2024-04-09 14:05:29
Within the immense sea of podcast options that exist on the platforms of streaming, suddenly jewels appear within the quagmire that rely on chronicle, narration, long-term journalism, in-depth investigation, telling stories full of life, well. And such is the case of the productions of Just as it sounds. In this specific case of one of the most recent episodes, written, narrated and experienced by the journalist Rafael Cabrera, in which he talks about microdoses (of mushrooms), where he wonders if it is a new kind of mental panacea .
After listening, I remembered that documentary by the visual artist and filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg (Brooklyn, 1950), Fantastic Fungi (2019), a movie that explores, conscientiously and with excessive emotion, the infinite field of mycology, through a journey to the subsoil, that space beneath the earth that strongly houses the networks of the fungi kingdom, which, so capable and vital, suggest , can heal and save our planet.
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Hand in hand with real experiences, the narrative expertise of the American director and the critical and professional perspective of experts such as Paul Stamets, Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, Andrew Weil, among others, we are introduced to the endless world of possibilities that this kingdom brings with it. . How is it that, through their extremely rare beauty, intelligence and capacity for solutions, mushrooms can be a positive response to change the course of things, of nature, the ecosystem, medicine and even psychological therapies.
Regarding the latter, this therapeutic category, although with vast ramifications and aspects, the film focuses on something that is often forgettable or apparently dispensable: reconnection and interconnection, both at different levels.
In the podcast that he mentioned at the beginning, the Mexican writer also starts from the disenchantment of antidepressants and his dependence on some substances to, as a consequence, enter that world of microdoses, which experts say serve to alleviate from depression to deeper mental states, such as the acceptance of death. Between the audio and the audiovisual product, interconnections, common points.
It is a world (that of microdosing and that of mushrooms, if you ask me) in constant exploration. It has not mattered much that for decades human beings have been curious about the consumption of these substances. He has, of course, but the research has been rather sparse. Therefore, as the testimonies in the tape and in the podcast suggest, it is necessary to explore this with support from a therapist, an expert person who knows how to mitigate any reaction, any issue.
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I confess, finally, that both the film and the episode are, perhaps, a pretext, perhaps bridges that I take to build them towards curiosity and, therefore, to learning, a deeper, more informed one, without stigmas. It is important. And I take this opportunity to clarify that all of the above does not mean an incentive, invitation or suggestion to consume and try anything, but rather to stimulate a kind of awareness, to chew on the infamous amount of information, to know about the benefits (or not) regarding mental health. . The latter, above all: mental health, so much on everyone’s lips but trivialized to the core. It is when you have to return to the direction where the sun rises. It is an opportunity to recognize oneself, among various artistic expressions, as human, once again, through the relationship with fungi and, therefore, with the world.
The film can be seen on Netflix.
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2024-04-09 14:05:29