What Is Ayahuasca? Experience, Benefits, and Side Effects Partnership to End Addiction
go to original January 26, 2024

Ayahuasca is traditionally taken in a special ceremony run by a shaman, who guides participants through their journey. (Mark Fox/Getty)

Ayahuasca is a plant-based brew or drink that can result in a mind-altering experience. It has been used in spiritual and medicinal rituals for thousands of years by native peoples in South America. As more people around the world have discovered it, retreats and ceremonies involving ayahuasca have become more and more common.

What is ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is a boiled mixture of various plants that create a red or brown liquid. Drinking the brew can alter all of one’s senses.[1] It can change a person’s reality, causing dramatic changes in mood, thought and emotions. It is traditionally used in native rituals for healing and spiritual exploration.

The active ingredient in ayahuasca is DMT, a naturally occurring compound found in certain plants and animals. Some healers believe that the DMT in this substance “activates” the DMT that may naturally occur in human bodies and causes its effects.

Ayahuasca is traditionally taken in a special ceremony run by a shaman, who guides participants through their journey. This ceremony usually takes place on a retreat. This can take many different forms; many adapt traditional native practices while others abandon them altogether.

A retreat may consist of different rituals and prayers prior to the ayahuasca ceremony, where participants will consume a few servings of the brew. These ceremonies may happen multiple times in a single retreat.

Its effects can cause hallucinations, strong emotional reactions and, sometimes, epiphanies or a breakthrough in the way a person thinks about their situation.

Effects often last 4 to 6 hours and can include:

• Stomach upset, vomiting and diarrhea
• A sense of peace, joy and connection
• Memories of past trauma, sometimes with new insights
• Seeing or hearing things that aren’t real
• Connecting with the spirits of plants and animals or others
• Anxiety, panic and fear
• Higher blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature

Those using ayahuasca often experience a great deal of vomiting, which is celebrated in ceremonies for its “cleansing” benefits.

What are the potential benefits?

Individuals who participate in ayahuasca retreats may do so for several reasons.

• Spiritual healing: Many people who attend these retreats are looking for spiritual and intellectual insights or new understandings. These are reported to be dramatic, sometimes even “life-changing” experiences.


• Mindfulness: Many who have used this substance report improved mindfulness, or awareness of themselves and the present moment. Some research has found that even someone using ayahuasca for the first time in a controlled setting can experience enhanced mindfulness and other mental health benefits.


• Mental health support: There is evidence that it can assist in treating mental health disorders, like anxiety and depression.It may also be helpful for people with PTSD.


• Addiction treatment: As discussed in the next section, early research indicates that ayahuasca may have promise in treating individuals with substance use disorder.

Can it be used to treat substance use disorders?

In 1992, Dr. Jacques Mabit opened the Takiwasi Center in northern Peru to treat substance use disorders with ayahuasca-assisted therapy. The clinic’s staff included doctors, psychologists, a healer and a reporter. In its first year of operation, about 57 people enrolled in the clinic, and roughly half completed treatment with positive results. Treatment includes therapy, group activities and healing ceremonies.

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Related: What It's Really Like to Join an Ayahuasca Retreat Alongside Spiritual Experts (Condé Nast Traveler)

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