Anger and emotional regulation
Since 2012 we have held a medically supervised iboga retreat on the Mayan Riviera near Cancun, Mexico. A traditional Missoko Bwiti ceremony is paired with a psychologist, then three months of follow-up at home. Guests who come for anger often describe seeing, from outside, what the anger was guarding: fear, grief, an old injury. If your temper keeps costing you more than you want, here is how we help, and who we can safely welcome.
Free guide · PDF
Under the Fire
Anger: the ceremony, the numbers, the research and how to prepare.
How we help
Anger is a normal emotion. It becomes a problem when it is frequent, intense or harmful, and the people around you pay for it. What we offer is a supervised night of looking at where it comes from, then help with the skills that keep it in check.
No study has tested iboga or ibogaine for anger. What follows is what guests describe, from our experience with 7,677 guests since 2012. It is a supervised opening alongside anger management or therapy, never a replacement for it. The retreat is not for anyone who is hurting or threatening another person now.
Anger often comes with drinking, poor sleep or medicines for mood, so we look at the whole picture. Every guest has a medical screening and bloodwork before travel, and the physician stays in the room through the ceremony.
The Missoko Bwiti tradition of Gabon begins with the person, not the behavior. At the fire talk you say your intention aloud. In the night, guests describe seeing the fear or hurt underneath, and in the life review the next day it is put into words.
Tania, our psychologist, helps you build a plan for your triggers: how to pause, leave and come back. Three months of integration calls follow, and we encourage anger management or trauma therapy at home.
Who holds it
Michael and Cory open and hold the ceremony; Tania, our psychologist with close to a decade at Mexico's National Institute of Psychiatry, screens for what iboga cannot hold and carries the integration; Dr Villarreal keeps the body safe.
Who it is for
Adults 18 and over whose anger feels bigger than the moment and costs them at home or at work. Veterans and first responders whose anger came with trauma. People ready to take responsibility for their anger and keep working on it with a therapist after they return.
Active psychosis or recent mania, an unstable eating disorder, acute suicidality, a medication that cannot be tapered in time, or pregnancy. A heart condition needs a careful look first: read how we protect your heart. Anyone who is currently hurting, threatening or frightening a partner, a child or anyone else: safety comes first, and a retreat is not the next step. Bipolar disorder or any past mania is assessed first, because irritability can be a sign of it. The psychologist and the physician decide together, and sometimes the answer is a later date.
Why it is hard
An outburst brings quick relief or a sense of control, which teaches the brain to reach for it again. Anger also feels justified in the moment. Alcohol and drugs lower the brakes further, and they often come together with explosive anger.
Anger is closely tied to trauma: across 39 studies, it rose with PTSD symptoms, most strongly in military samples. It is also hard on the body: the risk of a heart attack is about 4.7 times higher in the two hours after an outburst, though the risk from any single episode is small.
In the moment: pause, leave the room, slow your breathing, and come back when you are calm. Agree on this plan in advance with the people close to you, so leaving is not a punishment.
Over time: anger treatments based on cognitive behavioral therapy are at least moderately effective. They teach relaxation, new ways to read a situation, problem solving, and rehearsal with your triggers. If trauma drives the anger, trauma-focused therapy comes first; if alcohol or drugs are involved, treat them too. DBT skills help some people, though anger-specific trials are fewer.
If you are afraid of a partner, or worried about violence at home, the National Domestic Violence Hotline answers at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or text START to 88788 (thehotline.org). In Canada there is no single national line; dial 2-1-1 to find local services.
If you have thoughts of ending your life, call or text 988 in the United States or Canada. Veterans can dial 988 then press 1, or text 838255.
Dates
Open retreats and the dedicated veterans' dates. Eight guests each; full list on the schedule.
We look forward to welcoming you, as you are. Thank you for trusting us with your healing.
Pricing, US dollars
All inclusive from Cancún airport: screening, ceremonies, room, meals, three months of follow-up. All payments are final, see the terms. Full pricing.
Questions about anger
No study has tested iboga or ibogaine for anger, so we will not say it treats it. What guests describe since 2012 is seeing what lay under the anger, often fear or grief. We offer it as a supervised opening alongside anger management or therapy.
A DSM-5-TR diagnosis for repeated outbursts out of proportion to the trigger: verbal or non-injurious outbursts about twice a week for three months, or three outbursts that harm people or property within a year.
In a US survey of 9,282 adults, 7.3% had met the criteria for intermittent explosive disorder at some point, starting on average at age 14. Only 11.7% had been treated for it. Stricter definitions across 16 countries give much lower figures, about 0.8%.
Pause, leave, slow your breathing, and return when you are calm. It works best when you plan it ahead with the people around you.
Anger management based on cognitive behavioral therapy, with relaxation, problem solving and practice with triggers. Treat anything underneath it too: trauma, depression, alcohol or drug use.
Anger is strongly linked with PTSD, most of all in veterans and service members. When trauma drives it, trauma-focused therapy is often where change begins.
Men show more physical aggression, though men and women feel anger about equally. One idea, still mostly theory, is that norms push men to show fear or sadness as anger.
It can be. Irritability is sometimes part of a mood disorder, so our psychologist asks about past highs and family history. Mania has been reported after ibogaine, even in people with no earlier diagnosis.
If anyone is unsafe with you now, the retreat is not the next step: safety and specialized help come first. Tell the psychologist the truth in screening. She decides with the physician whether, and when, a retreat makes sense.
We cannot promise it. Guests often describe more space between the trigger and the reaction. Keeping that space takes practice, which is why the integration calls and therapy at home matter.
Yes. Heavy drinking needs a medical plan first, because alcohol withdrawal can cause seizures. Tell us honestly how much you drink; the physician plans the rest.
Often, with a plan. Mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, some antidepressants and ADHD stimulants all need review, and some change how the body handles iboga. Never stop one on your own; the physician works with your prescriber.
Not yet. The 2024 Stanford study of 30 veterans did not measure anger. Patents that mention ibogaine for anger are not evidence.
Yes, with your consent. We can send a summary to your therapist, and integration calls can include them. Many guests find it helps to agree on a plan for hard moments with their partner before they return.
You've carried this long enough. Start with a conversation with our medical team.
