Veteran faces childhood trauma on psychedelic journey
Navy veteran Michael Giardina told Anderson Cooper he was able to "let go" of trauma from his childhood during a psychedelic experience.
Updated on: August 16, 2026 / 7:00 PM EDT / CBS News
On the west coast of Mexico, Michael Giardina, a Navy veteran, sat cross-legged on a cushion, and drank tea made with ground up psychedelic mushrooms.
Later, blindfolded and lying down, his body trembled when the effects of the psychoactive compound psilocybin kicked in.
"I went somewhere very dark right away... I was terrified," he told 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper.
"But I kept coming back to... 'what a beautiful experience I'm having... I'm finally able to deal with these things.'"
Organized by the nonprofit Heroic Hearts Project, the retreat Giardina was on hopes to ease the pain of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder using psychedelics, like psilocybin and 5-MeO- DMT.