I discovered The S.I.R.E.N. Project, and they saved my life.

Participating in the S.I.R.E.N. retreat was one of the most profound and meaningful experiences of my entire life!

I’m an active-duty police officer and have been a police officer for 19 years. I’ve had a wonderful career that I look back on fondly. However, I’ve always struggled with my mental health, particularly depression. 

For many years my depression was masked by the alcohol I was drinking. I would drink every day. And the amounts I drank kept increasing and increasing. Substance abuse runs in my family, and I saw the path I was going down when it came to alcohol. So, after the birth of my second child, I quit drinking completely. 

I’ve been sober from alcohol for five years now. And I always thought things would get better after I stopped drinking, only to find out they got so much worse. Everything I was suppressing and ignoring and hiding with alcohol came to the surface. The last five years have been the most difficult for me and my family. 

I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I began feeling these waves of depression come on. I didn’t want to engage with the world. I would get through the tasks I needed to (dinner, bath the kids, put the kids down, etc.), but nothing else. I found myself just wanting to go to bed every night as soon as I could, wanting the day to end and hoping tomorrow would be better. I would cry for almost any reason. A simple question like, “How are you doing?” would bring on tears. I felt fragile. Vulnerable. And broken. 

Adding to this, I had terrible insomnia. I’ve had trouble sleeping my whole life, but now, there would be nights where I would get 1-2 hours of sleep. These sleepless nights were the worst times for me. This is when the real dark thoughts would creep in. These were my lowest moments. I just kept asking, “What’s wrong with me?”. “Why am I like this?”. Again, I felt so broken. 

I tried conventional therapy multiple times and got nothing from it. 

And then I discovered The S.I.R.E.N. Project, and they saved my life. 

I went to a retreat in January of 2024 and my life was drastically changed forever. I can’t say enough good things about The S.I.R.E.N. Project. They approach these medicines with sacredness and use them in traditional ceremonies. And it is so much more than just the two medicines (DMT and Psilocybin). The preparation beforehand, the integration afterwards, and all the conversations, and advice I was so fortunate to be given…..that’s where the real healing comes in. 

I left my retreat not 100% healed, but I do have a much deeper understanding about what I am dealing with, and I feel that I’m on the right path now. I experienced things on my retreat that are difficult to put into words, and were difficult for me to process, but thanks to the tools shown to me, and the patience, love, and care that was shown me, I feel like a new person, a better husband, a better father. I feel reborn. Rewired.

One last comment. I want to thank The S.I.R.E.N. Project for the care they gave to my wife before, during, and after my retreat. A spouse/significant other group chat was created. In that chat, my wife received information leading up to my retreat; information about what I was about to go through during my retreat, ways she could help support me, updates once I was out there (this is important because you will not have access to your phone during the retreat), and tips on how to best receive me once I came home. All of this information was very helpful, and shows how much The S.I.R.E.N. Project cares about each tribe member, and their family. 

I can’t say enough great things about these people and this organization. 

Forever Grateful,