Women’s mental health is not static. Across the lifespan, key transitions like the postpartum period, the premenstrual window, and midlife are marked by profound biological shifts alongside equally profound changes in identity, meaning, and self-relationship. Yet these transitions are often treated as isolated mood disorders, divorced from the hormonal, neurological, and existential contexts in which they arise.

Psychedelic-assisted therapies offer a different lens. One that recognizes women’s health transitions as whole-system events, involving brain chemistry, nervous system regulation, emotional processing, and identity reorganization all at once.

This piece does not seek to promote self-experimentation but rather to acknowledge that the human drive for self-exploration through altered states has been, and will always be, a fundamental part of our story. Instead of shrouding these practices in stigma, we should aim to cultivate a culture of intention and understanding—one that values education, prioritizes safety, and respects the choices individuals make in pursuit of connection and healing.