KAMBO AND MENTAL HEALTH: POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND RISKS
“The more you think that your mind is you, the more mentally ill you get.”
— Dr. Alok Kanojia
Over the years, I have seen many people come to Kambo seeking relief from emotional suffering. Some arrive feeling depressed and unmotivated, while others are struggling with anxiety. Others are dealing with grief, heartbreak, burnout, or a difficult period in life that they simply cannot seem to move beyond. At the same time, I have also learned that Kambo is not appropriate for everyone. Understanding this distinction is important for both practitioners and those seeking help.
Entheogens and Kambo
The term entheogen generally refers to psychoactive substances used in ceremonial, spiritual, or ritual contexts to alter consciousness. Kambo is often grouped together with these medicines because of its traditional use alongside Amazonian shamanic practices. Scientifically speaking, however, Kambo is not a psychedelic.
Unlike medicines such as ayahuasca or psilocybin, we currently have very little scientific research supporting Kambo as a treatment for mental health conditions. Yet despite the lack of research, many people report meaningful psychological benefits, similar to those reported with some psychedelics.
As a practitioner, I have witnessed this myself, but we do not fully understand the mechanisms behind it.
The “Reset” Effect
We can only speculate about what creates this experience. One possible explanation is the sheer intensity of the process. For a brief period, the body, mind, emotions, and attention become completely absorbed in the experience. The usual mental chatter, worries, repetitive thought patterns, and emotional loops are interrupted.
Many people describe a sudden shift after the session. It is as if the system has been rebooted. Perhaps the intensity of the experience shakes the entire system for a moment and creates an opportunity for it to reorganize itself afterward.
Whether this effect is physiological, psychological, or a combination of both remains unclear. What is clear is that the feeling of having experienced a reset is one of the most common descriptions I hear after a session.
Depression, Anxiety, Grief, and Trauma
Many people seek Kambo during periods of emotional hardship.
This may include:
- Trauma
- Grief
- Heartbreak
- Major life transitions
Although these experiences are different, they share an important feature. They arise when reality takes away something that had become part of our sense of safety, identity, or future.
Trauma often involves a loss of safety, grief involves the loss of someone or something meaningful, and a breakup often involves the loss of attachment and the future we imagined.
People frequently experience similar symptoms:
- Anxiety
- Emotional pain
- Obsessive thinking
- Difficulty sleeping
- Fatigue
- Feelings of emptiness
These experiences activate systems related to:
- Attachment
- Threat detection
- Emotional processing
- Stress regulation
It may be that Kambo helps interrupt the cycle of thoughts and emotions that keeps people stuck in these patterns. Another possible explanation is that Kambo helps regulate the nervous system.
While this remains speculative, many individuals report feeling calmer, more grounded, and less reactive after a session.
What Traditional Use Can Teach Us
One thing I find fascinating is how differently Kambo is viewed in indigenous cultures compared to modern healing circles.
Among the Matsés people, I have heard Kambo being used when someone becomes lazy, lacks motivation, feels unlucky, or no longer wants to work or contribute to the community.
From a modern perspective, this may be the closest traditional comparison to what we might describe as depression or emotional stagnation. At the same time, the Matsés do not generally speak about Kambo as a tool for trauma healing, emotional release, or psychotherapy.
I remember one session where a Western participant began crying during his process. A Matsés person who was present looked genuinely surprised. He later explained that he had never seen anything like that during Kambo sessions in his community.
It seems that emotional release may not come solely from the medicine itself. Culture, expectations, personal history, and the environment in which Kambo is received may all influence the experience.
Healing Requires More Than Medicine
Over the years, I have also noticed that medicine circles often attract people carrying significant emotional pain. Many arrive genuinely seeking healing, while others have spent years moving from one ceremony to the next, always searching for the breakthrough that will finally change their lives.
The healing journey itself should not become an identity.
One difficult truth is that healing is not the same thing as having healing experiences.
A powerful Kambo session can create clarity, peace, and the push needed for profound change. But eventually, healing also requires action. It requires taking responsibility for our choices, relationships, habits, and daily lives.
I have met people who have participated in countless ceremonies and worked with many medicines, claiming they have benefited from them, yet remain trapped in the same patterns year after year.
As practitioners, one of the most important skills we can develop is recognizing when Kambo is the right tool and when something else may serve the person better.
When Kambo May Not Be Appropriate
Not all mental health conditions are the same.
In my experience, the greatest caution should be exercised with conditions involving psychosis or impaired reality testing.
This may include:
- Schizophrenia
- Delusional disorders
- Psychotic depression
- Bipolar disorder with a history of mania or psychosis
These conditions can produce beliefs that are accepted as reality itself, even when they are not factual. The individual loses the ability to recognize that the thought may be false.
Bipolar disorder deserves special attention. Although bipolar disorder is not primarily a psychotic disorder, severe manic or depressive episodes can include psychotic symptoms. For this reason, working with individuals who have bipolar disorder can be unpredictable and requires careful assessment.
There have been a small number of published case reports describing psychotic or manic episodes following Kambo use. While there is no evidence that Kambo commonly causes psychosis, it may contribute to destabilization in vulnerable individuals.
For this reason, honest screening and full disclosure of mental health history are essential. A practitioner can only make good decisions when they have accurate information.
In some vulnerable individuals, the medicine experience may become incorporated into existing patterns rather than helping resolve them. Instead of creating greater clarity, self-awareness, and accountability, the experience may reinforce confusion, dependency, the externalization of responsibility, or unusual beliefs such as:
“I have discovered a hidden truth.”
“I am receiving special messages.”
“This experience proves something extraordinary.”
In some cases, if a practitioner challenges these beliefs, they may even be perceived as a threat, creating situations that can become verbally or physically confrontational.
For example, practitioners may find themselves being blamed for problems that existed long before the session took place.
This does not necessarily come from bad intentions. Often it reflects the individual’s ongoing struggle to make sense of their suffering.
A Balanced Perspective
Kambo is neither a miracle cure nor a dangerous poison. It is a powerful traditional remedy that can be profoundly beneficial for some people and completely inappropriate for others.
The science still leaves many questions unanswered. What I know comes primarily from observation. I have seen people leave a session feeling lighter, clearer, more motivated, and better able to engage with life. I have also seen situations where Kambo was not the right tool.
Kambo can be a valuable ally in the healing process, but true healing requires more than medicine alone. It requires honesty, responsibility, integration, and a willingness to make changes in the way we live our lives.