U.S. Navy veteran Michael Giardina participated in a psychedelic retreat on the west coast of Mexico organized by the Heroic Hearts Project. Eight of the nine participants in the retreat reported that the experience was life-changing and their post-traumatic stress symptoms had improved almost a year later.

The Heroic Hearts Project retreat aims to ease post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans using psychedelics such as psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT. Veterans were required to have combat-related trauma to qualify for the program. The event was documented in 2024 by 60 Minutes, which interviewed and filmed a group of veterans before, during, and after the ceremony.

Giardina is a U.S. Navy veteran who joined the service at age 20. He advanced from rank E-2 to E-5 quickly and served overseas as an operations specialist in Oman and Bahrain. Before his military service, he used drugs as a young teenager to cope with chaos at home and lost friends to drug overdoses.

During the psychedelic ceremony, Giardina experienced physical tremors starting in his foot and spreading to his whole body. He raised his hand for help during the experience, and a Heroic Hearts staff member sat beside him. Giardina has two young daughters.

His personal history includes significant family trauma. His father died by suicide in 2009, and Giardina found his father's body. His younger sister died by suicide in October 2023.

Timeline

In 2009, Michael Giardina's father died by suicide, and Giardina found his father's body. In October 2023, Michael Giardina's younger sister died by suicide.

In 2024, Dr. Shereef Elnahal was the Department of Veterans Affairs' top doctor. Also in 2024, 60 Minutes documented the psychedelic retreat, interviewing and filming a group of veterans before, during, and after the event.

What's New

Mexico is located in Latin America and the Caribbean, with its capital in Mexico City, and is classified by the World Bank as an upper middle income economy. The Heroic Hearts Project is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Elnahal served as the United States Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health. The VA's former top doctor stated that 45% of participants in a small Phase 2 trial using MDMA and therapy to treat PTSD completed last year showed complete remission, which is essentially a 'normal emotional state.'

Why It Matters

The Department of Veterans Affairs is involved in 20 clinical trials using psychedelics, including MDMA and psilocybin, to treat mental health disorders. Dr. Elnahal was the Department of Veterans Affairs' top doctor in 2024.

Elnahal stated that in one VA study, most participating veterans resurfaced trauma from before their military service. "The trauma they've accumulated, not just from their military experience but even since childhood, is brought back," Elnahal said. "We think this therapy and these drugs actually get to the root cause of the trauma."