Christina Haack Reveals She Smoked Psychedelic Toad Venom That ‘Reset’ Her Brain

When Flip or Flop star Christina Haack responded to criticism of her new relationship with Joshua Hall, Haack revealed that she smoked a Bufo toad that “basically reset” her brain. The 38-year-old HGTV personality briefly wrote about the experience at the start of the long Instagram statement she posted Thursday. Haack faced criticism for dating Hall just weeks after her divorce from Ant Anstead was finalized, but Haack defiantly told critics she is 38 and “I’ll do what I want.”

“I met Josh when I wasn’t in a state of fear or fight-or-flight,” Haack wrote Thursday. “I had taken time off social, hired a spiritual coach, and smoked a Bufo toad (which basically reset my brain and kicked out years of anxiety in 15 mins).” The secretion of Bufo Alvarius toads is commonly known as toad venom, as PEOPLE notes. The secretion includes bufotenine and 5-MeO-DMT, which are known to have psychedelic properties. Some users say it helps ease feelings of stress and depression, but the Drug Enforcement Administration considers the two controlled substances.

In a June interview with PopCulture, Haack mentioned working on herself by hiring a life coach following her split from Anstead. “I really took a lot of time to just really focus internally on myself,” she told us exclusively. “I stayed home a lot, I just decided to work with a life coach who really helped me dive in more spiritually. There were some things I wanted to work on.”

After mentioning her experience with toad venom, Haack went on to write about her relationship with Hall and how it started. Although they reportedly met a few years ago, Haack said when they reconnected this spring the “synchronicities” they shared were “impossible” to ignore. She felt “immediately crazy protective” of Hall, knowing the kind of media scrutiny he would be under. While Haack has become used to cameras following her in the past decade, Hall is unfamiliar with media attention.

“I may be a bit crazy and I’m definitely not perfect but I will never live my life based on other people’s judgments or opinions,” Haack wrote. “We pride ourselves on never judging others and always wanting others to be happy and we wish others would have the same respect.” She went on to note that Hall does not use social media, but she still thanked him for planning a romantic getaway to Mexico. “So yes ‘another relationship’ and guess what. I’m 38,” she concluded. “I’ll do what I want.”

Hall is reportedly a realtor in Austin, Texas. Earlier this week, a source told Us Weekly he first met Haack several years ago at a real estate conference when she was still with Anstead. The two recently reconnected in Tennessee, the insider said. Haack was later spotted holding hands with Hall at LAX on their way to catch their flight to Mexico. Meanwhile, Anstead is reportedly dating Renee Zellweger.

Haack and her first husband, Tarek El Moussa, are still making new episodes of Flip or Flop. The show’s latest season debuted in April. Haack’s solo series, Christina on the Coast, debuted its new season in June.