The internet seems to be rather devoid of information on this topic. Most clinical trials require that one stop taking SSRIs before participating, and many places that offer retreats do as well. But what if one is weaning off and suffering from withdrawals? The surviving antidepressants site recommends against psilocybin and anything else that might affect a destabilized central nervous system, but that seems to be a general warning rather than an evidenced-based, scientific conclusion.

Is anyone aware of any research in this area? Or have any personal experiences?

I feel depressed and have no energy after one 1.5 micro dose of psilocybin. A friend says I should contine micro doing. I plan on every 3 days. Any suggestions?

I’m 22 discovered mushrooms about 9 months ago and I’ve tripped 4 times by myself with the intent to let the medicine guide me through some of my anxiety and depression but I just get this terrible feeling of hopelessness and guilt and disgust for myself I just don’t know what to do anymore

I am in my mid 60s and I've dealt with depression and anxiety most of my life. I discovered mushrooms a couple of years ago with some buddies and have been doing a macrodose (2 to 4 g) every few months. The effect on my depression has been pretty remarkable. My wife was recently diagnosed with cancer, and she wanted to try them based on Everything I've told her. We did them yesterday with her girlfriend, and the experience was polar opposite of my usual experience. They both got extremely tired and weak right away, and had to lay down and sleep for several hours. Consequently, I was very worried about them and saying I had a bad trip is an understatement. I really don't know what to make of this.

P. S. We has a friend along (a physician) that was watching out for us, but he is not a trained therapist.

Fairly new here. My question is, does anyone here have a cereberal stent? Anyone have experience using Psilocybin with a stented aneurysm ?? I received one 1 1/2 years ago, was wondering if there would be any effects???? Just curious on people's experiences. Etc....

Hello everyone. I recently started microdosing and noticed I am a little bit more sensitive to it. It’s all good things. However, it did make my muscles feel like jelly which is normal for when I take a shroom trip. I wonder if there are any studies that show if it affects muscle recovery and growth? I go to the gym a lot and I don’t want to impede any gains I can get.

Thank you so much 💖

I’ve recently been diagnosed with early stage, early onset Alzheimer’s. I’ve heard that it might help with memory problems but there’s a lack of research. I read a bit of an article posted here saying that micro-dosing might help, but macro-dosing might not or might hurt. I’m not sure if I’m understanding it right or not.
So my question is does anyone have any experience with psilocybin for memory? Do you only micro-dose, macro-dose or a combination. Has it helped and how has it helped? I was hoping to do both but I don’t want to make it worse.

So I assume ive come to the right place. Ive been diagnosed with OCD about 12 years ago and Bipolar type 2 about 5 years ago. Went through a bunch of meds and finally became stable. One stint in a treatment facility, moved away from my hometown away from my family with my Partner and 3 cats and everything caught up to me. I resigned from my job after 10 years and things just got worse. I met a brilliant Psychologist who is EXTREMELY open minded and still see my Psychiatrist every 6 months. I have taken shrooms about 4 times in the last 3 years. I have read so many articles about the impact it can have on mental health in a positive manner. I reached out to a shroom counselor and I got loads of information. Before I can start my micro-dosing journey I have to cut down or completely give up alcohol for at least 30 days, start exercising and also tell my Psychologist about me wanting to start micro dosing and possibly also wean off all my medications. 40mg prozac, 100mg epitec, 25mg dopaquel and 25mg toplep to actually be able to feel the full effects of the micro dosing treatment. Also change my lifestyle and set out my intentions and do this for me to become a better person and see life through new eyes. I so badly want to do this and my counselor said I can start with just Lions Mane until I am ready. Has anyone ever been in the same situation and actually weaned off their meds and and still successfully continue their micro dosing journey? I badly want to better myself but am so scared because ive been on meds for so long

I am considering microdosing while taping off a low dose (30mg) of Cymbalta. I have docs permission and will work with local pharmacist as well but she’s not really familiar with psychedelics. I’m currently tapering off Lyrica and am down from 200 mg per day to 100. Cymbalta used for anxiety and depression. Lyrics for nerve pain. I will finish tapering from the Lyrica, wait 3 weeks and then look at tapering from the Cymbalta. Does anyone have experience microdosing while tapering from SNRI? I would taper very slowly and am in no rush. I am doing lots of work to prepare for a large dose of psilocybin but need to get more counseling under my belt. I have been reading and studying up on psilocybin and work with Psychedelic Passage regarding information on harm reduction and resources as well as Michael Pollens work etc. Thanks in advance for any info you can provide on your experience.

About three weeks ago I went to Oregon and did a facilitated therapy session with 35mg of psilocybin (one thing I learned is that people often confuse weight of mushrooms with amount of psilocybin - this was 35mg of psilocybin).

I had dabbled recreationally with mushrooms a tiny bit about 40 years ago, as well as some other drugs. But this was the first time I’ve ever seriously tripped. And it was fantastic. Life changing.

