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Microdosing psilocybin is all the rage right now as more and more people are looking for ways to feel better without the damaging effects of alcohol, prescription drugs and their side effects.
One demographic that’s embracing psilocybin is moms. I can say that as a mom I’m exhausted, stretched to my limit and never really get the rest that I need so I’m always looking for safe and effective ways to relieve stress.
I was really nervous about trying psilocybin, I’ve had experiences with it before and it was way too intense. However I also know that dose is everything and I had taken a rather large dose. (As in stuffing a bag of dried mushrooms in a slurpee, yes it was as gross as it sounds).
As a mother I’m looking for a more refined experience that I can control. I want to make sure if the school calls and shit hits the fan, I’m still able to handle things.
Here’s what Danielle Simone Brand, Author of Weed Mom says about microdosing mushrooms:
“I notice better emotional regulation—little things don’t irk me as much as they used to, and I feel like my everyday baseline is more settled, peaceful, and optimistic. I also get a boost to focus with psilocybin, but only if I consume with the intention of focusing on work and then get straight to it… in other words, I can get “focused” on things other than work, too, if that’s where I put my attention”
Danielle is someone I trust and respect, so when I started seeing moms like her microdose mushrooms and talk about it openly, I decided to give it a try. Turns out, it’s pretty awesome! Before I get into my experience, let’s look at some of the science on psilocybin and why it’s such a big deal.
The science of psilocybin
There’s a great documentary on Netflix called Fantastic Fungi and I highly recommend you watch that as an introduction for using psilocybin. The documentary discusses more than just psilocybin, it also talks about all mushrooms and how important they are for our ecosystem and what they can do for our health.
Psychedelics research was paused for over 40 years due to prohibition. Meaning we’ve missed out on important scientific discoveries on how beneficial psychedelics can be for PTSD, treating substance abuse, severe depression and anxiety, and new research is showing it may lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Research on how psilocybin can effect the brain is showing us how it may heal our brain:
“…what happens to all of those neural connections is that some get prioritized and are very efficient, like highways with a lot of neural traffic going through, and the others are paired down and rarely used, like dirt roads.” That’s where psilocybin can come into play—it can basically open up those dirt roads again and send a lot more traffic down them” –says Michael McGee, MD
Research is still new regarding microdosing psilocybin however what research there is, looks to be promising.
Is psylocybin safe?
Psilocybin is considered a safe substance. Psilocybin mushrooms have very low toxicity and require very large amounts to be dangerous or fatal. You would have to eat 3 pounds of dried mushrooms for a fatal dose.
Microdosing is very safe, for some people it may trigger anxiety however there’s no known serious side effects to report. There’s some concerns around using psilocybin on a regular, long term basis for heart issues however more research is needed.
There’s also some concern around anyone with serious mental health issues with a history of psychosis, as the concern is that it may trigger a psychotic event in those who are susceptible.
It’s not recommended to take a large dose of psilocybin without a doctor or other trained professional to guide you through the process in a controlled setting.
What I felt after two weeks of microdosing mushrooms
First I was really nervous, even though I’ve had psilocybin before I didn’t know what to expect. I know cannabis dosing, side effects and duration like the back of my hand but mushrooms is a whole different ball game.
On the first couple of days I took a dose of 100mg of psilocybin which is considered microdosing. That’s taking very small doses so you get some therapeutic effects without feeling intoxicated. In order to get high you would take anywhere from 1 to 4 grams depending on various factors (like your weight and tolerance). I’ve taken high doses of psilocybin and thank you, I’ll pass on that for the foreseeable future.
I wasn’t sure how it would affect me so I waited until I dropped off my kids at school, so I knew I would be alone for 6 hours until I would have to pick them up.
I had zero psychoactive effect. After about an hour I felt calmer and that’s it. It was just like someone turned down the background noise and I felt a little more peaceful. That was all I felt, just a nice calm for hours and that was magical. I also used cannabis and that’s when things got more interesting.
Cannabis definitely enhances the high of psilocybin so use with caution. I vaporized THC on a lower temperature and did that earlier in the day so I had enough time for both to wear off before I had to pick up the kids from school.
Cannabis and psilocybin do go together quite well if you’re looking to do absolutely nothing but just be all day. Do things like walk in a garden, have a bath, meditate, do yoga. Any peaceful, contemplative activity is amazing while on both mushrooms and cannabis.
While on both I sat down to write this article, filmed a video, did a photoshoot and found it to be great for art. I also had numerous technical difficulties and found that being on psilocybin helped keep me calm about it.
Psilocybin really slowed down time. It was noon and I thought I had to go get the kids and realized I still had another 2.5 hours.
I just loved how microdosing psilocybin made me feel; calm, peaceful, unbothered like how we all aim to feel.
Getting the maximum benefits from microdosing mushrooms
You can build a tolerance to psilocybin quickly and it’s suggested to space the dose out so you don’t get a diminished effect.
There’s several methods of microdosing psilocybin so you get the maximum benefit. Danielle Simone Brand wrote an article for Double Blind Magazine on the Stements Stack Method. Paul Staments is a prominent Mycologist featured in the Fantastic Fungi documentary.
I asked Danielle what method she uses and here’s what she said:
“I microdosed psilocybin every fourth day, following the Fadiman protocol, for several months last year. Recently, I’ve started to use the Stamets stack and protocol, which consists of microdosing psilocybin, lion’s mane, and niacin in a schedule of four days on followed by three days off. I’ve been doing this for about 8 weeks”
What Psylocibin products I used
I started with a dose of 100mg as I mentioned however I bumped it to 200mg and didn’t notice much of a difference, as in it felt the same. When it comes to dosing psilocybin I recommend starting at 50 to 100mg and see how that feels. Use more next time if you didn’t feel anything.
I used two products, one was the Enhance formula by Ultra Mystic and the other one was the Stress Less blend and the Rest and Relax blend by Osmosis. I liked the size of the capsules from Ultra Mystic, they were much easier to swallow than the large capsules by Osmosis
Overall I preferred the Osmosis blends as I felt more with them over the other brand. I recommend this brand if you want to try microdosing mushrooms, they’re a local Vancouver B.C brand.
Most of the women I spoke to who microdose mushrooms, grow it themselves. You can buy growing kits, there’s several to choose from. I haven’t tried that as it’s too much work for me however it’s important to mention that growing your own psilocybin is legal in Canada. So if you enjoy growing, it’s worth a try!
Could psychedelics be the future for mental health?
I now understand why moms like to microdose mushrooms during the day, it’s almost better than cannabis as the effect is different, less in your head and more mood altering. You feel calmer and I found with a slightly higher dose it really helped with depression, especially the day after.
Then there’s sex, I found sex on mushrooms to be deeply transformative as my husband and I spent more time during sex and I felt a deeper connection with him. For that article I had taken a different brand and the side effects were unpleasant. It really does matter that you get a good brand of psilocybin.
There’s other psychedelics offered for microdosing, including LSD. I don’t see myself microdosing LSD at this point in my life however I do think there’s a lot of promise with psychedelics used in very low doses and how they may benefit our mental health in this crazy world.
I’m going to be using psilocybin more often as a way to bring ease to my day and I do recommend giving it a try. It’s safe and effective and not addictive. I also recommend trying a low dose, rather than a microdose for times when you won’t be bothered. Use that time to be present, and cultivate a deeper connection with yourself and your partner
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