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For anyone else reading this and considering it -- you really need to be careful before recommending this for someone with depression. If they are not prepared

For anyone else reading this and considering it -- you really need to be careful before recommending this for someone with depression. If they are not prepared for the experience it can be deeply destabilizing. Bad trips are real. Shroom tea is generally very strong too. It absolutely can work for depression sometimes, just be careful and intentional, and don't just talk somebody into it who may not be ready for it.

Milner08 5y ago
This is critical. You cant/shouldn't just go out on a whim and take shrooms. Either find someone who knows what they're doing and can walk you through it or do your own research and take it slow. Know how much your taking (as best you can) and don't over do it first time. Bad trips _suck_ and aren't going to help anyone.
mylons 5y ago
thank you for posting this.
pmoriarty 5y ago
Completely agree that it's not for everyone, and that those that do try it should thoroughly (and I mean really thoroughly) educate themselves on what they're getting themselves in to and how to maximize their chances of having a good experience. For this I'd recommend "The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide"[1] by James Fadiman as a good start. Erowid[2] and PsychonautWiki[3] are good for experience reports and reference. People with pre-existing health and psychiatric conditions, and young people should be doubly careful. The physical and sometimes psychological effects of some substances can be dangerous, especially when mixed with other drugs (alcohol is a particularly bad one to mix with). Psilocybin mushrooms are some of the safest psychedelics around, but at the very least be absolutely sure you got the right kind (have them identified by experts or grow your own)... and starting with lower doses, in a good set and setting, with someone more experienced than you who you like and trust is prudent. Have some quiet days to integrate the experience afterwards, maybe with a therapist. [1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic-Journeys/dp/1594774021 https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut... [2] - https://erowid.org https://erowid.org [3] - https://psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page https://psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page
- hutzlibu 5y ago
  "People with pre-existing health and psychiatric conditions, and young people should be doubly careful. " And since we are talking about "depressed" people, that should qualify as a preexisting psychiatric condition. The problem is, in most places there are no professional therapists avaiable who can (legally) work with mushrooms. And really, long term depressed persons, often have no one around, they can prepare a trip with.
  - pmoriarty 5y ago
    "in most places there are no professional therapists avaiable who can (legally) work with mushrooms." Despite that, there are underground therapists who will do just that.. and even licensed therapists will sometimes do so. Discretely ask around and you might be pleasantly surprised. "really, long term depressed persons, often have no one around, they can prepare a trip with." There are free, online trip sitters that you can contact here: https://tripsit.me/ https://tripsit.me/ and http://wiki.tripsit.me http://wiki.tripsit.me
  - petercooper 5y ago
    The problem is, in most places there are no professional therapists avaiable who can (legally) work with mushrooms. This is the real sadness to me. So many people seem to start dabbling in various forms of drugs as a way to ail their problems, and if there were qualified people who could help with that (beyond merely dishing out the typical SSRIs, benzos or stimulants) I think a lot of good could be done.
denkmoon 5y ago
Set and Setting folks.
saltyfamiliar 5y ago
A "microdose" is enough to alleviate symptoms of depression without risking one's psychological stability. There is really no need to take more than ~0.5 grams of cubensis unless the goal is deep insight/profound experience. I completely disagree with the term "microdosing" though. I think this should be considered a standard dosage. Nobody calls a few ml's of cough syrup a "microdose" just because half a liter can cause euphoria, disorientation, etc. Calling this amount of mushroom a "microdose" only furthers the impression that psilocybin is a primarily recreational substance.
- Broken_Hippo 5y ago
  Are you under the impression that it isn't primarily a recreational substance?
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - container 5y ago
    If you plot out all usage globally, recreational use is probably going to be the most common case. However, being recreational is not a property of the substance itself, so the term you both were using is misleading in that sense.
  - armatav 5y ago
    Are you under the impression that a substances effects are somehow mediated by their legality?
    - Broken_Hippo 5y ago
      Not at all. I just realize that these are primarily used for recreation. It could change - I mean, look at cocaine - and it can be both (opiates, for example).
      - armatav 5y ago
wavefunction 5y ago
They should probably be taking a sub-threshold dose anyways. The effects are the same and there's no risk of strong hallucinations.
myrandomcomment 5y ago
To be clear, this was well planned, in a safe environment, at dusk sitting on the back acre with family and friends and a small dose with constant communication. These type of drugs have been shown time and time again to be massively effective in treating depression, anxiety and PTSD. It is a crime that ultra conservative socialty morals have prevented a more in depth study of their use. The fact of the matter is we treat our vets with a cocktail of drugs for PTSD that have major side effects and provide little relief. It was my experience and the experience of serval people I know that had PTSD that the use of magic mushrooms provided a substantial and sustained relief.

