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Have a lot of experience with microdosing psilocybin, as well as with psychedelics like Ayahuasca. My experience with both as a means to remedy depression have

Have a lot of experience with microdosing psilocybin, as well as with psychedelics like Ayahuasca. My experience with both as a means to remedy depression have been significant. It is analagous to having a lamp in a dark forest. It won't get you through it itself, you need courage, and other tools like meditation (your machete), exercise (your provisions) and intention (your compass) to succeed. But with it, everything is easier. Err -- AMA?

coding123 5y ago
If you throw 100M people at this as a solution, do you expect to see most carefully and successfully getting through it like you or would most just become addicted and eventually lose their job and go homeless?
- ragnese 5y ago
  Addicted and losing your job because of psilocybin? I've not tried it myself, but many of my friends have, and anecdotally, none of them have (to my knowledge) ever even gotten to the point of it being a "habit". I can't say the same for alcohol, cocaine, and even cannabis. I know people who have had problems with all of them.
  - goodroot 5y ago
    Even Terence McKenna, who himself was likely part mushroom given how many he ingested, said time and time again that mushrooms are resistant to abuse. If you take a very high dose, the experience itself can be so difficult and wonderful, that the idea of doing that to yourself again starts to seem ridiculous. :)
- goodroot 5y ago
  When it comes to something like Ayahuasca, I make a point of not recommending it. I lean into the woo of it, and allow "the ready people" to help realize their calling to it through me. I know, bear with me, but advocating something this wildly, impossibly potent and transformative is something I cannot do, and so I defer to greater wisdom. For small doses of psilocybin, it is - both in my experiences and in a lot of scientific contexts - considered very, very safe. Greater doses, 2.5 dry grams, you start to introduce risk triggering latent psycho-affective disorders. For most people with common neurotic conditions, anxiety, depression, etc, it is very low risk. Out of 100M, I'd say .1% is at risk having a very negative experience due to significant, untreated issues like schizophrenia. All of things things require support. Community, a guiding hand, will truly improve the outcome.
lordofgibbons 5y ago
With micro-dosing, doesn't your body get acclimated to the low doses taken over extended periods of time and thus rendering the micro-dose ineffective? I assume you have to cycle with it? Are there any negative effects on your off-cycle days? i.e less creativity or feeling down
- goodroot 5y ago
  Hello! Your body does build a tolerance. But there is a common misconception that the "psychedelic" presentation is where you find the efficacy. In most microdosing stacks, you combine Psilocybin with lion's mane mushroom and vitamin B12. It is usually 5 on, 2 off. Even if you do not feel any upwelling, it is working. The process of neurogenesis is very subtle, and that is the mechanism which, when combined with other tools, will help you get over depression when microdosing. It takes time, it is a gradual, slow, re-wiring. The affect of the psychedelic experience can provide creative and mood benefits. But I believe these are separate processes with separate benefits. Often when speaking with folks, and I notice myself, that there are no withdrawal symptoms. There is always risk of dependency when ingesting any outside substance, but something about the experience itself is resistant to abuse.
Dumblydorr 5y ago
Interesting analogy of a dark forest. I'd say the Zen realization is of value here. You can always, at any moment, realize that your sensations and consciousness is all there is. We don't need anything more than to observe what we sense at any moment. I say this because changing our mind doesn't have to be hard arduous work, Zen Buddhists realized that enlightenment is here now, if we have the will to simply see it and accept it. Regarding machetes, wow. I'd say meditation is more like the calm and the observation of the dark forest, not a machete. A machete is a constant necessity to hack through tough issues. Meditation is the art of doing nothing, of simply noticing what is occurring. In that way, it's more like standing still and observing the jungle, not hacking it. I like Sam Harris's analogy best. Meditation is taking a calm sail boat ride to wisdom, whereas psychedelics are like being strapped to a rocket. Both will get you places, but one is more likely to crash.
- goodroot 5y ago
  Reading a book at the moment called "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism", which are the words of Tibetan Buddhist monk of renown Chögyam Trungpa. He also likens the development of spiritual presence to a blade. The trick with Sam's stated perspective, from this Buddhist perspective, is that it implies attainment of a desire: I meditate to be calm. Meditation can make people calm, and so can breath work. But if you say "I meditate to be calm and ride to wisdom", there are those who would say you are not meditating at all. They would say it is just "I meditate", and then "meditate", in these sort of Buddhist philosophies like Zen and similar. I do not say this to gatekeep - but experiences have taught me that, absolutely, meditation and the path of spirit is very hard, dangerous and arduous work. Helping others through derealization and psychosis has taught me this lesson time and time again. In my metaphor, meditation in the psychdelic context is a machete because it is the blade to cut through all the psychedelia, all the woo, all the false notions of personal loftiness from spiritual insight, all the ideas of being healed, all of the mind mess. It simply is the mechanism that you use to cut through, and then "become here and now", to allow yourself to heal beyond stories: depressive stories, happy stories, and into a state of mind that is resilient to the suffering of the times.
mayormcmatt 5y ago
This is something I've been interested in for a good while now, and tried a similar LSD microdosing regimen without any exciting results. However, I also didn't pair the practice with meditation or regular exercise (some, not a lot). My main question is, how does one get anything like a regular, precise (micro)dose of the psilocybin? Volumetric dilution with LSD seems simple, because I know how much each tab contains and can plan accordingly. Are mushrooms really that regular in compound content?
- goodroot 5y ago
  In Canada, we are very lucky. My city produces many laboratory grade mushrooms. Look! https://www.magicmushroomsdispensary.ca/ https://www.magicmushroomsdispensary.ca/ There would be a significant variance in potency if we were nibbling on different parts of the fruiting body when measuring a dose. But first, you grind it into powder, measure it on an electronic scale, and then take it. If you stick to the same supplier and the same type of mushroom, this keeps things very consistent.
- marcrosoft 5y ago
  Powderize a bunch of mushrooms and mix well so they are consistent. Then take a specific amount and adjust for potency. You then have a consistent dose for the entire batch.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
e40 5y ago
This isn't something you can really answer, but I'd be game to try micro-dosing psilocybin, but I have no idea where to get it safely (from LEOs and bad chemistry). It would be great if the local dispensary sold it.
- goodroot 5y ago
  If you are in Canada, acquiring them from reputable sources is very easy. Also, growing them is not too difficult. Depending on your location, spores can be easy to find too, and then the quality control is ultimately all up to you.
  - e40 5y ago
    In the US, unfortunately.
me_me_me 5y ago
microdosing psilocybin is definitely not the silver bullet. But it helps me realise what is it like to feel normal. Depression is insidious beast. It blinds you and you forget what its like to feel normal. I really like your analogy of having multiple tools in order to fight depression.

