Curious About How To Microdose Psychedelics?

Curious about how to microdose psychedelics?  Based on Google Search Trends, you aren’t alone.  Read on as Frshminds walks you through the basics of microdosing.

What is Microdosing Psychedelics?

Microdosing is defined as taking sub-hallucinogenic doses of psychedelics. While most studies have been exploring the therapeutic application of “full-dose” psychedelic experiences, which often involve profound alterations to consciousness and even the occurrence of mystical or spiritual experiences, guided by a trained therapist, microdosing is unique as it does not result in these hallucinogenic experiences. The act of microdosing has been increasing in popularity, with the subreddit r/microdosing showing a significant increase in its subscriber count within the past 2 years, growing from around 40,000 in November 2018 to almost 140,000 as of January 2021.

Benefits of Microdosing Psychedelics

As one is taking such a small dose of a psychedelic, usually LSD or Psilocybin mushrooms, the benefits have been described as slightly different

than the benefits gained from a full dose experience. With larger doses, the alterations to consciousness can be profound, and in therapeutic, controlled settings, this can result in changes of perception

that can result in positive life changes such as smoking cessation and relief from other addictions such as to alcohol, and improvements to depression, anxiety, and even potentially eating disorders. However, these experiences can be destabilizing, and may result in what is known as a “bad trip” under non-therapeutic, and even potentially result in what is known as Hallucinatory Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD), which is the phenomenon that causes a person to keep reliving the visual element of an experience caused by hallucinogenic drugs. When consuming a sub-threshold dose with microdosing, the possibility of these negative outcomes can be decreased, and do not interfere with day-to-day activities. For example, one cannot drive a car, go to work, or care for children while under the influence of a higher-dose trip. With microdosing, these activities are possible as the small dose does not result in such drastic changes to perception.

Though there has been little clinical investigation into the benefits of microdosing aside from anecdotal reports, early studies have explored these anecdotal and correlational reports of perceived benefits of microdosing. Findings show that microdosing appears to be beneficial for improved mood, focus, and creativity. Currently, the Psychedelic Studies Research Program at the University of Toronto Mississauga is conducting a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial to explore the causal effects of microdosing, but it is still in its early stages of development.

How to Microdose Psychedelics

Please note: Frshminds are not doctors or clinicians and thus cannot advocate for which microdosing regim is best for you. We can only suggest recommended regimes that minimize risk. Everyone’s neurological makeup is unique and thus there is no “one size fits all” for exploring psychedelic applications. Even with the seemingly limited risks with microdosing relative to “full-dose” applications of psychedelics, It is still recommended that you discuss family mental health history and best possible dosages/approaches with a psychedelic integration therapist before trying psychedelics. You can find one from your area via our listing on Frshminds.

So what dose of LSD or Psilocybin is considered a microdose? Generally, it’s considered one-twentieth to one-tenth of a standard dose For LSD, this would be anywhere from 5-20ug and for psilocybin mushrooms, recommended dosage is anywhere from 0.1g – 0.3g. American psychologist James Fadiman’s protocol for microdosing is currently the most popular.

Developed based on early reports from self-study participants, the routine is to take one microdose, in the morning, on Day 1 and Day 4 of each cycle, or week. So for example, if you take your first microdose on a Sunday, you’ll take your second on a Wednesday, spending the other days of the week recovering and observing the residual effects. It’s advised to keep notes on things such as mental state, emotions, and behaviours while following your normal day-to-day routine.

Fadiman recommends an initial term of 10 cycles, after which some people stop microdosing and others, more commonly, continue to microdose when they feel like it, bit because we don’t yet know enough about the long-term effects of microdosing, it might not be wise to jump straight into more cycles.

Microdosing Products

As you can imagine, there is a very limited range of microdosing products on the market at this point in time, but Frshminds is continually adding more for you to research on your journey to mental wellness.

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