A woman who took ayahuasca 45 times in three months has described her experience as “watching a Netflix series” about her “past lives”.
Tatjana Strobel, 53, from Germany, took the hallucinogenic drink every other day during ceremonies at a retreat in Bolivia with a group of ten other attendees.
Revealing her experience to DailyMail.com, she said she increasingly saw herself in a new role, including philosopher, concert performer, witch and prophet.
The writer is overwhelmingly positive about her travels and claims the drug combated her phobias of snakes and even death. Some of her strangest visions include “marrying herself” and discovering she has visited Plato’s fictional island of Atlantis.
Ayahuasca, which is illegal in the United States, has gained popularity in recent years for its supposed ability to “reset” the mind and alleviate mental health problems. Retreats outside the United States that offer it have gathered a following among celebrities such as Will Smith, Chelsea Handler and even Prince Harry.
Tatjana Strobel, 53, a published author, revealed that she took ayahuasca every other day for three months. She described the experience as a “Netflix series” of her previous lives.
Among some of her more bizarre claims, Ms. Strobel also said that ayahuasca also revealed to her that she was “from Atlantis” and that there is a queue of souls waiting to come to Earth.
It is typically taken over several days and the drink is distributed during ceremonies led by a “shaman” or spiritual leader.
Some retreats last several weeks and involve attendees taking ayahuasca up to 22 times. Shamans claim to take it up to 100 times a year.
Ms Strobel decided to take an extended three-month retreat in 2022, after trying ayahuasca at least six times previously and becoming “curious” about how the psychedelic could change her life.
Describing her experience, she said: “It was beautiful, you know, it was like a series, when one night ended, the next one started again.”
‘I saw different things almost every time I took it. I was a concert performer, I was a witch, this happened many times, I was a person who helped others give birth, I was a writer, I was a prophet, I was everything.’
“It was really like watching a series on Netflix.”
The substance is known to cause extreme nausea and diarrhea within minutes of ingestion.
However, Strobel says he wasn’t worried about possible long-term effects. If he felt ill, he opted not to take the medication the next day, he said.
People take ayahuasca on retreats, such as the Ambi Resort in Colombia (pictured above)
Users typically vomit after taking the drug, before experiencing a ‘trip’ lasting several hours (pictured above is the Ambi Resort in Colombia).
“My body is very sensitive. That means if I eat something that’s not good for my body, I stop eating it.”
Ayahuasca is made from a mixture of plants from the Amazon rainforest, which are cooked in a stew and then consumed. Many users have previously described the taste as “vile.”
These plants contain DMT, a Schedule I substance in the United States considered as dangerous as heroin, LSD and MDMA, which gives the drug its psychedelic properties.
Experts say it can alter brain activity, including communication between different areas, resulting in the vibrant, colorful images that many users witness.
Some scientists have explored the drug’s potential to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) alongside ketamine, and small studies suggest it could help rewire the brain or allow people to “reprocess” traumatic experiences.
Research has also suggested that it may improve brain health by increasing the production of a chemical that slows neurodegeneration.
But concerns have been raised about possible negative effects on mental health.
One Study 2022 found that at least half of 10,000 adults reported a negative effect on mental health, including depression and hallucinations, in the weeks or months after taking ayahuasca.
Dr. Greg Fonzo, a psychiatrist at the University of Texas Dell Medical School in Austin, said he would be “concerned” about patients taking so much ayahuasca.
‘It is unclear whether frequent use could have detrimental effects on mental health and cognitive functioning.’
“There are also concerns and reports about possible cardiac abnormalities.” DMT is known to increase heart rate while it is still active in the body.
Andrew Gallimore, a computational neuroscientist at the Okinawa Institute of Science in Japan, added that he would be concerned about the dramatic purging (or vomiting) it could cause, saying this risks dehydration and damage to the esophagus.
He added: ‘Apart from this, the psychological integration of what is often an extremely intense and psychologically demanding experience is as important as the experience itself.
“This can take days or longer, so it’s hard to imagine how experiences could be properly integrated when strung together in such rapid succession like this.”
Psychological integration after ayahuasca refers to the process of integrating deep experiences and perceptions into daily life and sense of self.
Several deaths have been reported among people who have taken ayahuasca, although in each case this has been related to another substance taken along with it.
The cases include a 22-year-old man in Florida who consumed ayahuasca mixed with kambo, a tree frog poison. He died after suffering a seizure caused by drinking too much water after vomiting.
Tatjana Strobel revealed her experience in a podcast with Alex Renko, a wealthy 15-year-old who regularly posts on social media about psychedelics.
Ms Strobel said she had always been “afraid” of drugs (avoiding alcohol) but decided to try ayahuasca in the hope it would improve her life.
The first time she took ayahuasca, she says she did not vomit, earning her the nickname “dominadora.”
But at the end of the three-month retreat, she became seriously ill.
Dr Daniel Perkins, who heads the University of Melbourne’s Psychedelic Research Center and studies the drug, has a more positive outlook on the drug’s impact.
He said a research paper he authored found no association between the number of times ayahuasca was consumed in the past year and adverse mental health effects.
He added: “But there is some association with the reporting of adverse physical health effects. By far the most common was vomiting or nausea at the time of consumption.”
Groups that organize ayahuasca retreats say that shamans can take ayahuasca up to 100 times a year and that it is used regularly in indigenous cultures without causing serious negative health effects.
For others considering taking ayahuasca, Ms. Strobel says: “If you’re on your way somewhere, then it may help you, but if not, it may not help you find out who you are.”