How to Change Your Mind

Name: How to Change Your Mind
Author: Michael Pollan
ISBN: 9780525627159

Michael Pollan · 2018

An investigation into the history and therapeutic use of hallucinogenic drugs and psychedelics.

Tim Ferriss notes that it changed his mind and made him realize psychedelic medicines could help treat PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

👍 2 Endorsements

Psychology & Decisions Health & Medicine

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The argument

Psychedelic substances function as powerful medicines capable of treating conditions like PTSD, depression, and anxiety, marking a major cultural shift in how these compounds are viewed.

Best for

Individuals with zero prior exposure to psychedelics who are trying to understand their therapeutic potential for mental health conditions.

Skip if

You are already deeply experienced in the psychedelic space and looking for advanced practitioner credentials rather than a foundational cultural overview.

Summarized from what was said in 2 conversations; the quotes are below.

Organic Endorsements

A speaker recommends a book written by someone else.

“How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan. What did that do for you? So I reached the age of 54, which was eight years ago, and had never thought about psychedelics at…”

Why: It changed his mind and made him realize that psychedelic medicines could be very useful for people and help treat PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

Tim Ferriss, Host on The Tim Ferriss Show#884: How to Spot 10-Year Trends and Build Billion-Dollar Companies — Kevin Ryan of DoubleClick, MongoDB, Business Insider, and Many More

“So I would just say probably unfairly, but I would be biased towards people who have been doing this since before Michael Pollan's exceptional book, How to Change Your Mind.”

Why: It serves as a watershed cultural marker for the space.

Tim Ferriss, Host on The Tim Ferriss Show#859: Q&A with Tim — The Upcoming AI Tsunami and Building Offline Advantage, Book Recommendations, Spotting Psychedelic Red Flags, Courage as a Learnable Skill, and More

Mentioned Alongside

Other books cited in the same episodes.