One in five Americans are diagnosed with mental illness every year. Suicide is the second most common cause of death in the US for youth aged 15-24, and kills over 800,000 people globally per year. Drug overdose kills 81,000 in the US annually. The autoimmune disorder epidemic affects 24 million people in the US alone. What is going on? The interconnected epidemics of anxiety, chronic illness and substance abuse are, according to Dr. Gabor Maté, normal - but not in the way you might think.

How did psychedelics, not so long ago cast into the wilderness by the medical community, so quickly return to one of America’s most prestigious research institutions and graduate to the pages of the field's premier journals? Join us as we learn the stories of the scientists at Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research who re-opened the doors, and the new generation of researchers working to explore the potential of psychedelics in science and medicine.

'Rise of the Sufferfests' is the first feature documentary about the global obstacle race phenomenon.