Can Kambo Cure Depression? My Honest Story

You may have heard that Kambo can cure depression, anxiety, chronic illness, and the list goes on. I get it. That sounds too good to be true. So what’s the deal? Is Kambo a magic cure?

Sorry to disappoint you, but no, it’s not. And yet, I’ve seen it help people change their lives for the better, including my own. Here’s the honest version.

The Short Answer

Kambo is a tool for physical and mental healing. For some people, a single session lifts depression in a way that feels almost unbelievable. For others, Kambo doesn’t fix the depression, but it acts as a catalyst: it gives them enough of a shift, and a different lens, to start moving toward healing.

What Kambo won’t do is fix your problems at home, or the roots of your anxiety. What it can do is shift your mindset in a direction where positive change becomes possible.

Sometimes that change looks small. Maybe you start choosing healthier food after your session. Maybe you finally fold your laundry. Maybe you find a little more confidence to join that club or go do the thing you’ve been too afraid to do. At the end of the day, most of us are looking for a better handle on how we feel, why we feel the way we do, and where we want to be.

What Happened to Me

I had known about Kambo for a few years and felt pulled to try it, but I finally went for it in 2022. Why then? I had just come out of an intense love-bombing relationship that left me in more emotional pain than I’d ever felt. A good friend who had been my main support system during that time pulled away from me, which was heartbreaking, and I felt completely alone. I knew I was a good person, but I had hit a rock bottom where I couldn’t keep my word to myself, couldn’t hold boundaries, and my sense of self felt completely fried. It was a mess.

At the same time, I was working a corporate job for a manipulative, micromanaging boss who buried me in clients until I was making mistakes from exhaustion, not from lack of intelligence. I took his criticism personally and struggled to advocate for myself, because my self-confidence was already shot.

After my first Kambo session, I felt better. The throbbing ache in my chest was gone. I woke up the next morning feeling light and happy, which was hugely different from needing to drag myself out of bed every morning. I suddenly cared a lot less about making mistakes at work. I felt calmer than I had in a long time.

What Kambo Didn’t Do

Kambo didn’t fix my problems. I still needed to quit that job. I still needed to look at why I had ignored so many red flags in that relationship. I still needed to be radically honest with myself about the boundaries I wasn’t keeping, with myself and with others.

A month or two later, I was back to feeling anxious and burned out at work. But by then, something had changed. I had started therapy, reconnected with a few friends who became my support network, and grown curious to learn more about Kambo.

That’s the part I want people to understand. Kambo gave me the push. I still had to do the work.

What I Tell People with Depression

If you’re considering Kambo for depression, here’s what I’d want you to know:

• Go in without expecting a magic bullet. Kambo might lift things right away, or it might be one meaningful step in a longer healing journey. Both are real outcomes.
• Pair it with support. Therapy, friends, movement, sleep and food all matter. Kambo works best as one part of a bigger picture.
• Notice the small shifts. More energy, a clearer head, the urge to take care of yourself. Those are the openings. Use them.
• Be honest about your health. On our consultation call, we’ll go through your history and any medications so we can make sure Kambo is safe for you.

A Note on Antidepressants

If you’re taking an antidepressant (an SSRI or SNRI), please tell your practitioner before your session. And never stop your medication suddenly. Quitting “cold turkey” can cause withdrawal and psychiatric side effects, so any change should happen gradually and with your prescriber.

What I recommend. Technically, you can work with Kambo while on SSRIs, as long as you can skip them during the 12-hour fast before your session. Still, I encourage people to taper off if they can. To be clear, it’s not a requirement. If you do decide to taper, please talk with your doctor about the best way to do it.

Here’s why. When people sit with Kambo while still on these medications, the session can be more intense: longer purging (sometimes nausea and purging for hours afterward) and big, unbalanced emotions. As the medication gets stripped from the system, everything comes up, and people often feel raw, vulnerable and emotionally dysregulated. All of that can make the session more challenging, but also more impactful.

Other schools of thought. Practitioners don’t agree on this, and there’s very little published research on how Kambo interacts with antidepressants.

• Some practitioners caution that combining Kambo with SSRIs or SNRIs could raise the risk of serotonin syndrome, because both may act on similar systems in the body.
• Others, including Caitlin Thompson, whose view I tend to follow, believe it’s safe to sit with Kambo on SSRIs as long as you skip them during the 8 to 12 hour fast. In this view, Kambo doesn’t appear to pose a risk of serotonin syndrome. My encouragement to taper is about making the session easier, not about that risk.
• SSRIs can make electrolyte imbalances more likely, so some practitioners suggest electrolytes or a little salt in your water before and after a session.
• Some practitioners and clients report that Kambo eases withdrawal symptoms during a taper. There’s no research on this yet, and it’s never a substitute for a taper planned with your doctor.

Shared responsibility. My job is to screen carefully, follow safety protocols and support you after your session. Your job is to share your full health picture, follow the fasting and aftercare guidance, and make medication decisions with your prescriber.

For the full list of conditions and medications that need extra care, read my Benefits & Risks page. It also helps to know how to choose a safe Kambo practitioner.

Why It Still Amazes Me

We take so much of our medicine from nature, and we are nature. But it still blows my mind that someone once thought to scrape a frog, lightly burn their skin, and purge to clear their body out. The fact that this is a thing is incredible.

But what a thing it is.

Disclaimer: Kambo is not FDA-approved and should not replace professional medical or mental health care. If you’re in crisis, call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US).

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