Psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, is a hallucinogenic substance found in certain types of mushrooms, such as the prefrontal cortex. It works by activating serotonin receptors, which affect mood, cognition, and perception. However, there is a risk of misidentifying mushrooms and taking a toxic mushroom instead of psilocybin. Some people who take magic mushrooms experience extreme fear, anxiety, panic, or paranoia.
Magic mushrooms are not harmless or legal highs, and their production, sale, and possession are illegal in Canada. However, there is increasing interest in the potential therapeutic uses of psilocybin. Psilocybin mushrooms have minimal harmful effects and could potentially benefit those with depression. New UGA research suggests that psilocybin, the psychedelic ingredient in magic mushrooms, has similar side effects to traditional drugs.
While drugs like ketamine and psilocybin are generally considered safe, it is important to be cautious when using these substances. Research on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic and dissociative drugs, including psilocybin, is ongoing. Prioritizing harm reduction, setting positive intentions, and exploring the diverse benefits of psilocybin is crucial for navigating the journey with wisdom and responsibility.
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I suffered severe trauma several years ago as a teenage. Was actually addicted to Crack. Spent my whole life fighting Crack addiction. Also suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my mom recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 6 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.
As an academic in psychology, I can say that there’s extensive research on the negative psychological effects of LSD. An example is that it can worsen a mental disorder when the person goes on a bad trip. I’m not against LSD. I just think that such important points need to be covered in this article as this could influence a lot of individuals. Cover both the good and the bad, especially the mental implications.
The key word when it comes to these substances is respect. Even though the risk of actual harm is very low, they should be treated with the respect they deserve, since psychedelics are powerful stuff. If one uses them without respect, it”s only a matter of time before they will teach you a harsh lesson. Used respectfully though, they are capable of a lot of good.
I did shrooms pretty quickly after their decriminalization here in Colorado, and oh man. It was hugely bittersweet, but it was a profound spiritual experience I needed to have. Ever since then, I feel love I think for the first time in my whole life, im so present and aware of myself and my boundaries and I take a lot less shit from life and from people. I no longer worry about things from my past, I feel like I restored a piece of myself that has been missing for a very long time. I absolutely advocate for veteran and autism mushroom therapy Postscript; If you take a psychedelic and your world view and self image is starting to change drastically and indefinitely, just relax. Where do you think ancestral stories of mythical creatures came about? You aren’t going crazy, only experiencing different degrees of mind you have always had and that have been estranged from you by a set of circumstances in the world, you will always be okay 💜
I could remember several years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD. Also suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my mom recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms
Psychedelics helped me deal with my addiction. Having suffered anxiety and depression as well. I must say taking them turned my life around. I started micro dosing and just in a couple days I noticed major changes in my stress levels, depression, and everything else. It’s been really great. After battling with these for years, I was unaware that shrooms will save me.
As someone who has had more bad trips (high anxiety; “thinking too much”) than “fun” trips, I still learned something each time. For me it was often a learning experience in which I learned about myself, about my own flaws that sober me avoided like the plague. Psychidelics showed me the true meaningless of my individual life, while simultaneously showing me the true beauty of life itself. Without mushrooms and LSD I don’t think I would have ever been interested in philosophy. It’s interesting when you look into the dark abyss and come out inspired by the light, by the universes insane ability to turn black space into living, breathing organisms.
I think it needs to be emphasized that psychedelics aren’t “fun” if you’re using them to treat mental issues though. I took 4g of shrooms by myself for my first trip, horrifying experience that ended up also being extremely cathartic. They can be really beneficial, but if someone thinks they’re gonna blast off to have fun AND come out the other end cured if depression, I think they’ll have a bad time.
I was over 500 pounds and on the back end of a two decade long depression when I tried LSD. The first dose saw me a completely different person the next day. I’ve lost over 300 pounds and truly love the man I have become. I have continued to take a high dose once or twice a year and have only continued to improve upon myself over the past decade.
I feel the need to put awareness out there. Yes, in most cases shrooms are way safer than pretty much every other drug/alcohol. My brother went to rehab this last year and was diagnosed with ‘drug induced psychosis.’ He had lost touch with reality. It felt like my brother wasn’t there. It was awful. In some cases, this happens. So always be weary of drugs and consult doctors/professionals to prevent risk.
