Microdosing Magic Mushrooms For Anxiety and Depression
MICRODOSING MAGIC MUSHROOMS
FOR ANXIETY AND
DEPRESSION
Microdosing Magic Mushrooms For Anxiety & Depression
Microdosing magic mushrooms for anxiety and depression is the practice of taking a sub-perceptual dose of psilocybin, usually 0.1 to 0.3 grams of dried mushrooms, to support mood without producing a full psychedelic experience. Interest in this approach has grown alongside clinical research: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted psilocybin-assisted therapy Breakthrough Therapy designation for treatment-resistant depression in 2018 and for major depressive disorder in 2019.
Psychedelic researchers had been conducting extensive investigations on the medical benefits of hallucinogens in the 1950s and 60s; however, these researchers were limited in the 70s when political and cultural pressures forced them to cease their studies. Since the 90s, many researchers began once again looking into the medical benefits of hallucinogens, including psilocybin. One such study done in 2010 set out to explore the safety and efficacy of microdosing psilocybin in patients with advanced-stage cancer and reactive anxiety. The study concluded that there were no adverse effects of psilocybin. Furthermore, patients demonstrated a significant reduction in anxiety at 1 and 3 months after microdosing and a drastic improvement of mood within 6 months.
Microdosing Magic Mushrooms For Anxiety & Depression
Microdosing Magic Mushrooms helps those with depression and anxiety by targeting the serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors, which in turn promotes the production of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and increases the transmission of Glutamate. Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin that is vital to the maintenance, survival, and growth of neurons in key brain circuits which are involved in emotional and cognitive function. Those with anxiety or major depressive disorder are known to have reductions in BDNF, which is why microdosing psilocybin has been used to treat those with depression as it increases the production of BDNF.
Microdosing psilocybin causes parts of the brain that would normally not communicate together to communicate with one another. These brain connections are made by decreasing the activity in our Default Mode Network (DMN), which is often a very overused part of our brain. The DMN in our brains is responsible for numerous mental activities such as thinking about the past/future and self-reflection. With an over-stimulated DMN, these mental thoughts often lead to thoughts of depression and anxiety. Full-dose psilocybin has been shown in brain-imaging studies to disrupt communication between brain regions, including the default mode network, the system linked to repetitive, self-focused thought; the evidence for the same effect at microdose levels is still preliminary. When default mode activity quiets, people tend to think in new ways that are otherwise harder to access. These new thought patterns help remove and forget about depressive and anxious thoughts altogether and allow people to be present in the current moment.
Microdosing Magic Mushrooms For Anxiety & Depression
Psilocybin therapy is the supervised clinical use of psilocybin to treat mental-health conditions. Scientists and medical researchers have studied it for decades to identify its benefits for depression and anxiety, work that resumed in earnest after the U.S. FDA granted psilocybin Breakthrough Therapy designation in 2018. Studies are still coming out at a high rate which outline new potential medical benefits of microdosing psilocybin. Although microdosing to treat depression and anxiety has caught mainstream appeal as of late, it may not work for everyone as all humans are individually wired and microdosing may have adverse effects for those with other pre-existing medical issues. We recommend speaking to your doctor or other health care professional prior to trying any of our microdosing supplements.
