How do you like your mushrooms? The psilocybin debate

There’s been more and more talk about mushrooms lately. The conversation about it being a potential tool in minimizing anxiety and depression. While it is logical to think that mushrooms could potentially increase anxiety, and sometimes they do, however it’s been discovered that the active ingredient in mushrooms-psilocybin has been found to have a positive effect on reducing anxiety. 

On a chemical level, psilocybin is similar to serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is responsible for modulating mood, helping with focus and memory. Mushrooms have an ability to help balance serotonin levels in the system and boost that mood. 

Is it Legal?

Well, the short answer is no. Psilocybin is considered to be a Schedule I drug in the United States, which means that it has a high potential for abuse. Mushrooms themselves are not a scheduled substance, even though the main ingredient is. 

With that being said it does make research harder and getting funding for the research, however these days there’s definitely a growth in the research and the amount of data on the matter. 

With all the research that’s been conducted, it has been found over and over again that people who were interviewed for the trials or who shared their experiences have found that the benefits for mental health have been very present in the situation. 

How does it work? 

Being a psychedelic, mushrooms affect the levels of serotonin in your body. While we know of serotonin as the happiness hormone, it does significantly more than that. It is responsible for a plethora of processes in the body, mood being one of them, but also affects sleeping, eating, memory function, and cognition. 

With the popularity rising, we get more and more information about what people are doing . We are able to find out some information on how it’s done. 

Majority of people repost taking anything up to 10% of a full dose. 

When it comes to taking mushrooms, people do generally take a full dose to have a “trip”. There are recommendations to do it with people you trust, in nature, so you can connect to yourself and the earth and be safe with your friends. 

During those “trips” it’s common to have hallucinations, feel change in your senses, and you could have a variety of spiritual and emotional experiences. 

There is always a chance of going through a bad trip, especially if you have PTSD and trauma that could come up during the trip, people mention getting paranoid, having scary hallucinations and experiencing deep fear. 

With that being said, microdosing doesn’t eliminate risks 100%, because each person reaction is different, but it definitely minimizes the dissociation with reality, while providing the benefits of psilocybin.

So, what happens when you microdose?

While each experience is different, there are some benefits that have been reported over and over again. Most of the information comes from personal experiences, and we are getting more and more trials data and more trials that are underway. 

The current research shows improvements in mood, increased creativity as well as boost of energy and improvement in the ability to focus.

Of course, another big one is the report of people who struggle with depression and anxiety feeling better and using microdosing to help manage the symptoms. 

In the research from 2019 the survey including 400 people, it has been found that microdosing was more effective than using prescription drugs, but less effective than using the full dose. Similar results were found in the study from 2021. That study also discovered that microdosing has been found beneficial for people with ADHD as well. 

One big catch is that it has also been discovered that there might be a placebo effect while using mushrooms. While it doesn’t mean that mushrooms don’t have their beneficial effects, it is definitely something to keep in mind. 

Should you do it?

There are so many factors that will influence that. Since it is not legal, we are not here to endorse it or encourage it, but at the end of the day it is up to you. 

Mushrooms don’t work for every person in the same way, and they don’t work for some people at all. Different people react differently and while it can be really therapeutic others might not have a good experience. 

The best strategy would be to talk to a therapist who has experience in psychedelic therapy and see if that can be a beneficial practice to incorporate for your mental health routine.

If you have done it or been someone who’s been using microdosing for your mental health, let us know in the comments down below how it went for you and if you have any first-hand tips and tricks.