Emotionally Fit with Dr. Emily Anhalt

TABOO TUESDAY: Psychedelic-Assisted Healing with MagicMind Founder, James Beshara

August 9, 2022

James Beshara, an angel investor and the founder of Tilt, a crowdfunding company acquired by Airbnb in 2017, used to drink seven cups of coffee a day—a habit that landed him in the ER with a racing heartbeat of over 170 beats per minute for three weeks straight. That turning point in James’s life led him down a rabbit hole of research on coffee, caffeine and alternative ways to boost productivity and heal, a search that included plant medicine. In this Taboo Tuesday, James talks to Dr. Emily about his first experience with psychedelics, and the effect it still has on him today.

Episode 24 • 9th August 2022 • Emotionally Fit • Coa x Dr. Emily Anhalt

Shownotes

Staying emotionally fit takes work and repetition. That's why the Emotionally Fit podcast with psychologist Dr. Emily Anhalt delivers short, actionable Emotional Push-Ups every Monday and Thursday to help you build a better practice of mental health, and surprising, funny, and shocking conversations on Taboo Tuesdays - because the things we’re most hesitant to talk about are also the most normal. Join us to kickstart your emotional fitness. Let's flex those feels and do some reps together!

EPISODE RESOURCES:
Follow James Beshara on Twitter and Instagram.
Learn more about Jame’s latest creation MagicMind
Read Jame’s book Beyond Coffee.
Listen to James’s podcast Below the Line and to his music.
Read Michael Pollan’s book: How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence

Transcripts

James (:00:00

... With psychedelics, the trope is that you don't get the trip that you want, you get the trip you need.
Dr. Emily (:00:21

Welcome to Taboo Tuesday on the Emotionally Fit podcast. I'm Dr. Emily Anhalt, and I've always loved talking about taboo subjects, sex, money, drugs, death, because being a therapist has taught me that the feelings we're most hesitant to talk about are also the most normal. So join me as we flex our feels by diving into things you might not say out loud, but you're definitely not the only one thinking.

James (:01:01

Of course! Thanks for having me, Emily.

Dr. Emily (:01:06

So today we're talking about psychedelic-assisted therapy, psychedelic-assisted healing. And when you and I were talking just now, I asked is this something that you played with growing up? Is this something that you did for fun with friends, that you experimented with? Tell us a little bit about that.

James (:01:26

It's not, and I love that we're going to get to talk about that today on the podcast. But no. Growing up, I was never really curious about it from a recreational perspective. So I mean, I remember when I was in Amsterdam studying abroad, I was like, "I'm going to do mushrooms. Got to do mushrooms in Amsterdam." Just walk into a coffee shop and buy them. And then it just didn't happen.

Dr. Emily (:01:50

It feels so rare, actually, that a person who's really into psychedelics later in life will not have experimented with them earlier.

James (:02:02

I was just like, "Yeah, I'm getting on a river."

Dr. Emily (:02:04

Yeah. It's a sin to do anything but enjoy this.

James (:20:10

This is what it's all about.

Dr. Emily (:20:12

A hell of a party.

James (:22:35

It's a hell of a party; it's the best party.

(00:37:22)