe some psychedelics could help with that?
Be wide awake for the hot mess of life. The change you want isn’t coming in an Amazon box. As the saying goes, “You’ve got to feel it to heal it.”
Well, good peeps…I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling floaty. Dr. Ellen gave me a lot to think about and I’m excited to bring my midlife remix to the next level with the help of a good night’s sleep and maybe even some psychedelics. I’d say the gold is dripping off these nuggets, so take a listen to the full episode here to get the full scoop.
Connect With Dr. Ellen:
● Instagram: @ellenvoramd
● Website: https://ellenvora.com
● Book: The Anatomy of Anxiety
Dr. Ellen’s Favorites:
Ember Health: www.emberhealth.co
Brodo Hearth Bone Broth: https://www.brodo.com/product/hearth-bone-broth-22oz/