Hi! I'm Francis. I am fortunate to feel fitter and healthier than ever. Even luckier to have amazing friends and lots of passions. I couldn't be more grateful... but it wasn't always this way, far from it.

I’m running the Paris Marathon in October 2021, which I would have never dreamed of being capable to do even a couple of years ago with mental challenges weighing me down from striving for my dreams. Fear had a lot of power over me, paralysing me from making decisions to avoid rejection and failure, knowing results would be less than perfect. This made me feel 'down' for numerous episodes in my life. How many people do you know that this has been an issue for? I know of countless friends, acquaintances, family members and those in the public eye. An estimated 13% of the global population suffer from a mental disorder (971 million people). In the UK, a survey predicts 1 in 5 people are suffering from depression in 2020, up from 1 in 10 pre-pandemic.

My mental health was the limiting factor in my life, struggling with bouts of severe depression for as long as I can remember into my early years of childhood. I was deeply unhappy. I went to years of therapy of different modalities, took different prescribed treatments and worked on myself tirelessly. When you're mentally stuck in quicksand, it's hard to shake it off, the harder you try the harder you might sink. Even harder still to change the story you tell yourself whilst you feel like life isn't worth living. After what felt like such small progress and experiencing first hand the dire state of mental health care in this country and witnessing it globally, I was forced to turned to alternative modalities if I was going to heal. My intuition told me I was on the right path, as even a doctor from the UK's NHS (unofficially) even actively encouraged the exploration of what I'm about to tell you as I was kept on waiting lists for years. Meanwhilst I was treated by professionals that sometimes caused more harm then good, even releasing my confidential psychiatric notes to private companies WITHOUT consent. I had no other choice but to explore my own solutions as I didn't have the finances to go private. The psychiatrists and doctors now say I don't need their help and don't recognise any symptoms. The voice of depression calls to me as negative habits still send their invitations. I consciously choose another path: if I slip up, I get back up just as quickly. I've chosen to enjoy the journey of life rather than waiting to reach the destination.

A surprising medicine that brought me the most healing was psychedelic medicine. Suppressed from mainstream culture and vilified since 1968 by Nixon Administration's War on Drugs. FYI: his assistant openly admitted the real war was on his opposition: Anti-war leftists and black people.. so they cracked down on the straw man: the drugs they were using. Some of these drugs are natural and ancient therapies that have been used for healing since before records began (ayahuasca, magic mushrooms, peyote, to give examples). With careful studying, I have benefitted hugely from occasional experimentation with psychedelics substances, albeit I would have liked to have done so legally, comfortably and with a therapist. The risks were great, but the rewards were greater. It helped with transforming life into one of gratitude, awareness and acceptance. From struggling with mental health, to realising life is profoundly beautiful and meaningful. Every action I take has a butterfly-effect. I have become immeasurably more present with my friends, family and environment. It's impossible to do it justice when words cannot describe, but it's positively impacted my life in every way and by-effect everyone I encounter. Dwelling on past and future no longer sap my energy in turmoil and I can appreciate what I have achieved in my life whilst striving for better. I follow my heart, have courage to overcome my fears and help others do the same. I've seen first-hand how it can enrich people's lives and form strong bonds between people that would otherwise take years to cultivate, even from a single experience. To make explicitly clear, it's not the substances that fixes mental issues, it's the experiences and how you integrate the insights from them. It's a catalyst and a teacher.

I am not a medical doctor, and I do not condone experimentation. It is illegal and there are real risks involved that could put you in jail or trigger EVEN worse mental health issues. This is why I raise money to support and advocate for Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies (MAPS) when I run. To share this message the right way. MAPS is a non-profit research organisation working on ground-breaking research on psychedelics and other substances to treat mental health problems. They are a global leader, conducting rigorous scientific evaluation on the risks and benefits of such medicines. This aims to inform medical, legal and cultural contexts for people to benefit from careful uses of such drugs. 

The early research results are promising, helping people to heal from a wide range of disorders (that many consider permanent): PTSD, ADD, Depression, Bipolar, Addiction (drugs and all other kinds), Anxiety associated with life threatening illness, Social Anxiety, OCD and more. The economic and emotional cost of these illnesses are huge (estimated to cost the global economy $1 trillion per year). We can start with the pressing problems, but they may benefit people even more widely (one small study revealed 80% abstinence rate in smokers that had taken psilocybin in controlled setting). The potential benefit to society could be monumentous if research is done with integrity, respect and diligence to bring such medicine to the world responsibly. This cause is close to my heart, and after my arduous and hard-earned experiences and healing, it is my duty to share anything that may help ease suffering for others in the world. I know how impossibility difficult it may seem to lift yourself up by your own bootstraps. If anything, this unconventional path should not be as challenging as it was for me. Change is possible.

Thank you so much for reading. If you have the funds to support this cause for a better human planet, I cannot thank you enough. Contributing to this nascent research is high-impact and can change people lives sooner. I appreciate it takes courage to support a cause which has had decades of negative associated stigma from governments and media, so I applaud you for your bravery.

Let's change the world for the better. When we strive to be better than we are, everything and everyone around us becomes better too.

Love yourself,

Francis

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Extra reading to back-up my claims:

MAPS

https://maps.org/

Global Burden of Disease, about 13% of the global population – some 971 million people – suffer from some kind of mental disorder.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/03/mental-illness-is-there-really-a-global-epidemic#:~:text=According%20to%20data%20from%20the,some%20kind%20of%20mental%20disorder.

Top Nixon adviser reveals the racist reason he started the 'war on drugs' decades ago

https://www.businessinsider.com/nixon-adviser-ehrlichman-anti-left-anti-black-war-on-drugs-2019-7?r=US&IR=T

Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2772630

Clinical potential of psilocybin as a treatment for mental health conditions

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6007659/

Long-term Follow-up of Psilocybin-facilitated Smoking Cessation

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641975/

MDMA for PTSD, 67% of patients no longer met clinical criteria for diagnosis 12 months later

https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/comment/mdma-ptsd-treatment/

Psychedelic Science Holds Promise for Mainstream Medicine

https://www.unlv.edu/news/release/psychedelic-science-holds-promise-mainstream-medicine

More people are using psychedelics to treat their own mental health, study says

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/psychedelics-mental-health-drugs-survey-b1813263.html