“When I was young I had experienced some trauma and abuse in my family, and I had a lot of resentment towards it, and I think it definitely contributed to my eating disorder,” Isabelle, 25, who works in the energy field in Toronto and has requested anonymity due to ayahuasca’s illegality, told VICE.

For Isabelle, the need to seek out ayahuasca as an alternative form of treatment came after a long and continuous battle with an eating disorder growing up.

“I had tried a lot of external things for my mind to heal my eating issue, and none of them worked for me. I tried a lot of therapy, medication, drugs, diets—so many things,” she said.

In addition to practicing the 12-step program, Isabelle decided to incorporate ayahuasca into her recovery plan.

Isabelle explained how her first ayahuasca retreat took place in a private residence outside of Toronto, after being referred by a friend.

“I experienced quite out-of-this-world stuff. You have to see it to believe it,” she said. “The medicine stays with you after because you can’t deny some of the lessons you’ve learned from it—it’s not just, ‘I need to take shrooms for the day and have a good experience and that’s it.’

“It’s been five years now that I have not had symptoms of my eating disorder. On the mental side, ayahuasca has helped with that and also furthered me along a spiritual path,” she said, noting she undertook one more ceremony.

Eating disorders are among the most difficult mental disorders to treat, involving high rates of mortality. But a 2017 Canadian study found that the ceremonial use of ayahuasca on individuals diagnosed with eating disorders led to reductions in symptoms, with participants reporting that the drug altered their perception towards their physical bodies.