About Psilocybin Mushrooms
Psilocybin Mushrooms have been used for centuries throughout ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures. Psilocybin mushrooms (aka “magic mushrooms” or “shrooms”) are fungi that contain psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound. More than 180 species of mushrooms contain psilocybin or its derivative psilocin. Psilocybin mushrooms have a long history of use in Mesoamerican spiritual and religious rituals, and are one of the most popular recreational psychedelics in the Canada, U.S, and Europe.
Psilocybin mushrooms have been used in therapeutic settings to treat a variety of ailments and disorders including cluster headaches, obsessive-compulsive disorders, anxiety, depression, and addiction.
Effects
Psilocybin mushrooms can be ingested in their whole form. They’re typically dried and most everyone agrees they don’t taste good. An alternative method is to brew psilocybin mushroom tea. Some people like to put the mushrooms in peanut butter or Nutella to mask the taste.
Dosage
A moderate dose in the 1-2.5g range, taken orally, typically produces effects that last from three to six hours.
What to expect
A typical trip on a moderate dose of psilocybin mushrooms (1-2.5g) includes increased intensity of emotional experiences, increased introspection, and altered psychological functioning in the form of “hypnagogic experiences” — a transitory state between wakefulness and sleep. Brain imaging studies show that a psilocybin trip is neurologically similar to dreaming.
Perceptual changes such as illusions, synesthesia, emotional shifts, and a distorted sense of time are all characteristic of a psilocybin trip as well. These effects are typically felt an hour or so after orally ingesting a dose.
You will begin to notice changes in your visual perception, such as halos around lights and objects, and geometric patterns when your eyes are closed.
Your thoughts and emotions will also begin to change. It’s not uncommon to have a sense of openness to thoughts and feelings that you tend to avoid in your everyday life. A sense of wonder and delight with the world around you, the people in your life, and your thoughts is also quite common, along with a sense of peace and connection with the world.
You may experience strong emotions, both good and bad. Try not to resist these feelings, but rather let them run their course. Many who do report strong negative emotions also report a simultaneous sense of calm acceptance and detachment, especially if they remind themselves that the emotions are temporary.
Microdose (0.05-0.25 g)
- Mood enhancement
- Decreased stress
- Emotional stability
- Mindfulness, presence, and peace
- Openness and self-forgiveness
- Increased empathy and sociability
- Conversational fluidity
- Alleviation of persistent conditions such as depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, PTSD
- Increased motivation (e.g. to make positive lifestyle changes)
- Increased focus/productivity
- Increased flow states
- Clearer, more connected thinking
- Improved memory
- Enhanced senses
- Enhanced appreciation for music, art, etc.
- Increased creativity
- Spontaneity
- Easier meditation
- Increased enjoyment of physical activity and everyday tasks
- Relaxation and increased awareness of body
- Enhanced athletic endurance
- Increased energy overall (without anxiety or a subsequent crash)
Mini-dose (0.25-0.75 g)
- Mood enhancement, mild euphoria or excitement
- Mindfulness, presence, and peace
- Openness and self-forgiveness
- Introspective insights
- Alleviation of persistent conditions such as depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, PTSD
- Increased motivation (e.g. to make positive lifestyle changes)
- Increased flow states
- Clearer, more connected thinking
- Enhanced senses
- Enhanced appreciation for music, art, etc.
- Increased creativity
- Spontaneity
- Easier meditation
- Increased enjoyment of physical activity and everyday tasks
- Relaxation and increased awareness of body
- Increased energy in waves
- Mild body high
- Preference for introspection over socializing
- Increased sensitivity to light
- Very mild visuals, if any
Museum dose (0.5-1.5 g)
- Mood enhancement, euphoria or excitement
- Mild to moderate visuals (e.g. “breathing” environments)
- Increased empathy
- Conversational fluidity
- Introspection
- Increased flow states
- Enhanced senses
- Enhanced appreciation for music, art, etc.
- Increased creativity
- Spontaneity
- Increased enjoyment of physical activity and everyday tasks
- Finding otherwise mundane things funny or interesting
- Enhanced athletic endurance
- Moderate body high
- Clear come-up, peak, and come-down
- Altered perception of sound
- Time dilation or contraction (time passing more slowly or quickly)
- Increased sensitivity to light
- Pupil dilation
Moderate dose (2-3.5 g)
- Strong euphoria or excitement
- Sense of peace
- Mystical experience and feelings of wonder
- Life-changing introspective or philosophical insights
- Increased flow of ideas
- Increased creativity
- Enhanced senses
- Enhanced appreciation for music, art, etc.
- Finding otherwise mundane things funny or interesting
- Strong body high
- Clear come-up, peak, and come-down
- Amplification of emotions, whether good or bad
- Open- and closed-eye visuals (e.g. patterns, auras)
- Synesthesia
- Time dilation or contraction (time passing more slowly or quickly)
- Sedation
- Unusual physical sensations
- Sensitivity to light
- Wide pupil dilation
- Compulsive yawning
Mega dose (5+ g)
- Strong euphoria or excitement
- Mystical experience and intense feelings of wonder
- Life-changing introspective or philosophical insights
- Ego death
- Increased flow of ideas
- Increased creativity
- Enhanced senses
- Finding otherwise mundane things funny or interesting
- Very strong body high
- Clear come-up, peak, and come-down
- Amplification of emotions, whether good or bad
- Very strong open- and closed-eye visions (e.g. memories coming to life)
- Visual, auditory, tactile hallucinations
- Synesthesia
- Time becoming meaningless
- Thought loops
- Sedation
- Unusual physical sensations and altered perception of physical form
- Sensitivity to light
- Very wide pupil dilation
- Compulsive yawning
- Confusion
- Disorientation
- Compromised motor functions (sitter recommended!)