Psychedelics are not always the answer.
“There is absolutely nowhere else I would rather be in this moment” As I looked over the valley, the air warm, the vibration of the music moving every cell of my body. I felt like I was in a real life Alice in Wonderland.
Up until very recently I was a true advocate for the beneficial effects of psilocybin. I carried out my MSc research on the subject and personally I always love the connection, open heartedness, and introspection it gives to me. Music is one of the things that makes me happiest, I love to dance, to feel the rhythm when people who begin as strangers become connected through the mutual love of the beat, those times when you catch someones eye and you feel that love for the sounds, the waves of hands, the smiles, everyone speaking the same universal language. Yeah, that. Mushrooms, for me heightens this connection even more. “It’s amazing! Everyone could feel this!’ but can they? There is a great deal of research in the psychedelic space at present and I feel that it is important to give a balanced view on the subject of psychedelics and microdosing.
My own research focused on microdosing psilocybin. I interviewed individuals from a variety of backgrounds and locations around the world. Some had suffered deep trauma, depression, bi polar disorder or anxiety and some were simply curious as to what microdosing could do for them. Each story and experience varied significantly, supporting the theory that microdosing affects individuals in very different ways.
OK, so we all know that magic mushrooms are illegal and I have to also state that I am not suggesting that any of you go out and take magic mushrooms in the hope of attaining ‘enlightenment’. Saying that, I am going to give you some pretty interesting research based information.
The media is increasingly documenting the use of psychedelics. The Guardian and even Conde Naste traveler have published articles on the increased use of reportedly mind expanding substances. My MSc in Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology led me to focus my research project on the experiences of individuals who microdose psilocybin (the main active ingredient in magic mushrooms).
My first experience of mushrooms was during my time at university in Birmingham. At this time, magic mushrooms could be bought at the local ‘Zen’ shop. Packets of them with descriptions from ‘gives you the giggles’ to ‘more intense psychedelic experience’. We would put them in bread in the hope of making them more palatable and swallow them as fast as we could. After approximately half an hour, the room would breath, I began to see things from the corner of my eyes leading to fits of giggles and writing my name with the stars at the end of my fingers. These events led to feelings of connectedness and the feeling that I figured out the meaning of life. In this case the meaning was that everything was concentric circles (yup, that was my conclusion and wow was I proud of myself). Mushrooms then became illegal in the UK and that was the end of that for my journey at that time.
THE SHORT STORY OF PSYCHEDELICS
The word psychedelic comes from ‘Psyche’ meaning the mind/soul and the Greek word ‘Delos’ meaning to reveal. it is thought that psychedelics allow the unconscious mind to become conscious. There have been three waves associated with the use of psychedelics. The ‘First Wave’ describes the use by indigenous cultures all over the world. By putting a person in a state of altered states of consciousness, many religions believe that the user can see beyond the boundaries of reality. The ‘Second Wave’ relates to what you and I may know as the ‘free love’ era of the 60’s. Albert Hoffman accidentally discovered LSD in the 50’s while attempting to produce a respiratory and circulatory stimulant. After accidentally ingesting the substance Hoffman encountered an eye opening (or mind opening) experience which led to much excitement in the medical world, the general public and high profile celebrities. Many scientists and psychedelic researchers claimed that this could be a major change for society and the medical and psychiatric world. Unfortunately, this excitement led to misuse of the substances and although there were many benefits shown in mental health, creativity and open mindedness a few cases of attempted suicide led the government to ban psychedelics for 42 years. Unfortunately, this ban included any research into the potential benefits.
Decades passed and although LSD, mescaline, ayahuasca, magic mushrooms and a number of lesser known psychedelics are still used, it is all done illegally in most countries. The good news is in recent years the ‘Third Wave’ has arisen and legislation has changed so that research on humans is allowed in certain cases. The reintegration into global society is being looked at based on science and rational evidence.
HOW DO MAGIC MUSHROOMS WORK AND WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE BENEFITS?
So, the science.. Psilocybin is classed as a serotonergic psychedelic. This means that it works on the serotonin receptors of the brain, the ‘feel good’ receptors. It has also been found that psilocybin encourages the release of glutamate, a neurotransmitter that assists with cognition. There has been an explosion of research in the last few years that has shown some rather exciting results. Dr Nutt and Dr Carhart-Harris have been leading some progressive research at Imperial College London relating to treatment-resistent depression with 45 percent of participants still in remission 3 months after psilocybin treatment. Depression is on the rise with an estimated 350 million sufferes worldwide. It has been well documented that the biggest killer of men under the age of 45 is suicide, only 50 percent of patients respond to anti depressants and 20 percent of patients do not respond to any treatment. If further research at Imperial College supports these findings a significant percentage of individuals could potentially reap huge benefits in relation to their mental health.
Another aspect of psychedelic therapy that inspired my research is that of microdosing. One of the first people to bring this to light was James Fadiman in his book ‘The Explorers Guide to Psychedelics.’ Fadiman suggests that micorodosing of any psychedelic should be practiced in three day cycles and the dose should be a tenth or even a twentieth of the usual amount. In the case of mushrooms, this would ideally be 0.1 to 0.5 grams. Microdosing aims to induce a sub-perceptual experience whereby the user does not experience hallucinogenic effects. A wealth of research has indicated a number potential benefits to of microdosing to include improved energy, mood and levels of cognition, reduced negative attitudes, increased wisdom, open-mindedness, wellbeing and improved mental health. It has been well documented that Steve Jobs attributed many ideas to microdosing LSD.
SHOULD WE ALL BE MICRODOSING?
The use of psychedelics is still illegal, although it is highly likely that legislation will be looked at for therapeutic settings in the hopefully not too distant future.
The increased awareness of such psychedelic interventions is exciting. As a Transformational Coach, I strongly believe in the ways in which we can hack our bodies and our brains. This is where neuroplasticity comes in. Our brains have the ability to to form new connections and pathways and change how the circuits are wired. We have the power to change our brains and behaviours. As addiction, depression, OCD and other mental disorders become increasingly part of many lives, surely ways in which we can release ourselves from the mental prisons would of course be welcome. However, psychedelic therapy cannot be looked upon as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. In some cases as I found through my own research, trauma can resurface, depression can deepen before it lifts. Some individuals report life-changing effects which have resulted in a complete absence of depressive symptoms while others fall down a deeper hole. It is important to have support and be able to integrate experiences that may come up when using psychedelics in any capacity.
Head over to my TUNE.IN podcast where I interview Jackee Stang. Jackee is the founder of Delic corp, a psychedelic wellness corporation based in Los Angeles. Delic aims to re-frame the conversation about psychedelics to a mainstream audience, providing honest, trustworthy information.
