Disclaimer: MindVibes does not condone the use of illegal substances.

We are all guilty of being human. Being human today is often challenging. Pressure is high regardless of your ethnicity, income, career or value system. The struggle to keep your head above water isn't loosening its grip on mankind and it's no surprise that stress is today’s modern day killer.

If you’re anything like me and have experienced bouts of severe depression, anxiety and/or a lack of focus, you may have tried multiple approaches to managing your symptoms.  As a Holistic Health Coach, I’m a huge advocate of alternative medicine and have literally tried everything going in my short life! Meditation has always been the answer for me and is way more effective than any synthetic Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (pharmaceutical antidepressants) as depression is not caused by a lack of serotonin. 

Mental health is very close to my heart and I am always on the lookout for the next best thing and in my opinion, microdosing psilocybin (the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms) has to be the best thing since (gluten-free) sliced bread. For me, it’s a game changer.

Unfortunately magic mushrooms are illegal in most countries but in Portugal, where I spend a lot of time, they are decriminalised, so accessing them for personal use is more widespread. Predictively late to the party, the powers that be have finally cottoned on to their effectiveness and trials are being carried out to bring psilocybin into the mainstream in a decade. 

 Microdosing is a term used to describe the practice of regularly taking tiny amounts of psychedelics in order to benefit from their physiological action while minimising undesirable side effects. It is a relatively new phenomenon and it’s important to point out that the dosage is too small to induce any form of a ‘trip’ at around 1% of the active dose. The compounds work by loosening the mind to relax the ego-defence mechanism hard wired in humans allowing for ‘relative ease’  in dealing with daily life and keeping the ego mind in check. 

The idea behind microdosing goes back decades. In the 1950s, psychedelic therapists in Saskatchewan wanted to help alcoholics get clean. They guided the patients through a high-dose, ego-dissolving, LSD experience. When they came out the other side, over half of the patients reported complete recovery from alcoholism. The Canadian government was intrigued and ordered more rigorous trials, this time with placebo controls, and without the experienced “trip guides” offering suggestions on what patients should feel. These trials were a bust. In the fallout, many viewed psychedelic therapy as more shamanism than science. The mindset of the user and suggestions from the therapist (termed “set and setting” to LSD advocates) are just as important as the drug itself. In other words, LSD’s effects had as much to do with goings on outside the brain as inside it. To LSD advocates, though, this was part of how it worked. “Set and setting” guard against a bad trip (with large doses), and give the user an idea of what they should experience.

Microdosing was born from this “set and setting” school of psychedelic therapy and one of its intellectuals, James Fadiman, who was Stanford trained, showed how microdosing changed people's lives by melting away depression and anxiety and feelings of self resolve settling in.

Microdosing psilocybin works by rewiring the brain and fostering greater connections between different regions of the brain in depressed people by freeing them up from long held patterns of rumination and excessive self-focus, enabling them to invite in new perspectives.

In my personal experience of microdosing psilocybin in Portugal over several months, I did not feel a “high”. Instead I felt happier, had increased focus at work, experienced heightened creativity and was much more mindful without any feelings of stress. The little things that used to bother me were a non issue.

Some of the known benefits of microdosing are:

• Improved concentration, and mindfulness

• Improved energy, wakefulness, and stimulation

• Cognitive benefits, such as enhanced problem solving

• Social benefits

• Reduced anxiety

• Creativity

• Reduced stress

• Improved mood, optimism, and life appreciation

• Improved body functioning

• Self-efficacy, including improved ambition, productivity, and motivation

Microdosing, however, is not for everyone. Many people who try it may find that the effects are not to their liking. Some people may be very sensitive to the compounds in common hallucinogens. People with a history of psychotic disorders, such as bipolar or schizophrenia, or other disorders, should avoid microdosing, as the practice may be too stimulating. Microdosing is not for everyone and people with mental health disorders or symptoms should not use the practice to replace any current treatment.

I very much look forward to seeing where the trials and research around safety and efficacy lead to, in order to incorporate psilocybin into the mainstream. I hope those who need it most get to experience its delights!