The Psilocybin Handbook for Women with Jennifer Chesak

Women’s health is a subject long brushed aside in medical research, from physical to emotional health. Vivian Kanchian sat down with Jennifer Chesak, the author of The Psilocybin Handbook for Women, to discuss Chesak’s journey into psychedelics and their relationship to women’s health diagnoses at large. — Shannon Ratliff

Vivian Kanchian: In your book, you talk about historically how women have been kind of ignored and disregarded. And that even as recently as the 1990s, women were not included in clinical trials, which is very, very recent. Would you say is that one of the things that prompted you to write this book?

Jennifer Chesak: The idea actually was born out of my publisher. They were looking for someone to write a book specifically on psilocybin for women.

And the concept completely resonated with me simply because I’m so passionate about women’s health and have a history of writing about it. Plus, [as someone] with her own chronic health issues… I related to the topic, right?

And I’ve always been fascinated with psychedelics and really curious how they can benefit people. After there was kind of a research pause. Now, we’ve got this resurgence of research.

It’s just really fascinating all the ways that it can potentially help people. So, I had this light bulb moment that maybe with this new resurgence of research, people are thinking outside the box in terms of not only mental health, but chronic physical health issues. That maybe researchers will finally start looking at women’s health with a new lens.

VK: From your mouth to God’s ears. You mentioned that you’ve always been curious about psychedelics and how they can help people in various ways. So, is that something that you kind of delved into more deeply with this book, with the eye-opening retreat experience that you describe in your book?

JC: I’d grown up around psychedelics because I had friends that frequently used them as teenagers, but I never felt comfortable because I feel like I just didn’t have enough information about it. Plus, I grew up in the Dare Era and I still felt like I’m a teenager, I don’t really know what I’m doing, I’m not going to dive into this right now.

But as an adult, I still had a lot of fear around it. And I think a lot of that is left over from growing up during this era of the War on Drugs. So, even though I hung around people who were on many different substances all the time, and I loved them and thought they were great people, I didn’t trust myself to be able to handle any experience like that as a teenager.

Even into adulthood, that fear perpetuated. But with the book deal, I finally felt like, OK, now I feel like I have enough information to do this in a safe way and controlled way.

You can’t always control your journey on psychedelics, of course. But I felt like I could set myself up for a safe, controlled, healthy experience. And of course, I felt like I could not write the book without having that experience.

Out of all the psychedelics that are out there, psilocybin is the one that has intrigued me the most.

VK: Regarding your comment about control, I remember going to a big psychedelics conference at UCLA, with an expert panel. At one point, I stood up to ask the panelists whether there is something you can do to prepare yourself for the experience you’re about to have… and I think it was Hamilton Morris who basically (and much to my dismay) said, nope.

JC: Well, I think there are some things that you can do to prepare.

So, we have in the psychedelic industry what’s called set and setting. And of course, that does come from Indigenous practices, which is so important to honor and understand. And set and setting is there for a reason.

Set is your mindset going into an experience, and the setting is your environment.

It’s all really important. When you’re going into a journey, I think the most crucial thing (that I learned from experts during my own experience), is that if your mindset focuses on just really being open to the experience rather than resisting it, that will help set you up for a relatively good experience. 

And then with the environment, the setting, it’s really about being in a space that you feel safe in, feeling safe around the people who are around you and what is around you. So whether you’re more comfortable outside or inside – all of that plays a role. 

There are no guarantees, but at least you’re taking steps to set yourself up for a successful journey. 

Even if you have a challenging trip though, it’s possible that it could be really successful based on the fact that the mushroom is forcing you to look at something that maybe gives you a little anxiety or a little stress. And maybe on the other side of that, you can reduce that anxiety and stress. 

VK: One of the things that I found interesting in my research is that the larger dose trips that kind of mirror a near-death experience tend to be the ones that spark the most profound and long-lasting change in people. And so maybe coming face-to-face with our fears is what activates our ability to recalibrate our lives afterwards… an “if I could get through that, I can get through anything” type of feeling.

JC: Yes, absolutely. And I experienced that in my own journey, where the mushroom seemed to be wanting me to look at something that gives me a lot of anxiety in my life. And I didn’t want to look at it.

I was like, no, unsubscribe me from this experience! But you can’t, you have to ride it out. But I was really glad that I just sort of sat with it and let it happen because then on the other side of that was a big reward.

The thing that’s been giving me a lot of anxiety in my life. I’m in middle age, I’m almost 45, and my parents are getting older. So, I know that in the future, not too far down the road, I am eventually going to lose my parents. I know it’s just the cycle of life, right?

But that gives me a lot of anxiety and stress. And part of the reason for that, I suppose, is because I help manage their healthcare. And so, I know all these things. I was constantly thinking about this, and at times I couldn’t sleep.

Before my psilocybin experience, I just had this idea that on the other side of my parents’ eventual deaths, I would only have this unending black hole of grief and I’ll never be happy again. And sure, it’s true that life will never be the same. But the mushroom forced me to look at the fact that I’ve been through really challenging experiences in my life before, and I’ve gotten through them.

That I have tools within me to cope, that I’m resilient. Not only did it show me that I have a great support system around me, but it helped me to actually feel that support system holding me up during this mushroom journey. I learned that I can lean on that support system when I’m going through something really difficult.

So, I now know I have the tools to get through that experience. Yes, it will be extremely hard. It will be full of grief, but I will navigate it. I will be okay on the other side of that. 

VK: Isn’t that amazing? Thank you for sharing that. 

I remember reading about your moment on the couch where you were wanting to run out of the room, and then talked yourself into sitting with your feelings instead.

JC: Yeah, I mean, the couch was breathing next to me. And I was like, “You are not supposed to be breathing. I don’t want to do this anymore,” ‘cause I was really hitting peak dose at that point.

I think that’s something that people should be aware of. You may get anxious for a minute, but that anxiety will pass. You just have to sit with it even though it’s really hard to do that.

Want to read more interviews? Visit our archive:

• Ron Teeguarden on the power of medicinal mushrooms

• Tracey Tee on moms and microdosing

• Michelle Janikian on healing through psilocybin

• Dr. Victoria Sterkin & Rome Shadanloo on a therapeutic approach to psychedelics