Disclaimer:
The material below is not intended to provide medical advice and we don’t encourage the illegal use of any substances. Most psychedelics are potentially illegal substances, and we do not encourage the use of these substances where it is against the law. Due to the high demand for the subject, we created this article for educational purposes. The intent of the content is to help you start learning about the subject.
Microdosing, as the name suggests, is the technique of taking small, barely perceptible doses of a psychoactive substance like psilocybin or LSD (found in certain types of mushrooms). The purpose of microdosing is to experience the drug’s modest effects without the severe, potentially debilitating side effects that can result from bigger doses.
Why Microdosing Has Become So Popular?
Microdosing has become popular thanks to its hallucinogenic benefits. The practice of microdosing is growing in popularity as more people look for all-natural ways to enhance their mental and emotional well-being. Psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin are mostly used for microdosing. However, some people also use DMT, mescaline, or ayahuasca.
Major news organizations all around the world are reporting on the rise of professionals who use modest doses of psychedelics (such as peyote, magic mushrooms, or truffles) to increase their creativity and productivity at work. One well-known instance is how Silicon Valley workers have used small doses of LSD as a “productivity hack”.
However, microdosing is still believed to offer a potential boost in cognition despite the modest dosages. According to Barrett and Griffiths in 2017, psychedelics can alter perception, emotion, and consciousness in a way that is frequently compared to deep contemplative or transcendental states.
As participant reports in an 18-month study suggested, the psychedelic drug LSD may be effective in the treatment of anxiety. Improvements in negative moods, particularly depression, and increases in good moods were reported to follow spaced but repeated microdoses. Clinical and non-clinical populations showed increased vigor, higher work effectiveness, and improved health behaviors. Smaller samples reported symptom relief for premenstrual disorders, shingles, traumatic brain injury, migraine headaches, and other illnesses not previously linked to psychedelic usage.
The effects of microdosing have received little attention from scientists, and additional study is required to properly comprehend both its potential advantages and dangers. However, some people who have given microdosing a shot claim that it has improved their emotional stability, creativity, and focus.
To find your ideal dose when microdosing, it’s important you begin with a very small quantity and progressively increase the amount over time. In addition, it’s critical to be aware of the dangers and have a solid support system in place. It’s essential to keep in mind that there are risks associated with microdosing and that additional research is required to properly comprehend both its potential advantages and dangers.
If you’re microdosing or considering starting it in the future, it is good that you speak to a doctor or therapist you trust enough to discuss your objectives and use.
What to Expect When Microdosing
When you microdose, you are expected not to experience the effects that people who use higher doses experience. Those who take psychedelics in higher doses do so for leisure and recreation. Microdosing is, however, focused on well-being and mental health. A small amount is necessary to deliver certain therapeutic benefits. Due to the small dosage, the amount of these psychedelics taken into the body is not up to the range where they begin to affect consciousness and functionality.
Does that mean that taking psychedelics in very small doses will have no effect? The first thing to note is that every substance taken into the body will have its effect. The effect could be either good or bad, depending on how it is taken and the dosage.
Recommended Read:
What Are The Benefits of LSD?
Benefits of Microdosing
Microdosing is a method people use to advance themselves or their personal growth. Others use microdosing to boost productivity, boost creativity, and reduce anxiety or depressive symptoms. Here are five reasons why you might want to begin microdosing.
Personal Growth
The benefits of microdosing include improved mental clarity and increased openness throughout the day. As a result, one experiences clearer, organized thought processes with increased focus and concentration. People who use microdoses report higher levels of creativity and meta-creative processes, such as flexibility of thought, divergent thinking, and openness. The advantages of microdosing included greater mood, more productivity and focus, and stronger relationships with others.
Microdosers are more creative than non-microdosers, according to a set of tests comparing users with non-users.
Participants were instructed to use common items in as many different ways as they could in order to measure their originality. By asking survey respondents how much they could connect to a series of statements like “At this point in my life, I find it easy to laugh at my mistakes,” researchers examined survey respondents’ knowledge.
It was discovered that microdosers scored lower on negative emotionality and dysfunctional attitude, which are linked to depression and anxiety, and higher on both creativity and wisdom.
Results were “really promising,” according to study co-author Thomas Anderson, a Ph.D. candidate and cognitive neuroscientist with the Regulatory and Affective Dynamics Lab at the University of Toronto.
Mental Health
Health and wellness-related motivations were the most prevalent among microdosers in general and were much more prevalent among those who reported mental health issues.
Full doses of psychedelics are being studied for their potential to improve mental health, and one early-stage study even revealed that high doses of psilocybin may be just as good at treating depression with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). The process of neuroplasticity, which occurs when the brain receives a full dose of psychedelics, aids in the formation of new cellular connections, and there is some evidence that microdoses have similar effects. A single tiny dose of LSD causes changes in brain activity and connection that are comparable to those caused by greater doses of the drug, according to studies using neuroimaging equipment.
