At the beginning of last month, I set an intention to try microdosing in order to enhance my overall mood, increase productivity, and boost creativity. If you didn’t get a chance to read my first post about it, check it out here.
Before I began, I was still iffy on whether or not I thought microdosing was actually going to help me with my intentions. This was mainly due to a lack of reliable evidence. Articles like this one and this one seem compelling, but there is still a lack of well-controlled scientific studies. Most evidence either for or against microdosing (including my own experiment) is purely anecdotal.
As a reminder for how I did it, I took either 80mg or 120mg capsules of ground psilocybin-containing mushrooms. I followed the Fadiman Protocol, which calls for taking them one day on, and then two days off. This means I was only actually microdosing once every three days. The idea behind this is to prevent your body from building a tolerance to the psilocybin.
The Microdosing Days
The days where I was actually microdosing were definitely the days I noticed the biggest difference. The first time I microdosed during work, I felt it a lot more than I was expecting too. This caught me off guard, but it wasn’t overwhelming. It kind of felt like the caffeine high you might get from drinking too much coffee, except I wasn’t jittery at all and I had a weird sense of general happiness that wasn’t usually present during work. I wouldn’t say that microdosing increased my general productivity. I don’t think there’s anything out there that can increase productivity other than yourself. However, because of the general boost in my mood, I was enjoying the repetitiveness of my job more than usual which then translated into increased productivity.
Not only was I enjoying my job more, but I also had more energy than usual. I didn’t feel the need to take a midday power nap like normal. I found myself wanting to spend more time outside. Music sounded a little better while I was out on walks. Overall, I just felt like a better person. In case you didn;t already assume this, I didn’t have any hallucinogenic side effects or intense feelings of euphoria or emotion that come with taking larger doses. I very much still felt in control of myself the whole time, but with a little extra pep.
The Off Days
I was pleasantly surprised how I felt on the days directly after my microdosing days. It wasn’t nearly as prominent as when I actually microdosed, but he afterglow effects from the previous day were still with there. I’m not sure if this is because some of it was still in my system, or simply because it was so easy to recall how I felt the previous day and I subconsciously tried to replicate that. Either way, I still felt good.
Two days after my microdose days were days where it felt like I was back to baseline. During the repetitive parts of my job I still felt bored and unmotivated. I also felt the need to take a midday nap again on most of these days. To be clear, my “normal” still isn’t bad by any means. I’ve never been diagnosed with anxiety or depression or any other mental health disorder. I was always doing this experiment to enhance my life and never as a way to try to self-medicate. I say all of that to say that I didn’t feel enhanced in any way on the 3rd day. However, it gave me an opportunity to set intentions for the next day and reflect on the previous 2 days.
My Conclusion
My experience during the past month was definitely a positive one and I plan on microdosing again in the future. However, I’m still not 100% convinced that it was the microdoses themselves that made the difference, or whether it was just my own mind setting an intention to be happier and more positive and making that happen. I honestly wasn’t expecting to see any noticeable changes at all, but I’m both surprised and happy that I did.
Psychedelics help increase neuroplasticity in the brain. Neuroplasticity is the ability for your mind to change how it functions in a way that’s different than how it previously functioned. Macrodosing (taking a dose large enough to trip) does this with a very intense experience that only needs to happen maybe a couple of times a year. Microdosing helps rewire the brain as well, but over a longer period of time while feeling more subtle. It’s no secret that the human brain is powerful. I fully believe we are all capable of setting intentions and following through with them with or without the help of any type of drug. However, psychedelics could be a cheat code to quicker change. If that’s the case, I don’t see why they shouldn’t at least be an option.
More research definitely needs to be done on microdosing and psychedelics in general. I’m glad this research is happening, and I’m excited to see the results, whether they are positive or negative.