Per the guidelines, I had set my intentions (which was to deal with some personal demons). Ultimately, I came away much more clear headed, with much less anxiety. I had always had a problem with rumination, just thinking and thinking thoughts over and over. My psilocybin experience has eased all of that significantly. However, I was so wrapped up in the incredible visuals that I was seeing that I had a difficult time concentrating on what my intentions were. It was like “Squirrel!”.

I was pretty nervous going into this and worried I would have a panic attack. But my biggest breakthrough was mid-way through when I realized I wasn’t going to panic and, instead, I was totally feeling like “bring it on, I want more!”. The letting go of the fear and realizing I was going to be alright on the other side seemed to flip a switch in me. It was very liberating.

I’m definitely going to do it again someday. Incredible.

Hey 👋🏼 I’m in recovery for atypical anorexia and have complex ptsd. I have paid to go take my first macro dose of psilocybin at the end of the month and started microdosing last week.

I see my GP 3 weekly, and he’s been wanting me to have fluoxetine. Previously he said it was only choice to say no, however my MH has dipped a lot recently. I saw him today and he didn’t really want me to wait any longer to take fluoxetine. I managed to come up with an excuse but I know when I go back he’ll ask me.

Any advice. When I next see him I will have done my trip. But yeah I don’t know how to address it?

Hi all! I am discovering new things about myself all the time through my experiences with microdosing and contemplative practices like meditation … one of the things I’ve come to realize recently is I have aphantasia (inability to visualize). I’ve had many psychedelic experiences, but this was wildly different because my visual input was blocked out by an eye covering. I had minimal closed eye visuals, though I did get kissed by a mandala as I felt the embrace of the medicine start on 2.5g. I mostly experienced the medicine through somatic expressions. The mushrooms did some WORK on me physically and I experienced a lot of crying, purging, and convulsing throughout the experience as my nervous system was clearing out anger and fear I’ve been holding onto for 34 years. I’m wondering what other aphantasia individuals experiences are like on therapeutic doses using an eye covering?

Took 40 mg. Didn’t see much. Going into experience, I focused my mind on feeling my shame. During trip, I thought about past in general sense, but didn’t recount exact experiences.

During trip, I experienced my feelings. I felt all the sensations that I do when I trigger. Beating of temples. Ringing sound. Pressure in head. Uncomfortable feeling of tension. Aching in brainstem. It was like everything was ringing and pressing me down.

But it didn’t make me feel uncomfortable or shut me down. Instead, my inner voice was telling myself that it was OK. And to just feel the energy. That it’s part of being alive. I then started to feel my own energy/life force. It felt powerful, like a current/wave.

So I just felt the energy. Then my inner voice told me that there’s nothing wrong with me. I just had bad luck and people did mean things to me. It’s OK to feel hurt by it. But it doesn’t mean I did anything to deserve it. And it doesn’t matter why it happened, that’s not my burden. It’s the burden of the people who were mean.

But what I need to do is feel all the hugs and love in my life. I have a support system, and I can’t let the past prevent me from feeling those hugs and love. That’s the key - to not let what happened in the past prevent me from being present now.

The experience made me believe I’m a good person on a deep level. I did not believe it before the experience. I also think another key is to focus on your body feelings and energy and not so much words/memories. The memories will never change and I don’t think the bad feelings will ever really leave.

The aim is not to excise the bad feelings. It’s to feel them, but feel them in the context of the rest of your life force. It’s part of being alive. And, if you can get your spirit to tolerate those feelings and know it’s not a symptom that you’re defective, you can be present again in life.

I think the key to being happy is letting yourself be present, feel your hugs, and not let the past bad feelings filter your present/future interactions. That’s what I’m trying to do now.

It was a good experience and more effective than any therapy I’ve done before. But you need to get yourself in a place where you can feel yourself. I really think it’s more about feelings than thoughts. And by feelings, I don’t mean emotions, I mean your body sensations and your life force.

Hello all, I have a rather serious inquiry for which I can find no answer to anywhere online. My dad is considering taking psilocybin as a means of desperate change. His reasons are wholly justified to take what he sees as being a leap of faith that it would help, but he is 60 years old and had an aneurysm in 2021. He is otherwise very healthy and active, not that that makes him having had an aneurysm something to be any less considered. I have a hunch there is a risk involved, but my dad wishes to know how big that risk is, and at what degree does the risk outweigh the need for change? Obviously that last question is something only he can answer for himself — but I wanted to explain for he was coming from. Hopefully this message meets some medical professionals who thumb through this subreddit haha

Has anyone had a TBI (head injury with lasting effects) and used psilocybin (or another psychedelic) afterwards intentionally to heal? Unintentionally, but still found healing?

I'd love to hear any experiences people have had. Were the intentional experiences done with preparation? What kind of prep? Were improvements more pure psychological acceptance, or did you have neurological changes (reduction in headache, improvement in word finding difficult, improvement in balance etc).

Very curious if anyone is willing to share their experience.

I purchased some Blue PE and Bluey Vuitton 1g packs and was wondering what is the best way to take them? I’m looking for a spiritual experience and how long should the effects take to wear off if I take in the morning.