I’ve done LSD and shrooms several times. I love to periodically do them. They sort of give you a mind-reset because you see things differently. Sometimes things don’t make sense, the euphoria is unparalleled and visual distortions just make you appreciate a lot of things about how your mind works. I’m still going on well with my life and will definitely have so many more trips as long as I can. So yes, I agree that they are freakishly safe because I have never had a similar experience with anything else; being sober or on something. Peace everyone ☮🕊
Psychedelics dissolved 10years of my depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts in 10 minutes for me. When I opened my eyes I came back as a different me. All trauma has been dissolved before my very eyes. I understood what love and understanding truly meant and 9 months on, I’ve never experienced any of the depression and anxiety that plagued my existence beforehand. I saw every path that everyone had ever taken and why. It is the most profound experience of my life. Just my experience.
Until someone has had a truly bad trip they cannot comprehend how long lasting the affects can be. I don’t feel completely the same years later, but for months after I was NOT in a good place. I also have HPPD 5 years later. Point is, I think these substances need to be legalized, cause even in my case they also helped, and I’m otherwise treatment resistant, but they need to be RESPECTED. These things are powerful beyond comprehension, literally. I didn’t do them irresponsibly and I still happened to get a horrifically bad trip. It’s a risk, and it needs to be something people are informed about, both so that people avoid dosing in stupidly high amounts for no reason with little experience, and also so that they can weigh if they want to try it or not, since I’d say for example someone with severe treatment resistant depression has a lot more to gain than someone who’s happy with their life.
I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder depressive type. I tried LSD before I developed my symptoms and I’m 36 now. I’ve asked many nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists about whether or not the drug made me this way. Every one of them explained was brought on sooner by the drug but not the cause. Mental illness runs all over my Mother’s side and it effects my Sister and Brother. My Brother actually developed psychosis not long ago and recently took his own life because of it. Only 4 months ago. I used to smoke cannabis and that just makes me a lot worse. I’ve never used hard street drugs such as heroine, cocaine, etc. I tried LSD twice if you’re wondering. It was weird more than anything. I don’t know if mushrooms would be a good route for me as treatment. I’ve seen a little about ketamine treatment though but I’m afraid of something going wrong.
The negative things about psychedelics that are never mentioned are being so self aware that you can not stop it anymore to not look into a psychedelic state of mind with most things. This can be tiring sometimes . Thats why you should not take it too often. Also, watch out taking it when you have a broken personality and are never honest to yourself. It can be very intensive and i have seen some people lose it.. i do highly recommend each person in the world to do it at least once in their life but doing it a 100 percent proper and safe
I tripped out on WAY too much weed in 2006 and did everything wrong with set and setting, plus I had OCD. I had no sober guide. I went absolutely crazy and ended up in the hospital. Then I got depersonalization disorder. It really fucked me up. I almost committed suicide from sheer terror in the next few months. I still would have completely recovered in about five years if my – former – doctor hooked me on narcotics in 2007. Here I am in 2023, still dependent on narcotics, with an undigested psychedelic trip lodged in my mind, having had hundreds of panic attacks. But it was the reckless overprescription of narcotics by a lazy and incompetent doctor that did most of the damage and has so far prevented me from processing that trip. Thanks, doc. Asshole. Got his ass in a lot of trouble with our medical board, at least. The irony is that psychedelics have since helped me to recover somewhat from all that trauma. Just be careful, everyone, and you’ll be fine.
A couple years ago now I was really into the phycodelic world. I tripped on acid a few times and took an insane amount of mushrooms a couple times. I also smoked dmt a few times to. Since then I have not fealt the same, in good ways and very bad ways. I feel like I can’t even finish a sentence now without tripping over my words which really effects my self confidence.
What about psychological effects from long term use? I’ve seen some people go crazy and never act the same from using a lot of psychedelics over long periods of time. Things like depression, social skills altered, apathy, low energy, etc.. I wonder is it possible to “fry” your brain or nerves from over stimulation ?
I’ve been using psychedelics therapeutically for 35 yrs now. I’ve used them with many different people and i’ve seen the dark side of them too. They can be very dangerous for people who have certain psychiatric tendencies – particularly schizophrenia. I saw a woman who had a history of schizophrenia but thought she had changed alot since then. A good friend of mine also had a psychic break and came unraveled for a couple of years. My partner of the last 13 years has a lot of schizophrenia in his family and i tell him all the time that it is very dangerous for him to use them. I’m very grateful that my experiences have been one breakthrough after another.
