MILWAUKEE— After winning back to back MVPs, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers attributed his recent success on the field to using the plant-based psychedelic ayahuasca.
 
The substance contains DMT, which has been banned under federal law since 1970.
 
Aaron Rodgers made the comments on the Aubrey Marcus podcast.
 
Rodgers told Marcus using the substance helped him improve his mental health.

"One of the core tenets of mental health is self-love, and that's what ayahuasca did for me. It helped me see how to unconditionally love myself and it's only in the unconditional self love that, I am able to truly unconditionally love others." Rodgers said.
 
Rodgers added that this allowed him to gain a new perspective, which is that the most important aspect of the game was showing his teammates that he cared and loved them unconditionally.
 
Spectrum News 1 also reached out to the Packers and the NFL about Rodgers’ comments but we have not heard back at this time.

According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, ayahuasca is a psychedelic that can alter a person’s thinking and emotion while also causing hallucinations.
 
It has been used in South America for religious and therapeutic purposes.

The comments by Rodgers has also spurred a conversation about mental health in sports.

While Children’s Wisconsin does not promote the use of ayahuasca, the hospital believes it is important to look after one’s mental health when playing sports.

Clinical Sports Psychologist Matthew Myrvik explained young athletes feel a tremendous amount of pressure and sometimes it is tough for them to acknowledge that they are struggling.
 
He believes the most important thing an athlete can do is to talk about it and find ways to pull themselves away from the sport from time to time.
 
“I also do a lot of injury work and when a sport goes down or you are not successful in the sport, you have nothing else and so if you do have hobbies, you do have friends, it’s something to do and it helps facilitate adjustment in mental health moving forward,” said Myrvik.
 
Myrvik said he is encouraged that more athletes are starting to talk about their mental health.