Psychedelics Today

PT508 – The Veteran Community and Operator Syndrome: Psychedelics and Redefining Pain Management, with Tommy Aceto

Apr 30, 2024

Former Navy Seal Tommy Aceto discusses the toll of military programming on chronic pain, depression, and addiction. Vets finding healing through psychedelics to rewire their brains and process pain. The similarities between soldiers and high performers in dealing with chronic pain. The importance of sharing healing stories for veterans. Exploring challenges in alternative treatment research and advocacy for psychedelic science in healing veterans.

01:13:30

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Episode guests

Tommy Aceto

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

The toll of high-stress careers like the military can lead to Operator Syndrome, chronic pain, depression, and addiction.

Veterans can benefit from psychedelics to rewire their brains and process pain differently by allowing themselves to feel emotions they were trained to suppress.

The importance of veterans sharing their healing stories, embracing alternative therapies like psychedelics, and advocating for comprehensive well-being.

Deep dives

Tommy's Athletic and Career Background

Tommy Esteito, a retired Navy SEAL and former NCAA soccer player, shares his diverse athletic and career background. Growing up in Michigan, Tommy was influenced by his parents, both athletes, and harbored dreams of being a pediatrician, professional wrestler, and astronaut. His journey led him to become a SEAL, where he faced intense physical and mental challenges that shaped his identity and experiences. Despite a non-linear path, Tommy recognizes the significance of his past in contributing to his present.

Introduction

3min

Journey of Identity and Triumph

22min

Intense Training Regimen and Deployment Cycles of Special Forces Personnel

2min

Exploring Challenges and Healing with Psychedelics

32min

The Ripple Effect of Psychedelic Healing in Communities

1min

Navigating Obstacles in Alternative Treatment Research and Advocacy

2min

Healing Veterans Through Psychedelic Science

11min

In this episode, Joe and special guest, Court Wing, interview Tommy Aceto: former Navy Seal and trauma medic, NCAA athlete, Michigan State Champion Wrestler, and now, psychedelic advocate and ambassador for the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition.

He discusses his journey from childhood to wanting to become a SEAL, and the toll that military life and its programming can take on a person: how a life built on high levels of endurance, deprivation, and constantly surviving in a fight-or-flight mindset often manifests in Operator Syndrome, chronic pain, depression, and addiction. Veterans are seeing the potential of psychedelics to rewire their brains and allow them to process pain differently, by allowing them to feel emotions they were trained to turn off: “You’ve got to feel to heal.”

Aceto discusses:

The affirmation and approval many who join the military seek, and how that often translates into needing to stay at certain levels of risk to truly feel alive
The similarities between soldiers and professional athletes and high performers
Dealing with chronic pain, and how forcing movement is often the best tactic
The Controlled Substances Act and how opioids became a business
Why the most important thing vets can do today is to tell their healing stories

and more! For links, head to the show notes page.