I microdose magic mushrooms for my mental health AMA

[BodyKeepingScore]

I have a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and CPTSD (diagnosed approx 18 years ago). Following an especially bad depressive episode last year for which I was hospitalised involuntarily I struggled with recovery at home and after many years of being compliant with conventional medications and therapy I decided to try microdosing psilocybin in an effort to try and improve my mental health. I am not a medical professional but have been interested in mycology and psychedelic therapies for years and spent a long (desperate!) time researching before I decided to proceed. AMA!

@OldHabitsDieScreaming I can empathise with your mums situation, I'm so sorry that was her experience. For me, the anti psychotics kept me alive but that about the only positive thing I can say about them. I've tried many over the years and without a doubt each one had really unpleasant side effects. I honestly would have rather died than live another 40 years with those side effects, that's how distressing they were.

I believe there's a possibility of seizures if you mix LSD with lithium. I know someone who had a seizure and that was highly suspected to be the cause.

I don't know about MM, but I'd definitely look into it just in case.

@Alltheyearround the people I know with CFS reported really positive improvements in their overall wellbeing, although admittedly I only have a handful of people to go by.

So your GP and psychiatrist were on board with you microdosing? Did you get any pushback from them?

@MagpiePi they definitely weren't on board in that they tried to get me to maintain the medications I was on. They did however agree to support me with more regular appointments to keep an eye on my mental health and agreed a plan for tapering off my medications. My consultant psych told me that whilst they couldn't professionally endorse me microdosing they under why I wanted to and that they were following the research themselves with interest.

*understood why, not under. Typo sorry!

This is really interesting.
I have a friend who is suffering terribly with conventional medications but is still in a severe depression and has reached the point where he is convinced that nothing will work. The trouble is he is very straight laced and would probably dismiss anything not 100% endorsed by conventional medicine.

@MaidenheadRevisited I get instant overwhelm when I read the growing instructions 🥴 but I daresay it's straightforward once you've done it once or twice? Sounds like it could well be worth the effort.

@BodyKeepingScore do you grow lions mane as well or take ready prepared supplements?

I’m finding this so very interesting.

I have suffered from PMT, post natal depression and menopausal depression. I have been taking antidepressants for years for anxiety.

Im finally divorcing after a long and emotionally abusive marriage. It’s been hell for me because I am still afraid of my husband and I am waiting to see a therapist to see if I have C-PTSD.

Since moving out away out a year ago, I feel I have improved so much, and in some ways wonder how much of my mental health problems were because of the situation I was in.

Im now practically a pensioner, but I feel I want to grab at life and live as well and as happy as I can. I’m still plagued by insecurity, lack of confidence and zero self esteem. This isn’t the person I was 30 years ago.

Do you think microdosing would help me?

If so, this just may be a thread that changes my life. I hope so.

@Turkeyhen I buy the Lions Mane supplements online, they're pretty readily available 😊

@Imgoingtobefree it sounds like you've really been through so much! That would take it's toll on anyone mental health and sounds incredibly traumatic. I'm glad things are starting to move in a more positive direction for you.

There's an episode of "How to change your mind" on Netflix which looks specifically at magic mushrooms. It gives a good insight into some of the health benefits and follows the story of a man who used it to treat his OCD and depression. It's worth a watch.

I'd also google the use of magic mushrooms for depression and PTSD and read all the credible information you can before making a decision.

I can't say with any certainty whether it would help you, all I am say is that my own experience and that of anyone else I know who microdoses, has been overwhelmingly positive with no negative side effects that I'm aware of yet.

I have some mushrooms that I picked and dried last year, but I've found they don't do anything. Now you've said that antidepressants stop it from working makes sense ( I've been on various different ones for years). Thanks for that!

@notmoredirtywashing my understanding is that it takes much higher doses of mushrooms to get the same effect with SSRis and antidepressants. So if you weren't microdosing and were going for a full trip you'd need to add a couple of grams onto what someone not taking antidepressants would need.

@notmoredirtywashing this is an interesting study on the topic pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37291890/

Thank you for this thread. I don’t want to ask a question but I’d like to post my friend’s experience in case it helps.