I’m 37, I went my whole life without trying drugs other than prescriptions for my PTSD from combat. A few months ago, I tried psilocybin. It was only 1 gram, but I didn’t heed my friend’s advice to be in the ‘right state of mind’ beforehand. What proceeded after that was a waking nightmare that lasted 6 hours but felt like 6 days. I hadn’t eaten beforehand, so my stomach hurt really bad and it amplified that pain tenfold plus induced the worst anxiety attack I’ve ever had. I was literally screaming for it to stop, I considered suicide at one point and took a handful of sleep meds to try and sleep through it but they didn’t work. After 3 days of not eating and only sleeping 2 hours and waking with panic attacks, I went to the ER and got treatment. It took 2 whole weeks before I had mostly recovered. I can see how it could help people in a controlled supervised setting, but I’m never touching that shit again and I definitely understand why it probably should be illegal, although I’m against criminalizing things that people can take if they understand the risks and are responsible about it.
I’ve had a wide variety of experience with psychedelics, the most intense ones with LSD, also good and bad. My last trip was on mushrooms and somehow I really understood how stupid and impulsive it was to grab that cigarette in that moment after smoking many during the trip. One month after that, I also stopped perusal porn, stopped eating sweets, started going to the gym, stopped playing article games and basically changed my whole life. It was just that one thought about impulsivity that changed my life… It sounds really crazy to me when I think about it…
I took LSD and mescaline several time in my younger years and smoked weed a lot. I tried ketamine therapy through a medical group recently. I never took LSD again after a bad trip almost killed me and seemingly removed my soul for good. Luckily after a long period of horrendous pain I managed to get it back to a functional level. Now days I am on an ever growing experience of peace, bliss and happiness through spiritual practices that work for the individual I am. Briefly I tried ketamine and weed thinking it would help my growing spiritual process. It seemed to help briefly then became something I could see would make that process go in reverse. I heard George Harrison say how he is glad he took LSD however he wished he had only taken it once. He didn’t see how the rest of it was helpful for his development. From what I have seen with people using weed and psychedelics long term I get the impression there comes a time when they become people who will end up experiencing a boring and humdrum life until they pass. It seems that if a person has that thing that renders them addicted to any harmful substance or activity if they experience good psychedelic trips that they can become very psychologically addictive.
I’ve seen people become a bit needy to cannabis but they got off of it sooner or later, it mainly just depends on what the substance was used for or what it did positively to that person. Some people (like myself) just cut back on it and use it only on the weekend, kinda like having a drink but safer than actual alcohol. Just like this guy, I do not recommend or push any substance on anyone, all I can say to those who want the experience is to take it in moderation, start off small (really small) and never over due it, know what you’re buying and please don’t smoke, dab or vape it!
I keep telling people that there are natural resources that works and don’t have side effects, I recommend you try out psychedelic mushroom, micro dosing psychedelic mushroom was the best decision I made to beat depression, not only ketamine makes you feel like a zombie with no emotions but other antidepressants that don’t work a bit, you should definitely try psychedelic mushroom, I had depression and anxiety but after treating myself with psychedelic mushroom I was more efficient in all I did, I’m in my 40’s and I’m breaking barriers, the stigma and access to it has been difficult for people that need it I get it from an online vendor that specializes in the trade of psychedelic products all natural from the earth and no side effects, everyone show start looking on the bright side of things that works and not feeding the never ending pockets of pharmaceutical companies
How could you not talk about HPPD in this entire article? Me and thousands of others have a condition known as hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD). Basically a mild acid trip that never ends as a result of taking psychedelics, sleep medications, or even cannabis. It can be debilitating, and for many of us will never live the lives we used to and some are nearly disabled.
Idk man, I did lsd. Had panic attacks for the next few years. Initial year was a living hell, panic attack, depersonalization and derealization disorder always. I’m not even sure if I’ve completely back to how I was before then. Luckily time did heal me and at least no panic attacks or like only once or twice a year.
Hey! Emergency Room here, I do agree with much of what you say. However, I have seen much damage done by mushrooms. One particular case is of a man who took ‘shrooms’ and then proceeded to fire his firearm into the the apartment above him. Into the room of a child. He was behaving completely insane. Literally bouncing off the walls.
