Loneliness and meaning
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 arrive feeling disconnected often describe a night of seeing their life whole, with a clearer sense of who matters to them. If you feel alone, even among people, or lost about what your life is for, here is how we help.
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Finding Your People
Loneliness and meaning: the ceremony, the numbers, the research and how to prepare.
How we help
Loneliness is not a diagnosis, and a retreat does not replace the people in your life. What we offer is a supervised night of looking at your life from outside, with eight guests around one fire, then a plan for connection at home.
No study has tested iboga or ibogaine for loneliness or meaning. What follows is what guests describe, from our experience with 7,677 guests since 2012, and it is testimony, not evidence. We offer it alongside therapy, never in place of it.
Loneliness often travels with low mood or poor sleep, 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 problem. At the fire talk you say your intention aloud, in front of the others. In the night, guests describe seeing what they have been avoiding, and what they want to live for.
Tania, our psychologist, helps turn what you saw into small steps: a call, a group, a commitment. Three months of integration calls carry you through the weeks when old habits of hiding return.
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 who feel lonely or lost: after a move, a breakup, a divorce, retirement, or simply a life that no longer fits. People in their twenties asking what comes next, or in midlife asking what it was all for, who are willing to build connection 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. Bipolar disorder or any past episode of mania is assessed carefully first, because mania has been reported after ibogaine. The psychologist and the physician decide together, and sometimes the answer is a later date.
Why it is hard
Loneliness is the pain of connections that fall short of what you want; you can feel it in a crowd or in a marriage. It is common: the World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 6 people worldwide are lonely, and in a 2024 Gallup survey, 20% of US adults felt lonely for a lot of the previous day.
One model holds that loneliness tilts attention toward social threat, which makes people more guarded, so reaching out feels harder just when it matters. Meaning grows slowly from relationships, contribution and values; insight alone rarely changes it. Lonely people are twice as likely to become depressed, says the WHO.
Start small and regular: one contact a day, a group built around a shared interest, volunteering. Among tested approaches, those that work on the thoughts that keep people guarded did best, though overall effects were small.
If loneliness comes with depression or anxiety, therapy for those has strong evidence. Values work such as acceptance and commitment therapy, or meaning-centered therapy, is promising, though mostly tested in cancer care.
In the United States, the NAMI HelpLine offers information and referrals, Monday to Friday, 10 am to 10 pm ET: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or text 62640. It is not a crisis line. In Canada, dial 2-1-1 to find community services near you.
If loneliness turns into hopelessness or thoughts of ending your life, call or text 988 in the United States or Canada, at any hour.
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 loneliness and meaning
No study has tested iboga or ibogaine for loneliness or meaning, so we will not say it treats either. What guests describe since 2012 is a clearer view of their life and the people in it. The change comes after, in the calls you make and the groups you join.
It is linked to it. The US Surgeon General's 2023 advisory linked poor social relationships to a 32% higher risk of stroke and about 50% higher dementia risk in older adults. These are associations, not proof of cause.
About 1 in 6 people worldwide, according to the WHO in 2025, with rates of 17 to 21% among people aged 13 to 29. In the US, Gallup found 20% of adults lonely for a lot of the previous day in 2024.
Small, regular contact, a group around a shared interest, volunteering. If it lasts for weeks or comes with low mood, therapy helps, especially approaches that work on the thoughts that keep you guarded.
Clarify what you value, invest in a few relationships, and contribute to something beyond yourself. In a review of 10 studies with 136,265 people, a stronger sense of purpose went with lower mortality, an association rather than proof.
A popular term for uncertainty in the twenties and early thirties about work, love and direction. It is not a diagnosis, and it is very common.
Many people feel a dip in life satisfaction in their middle years. The word crisis is a popular term, not a diagnosis, and the dip often passes.
Yes. Loneliness is about how close your connections feel, not how many people are around you. Many guests who come are partnered and still feel alone.
No. Neither loneliness nor isolation is a diagnosis. It can come with depression or anxiety, and those can be treated.
We cannot promise it. What guests often bring home is clarity about who matters and what they want. The integration calls help turn that into action, week by week.
Each retreat has eight guests, so you share meals, the fire talk and the days between ceremonies with a few people. You choose how much to share, and private time is respected.
Mania has been reported after ibogaine, including in people with no earlier diagnosis. So the psychologist asks about past highs, mood stabilizers and family history before you are cleared.
Often, with a plan. Some antidepressants change how the body handles iboga, so our physician reviews every medicine with your prescribing doctor. Never stop or change one on your own.
If loneliness lasts for weeks or brings hopelessness, talk to a doctor or therapist. In a crisis, call or text 988 in the United States or Canada.
You've carried this long enough. Start with a conversation with our medical team.