My friend had severe depression for 30 years and mostly was able to function but it detrimentally affected her whole life - job, parenting, physical health. Over the last couple of years in spite of being on a high dose of antidepressants, the depression broke through. There were two suicide attempts. She saw a doctor after the first one who told her that as she was mostly able to get out of bed and go to work, and was already on the maximum antidepressant dose, she couldn’t get any further help.

After reading a thread here, she decided to try taking psychedelics for the depression, as otherwise she felt she wouldn’t survive much longer. She grew her own, finding guidance online, and took her first dose six months ago. Not a microdose, but a low to medium “trip” dose. She benefited straight away. Since then, she has taken a similar dose once a month and keeps improving. She was able to slowly reduce her antidepressants and has now been free of them - and their considerable negative side effects - for six weeks, while feeling happy, comfortable, and positive about the future. Her own personality has come back and she effectively no longer depressed.

She feels guilty and ashamed about undertaking an illegal activity, but she genuinely feels that her life has been saved. She is extremely sad that this isn’t more easily available to people who are suffering similarly. It may not be something that helps everyone, but there is no doubt it could help a great many and she feels that people are dying needlessly while lawmakers prevaricate.

HTH.

@SisterImpera this sounds exactly like my friend.
I will suggest psychedelics but I am certain the idea will be shut down because it is illegal.
It is heartbreaking to see someone in this state.

@SisterImpera thank you so much for sharing your friends story. It echoes the stories of other people I know who take "macro" trips every month- 2 months and have benefited enormously from doing it. I know ow there's always the risk of a "bad trip" but no one I know has reported any to me, some have mentioned that the trip forced them to face some unpleasant or uncomfortable emotions but that this was always a worthwhile experience that benefitted them in the long run.

I empathise with the shame around "illegal" activity... I struggled with that one too. Ultimately for me it came down to the fact that nothing legal was working for me, I was a shell of the person I'd been before the depression. I also did a LOT of reading up on it before embarking. I'm so glad it's all working for your friend 😊

So interesting, thank you.

i need to come of anti-depressants but worry about my mood in doing that. Can you share where you got them from? And where you get lions mane from?
im really interested if it lifts my brain fog as it’s very dehabilitating.

so you need to come off AD under supervision of dr then taper up on microdosing?

@Debtfreeme I never really needed to titrate up on the microdosing as such. I take three capsules every three days for a month, followed by a week off and then start the routine again as the body builds up a tolerance to psilocybin very quickly.

I grow my own currently as it's much more cost effective for me and I actually enjoy the process now I've got it figured out properly. They're fascinating to watch growing.

I can't signpost to specific places to buy capsules as I was getting mine off a therapist who lives local to me.

Your best bet is to visit "The Shroomery" forum and have a look at their trusted vendors section. You can't buy the capsules or mushrooms directly from any of the listed vendors as it's illegal but the grow kits which you just have to mist with water are legal to purchase as they don't actually contain any psilocybin yet because the mushrooms haven't grown yet if that makes sense. I can't really be any more specific in case my post gets taken down 🤣

My mushroom trips were traumatic too, terrifying really. And it was during the worst one that I realised I had absolutely no one I could go to until I came down , no one at all that I could trust. (I was aware at some level it wouldn’t last forever but the time limit was evading me), meanwhile my whole world was shifting along with the very ground I was trying to stay upright on. It was hellish. It did show me the truth though, that there was no one I could trust and there hadn’t been even as a child.

I would still try microdosing so long as I could find someone trustworthy enough.

do you feel paranoid about having them in your house, from a legal perspective? what would happen if the police found them - do they come down heavy on people in possession?

I don't feel remotely paranoid having them in my house. I don't believe the police do come down heavy, it's not as though it's heroin or cocaine although realistically it's always a possibility. I'm not growing on a massive scale so it would be completely obvious it's for my own use only. I can't see how they'd come to know they were in my house but in the unlikely event they did find out I'd just have to roll with the punches.

@BodyKeepingScore thanks OP. Really interested in your thread and curious about this subject!

Thank you! I've really appreciated all the genuine questions on the thread!

What's the most beautiful and vivid dream you had? If you respond, could you please respond in detail? 🙏 I wanna know 😁