Because that way, you can't rely on microdosing to do everything for you. In today's video,
I am going to attempt to troubleshoot some of your most common microdosing issues. I know some
of you guys may have found my channel via the microdosing FAQ video that I published almost a
full year ago today now. That video was intended for those who hadn't started their microdosing
journey and perhaps are interested in learning more information about it. Today's video is going
to be for those who have started microdosing and are coming to find that it isn't quite
panning out the way they had expected. So what I've done is I've identified six common issues
you might run into on your microdosing journey and for each issue I'm going to outline some
possible explanations as to why the issue might be occurring, and then within the explanation you're
going to find your possible solution. Lastly, for a variety of different practical reasons,
I'm going to focus this video on microdosing psilocybin and not LSD (which is the other
popularly microdosed psychedelic substance). And very quickly, if you're curious... The reasons
why I'm not focusing on LSD is because I think that psilocybin is more beginner friendly. It's
more accessible, it doesn't last as long... also, Youtube won't let me monetize videos about LSD,
so sorry about that. But also, you know, I think psilocybin works just fine with one
caveat (which I will share with you later on in this video). With all of that said,
let's just get right into issue number one on the other side of this transition.
Issue number one: microdosing makes me feel more irritable. So you've been sticking to a steady
protocol for a couple weeks now but microdosing seems to be making you feel more anxious or more
agitated —and you are like "What gives? I feel more sensitive, I don't feel calm and collected
like people report." This is actually a very commonly reported issue, which is why I've made
this issue my number one issue to highlight. What many people don't understand about psychedelics is
that they are putative meaning response enhancers, which means that one of their modes of action
is to directly enhance the placebo effect itself. This is why "set and setting" is so important
for having a quality psychedelic experience. Set refers to mindset (as in having a mindset
of openness and intention). Setting refers to your physical and social environment (generally
controlling for variables in your environment so that you can be the most comfortable that
you can be). Even though we're not talking about macrodosing here, set and setting is still a very
important principle to keep in mind —especially set. Psilocybin is not an instant happy pill (and
I wish I could say that twice, so I think I will). Psilocybin is not an instant happy pill! It's it's
worth reiterating because, you know, many people are coming to microdosing from taking psych drugs
and the way that you would approach psych drugs is you don't have to pay attention to your mindset
going in. You could be in a terrible mood and you take your Ambien and then it makes you feel
slightly better or slightly more numb. You can't approach psilocybin this way because psilocybin
simply amplifies the emotions that you're already experiencing, so this means that if you are
already in a place of calm prior to taking your microdose, then your microdose will enhance the
feeling of peace within you. On the other hand, if you are nervous beyond belief and you're paranoid
about all the various different ways microdosing could go wrong for you, then guess what?
Psilocybin will enhance your paranoia. This is why it's so critical to pair your microdosing protocol
with a regular meditation practice —and if you don't already know how to meditate, I'm going
to provide a link for you in the description box below to my favorite meditation app. I've talked
about this app a number of times already and I don't feel like I need to again but what I will
say, though, is that if I could go back to the beginning if I could do all of my videos over
again, I really wish I would have stressed the importance of meditation (or, at the very least,
having some sort of mindfulness-based practice be at the center of your micro dosing journey).
Especially if you're microdosing for mental health reasons... to ground your protocol
on some sort of meditation practice because that way you can't rely on microdosing to do everything
for you. It has to be about meditation. It has to be about sitting with yourself. It has to be about
doing the work to find your place of calm and then the microdosing enhances that work.
It enhances your meditation practice. Now. What if you're already practicing, you know,
some sort of mindfulness-based practice like breath work, yoga, meditation... but you still
can't quash the feelings of agitation that you are experiencing on your microdose? I think in
that scenario I feel like what you're experiencing could be comparable to what some people experience
when they take up meditation for the first time —in that instead of feeling calm or grounded,
meditation seems to be bringing to light that which had otherwise been suppressed for them.
I've heard people claiming that meditation isn't for them for this very reason and to that I
would say, "Absolutely." I think if you make the decision that "this isn't for me because it just
keeps bringing to light the things that I'm trying to suppress," that means that you're not ready
to engage in the work of healing. And some people have to do more work in healing because they have
more to heal. Healing doesn't feel comfortable, especially the initial stages of healing. It's all
about making yourself feel the things that you've been running away from and I have so much empathy
for that. I would say, though, the issue isn't the actual practice of meditation. The issue isn't the
actual practice of microdosing. It is the fact that you have unresolved trauma and unresolved
emotional roadblocks and it is absolutely fair for you to say that "now is not my time because
I did not sign up for this. I was just trying to be —I was just hoping to microdose so that
I can function better in the workplace and this is clearly not working." So I understand if you
come to that kind of conclusion. I would say, "Now you have three options." Number one: discontinue
microdosing and go back to the way things were... and then perhaps you could try to process your
emotions at a later date. Perhaps within a more guided setting, like in therapy. Number two:
keep microdosing but make room for yourself to be inquisitive about your thoughts, feelings,
and emotions. I think if you choose this option, then it would be good practice for you to adopt a
curious observer mindset so that certain thoughts and feelings will arise —instead of automatically
judging them or reacting to them— simply step back and see see what's up. Just look at them without
judgment. Be aware of them without judgment and watch as they curiously just float away
and that's it. Option number three is to go on a full psychedelic trip. So something like one to
two grams of dry magic mushrooms if you're doing this alone. I don't think you have to be afraid of
something like two grams of dry magic mushrooms. You will have to do some work in educating
yourself about set and setting, for example. And read about other people's experiences. If
you live in a city where it is possible for you to participate in a guided ceremony (I live in
Canada, so it's more accessible for me) —I think that would be a really good idea now there are
clinics popping up in various different cities where people with actual health care backgrounds
or training in psychology walking people through a guided trip. And I think if you can have access to
that, that would be a really good idea for you to consider. Issue number two: microdosing makes me
feel tired. This is another very commonly reported issue. Some possible explanations for you include
the fact that you could actually just be tired and your mind and body needs to catch up on rest.