Although I’ve taken LSD about 25 times, some trips extremely heavy, I can say that there are risks of sorts. These risks to me are not physical, but they can be psychic risks. For me, this was more of a lack of guidance or education. One can get very deeply lost in the highly complex labyrinth of new perspectives that LSD can open up for a person, to the point that you can become obsessively lost in finding “the answer”. I barely spoke over a 2 year period due to this “lost in obsession” as a result of taking LSD. Of course, it can be argued that I had simply embarked on a “heijira of consiousness” of some kind but, lost was any kind of value or consideration of “base conciousness” having relevance any longer. This can be dangerous, that one can come to assume that the only answers or notions worth living by are those that will or have occurred in the psychedelic state. When my son told me he was interested in trying mushrooms, all I could tell him was that if he had to do them, then to spend some considerable time and energy researching the history, effects, and implications of using the chemical, this it already is something one can never really be ready for, no matter how “ready” they have attempted to be.
I have been diagnosed with dysthymia and ADHD and social anxiety I get mad all the time for no reason and I lack social skills because of the anxiety switching schools because there is a school (I recommend you check it out) it is called pece and it’s an All girls school for people who have mental health issues which causes them to make bad decision or get bad grade or even if you just need counseling along with school.every student at pace has there own counselor to make sure you fellow your goals
I’m almost in literal tears reading this comment section, about the traumas people have overcome through the use of psylocibin or other psychadelics. I’m so overjoyed how so many of you have had such a positive experience in being able to move forward through life. I’m also very sad knowing how many people who could drastically benefit from these substances in their lives but wont try it, due to the stigmas our governments have placed on them.
I’m very supportive of the use of psychedelics for therapeutic applications and as a form of fun recreation or exploration of altered states but I do wish there was more warning for people who might be predisposed towards negative experiences. I’ve tried weed like five or so times and almost every time it’s ended up being more negative than positive (that’s mostly my fault for thinking it’s going to be different each time) . I think I wish I had known earlier on that some peoples psyches are just more fragile and it was less me doing it wrong and more just me not being the greatest fit for those substances. Idk maybe I’m wrong.
Sure, other drugs are worse physically but mentally psychedelics can be harmful too. Most people who promote mushrooms have usually only done them a few times. From experience, after using mushrooms for years, I developed schizophrenia. It has taken me 6 years of anti-psychotic medication and cognitive behaviour therapy to feel safe going outside my house. I just want to express that although it may for the most part be safe, that nothing is entirely risk-free. Some good tips for tripping: have a sober sitter, do it in an environment which you feel safe in (not in public) and when dosing do it slowly and incrementally over the course of hours if using fresh material.
there was an event where my friend took a tab of acid (his first time), and he ended up sitting in a corner crying for five hours, occasionally screaming “how are things ever gonna go back to the way they were?”. I also had a negative experience on shrooms, where my friend pointed a loaded gun at me and kept screaming at me (he was on some other unknown compound though), and that experience kinda scared me. So there are risks involved.
Lsd, dmt and psilocybin containing mushrooms are amazing. I could remember several years ago, I was diagnosed with BPD. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until a friend recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. This is something that really need to be used for treatment of related health challenges.
I try to trip mushrooms once a month, mainly to reaffirm how I want to improve my life, wether it be reducing my caffeine and nicotine intake, giving myself motivation to hit the gym for my health, or even the small tasks I struggle with a lot like keeping a clean house or making time to go to the store. It’s really helped me improve my executive function in lots of ways. Definitely an introspective drug best not taken in a party setting
Having just done my first trip yesterday on mushrooms, I can say it was proberly one of the top 5 things I’ve done in my 45 years of life. I went down to a river and sat on its banks with my brother and a good friend who’s done it before and we had a SMALL dose and slowly increased it until it was enough for each of us. Make sure you are in a place where you feel safe and in nature where no body is gonna interrupt your time. Remind yourself you in control and everything is going to be OK. Don’t do the mother load and expect to handle it off the bat! My mental clarity is tops in fact it’s motivated me to do stuff in my life that I was confused and grappling with. I feel I was lied to about this stuff my whole life and always thought if I did it I might just jump off a building Casue I though I could fly. Nothing could be further from the truth!
