Using Psychedelics to Rewrite the Female Contract at Midlife

This special conversation between Oprah Daily Editorial Director Pilar Guzman and Krista Tippett explores the ways in which psychedelics can help women reckon with the cultural constraints around womanhood at every stage of life– but especially its second half. Almost every woman has internalized some version of the same story about what it is to be a woman. We understand from all of the social, religious and even medical cues that a woman should never complain, that she should sacrifice everything for her family–her sleep, her time, and often as a result, her physical and emotional wellbeing. And then something happens when she hits midlife. Alongside all of the physiological, sexual, and emotional indignities of “The Change of Life”, a kind of “becoming” may emerge. She “loses her filters,” we say, and in so doing becomes a more authentic version of herself. While her hormonal flux can have the unwanted effect of losing words mid-sentence, it can help her find the words she has yet to speak over a lifetime of sacrifice. While the topic of psychedelics has become more mainstream, the airwaves still seem to be dominated by those recovering from severe trauma, as well as self-optimizing, longevity-seeking male voices. Here, we explore psychedelic-assisted therapy and healing through a wider female lens–namely the perspective-granting qualities that allow us to see things in novel ways, and without self-­judgment and shame. In helping women separate cultural norms from reality, we can begin to choose “I want” over “I should” and rewrite our own narratives.