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February 19, 2024 63 mins

A PCP-Laced Brownie Changed Her Whole Life with Ruth Poniarski

In this episode, Mathew and Ruth discuss the impact of unknowingly ingesting a hallucinogenic substance while already in a bad mental state, the long-term impacts, her recovery journey, and where she is today.

Ruth Poniarski is here to share her story of surviving a devastating mental illness that stemmed from a PCP-laced brownie. In 1977, Ruth was in her fourth year of a five-year architectural program and struggling with extremely low self-esteem. She was in a bad place and felt isolated when she met an older man. He invited her to an intimate college party and gave her a brownie laced with PCP (angel dust), leading to a series of life-threatening nervous breakdowns that caused her to leave college and seek out psychological help. This led to a multi-year uphill battle to find relief from anxiety, depression, mania, and severe insomnia. She never gave up, and eventually, she found the right psychologist for her, was prescribed the proper medication, and broke the cycle. She has not had a breakdown since 2010.

In this episode, you'll hear:

  • What led Ruth to the party where she was drugged?
  • Finding the proper treatment and how art helped Ruth recover
  • Why are hallucinogens positive for some people and negative for others?
  • Ruth's advice to anyone who is struggling today 

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