In 2024, I had my first experience with mushrooms. The first time was a light dose, and while it wasn’t great, it didn’t lead to anything too intense—just made me laugh a lot. However, a few months ago, I tried a much heavier dose, and the experience was really rough. For context, I’ve struggled with depression my entire life. I went through beatings from my mom, barely saw my dad, and even now, the first thought I have every morning is about suicide and how much I want to die. After taking the heavier dose of mushrooms, the colors around me became incredibly vivid, but I also started seeing and hearing things—what I would describe as demons and faces in everything. The people I was with noticed something was wrong, even though they knew I was on mushrooms. No matter how many times I said I didn’t know what was going on, they kept pushing and even made fun of me. It was a nightmare—demons, voices, and people I care about mocking me. After about five hours, when I could finally walk, my girlfriend took me home. Once home, I experienced what felt like another version of me, in a different reality, getting killed. I was terrified. I unloaded all my guns because I felt like I might harm myself without realizing it. I went to bed, but I couldn’t sleep. I kept my girlfriend up for hours as I twitched, jolted, and constantly looked over my shoulder, convinced something was about to grab me. Every sound felt like a demon whispering in my ear, and I had the overwhelming sensation that I was being watched.
Bad trip is very common and more you take the bigger chance you can get one, and for some ppl there will be always some kind of bad trip. But bad trip is not whole part of trip. It’s just about digging deeper. Real danger from psychodelic and mostly from shrooms is that they show things you have in your mind and also strenghten them. This can be really terapeutic but also can lead to OCD, schizofrenia etc. There is also something called HPPD(Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder) but i don’t know how common it is. So this article is not about real risks of pscyhodelics.
I took shrooms and smoked a blunt. Ended up getting blacking out and getting arrested for my own safety as well as getting minor frostbite on the fingers and toes and swelling in my hands from the handcuffs. Oh yeah and I pissed my pants. It’s clear that mushrooms can be incredibly harmful as I have just learned.
Very balanced and informed article. I think it’s right to say psychedelics have absolutely profound and promising benefits (I can say that from my own personal experience). But we cannot be ignorant to the negatives as well. As we see this renaissance of psychedelics, we have to create an environment of education before use. Regardless of if you’re using it to find yourself or just have a good time. Understanding these substances, and using them in a healthy manner should be paramount.
My friend had a batch of acid (could’ve been nbome) that made him go into full on psychosis. He grabbed a knife and kept pacing around, saying his father raped him as a kid. His mom decided to call the police, and he went to the hospital to get evaluated. I never had a problem with it, but some people are susceptible to a psychotic episode, even if it’s one tab. Edit: his dad NEVER abused him
I feel that when humans get “awaken” by these psychedelics, there’s a chance that when we come back, we feel hopless in this real world. (That could lead to the mental breakdown.) That’s scary but not a lot people talk about it. We have a choice to sink yourself in that side of the world to completely open eyes, and maybe that helps, but I want to keep my world like it is and talk to my friends and family like I have always been. I feel that there should be a guide for that. Guide for coming back and cope with the dillemma.
Magic Mushrooms and LSD were always a good time for me. I loved tripping and staying up all night smoking weed and perusal certain TV shows and movies. After tripping, I always felt so much happier and less anxious, for weeks. Even months. I have Bipolar Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and I never had a bad trip or issues. You really should have someone with you, and make sure you’re in a decent mood before dosing. I always tripped hard with my significant other, and we always had an amazing time. I also found out that sex is more intense while tripping. Orgasms that are intense and long. We had ourselves a time on Mushrooms and Acid. I will always reflect fondly upon our trippy hippie phase.
The one issue glossed over by this article is that a correlation has been observed between the use of psychedelics and a dilation of the boviscacas majoras gland in the brain, which is a well known pathway of transmigration for some pangalactic alien agents as well as specific categories of demons from the more proximal plains of tartarus. Luckily, this dilation can be treated with a combination of ultraviolet light and bleach and prolonged but medically monitored exposure to rhythmic vibrations often found in aboriginal percussion, more modern house dance music, and of course disco. While this treatment may resolve isolated cases, unfortunately they are already among us and extraction, though possible, is no longer probable. Our only salvation at this point may come by way of the cosmic unification of heirolux concordance or, and this is if we are particularly lucky, a complete recitation of the cosmogonic mothercode of the universal console which is contained in James Joyce’s Ulysses and remains encrypted despite the best efforts of eshcatological scholars to decipher it. However, once entered into the omphalic console it should restore the root access needed to reconfigure the kernel of our universe from within the matrix of the broader multiverse. May Eris guide us with grace and dignity to this outcome and may we sing her glory according to the scripture: Never gonna give you up, Never gonna let you down, Never gonna run around and desert you, Never gonna make you cry, Never gonna say goodbye, Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.
