Psychedelics Helped Veteran Ditch 16 Medications || Chris Leisinger

Chris Leisinger, a retired army vet and former scout sniper, shares his profound journey of healing from PTSD with the help of psychedelics after 12 years of service and three tours in Iraq. He explains how traditional medications from the VA left him emotionally numb and suicidal until an encounter with psychedelics, facilitated by his motorcycle club, changed his life. Psychedelics helped veteran ditch 16 medications and Chris is here to share his story.

We signed up to defend our country writing a check to include our life. And the VA they just want to throw pharmaceutical meds at you and it makes you emotionally numb.

Summary

Chris now collaborates with Mike Manion and Healing Frontline Warriors, helping other veterans through ceremonies in Mexico where they provide free psychedelic treatments. Chris describes personal experiences and transformations and emphasizes the importance of reaching out for help, underscoring that it’s okay not to be okay.

What condition were you in after leaving the military?

My name is Chris Leisinger. I’m a retired army vet of 12 years. I was a scout sniper for those 12 years. I did 3.5 years in Iraq. 16 different psych meds from the VA, as a matter of fact. 6 of them were to treat the PTSD. The other 10 were to treat the side effects of that.

I was on 16 different psych meds from the VA. 6 of them were to treat the PTSD. The other 10 were to treat the side effects of that.

Life before psychedelics was rough. I was emotionally numb. I didn’t care about anything. I actually tried to kill myself once. And my 230 pound Mastiff Repo stopped me from doing it. And when I say stop me, I had the gun in my lap. He picked it up, carried it to the back fence, dropped it in the dirt, and then sat on it.

And then when I reached to grab it, he growled and snapped at me and then coward like I was going to beat him. That was my big, aha, wake up moment through my motorcycle club, Roland Locos. That’s what got me into the psychedelics. And it changed my life. It helped rewire my brain. So that I’m off all the meds.

I can actually enjoy life again. I’m not angry. I’m actually probably one of the calmest individuals there is. It used to, I didn’t go to Walmart unless it was like three or four in the morning. Cause if you bumped into me, I’m ripping your head off because I was just so uneasy. I was so agitated, so angry.

How many ceremonies have you been a part of?

I’ve done 16 to 20 different ceremonies to the point now. I can actually help facilitate and help other people. I can dive into people’s psyche and help them clear the cobwebs. Or as I like to say, wake up from the matrix.

I’ve done mushrooms, I’ve done ayahuasca, I’ve done bufo, which is from the Sonoran Desert Toad.

I’ve done mushrooms, I’ve done ayahuasca, I’ve done bufo, which is from the Sonoran Desert Toad.

On helping your Veteran brother overcome alocohol addiction

My little brother, John, he was a Marine. He was field artillery and he had a lot of trauma. And he finally told me one day, and he was against drugs. He didn’t even smoke weed. He was like, that’s just not my thing.

He came up to me one day and said he was ready to go for a spirit walk. And I set it up with Big Mike and it completely changed his life. I pulled the gun out of his mouth at one point because he had a bad alcohol problem. Not anymore. Now he just drinks recreational and has fun with it. But two words is what changed his life. I told him to go left.

I pulled the gun out of his mouth at one point because he had a bad alcohol problem. Not anymore.

In our ceremony, him and I are both Norse Pagan. He said everything to his right was just dark and cold and creepy, but everything to the left was Valhalla. It was a feast. It was everybody he loved, everybody he cared about. And I told him, go left. That’s what he needed to hear as something as simple as two words changes someone’s life.

That’s why I’m a big advocate of it. I’m down to help anybody and everybody that needs it. I always tell people, like, three or four days afterwards, you’re going to start getting these serendipity moments, where things just start connecting, and things you didn’t realize before.

A message to other veterans who are struggling

I would tell them, you’re not alone. And one of the things I’ve told people, it’s okay to not be okay. I was a scout sniper where I was told, unless you’re dying, you don’t go to sick call. If you’ve got a sore knee, you just suck it up and drive on. And that’s part of the reason why I’m 100 percent disabled through the VA now.

Because that’s what the Army, Marines, the Air Force, that’s what they condition your mind to do. And, when people think they’re alone, they’re not.

And, when people think they’re alone, they’re not.

I was always told going to sick call was a weakness. It’s not a weakness, it’s taking care of you. Because when you’re out, you’re out. The Army, the Marines, the Air Force, it doesn’t slow down.

You’re easily replaced. The Army didn’t slow down. They had someone to fill my shoes and take my spot. Maybe they were as good as me, maybe they were better, maybe they were worse. But they didn’t slow down.