Further Reading
Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, has been shown to be an promising treatment of mood and addictive disorders. Psilocybin is associated with general long-lasting positive psychological effects in healthy individuals as well. New research published in Frontiers in Pharmacology indeed found that psilocybin-induced psychedelic experiences are associated with long-lasting positive effects.
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“The typical experience induced by a medium-high dose of psilocybin has a plateau of maximum subjective intensity which, for some participants, can occasion transient, profound alterations in consciousness described as a sense of unity with all things accompanied by dissolution of ego or personhood, blissful mood and ecstasy, and aberrant sense of time and space,” explained study author Drummond E-Wen McCulloch and colleagues.
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To this end, psychedelic experiences can resemble a traditional “mystical” experience, which can result in a positive psychological transformation. Indeed, strong psilocybin-induced mystical experiences have been associated with subjective experiences of an improvement of life quality, meaning in life, and mood in those suffering from anxiety and mood disorders.
“I’m a vastly different person for the better. I had no idea this level of happiness or contentment in life would be possible before I found the mushroom,” said Mikaela.
"Let's be adults about this. These are no longer 'shrooms.' These are no longer party drugs for young people," Stamets told CNN. "Psilocybin mushrooms are nonaddictive, life-changing substances."
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Small clinical trials that have shown that one or two doses of psilocybin, given in a therapeutic setting, can make dramatic and long-lasting changes in people suffering from treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, which typically does not respond to traditional antidepressants.
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Based on this research, the US Food and Drug Administration has described psilocybin as a breakthrough medicine, "which is phenomenal," Stamets said.
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Stamets, who over the last 40 years has discovered four new species of psychedelic mushrooms and written seven books on the topic, said he believes microdosing is a solution.
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"I'm going to say something provocative, but I believe it to my core: Psilocybin makes nicer people," Stamets told the audience. "Psilocybin will make us more intelligent, and better citizens."
After reporting open-ended outcomes, participants answered targeted questions concerning behavioural improvements and substance-use reductions (Fig. 2). Respondents reported improved mood (92.9%), anxiety (59.2%), meditative practice (49.1%), exercise (49.1%), eating habits (36.0%), and sleep (28.8%). They also indicated reduced use of caffeine (44.2%), alcohol (42.3%), cannabis (30.3%), tobacco (21.0%), psychiatric prescription medications (16.9%), and illicit substances (16.1%).
Mommies Who Mushroom- Harper's Bazaar
According to Sienknecht, parents have reported numerous positives following psychedelic-assisted therapy, including “having gained a wider-angle-lens perspective on their behavior and reactions to their children, access to greater self-compassion in their roles as parents, and expanded capacity to understand the dilemmas and vulnerabilities of their children with more empathy and patience,” he says. “What was also quite noteworthy was parents’ increased ability to be responsive rather than reactive to their children, especially when they were able to understand the source of their reactions in their own childhood experiences.”
Can microdosing psychedelics boost mental health? Here’s what the evidence suggests- National Geographic
Despite the paucity of research, people are turning to microdoses for a variety of reasons. Holdt says microdosing psilocybin helps him have fun around other people. He suffers from social anxiety, so without the drugs his mind constantly ruminates about all the things he might say or do. “Microdosing helps me stop that inner monologue so I can be more comfortable and present,” he says. He has had the same effect using high-dose psychedelics, which he first experienced in high school, but says the subtler effects of microdosing make it easier to incorporate into everyday life. “You don’t need to take a day off work or have someone watching you [to make sure a trip doesn’t turn ugly],” he says.
More People Are Microdosing for Mental Health. But Does It Work?- The New York Times
After several years of microdosing, he said the biggest change he’s experienced is a general shift in his mind set — something that’s harder for scientists to measure. “I started because I read that it helps with depression,” he said. “But as I’ve moved on, it’s helped really a lot more with mental and personal growth and outlook on life — how you want to live and your existence in the world.”
Results showed that 44% said microdosing improved their mental health significantly, with 50% saying they were able to successfully stop taking antidepressants and almost 40% saying the same about psychiatric meds. Nineteen percent said microdosing resulted in “no perceived changes” to their mental health, and just 1.3% reported that microdosing made their mental health “somewhat worse.”