In my experience the hardest part is transitioning to this level of consciousness. Its weird and you don’t know whats gonna happen. Bad trips can happen when someone realizes ” Oh shit, what did I just do?” My personal advise to beginners is just to give into it and don’t fight it. Your on a roller coaster ride and its in control, not you. Relax and enjoy the ride, its not permanent.
We have done shrooms a few times, and clearly they have made for some of the most beautiful of days ever. They can be dangerous on high dosage since they obliterate your understanding of concepts, so a few things we do to keep a good mood: 1 identify and remove dangerous objects. No need to leave that sharp knife in the middle of the room 2 identify and bear in mind dangerous places overall: you’re doing it by a river, think “stay away from the river, no bathing. River, bad!” 3 since they can create an huge sense of empathy, don’t do things that freak out others, stop riding the roof of this speeding car, or leaning above the balcony, or whatnot. There’s plenty of fun stuff to do while perusal “normal” stuff. 4 don’t piss off people. Leave them alone if they wanna be alone. Interact only if they’re ok 5 you can have a sober person, but only if they’re part of the trip, like the person who makes sure you’re ok, but it’s not great (for us, at least) to have complete strangers walking around. 6 watch out with dosage: some websites tell you that a mild trip is like 6 grams dried shrooms. That’s a f_ing lot. Start with one or two, and save some for another day. Ideally, take them on an empty stomach, like 3 hours after eating or what, and split your dose in two, it makes for a much more controlled coming up. Take half at minute 0, and half at minute 60 or whatever. 7 if you can, do it outside on a sunny day, but with shade and enough water to last 6 hours without being stressed. 8 while you’re tripping, you’ll be unable to answer to dangerous situations, so look at your environment, and refrain from doing absurd things.
It really depends on your biology and psychology. Key is big picture. Im fairly neurotypical and I respond well to all psychedelics (ketamine, psilocybin, MDMA, lsd, mescaline) but my ex girlfriend who has bipolar disorder, it’s extremely dangerous. No, she can’t die but she’s had horrible psychotic episodes from psilocybin. I want to go into therapy using these tools, but it’s important to know that if you have a risk for psychosis, then you should NOT take them. If you do take them, measure your dose, make sure you trust everyone you’re with. Don’t do it with too many people, and DO NOT DRIVE
yeah I took a half 1/8th of shrooms one time and I’ve suffered with severe mental issues since it took me 9 years for my mind to feel somewhat normal but ill still never be like how I used to be. I lost everything cu I felt like someone took a drill through my brain and scrambled it. my perception of everything changed and the back of my head always felt tense. I never had anxiety or depression before but after my trip I experienced it really hard. now I’m a big loner got no friends I hate social situations and suffer from lots of other mental issues I wish I never did them. they could have been laced or maybe I had that one bad mushroom that could have killed me cuz that’s all I felt like while I was tripping. I just felt like my mind was going 1000 miles an hour and my body felt paralyzed. be careful with mushrooms man everyone’s different but if you already have anxiety disorders and feel depressed don’t try them it can make it 100x worse
I have been depressed for a long time, but after taking mushrooms few months ago, l feel much happier and highly motivated and my ADHD gone, lost a ton of anxiousness and had a few epiphanies about how I should live my life. I decided to buy an ounce for backup, but haven’t yet felt the need to take any more since then.
my two cents on reducing risks: – dont do it as a party/fun/escape thing, do it if you have a committment to overcoming emotional/psychological struggles – dont do more than 3g (2g is enough esp for first time) – i dont think frequent use is a good idea…. ALSO, dont think just because you can’t OD (not sure how true that is) that you can just take alot. You can really mess yourself up if you take a crazy dose like 5g or more
I had a buddy in college who was a mycologoy major and he was really into Terrence McKenna.. He talked me into taking a heroic dose of mushrooms for my first time, 7 grams of dried cubes that he had personally grown.. Before I took them he told me I was going to feel like and think that I was dying.. He assured me that I wouldn’t die, and the effects of the mushrooms would only be temporary.. So I ate the mushrooms.. They took about an hour to kick in and I got an extreme case of the giggles.. I don’t know how long i laughed for but it was long enough that my cheecks hurt.. Then it hit me like a friegh train hauling an aircraft carrier.. I tried to tell my buddy that I was really starting to feel them, but I couldn’t form words.. It was like I forgot how to talk.. I wanted to move from the chair i was sitting in to lay down on the couch but my legs wouldn’t work.. Then I felt like I was freezing cold and started freaking out a little bit.. I remember thinking to myself, I’ve really done it now, I’ve taken a massive overdose and im gonna die.. Then out of nowhere my buddies voice popped into my head and told me I was fine and to just relax.. So I stopped fighting it and let the mushrooms have control.. From that moment forward it was like I had left earth and went to another dimension.. I was completely unaware of anything happening around me, and a sense of calm and peace that I had never felt before came over me.. Then my guide showed up and took me on a journey.. Still to this day I don’t really know how to describe it, other than she was an angel that I had known since the beginning of time.
