Dr. Eliza Collins

Psychedelic Facilitator, Doctor of Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine

www.theburnoutwitch.com

Since November 2022

I'm based in Providence, RI, and I work both online and in person. I came to New England by way of Western New York because I love the area. My brother relocated to Boston about 10 years before me, and I absolutely fell more and more in love each time I visited him.

I came to psychedelic work and burnout recovery through a winding route. I started out in Western medicine and was on a pre-med track. I see value in Western medicine, but I much prefer a fully integrated approach, so I became an acupuncturist, functional medicine practitioner, and certified hypnotist. In the process of doing so and running my own business, I really burned the candle at both ends. After reckoning with that burnout and recovering from it, I made it my mission to help other individuals recover from and prevent burnout. I utilized psychedelics as a part of that process, and it opened up a whole new world to me, quite literally. With my background in both Eastern and Western medicine, as well as training in somatics and mindset work, helping others understand psychedelics and use them as safely as possible became a real passion.

Success as a burnout recoveree looks very different! Now, success means being in tune with myself. I'm at my best when I'm really connected to my body and soul's needs. The more I stay in that flow state and listen to what my body is telling me, the more success I find both personally and professionally.

It may seem a bit on the nose, but the first time I utilized psychedelic mushrooms had a massive impact on how I showed up as an entrepreneur. It put so much of my life into perspective, and helped me understand both the woman who started this business, and the woman I want to be as I continue this business. It was a real gift.

It's not as difficult now, but I used to have a hard time putting down anything educational. I LOVE to learn, and I think that - especially in health and medicine - it's important to stay up to date and have the most recent and relevant information. When it's a passion, it's easy to go full throttle and not set aside white space in the calendar to rest, recover, and just breathe. I'm much better about that now. I'm more thoughtful about the type of education I want, what aligns with my values as a practitioner, and what I feel will best serve my clients long term.

Ooof. I show myself a lot of grace now, which I did not do previously. I make an effort to have a 30,000-foot view. I remind myself that my feelings are just that - feelings. They are temporary states of being, they ebb and flow. Reminding myself of that gives me permission to really feel them in a three-dimensional way. If I'm sad, I really let myself be sad. I grieve. Because I know it's temporary. I've found when I do that, I'm able to process the emotions better and move through them more completely.

There are so many amazing women in this group! I've connected with other fabulous individuals and am so inspired by everyone here. I also love how it's exposed me to experts from other industries that I normally wouldn't connect with. As a solo practitioner, I'm not naturally out and about connecting and networking as a part of my day-to-day. I love that I have so many incredible people to meet, get to know, and refer to now.

I'm also an introvert by nature, so having a really supportive container where everyone wants to see everyone else do well sets up such a positive space. Everyone who comes to the events is on the same page, and it's been a joy to be in a space with such good energy.

One of my proudest moments is also one of my most recent. A member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, Brandon Potter, sponsored a bill this year to decriminalize psilocybin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms. Community support is critical to the legislative process, so I went to the Rhode Island Statehouse and testified on behalf of the bill. Public speaking is both exciting and nerve-wracking for me, so it takes a fair bit of courage. I put a lot of hard work and effort into my testimony, making sure that it highlighted both the scientific evidence as well as the incredibly meaningful benefit to people with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. I'm proud to say that in June, the bill passed the House. Its passage sets the foundation for future decriminalization work, which is amazing. I like to think that my testimony, and that of the other amazing experts who supported the bill, led to that positive outcome.

I'm a huge music junkie. I studied opera when I was younger, and I love almost all forms of music. Attending live events is one of my favorite things to do, so that part of my life really took a hit for the last few years. Being able to attend live theater and music more recently has been like oxygen.

One of my biggest values is curiosity. It's essential to who I am, so I really try and put myself in new and uncomfortable situations. The physical reactions of anxiety and excitement are actually the same thing, so in situations where I would normally feel anxious, I endeavor to be curious instead and reframe it as excitement. I like to call it ``spicy excitement.``

Thanks to my addiction to continuing education, I've amassed an extensive constellation of skills over the years. I have one foot planted firmly in science, and the other in open-minded curiosity and mindful exploration of the self. I blend those when working with people. In terms of psychedelics, it puts me in a very unique position. I can understand and explain the science of how they work, and also the importance of how we nourish and hold space for the mind and the soul as we work with them.

I'm most active on Instagram, you can find me @theburnoutwitch. That's also my handle on LinkedIn, TikTok, and Threads.