In Waves and War

How it feels

This documentary follows a former Navy SEAL and his wife as they confront his severe PTSD after combat in Afghanistan. Traditional treatments fail, so they seek out an unapproved psychedelic therapy. The film shows the struggles of several veterans returning to civilian life and the search for healing.

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What happens

In Waves and War is a 2024 documentary film created and directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2024, and was released on Netflix on November 3, 2025. The film centers on decorated Navy SEAL Marcus Capone, and his wife Amber, as they deal with Capone's severe PTSD and depression after returning from service in Afghanistan. The story follows Capone and fellow veterans Matty Roberts and DJ Shipley, as they progress through the intensity of SEAL training, multiple combat tours, and the struggle of integrating back to civilian life. Her husband's deteriorating mental state, and the ineffectiveness of traditional treatments and medication, lead Amber Capone to search for alternative therapies, and finds hope in a treatment unapproved for use in the U.S. involving the psychedelics ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT. Marcus and a number of other veterans, at first skeptical, undertake the treatment. The film highlights the high suicide rate and hidden wounds of returning combat veterans who have suffered traumatic brain injuries or other forms of PTSD, and the promise of psychedelics as therapies for healing. The title is inspired by a quote from the Odyssey, given at the beginning of the film: "By now I am used to suffering. I have endured so much in waves and war. Let this next adventure follow." - Odysseus (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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