Milner08 5y ago

This is critical. You cant/shouldn't just go out on a whim and take shrooms. Either find someone who knows what they're doing and can walk you through it or do your own research and take it slow. Know how much your taking (as best you can) and don't over do it first time. Bad trips _suck_ and aren't going to help anyone.

mylons 5y ago

thank you for posting this.

pmoriarty 5y ago

Completely agree that it's not for everyone, and that those that do try it should thoroughly (and I mean really thoroughly) educate themselves on what they're getting themselves in to and how to maximize their chances of having a good experience. For this I'd recommend "The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide"[1] by James Fadiman as a good start. Erowid[2] and PsychonautWiki[3] are good for experience reports and reference. People with pre-existing health and psychiatric conditions, and young people should be doubly careful. The physical and sometimes psychological effects of some substances can be dangerous, especially when mixed with other drugs (alcohol is a particularly bad one to mix with). Psilocybin mushrooms are some of the safest psychedelics around, but at the very least be absolutely sure you got the right kind (have them identified by experts or grow your own)... and starting with lower doses, in a good set and setting, with someone more experienced than you who you like and trust is prudent. Have some quiet days to integrate the experience afterwards, maybe with a therapist. [1] - https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic-Journeys/dp/1594774021 https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeut... [2] - https://erowid.org https://erowid.org [3] - https://psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page https://psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

hutzlibu 5y ago
"People with pre-existing health and psychiatric conditions, and young people should be doubly careful. " And since we are talking about "depressed" people, that should qualify as a preexisting psychiatric condition. The problem is, in most places there are no professional therapists avaiable who can (legally) work with mushrooms. And really, long term depressed persons, often have no one around, they can prepare a trip with.
- pmoriarty 5y ago
  "in most places there are no professional therapists avaiable who can (legally) work with mushrooms." Despite that, there are underground therapists who will do just that.. and even licensed therapists will sometimes do so. Discretely ask around and you might be pleasantly surprised. "really, long term depressed persons, often have no one around, they can prepare a trip with." There are free, online trip sitters that you can contact here: https://tripsit.me/ https://tripsit.me/ and http://wiki.tripsit.me http://wiki.tripsit.me
- petercooper 5y ago
  The problem is, in most places there are no professional therapists avaiable who can (legally) work with mushrooms. This is the real sadness to me. So many people seem to start dabbling in various forms of drugs as a way to ail their problems, and if there were qualified people who could help with that (beyond merely dishing out the typical SSRIs, benzos or stimulants) I think a lot of good could be done.

denkmoon 5y ago

Set and Setting folks.

saltyfamiliar 5y ago

A "microdose" is enough to alleviate symptoms of depression without risking one's psychological stability. There is really no need to take more than ~0.5 grams of cubensis unless the goal is deep insight/profound experience. I completely disagree with the term "microdosing" though. I think this should be considered a standard dosage. Nobody calls a few ml's of cough syrup a "microdose" just because half a liter can cause euphoria, disorientation, etc. Calling this amount of mushroom a "microdose" only furthers the impression that psilocybin is a primarily recreational substance.

Broken_Hippo 5y ago
Are you under the impression that it isn't primarily a recreational substance?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- container 5y ago
  If you plot out all usage globally, recreational use is probably going to be the most common case. However, being recreational is not a property of the substance itself, so the term you both were using is misleading in that sense.
- armatav 5y ago
  Are you under the impression that a substances effects are somehow mediated by their legality?
  - Broken_Hippo 5y ago
    Not at all. I just realize that these are primarily used for recreation. It could change - I mean, look at cocaine - and it can be both (opiates, for example).
    - armatav 5y ago

wavefunction 5y ago

They should probably be taking a sub-threshold dose anyways. The effects are the same and there's no risk of strong hallucinations.

myrandomcomment 5y ago

To be clear, this was well planned, in a safe environment, at dusk sitting on the back acre with family and friends and a small dose with constant communication. These type of drugs have been shown time and time again to be massively effective in treating depression, anxiety and PTSD. It is a crime that ultra conservative socialty morals have prevented a more in depth study of their use. The fact of the matter is we treat our vets with a cocktail of drugs for PTSD that have major side effects and provide little relief. It was my experience and the experience of serval people I know that had PTSD that the use of magic mushrooms provided a substantial and sustained relief.