coding123 5y ago

If you throw 100M people at this as a solution, do you expect to see most carefully and successfully getting through it like you or would most just become addicted and eventually lose their job and go homeless?

ragnese 5y ago
Addicted and losing your job because of psilocybin? I've not tried it myself, but many of my friends have, and anecdotally, none of them have (to my knowledge) ever even gotten to the point of it being a "habit". I can't say the same for alcohol, cocaine, and even cannabis. I know people who have had problems with all of them.
- goodroot 5y ago
  Even Terence McKenna, who himself was likely part mushroom given how many he ingested, said time and time again that mushrooms are resistant to abuse. If you take a very high dose, the experience itself can be so difficult and wonderful, that the idea of doing that to yourself again starts to seem ridiculous. :)
goodroot 5y ago
When it comes to something like Ayahuasca, I make a point of not recommending it. I lean into the woo of it, and allow "the ready people" to help realize their calling to it through me. I know, bear with me, but advocating something this wildly, impossibly potent and transformative is something I cannot do, and so I defer to greater wisdom. For small doses of psilocybin, it is - both in my experiences and in a lot of scientific contexts - considered very, very safe. Greater doses, 2.5 dry grams, you start to introduce risk triggering latent psycho-affective disorders. For most people with common neurotic conditions, anxiety, depression, etc, it is very low risk. Out of 100M, I'd say .1% is at risk having a very negative experience due to significant, untreated issues like schizophrenia. All of things things require support. Community, a guiding hand, will truly improve the outcome.

lordofgibbons 5y ago

With micro-dosing, doesn't your body get acclimated to the low doses taken over extended periods of time and thus rendering the micro-dose ineffective? I assume you have to cycle with it? Are there any negative effects on your off-cycle days? i.e less creativity or feeling down

goodroot 5y ago
Hello! Your body does build a tolerance. But there is a common misconception that the "psychedelic" presentation is where you find the efficacy. In most microdosing stacks, you combine Psilocybin with lion's mane mushroom and vitamin B12. It is usually 5 on, 2 off. Even if you do not feel any upwelling, it is working. The process of neurogenesis is very subtle, and that is the mechanism which, when combined with other tools, will help you get over depression when microdosing. It takes time, it is a gradual, slow, re-wiring. The affect of the psychedelic experience can provide creative and mood benefits. But I believe these are separate processes with separate benefits. Often when speaking with folks, and I notice myself, that there are no withdrawal symptoms. There is always risk of dependency when ingesting any outside substance, but something about the experience itself is resistant to abuse.

