The Healing Properties of Ibogaine

Could a single trip on a piece of African rootbark called ibogaine help an addict or an alcoholic kick the habit? That was the claim in the 1960s, and now ibogaine is back in the spotlight. But is ibogaine a miracle cure? We don’t make this claim, but we do know it is effective for treating addiction, alcoholism, and mental health issues. We will talk about the Healing Properties of Ibogaine.

Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive substance that interrupts substance use disorders and promises other neurological and psychological benefits. It is found naturally in a number of plant sources, principally in a member of the Apocynaceae family known as iboga root (usually Tabernanthe iboga), which has been used for centuries by traditional communities in West Africa for ritual and healing purposes.

In lower doses, ibogaine acts as a stimulant, increasing energy and decreasing fatigue in a way that is distinct from other central nervous system stimulants like amphetamines and cocaine. In larger doses, ibogaine produces neurogenic effects, meaning that it stimulates a dream-like state while awake, as well as closed-eye imagery and the retrieval of repressed memories.

What One Research Study Revealed About Ibogaine

Chilean psychologist Dr. Claudio Naranjo conducted 40 ibogaine sessions with his clients and was the first to scientifically describe the experience. He reported that ibogaine helped people to view difficult experiences in an objective way and that it helped to facilitate closure of unresolved emotional conflicts.

Researchers found that monitored ibogaine-assisted therapy lacked any real risks or adverse effects (although it can be dangerous or fatal to those with heart conditions). Out of 30 study participants, only one-third relapsed within the first month after treatment, and four out of 30 abstained from heroin use for more than one year after a single treatment. This is a much higher success rate than the typical addiction treatment program in the United States and other countries.

There are other factors that show that ibogaine-assisted therapy is absolutely worth further study. Many study participants reported that their ibogaine-assisted therapy sessions allowed them insight into the deep-seated reasons why they abused drugs in the first place.

In a similar vein, participants also reported experiencing a profound “sense of amazement, sense of passing through stages of evolution.” These reports point to a form of deep spiritual introspection that is likely the root of the insight into why one finds palliative solace from pain in drugs such as heroin.

Ibogaine Treatment Promotes Spiritual, Physical, and Mental Health

Ibogaine treatment is not just a drug addiction recovery remedy. It also helps improve spiritual well-being. Someone who is addicted to alcohol or drugs have typically lost all self-confidence by the time they come to see us at New Roots. This psychedelic plant medicine helps our patients to regain lost confidence, which improves spiritual health, self-awareness, a sense of connectedness, and a feeling of soul fulfillment.

In addition to improving spiritual health, some of the known benefits of Ibogaine treatment include:

• Improving mental health
• Fastening and regulating body metabolic rate
• Helping to maintain a healthy body weight
• Improves mood and emotional stability
• Reduces drug cravings
• Regulates appetite

These are just a few of the many advantages of taking ibogaine.

What we hear from many of our patients is that their ibogaine experience was like having ten years of therapy in one night. They revisit past traumas, heal from unresolved childhood issues, make peace with the past, and address lifelong challenges that have hindered their growth.

Here's a video from one of our clients about their ibogaine experience: