What Is Microdosing?

The term “microdosing” means consuming very small doses of psilocybin. It’s a long-term practice among psychedelic lovers that dates back centuries. Microdosing magic mushrooms helps people get the health benefits of LSD and psilocybin without the hallucinogenic effects. Before offering psilocybin as a microdose, one must reduce its psychedelic effects to a specific level. It should be low enough for you to comfortably go about your everyday activities. Psychedelic microdosing helps many people start their day and stay active throughout. Apart from its cognitive and somatic benefits, microdosing LSD is the best way to start psilocybin consumption — specifically for new users. Taking such tiny amounts will help you gauge psilocybin’s side effects. Then, you can make an informed decision on your dose and frequency moving forward.

I’ve tried lots of products on the market and they seem very inconsistent when it comes to dosage and quality. Mind Mend has never let me down. Top-notch quality with consistency.” — Bruce Ingraham

What Is Psilocybin?

Magic mushrooms contain around 0.2% to 0.4% psilocybin — a naturally occurring psychedelic drug. Psilocybin also goes by different names:

• Shrooms
• Caps
• Buttons

Various scientific research studies have documented the benefits of mushrooms, specifically its effectiveness in treating various physical and psychological conditions. Psilocybe cubensis, the active compound found in shrooms, can treat many disorders — from substance addictions, depression, anxiety, and mood disorders just to mention a few.

This Is Your Brain On Psilocybin

Thanks to Carhart-Harris and his fellow researchers, we get to see a brain on shrooms — they used brain scanning techniques to test the influence of psilocybin versus a placebo. The scans showed more “interconnectivity”, meaning regions that don’t normally communicate with each other were doing so. Interconnectivity allows for new connections and improved communication throughout the brain, and this rewiring often leads to the many benefits associated with improved mental health.

Dosing Guide

Microdose (0.05 – 0.25 Milligrams)

A microdose is sub-perceptual, with no drastic visual effects. But this doesn’t mean this level of microdosing doesn’t pack a positive punch. With a microdose, our shrooms are working hard behind the scenes to boost your:

• Mood
• Energy
• Focus
• Performance
• Senses

This is perfect for beginners and adaptable to any situation, so you can easily incorporate microdosing into your daily life.

Low Dose (0.25 – 0.75 Milligrams)

A low dose may be more apparent than a microdose. This largely depends on the individual’s tolerance levels. Since this is a slightly stronger dose, the positive effects of microdosing will be a bit more pronounced. We’re talking:

• Mood enhancement
• Presence and mindfulness
• Creative insights
• Flow states
• Clearer thought patterns

Macro Dose (0.5 – 1.5 Grams)

It is also known as “the museum dose” because you can comfortably take it in public spaces like a… wait for it… museum! (Who would’ve guessed?) A macrodose has more pronounced effects without being a full psychedelic experience. Expect:

• Euphoria and excitement
• Mild visuals
• Greater empathy and introspection
• Enhanced motivation
• Creativity
• Conversational fluidity

Not forgetting a heightened appreciation for music and art — it is a museum dose after all.

Moderate Dose (2 – 3.5 Grams)

At a moderate dose, expect a true psychedelic experience. This includes distortion of shapes, colors, time, and depth. Don’t worry though, you’ll still be able to perceive your surroundings. You can also expect:

• Introspective insights and “flow states”
• The “giggles”
• A heightened appreciation for music and art
• Synesthesia — where one sense transfers into another, for instance “seeing” music

Mega Dose (5g+)

For the more experienced psychonaut, a megadose takes tripping to a new level. With a this, users experience:

• Intense hallucinations
• Ego dissolution
• Mystical experiences
• Deep introspection

Needless to say, megadoses are far more disorienting. This is because you lose your sense of time and surroundings. But with intense tripping also comes intense feelings of wonder, euphoria, and life-changing insights.

What Dose of Psilocybin Mushrooms Should I Take?

Always keep in mind — the larger the dose the stronger the side effects. A macrodose, moderate dose, and megadose all lead to a psychedelic experience, or what’s commonly known as “tripping”. At such doses, there is potential for huge breakthroughs, euphoria, and insight. But stronger experiences mean you can’t take part in more demanding activities — trips can last from anywhere between 4–8 hours, so you can’t do stronger doses on a daily basis. You’ll also want to remain in a calm, safe, and controlled environment, like at home. We recommend experimenting with different microdoses until you find what works for you. Simply start with a capsule with your morning smoothie, pop a drop or two of tincture into your coffee, or maybe chomp a tasty gummy.

Recommended Dosing Schedule

Find our detailed dosing guide here.

Very knowledgeable staff and honest. Walked me through my first experience and you can tell these guys want to legit help people. Needed advice when it came to coming off medications and they were super helpful.” — Tung Le’

Benefits of Microdosing

Mental Health

People commonly turn to microdosing psychedelics for their mental health. Several studies confirm this. In fact, in one study in Psychopharmacology researchers learned,

21% of people revealed they primarily used microdosing as a therapy for depression. While 7% used microdosing for symptoms of anxiety.”

About 9% of the respondents revealed they used microdosing to help with other mental health illnesses, and 44% of them perceived their mental health to be way better after microdosing psychedelics. Another study in Frontiers in Psychiatry used an online questionnaire to gauge the effects of microdosing versus typical treatments for depression and anxiety. It turns out people consider microdosing to be more effective than some other treatments. However, it seemed to be less effective than higher doses of psychedelics. The studies just get more specific. In one animal study, researchers noted microdosing the psychedelic Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) helped to alleviate anxiety in rats. Despite this, the researchers recommend further investigation of potential negative side effects in subsequent studies.

As a war veteran from the Iraq war, I was diagnosed with Complex PTSD. I have lived the better half of the last 10 years wanting to disappear. Mind Mend gave me back my life.” — Tyler Bishop

Creativity

Psychedelic microdosing found its way to Silicon Valley. The late Steve Jobs, co-founder, and former CEO of Apple Inc. was open about his LSD and psilocybin use.

Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin, and you can’t remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money. Of putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.”

Jobs revealed microdosing LSD influenced the simplistic Zen-inspired design that’s characteristic of today’s Apple products. According to his friend, Daniel Kottke, Jobs’ microdosing habit is now a common feature among the creative minds of Silicon Valley. For anyone with busy schedules in tech and/or startup environments, microdosing is an excellent way to stay on top of things. Be it by maintaining productivity or sparking creativity.

Started microdosing for school since I have trouble concentrating and like wow this stuff rocks. Feel like I can stay focused for hours at a time and have random spurts of ideas that I feel normally otherwise wouldn’t.” — TJ Cannon

Featured Image: unsplash.com by Mari-Liis Link