How mushrooms saved this ex-addict’s life

By Finley Mackenzie via SWNS

An ex-drug addict turned full-time forager says mushrooms "saved" her life.

For 16 years, Jessika Gauvin, 34, used alcohol and drugs as a way to escape life and ignore past trauma.

After the birth of her second child, Jasper, 10, in November 2012, she suffered from post-natal depression that led to six years serious of substance abuse.

But in April 2018, Jessika wandered into her local woods, in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, and found being around nature gave her a ''new perspective'' on life.

Jessika is now five years sober and dedicates her time to finding natural ways to reduce stress and trauma through mushrooms.

The full-time forager even uses blended-down black trumpet mushroom as a spice for all of her dishes due to its high nutrients in fiber, protein and potassium.

She even teaches other adults, and children how to pick mushrooms safely for the desired effects.

Jessika, from New Brunswick, Canada, said: "Mushrooms saved my life.

"I used to spend every paycheck on getting wasted.

"Now I'm debt-free and have discovered what mother nature can offer.

"I now use fungi to treat my trauma."

Jessika began drinking at an early age with friends, but the dependence grew as she started a family.

In March 2012, Noah, now 11, was born at Moncton Hospital, with Jasper being born in the same hospital just one year later.

Jessika began to feel ''incredibly tired and lonely'' trying to raise both children and turned to drugs and alcohol to relieve stress.

Jessika, a former brand ambassador, said: "After getting the essentials for the children, I would spend the rest on alcohol.

"Every weekend I would borrow money from friends to buy drugs.

"I was stuck in a deep depressive limbo."

As the children grew up, Jessika noticed her dependency on alcohol left her sad and anxious and ''every hour of every day''.

After finally becoming ''sick'' of her own behaviour, Jessika took herself to Moncton forest for guidance and dug her bare feet into soil to connect with nature.

On that day, Jessika decided to confront her issues head-on while using the ''gifts of the earth'' to relieve the emotional burden.

She educated herself on fungi and picked Reishi mushrooms - which contains a high concentration level of naturally sedative compounds that she says helps induce calmness.

Jessika said: "Reishi mushrooms are incredibly beneficial to those with anxiety.

"My anxiety drastically reduced and it was all free.

"I was saving so much money every month."

Jessika soon fell ''completely in love'' with mushrooms and spent day and night educating herself on how to safely pick and identify them.

She now spends three hours in the woods every day and offers multiple classes on folklore medicine, herbal remedies and mushroom identification.

She even takes out of her two boys into the woods and they are now able to identify over 100 mushrooms at just a glance.

Jessika said: "If I had kept going with my hedonism, I would be dead.

"Mushrooms offered me a way to face my problems and overcome them.

"I call myself the queen of mushrooms now.

"The natural world can heal all wounds.

"Stinging nettles is amazing for allergies.

"I pick them, and I make a cream of nettle soup.

"If you're missing essential nutrients, nettle cover it.

"I wish I had listened to the earth sooner."