Magic mushrooms have a way of getting us back to a level of energetic equilibrium, so if this
is the case for you, allow yourself to listen to your body and do this for a week. Rest up and then
see how you feel a little bit later. The second explanation would be that your starting dose might
be a little too high. So when I first got into microdosing, I read that a microdose was anywhere
between 100 milligrams to 250 milligrams or even 300 milligrams. Like I was was reading this on
product packaging, so excuse me for believing the actual product packaging instructions!
But the problem is: a range like that offers huge variability and I'm now of the belief that
everyone, no matter who you are, should start on the lower end. Like a hundred milligrams. You can
always gradually increase your dose the second time around, but a hundred milligrams, I think,
would be a good place to start. Issue number three: it's been two weeks now and I still
haven't noticed any changes. Some possible explanations for you. Number one: your protocol
isn't robust enough, especially if you're trying to microdose for mental health purposes, like
alleviating anxiety or depression. I think once every three days might not be robust enough of
a protocol for you. Try something like four days on, three days off or five days on, two days off.
This is more in line with the Stamets Protocol as opposed to the Fadiman Protocol (which is one
every three days). Explanation number two: you're taking your microdose on a full stomach. And this
is simply just going to slow down the absorption of the psilocybin, so try taking your dose on an
empty stomach or maybe 30 minutes before you eat breakfast. Issue number four: microdosing
doesn't seem to improve my focus much at all. I feel like I can speak to this from a personal
perspective because fun fact: I have diagnosed ADD and while microdosing psilocybin certainly helped
me to stay more grounded and mindful in general, let's just say at the time... it couldn't replace
my ADD meds, which I still had to take because I needed to get things done. So if you're looking
to microdose to manage your ADD symptoms, I would actually say try microdosing LSD over psilocybin.
Why do I say this? Even though LSD and psilocybin are both considered classical psychedelics,
there's actually a subtle difference between them that actually could make a huge difference
if you're interested in microdosing for enhanced focus or productivity, so allow me to explain:
psilocybin binds to the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, which plays an important role in regulating mood,
impulsivity, and cognitive function. Psilocybin does not bind to the dopamine D2 receptor.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that gets released when your brain is expecting a reward and this
plays a huge role in motivation and attention. So the reason why LSD could be more beneficial
for you is that LSD actually interacts with both serotonin receptors and dopamine receptors and the
fact that it works on both receptors could explain why LSD tends to promote more of a stimulating
extrospective effect compared to psilocybin. I made a video comparing the two for microdosing
and I'm gonna link it (I don't know if I'm pointing here or there). It's gonna be somewhere
here. You can go check that out afterward. Issue number five: microdosing has disrupted
my sleep. Or I can't seem to fall asleep. Okay, so two possible explanations for this. Number one:
your dose is too high. Number two: you're taking your dose too late in the day. Just
because mushrooms are active four to six hours doesn't mean you should necessarily take them
four to six hours before bed. I have a personal experience with this because I used to take
my microdose in the afternoon and then I found that that would disrupt my sleep. It
would actually kind of make me a little bit of an insomniac and so, for me, the solution was easy. I
just stopped taking my microdose in the afternoon. I would only take it in the morning and that made
my sleep issues go away. Issue number six (and our last one): microdosing doesn't seem to be working
for me anymore. I have two explanations for you. Number one: you might have developed a tolerance,
so this would be a good time for you to take at least two full weeks off to fully restore your
tolerance levels. And number two: check that other aspects of your life are in order. Diet, sleep,
exercise... because other integrative approaches can really make the difference. This goes back
to an earlier theme —like a theme that we've discussed so much now in this video —it's that
you really can't rely on just microdosing alone to make all the difference in your life. You've got
to be focusing on other integrative approaches: meditation, proper sleep, proper diet...
how are your relationships doing? Are you dealing with something toxic right now? All of these
things. I can't comment on your exact personal situation but I can give you a general principle
that it is important to look at all areas of your life. Mental health is not just mental
health. It's affected by so many other things and you have to look at everything. So that's
it for our video today. Thank you guys so much for watching this video. I'm gonna use this video as
another opportunity to plug the microdosing course that I am developing. I'm gonna link
you to my landing page so that you can sign up to be notified of when this course comes out.
Microdosing for mental health. Honestly, this is going to be a very "research-heavy" course and
it's going to be as evidence-based as somebody who doesn't have a background
in science can possibly make it. Thankfully, there's so much research that is open access,
so my job would be to take the research and sort of make it like what I do on this
channel. I distill the information and I make it easy for you to understand and that's what
I'm going to do with the microdosing course. Other than that, I will see you next time.