Jack Wagner

Welcome to Otherworld.

Welcome to Otherworld.

I'm your host, Jack Wagner.

I'm your host, Jack Wagner.

This is part two of Down the Silver Strand.

The story you're about to hear comes from a man named Jake, who is a Navy Special Operations veteran with an incredible story that is not only relevant to the themes of this show, but also sheds light on how ancient plant medicine is making major breakthroughs in Western medical science.

If you haven't heard the first part, you should definitely go back and start at the beginning.

In part one, we met Jake, who is a Navy SWCC veteran who sustained a traumatic brain injury from heavy machine gun fire during his time in the military.

This injury, also known as a TBI, had horrible daily symptoms that only got worse with time and pushed Jake to the point where he considered taking his own life.

Unfortunately, humans have been fighting wars long before recorded history, and only recently have we begun to understand the hidden wounds that soldiers come back with and suffer from long after their time in the military, including PTSD, CTE, and traumatic brain injuries.

After exhausting every available doctor and resource at his disposal,

Jake decided to travel to Mexico to undergo a treatment using Ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT.

It seems like every day we learn more and more about how devastating and widespread these types of trauma-related disorders are,

These are two ancient sacred medicines with long ceremonial histories that are now being examined by Western researchers for their potential to treat a wide range of conditions.

but also that it's much easier to get them than most people ever thought.

And the worst part is these are not at all limited to the military.

I know that part of the reason Jake wanted to share his own story on the show is that treatments like these might be intimidating or completely unknown to the people who need it most.

PTSD is something that can impact anyone who has gone through intense trauma.

Traumatic brain injuries and CTE are caused by concussions and especially impact athletes.

I think sharing this is important and also incredibly fascinating to hear such a vivid description of it.