A microdose of psilocybin activated over half of the particular type of serotonin receptors that psychedelics work on to create their hallucinatory effects, according to a study in Denmark.
The consistent use of microdosing can help improve mood, lower stress levels, and help with anxiety, depression, and overall mental health.
Increased Energy & Focus
According to Frontiers in Psychiatry, therapists are using new approaches, including microdosing psilocybin as an alternate form of treatment for a variety of mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD/ADD.
Microdose users have noted a considerable decrease in daydreaming. In addition to reducing distractibility and enhancing the ability to concentrate on the work at hand, less mind wandering has also been recorded as an effect of microdosing.
The use of traditional psychedelics, such as psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in small, repeated doses, or microdosing (MD), has been proposed as a potential alternative for treating the symptoms of ADHD. It has been previously demonstrated that one of the motivations for microdosing is to treat ADHD on one’s own, believing this to be more effective than using traditional (first-line) pharmaceutical therapies. General claims about the effects of MD include better focus, more work, and a better mood.
A single little dose of LSD was found to boost mood and attention performance in neurotypical participants’ placebo-controlled studies. Changes in time perception were noticed following the fourth treatment in elderly volunteers who had previously received multiple doses.
Increased Social Relatedness
Microdosing boosted the ability to become immersed in external stimuli, in addition to its beneficial effects on lowering feelings of despair and stress.
The use of microdoses led to an instant boost across a number of psychological characteristics, including an improvement in communication and relationships, as well as an overall readiness to socialize with other people.
Microdosing may result in more subtle changes, such as improvements in the capacity to maintain attention and improved ability to become immersed in strong imaginative experiences. These changes may be brought on by an increase in the ability to microdose.
Self-awareness & Spiritual Awareness
Psilocybin users frequently claim to have profound mystical experiences that result in an expansion of consciousness.
One-third of participants in a controlled trial had a mystic experience, according to a study that was mentioned in New Scientist. Furthermore, fifty percent of the participants described their experience as being the single most spiritually meaningful experience they’ve ever had.
Psilocybin, when administered to healthy volunteers in carefully monitored clinical experiments with a double-blind approach, has been shown to reliably result in profoundly personally meaningful and frequently spiritually significant experiences (e.g., mystical-type experiences).
It should therefore come as no surprise that throughout the ages, nations and faiths from all over the world have employed Psilocybin as a type of divination.
FAQ
How to prepare for microdosing cycle
If you are considering microdosing, there are a few things you can do to prepare:
- Educate yourself about the substance you plan to use, including its potential risks and benefits.
- Consult with a healthcare professional, especially if you have a history of mental health issues or are taking any medications that could interact with the substance.
- Set clear intentions for your microdosing experience, including what you hope to achieve and any specific goals you have.
- Establish a safe and comfortable environment in which to microdose, and make sure you have someone you trust available to support you if needed.
- Start with a very small dose and gradually increase it over time, paying close attention to your body’s response.
Would microdosing get me high?
It is important to note that microdosing is not intended to produce a full-blown psychedelic experience or to get you “high” in the traditional sense. The dosage is so small that it does not induce the intoxicating effect of psychedelic drugs.
Can I microdose on a workday?
As for whether you can microdose on a workday, it is important to consider the potential risks and consequences. Microdosing may affect your cognitive abilities and decision-making, and it is generally not recommended to operate heavy machinery or engage in other potentially dangerous activities while under the influence of psychedelics. It is also important to be aware of the legality of the substance you are using, as many psychedelics are currently illegal in many countries.
What should my diet be while microdosing?
It is generally recommended to eat a healthy and balanced diet, including plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Some people also find it helpful to avoid consuming caffeine or alcohol while microdosing, as these substances may interact with psychedelics and potentially increase the risk of negative effects.
In Conclusion
Experts often characterize microdosing as taking 5–10% of a full dose of a psychedelic, typically LSD or psilocybin, to obtain the drug’s purported mental health advantages without experiencing the hallucinogenic effect.
People have used microdosing to improve their personal growth, increase productivity and creativity, and minimize symptoms of anxiety or depression.
It is significant to remember that research is continuously being conducted on the effects of microdosing because they are still poorly understood. There is little data on the long-term effects of microdosing, and psychedelics can have strong and unpredictable effects. Although some users of microdosing claim beneficial results, the procedure is not without risk.
It’s also important to remember that microdosing doesn’t take the place of conventional therapy or treatments for mental health issues. It’s crucial to consult a trained healthcare professional if you’re having mental health problems to figure out the best course of action.
