On April 18, 2026, a White House executive order pushed psychedelic treatments for serious mental illness toward faster approval and access. In this episode I work through what that order actually does, why the research is genuinely promising for depression, PTSD, and addiction, and why I’m still uneasy about where this is heading.

I live with bipolar disorder, and people like me are usually screened out of the trials that make these drugs look safe. So I dig into the part of the story that doesn’t make the headlines: the risk of mania, psychosis, and misdiagnosis when a powerful, perception-altering drug meets a brain that’s more vulnerable than anyone realized.

In this episode:

* What the 2026 executive order does — Breakthrough Therapy, Right to Try, ibogaine

* How psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, and ibogaine actually work

* Why bipolar disorder gets excluded from most psychedelic trials

* What the 2025 research says about psychedelic-induced mania and psychosis

* How a depression diagnosis can hide bipolar disorder, and why that’s dangerous here

* The ordinary, unglamorous tools that still carry the most weight

My books: Still Here: A Bipolar Survival Manual — http://amazon.com/dp/B0GT3YGKH5 The Brain Under Pressure — http://amazon.com/dp/B0H12QPGR1

Read more at thebipolarbro.substack.com. If this helped, follow the show and share it with someone who needs it.

This episode discusses suicide, psychosis, and mental illness. If you’re struggling, in the US you can call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.