I want to do one to help me get rid of these routines and doubts that I have all the time, not sure which can be best

I just took 1.53g of Ghost PE.

However I am now measuring by total dosage of psilocybin + psilocin.

This gives me 26,775 mcg.

Given I took .5 g 7 days ago the estimate impact is low end of “profound”.

This calibration is hard I am using someone else’s tiering.

But I am encouraged if I can start to have clarity on the impacts based on guidance from the labs and experienced folks.

Here is their definition for this tier:

The profound introspective dose induces intense visual, tactile, auditory, and extrasensory experiences. At this dosage, deep self inquiry is common and sometimes uncomfortable. Profound introspective doses can sometimes be compared to inspecting one’s psyche, emotions, and memories with a fine-toothed comb. Profound insight into the nature of this reality and an individual’s place within it are common. Though the experiencer remains aware of their body and their surroundings at this dose, their perceptions are enhanced to a vivid degree. Common Dose Safety Guide

Does anyone have experience with extreme drug resistant bipolar and psilocybin? If so, can you share?

Took psilocybin around a year ago.

I used to be a really angry and miserable person but feel a lot better now which is great. It hasn’t come without side effects:

Feel like a completely different person. I feel like I can’t put myself first in any situation and am crippled completely by empathy.

I also feel a deep sense of shame about things I did 10 years ago and can’t seem to stop ruminating on them.

I just feel like I have a lack of confidence in things . Does anyone else feel like this or can empathise?

Yesterday I took first macrodose of Golden Teachers since starting sertraline treatment almost two years ago. Usually 2g dried was enough for a decent trip. This time I took 3 to compensate sertraline, brewed in hot water. All what happened was some minor body high, slight sharpening of the sense of smell, larger appreciation for music and barely noticeable changes in visual perception (pattern recognition, walls waved just a little if I really wanted them to). Spiritual wise - 2/10, no changes in the way of thinking, not getting anywhere close to the veil of reality.

My question is - do I just need to increase my dose and I am still able to trip or does sertraline kill it regardless of how much I eat?

I (36m) began using psilocybin mushrooms at 16. In those 20 years I’ve had a handful of bad experiences but otherwise have always enjoyed them on different levels and for different purposes. However, two weeks ago on vacation with my wife for her birthday, we ate some Friday night and a tooth that has been broken began hurting late that night. Saturday night we ate a little again, and by midnight I was in miserable pain. Got home and went to the ER for antibiotics. The following Saturday I decided to eat a couple and the infection exploded in a matter of hours. 5x worse than the week prior. Does anyone have any information or similar experience in the seeming correlation between the infection possibly being caused by the psilocybin? Thank you for any responses!

Hi all! I'm deciding if I'd like to attend a micro dosing, sound bowl meditation and trying to do some research beforehand. However, whenever I'm reading about micro dosing, the articles are referring to daily/weekly micro dosing whereas I'm only considering the one experience. I'm concerned about nausea (I have a phobia of it) and also general side effects. I'm mostly doing this for exploration - while I've struggled with mental health disorders (depression, PTSD) in the past I've largely healed from them. Is there a better name that I can use to learn more about this single micro dose experience? I'd also be open to any advice or similar experiences!

People on reddit say natalensis is so much better than cubensis strains because it produces less anxiety, body load, nausea and is more euphoric

But is it as effective as cubensis for trip-therapy or even more?

I've ordered some microdoses of Golden Teachers and the reason I'm starting is because I've exhausted all prescription and therapy options for seemingly incurable night terrors. My terrors begin in my REM sleep, which is around 12pm I'm in bed by 8:30ish. Should I take one before bed or a few hours before I plan on going to bed?

I’ve read that psychedelics induce new (long range) neuronal pathways, one of the reasons sited for increased creativity, reduced depression etc.

If that is true, I suspect we should also observer difficulty in recalling other previously consolidated memory ( as those neuronal connections become weaker, relative to the newly formed connections), which would reduce crystallized intelligence.

For example, someone who has put in a lot of effort to study a particular subject/domain and is an expert in a specific domain as a result, may find that he or she is not as knowledgeable in that domain post psychedelics experience.

Has anyone experienced this?

I'm an MD doing a small presentation in a few weeks on a few different clinical trials demonstrating the effectiveness of Psilocybin on End of Life Distress and Depression.

While they do demonstrate a statistically significant outcome, there are inherent challenges to Psychedelic research, namely the difficulty blinding, the importance of Set and Setting, and the importance of the relationship between the provider and patient. A lot of times psilocybin is compared to something like an SSRI and it's hard to see this as a true "apples to apples" comparison.

Is anyone aware of good published editorials discussing these challenges/limitations? Would greatly appreciate!

I have done magic mushrooms a few times now. But whenever I am tripping I cannot close my eyes and give into it , I feel like that might give me greater insight but its kind of scary and I don't seem to be able too. Any tips ? Its that feeling of being there but loosing touch with reality, when I did ketamine I lost touch but wasn't there.