Dumblydorr 5y ago

Interesting analogy of a dark forest. I'd say the Zen realization is of value here. You can always, at any moment, realize that your sensations and consciousness is all there is. We don't need anything more than to observe what we sense at any moment. I say this because changing our mind doesn't have to be hard arduous work, Zen Buddhists realized that enlightenment is here now, if we have the will to simply see it and accept it. Regarding machetes, wow. I'd say meditation is more like the calm and the observation of the dark forest, not a machete. A machete is a constant necessity to hack through tough issues. Meditation is the art of doing nothing, of simply noticing what is occurring. In that way, it's more like standing still and observing the jungle, not hacking it. I like Sam Harris's analogy best. Meditation is taking a calm sail boat ride to wisdom, whereas psychedelics are like being strapped to a rocket. Both will get you places, but one is more likely to crash.

goodroot 5y ago
Reading a book at the moment called "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism", which are the words of Tibetan Buddhist monk of renown Chögyam Trungpa. He also likens the development of spiritual presence to a blade. The trick with Sam's stated perspective, from this Buddhist perspective, is that it implies attainment of a desire: I meditate to be calm. Meditation can make people calm, and so can breath work. But if you say "I meditate to be calm and ride to wisdom", there are those who would say you are not meditating at all. They would say it is just "I meditate", and then "meditate", in these sort of Buddhist philosophies like Zen and similar. I do not say this to gatekeep - but experiences have taught me that, absolutely, meditation and the path of spirit is very hard, dangerous and arduous work. Helping others through derealization and psychosis has taught me this lesson time and time again. In my metaphor, meditation in the psychdelic context is a machete because it is the blade to cut through all the psychedelia, all the woo, all the false notions of personal loftiness from spiritual insight, all the ideas of being healed, all of the mind mess. It simply is the mechanism that you use to cut through, and then "become here and now", to allow yourself to heal beyond stories: depressive stories, happy stories, and into a state of mind that is resilient to the suffering of the times.

mayormcmatt 5y ago

This is something I've been interested in for a good while now, and tried a similar LSD microdosing regimen without any exciting results. However, I also didn't pair the practice with meditation or regular exercise (some, not a lot). My main question is, how does one get anything like a regular, precise (micro)dose of the psilocybin? Volumetric dilution with LSD seems simple, because I know how much each tab contains and can plan accordingly. Are mushrooms really that regular in compound content?

goodroot 5y ago
In Canada, we are very lucky. My city produces many laboratory grade mushrooms. Look! https://www.magicmushroomsdispensary.ca/ https://www.magicmushroomsdispensary.ca/ There would be a significant variance in potency if we were nibbling on different parts of the fruiting body when measuring a dose. But first, you grind it into powder, measure it on an electronic scale, and then take it. If you stick to the same supplier and the same type of mushroom, this keeps things very consistent.
marcrosoft 5y ago
Powderize a bunch of mushrooms and mix well so they are consistent. Then take a specific amount and adjust for potency. You then have a consistent dose for the entire batch.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

e40 5y ago

This isn't something you can really answer, but I'd be game to try micro-dosing psilocybin, but I have no idea where to get it safely (from LEOs and bad chemistry). It would be great if the local dispensary sold it.

goodroot 5y ago
If you are in Canada, acquiring them from reputable sources is very easy. Also, growing them is not too difficult. Depending on your location, spores can be easy to find too, and then the quality control is ultimately all up to you.
- e40 5y ago
  In the US, unfortunately.

me_me_me 5y ago

microdosing psilocybin is definitely not the silver bullet. But it helps me realise what is it like to feel normal. Depression is insidious beast. It blinds you and you forget what its like to feel normal. I really like your analogy of having multiple tools in order to fight depression.