21. Billy Evans, Part 2: Addiction Recovery Through Psychedelic Integration & Identity Change

Psychedelic integration raises a bigger question than most people are ready to ask: what if substance abuse isn’t the real problem?

There’s plenty of research around neuroplasticity, brain chemistry, and “resetting” systems - and that stuff matters. But it never tells the full story.

Because most people don’t actually have an “alcohol problem” or a “drug problem.”

They have a substance-based solution to deeper problem they don’t know how to deal with any other way.

And that’s why abstinence alone rarely lasts.

If you just take away someone’s solution - even a destructive one - without helping them solve the underlying problem, relapse is typically only a matter of time.

In this episode, I sit down with my guy Billy Evans to unpack why this chapter of his recovery looks completely different from every attempt before it.

Billy had gotten clean multiple times in the past through sheer willpower. And every time, life eventually applied enough pressure to overwhelm his coping mechanisms… and he went back.

What changed wasn’t just more discipline.
What changed was his identity.

Through guided plant-medicine work, Billy didn’t just learn new coping strategies - he addressed the root issues that drove him to numb, escape, and check out in the first place. 

The version of him that needed substances to survive simply isn’t there anymore.

That’s the difference.

Not “staying clean,” but becoming someone who no longer needs the escape.

This conversation also goes deep into why integration work matters so much after a major experience. Billy is a living example of what happens when insights get turned into structure, support, and real-world change instead of fading away after the retreat ends.

You’ll hear Billy share his firsthand experience with integration — including his journey working with us — and why he says he’s doing better now than at any point in his adult life.

About the guest:
Billy Evans is a veteran and recovery professional whose work focuses on addiction, identity change, and long-term integration.

Thanks again for listening!

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