First-Responder Heals PTSD with Psychedelics | Ep. 37 — Mugs' 5-MeO Story

Mugs, a firefighter from just outside Seattle, came to us at Enfold in early 2025 after years of service left her system overloaded. A series of traumatic calls she dealt with — car accidents, suicides, fires — compounded earlier personal depression and trauma. “My world had gotten so small,” she says. “I stopped living or functioning.”

Having tried talk therapy, EMDR, and countless modalities without relief, she arrived at Enfold with one clear hope: to find something that could reach the pain her mind couldn’t. What unfolded was an equally beautiful and challenging death & rebirth experience. During her 5-MeO-DMT ceremony, Mugs experienced a profound purge — a letting go of energy she says “never belonged to me.” Through that release came what she describes as a near-death experience that reoriented her entire relationship with life, family, and service.

Returning home, she found her nervous system quiet for the first time in decades. The “hard drive” of her body and mind felt wiped clean, leaving space for presence, creativity, and love to return. “I just had space again,” she says. “It was absolutely incredible. The way it’s unfolded over time has been the best gift of my life.”

In This Episode

1. How cumulative trauma and compassion fatigue can silently shut down the body
2. What happens when traditional therapies can’t reach the somatic roots of pain
3. The purging and release process of 5-MeO-DMT through Mugs’ lived experience
4. Moving from emotional numbness to gratitude and connection
5. How a near-death experience reshaped her relationship with her kids and work
6. Bringing empathy and forgiveness into difficult conversations
7. Reclaiming creativity and purpose after years of survival

🔍 For anyone carrying the unseen weight of service — especially first responders — Mugs’ story is a testament to how deep nervous system healing can restore the very qualities that trauma once buried: patience, compassion, and the simple joy of being alive.

🗣️ “I’m just so thankful. I care now. I didn’t care before… To be able to have that feeling where you actually genuinely care what the other person is going through.. it’s such a gift.” — Mugs