Long time addiction professional here … Psychedelics aren’t even in the same league as things like Alcohol, Meth, Heroin, or even Benzos in terms damage to lives. All data I’ve seen show that cigarettes are more detrimental to life/health than psychedelics, yet a person can walk into a gas station and buy all the cigarettes they can afford. Personally, I’m gratified that a lot of smart people are now studying the potential benefits of psychedelics as opposed to remaining in the ignorant, repressive and punitive 70’s and 80’s (even 90’s) mindset I grew up navigating. This is not to say that I encourage recreational psychedelic use. Such things may provide benefit, but set and setting (and as Dr. Johnson states) a sober professional guide are important by all accounts.
Dmt, LSD and psilocybin containing mushrooms are amazing. I could remember several years ago, I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Was actually diagnosed with BPD. Not until a friend recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean.
It ONLY depends, how integration is done. The patient has to be willing to work on the discovered issues, and the therapist has to guide after the trip. (Sometimes for a longer period of time. Sometimes you need several trips in order to get the message) Then the risk is nearly zero. What other options do we have, all other treatments don’t work.
i’ve had psychotic episodes, however there’s a load of stigma regarding psychosis. I am a very self aware person, and just because you have a psychotic episode it doesn’t mean that you will permanently have psychosis. ALTHOUGH I also know psychosis can happen reoccur, I really know my own body and mentality and how I think. I haven’t taken psilocybin yet, however I plan to cultivate some and to microdose them whilst I quit cannabis. I’ve heard that it can help with addiction. I also have cronic depression and anxiety. I’ve experienced panic attacks to know how to manage them and those ways of thinking. I just want to give a bit of background before I ask for advice or similar experience? Would anyone recommend me NOT taking it, and why? Or has anyone else taken them for similar reasons, or with similar experiences of psychotic episodes and came out of it alright? During my psychosis I was agoraphobic and in a state of depression, I believed I had capabilities that didn’t make sense because I was agoraphobic and wouldn’t leave the house. I posed no harm, and a lot of people misunderstand how psychosis can affect people differently.. but yea. I plan to microdose and eventually when i’ve quitten cannabis I do intend to experience them to their full capabilities. I have high hopes for using them to benefit me and bring me a healthy mind and to perhaps relay some trauma I have unsolved as well as how you have to integrate what you learn into your every day life. I know what I’m getting into and I am fully prepared.
Thank you so much for this article! Psychedelics have been unfairly demonized for so long and people really should know how amazingly helpful and therapeutic these substances can be. Every single person I know that has had a psychedelic experience has become a better human afterwards. These substances should be decriminalized and made freely available for anyone that wants to heighten their consciousness and better themselves as a person. The fact that alcohol is legal and psychedelics are not is absolutely and objectively wrong for society.
Sadly in Canada, the ignorance in regards to the benefits of Marijuana use, is connected to the use of mushrooms. Once we can get past trying to classify it as a “hippy” drug, and recognize its medicinal benefit to society, perhaps we can help millions improve their lives. The only time something goes from being illegal to legal, is when the government finds a way to control and tax it.
Personally I’m a huge fan of psychedelic drugs. I don’t do them very often, maybe once or twice a year but it’s always an incredible experience for me. I usually take psilocybin, lay down in bed, in the dark with headphones on and just zone out for a couple of hours. Listen to the incredible sounds that are coming into my ears and the mind boggling geometry flowing through my mind.
You don’t know if you’re going to react badly on a physiological level to any drug. People tend to believe they are immune to potential negative consequences of their choices, especially when the risk appears low. As the saying goes, “low risk is not the same as no risk.” There will always be people that die or develop lifelong problems by using psychoactive substances. And the thing is…none of them would have thought it would ever happen to them.
Ayahuasca was mind blowing for me. I found myself in a world where swirling colors created a mesmerizing kaleidoscope. Time stretched as I explored cosmic landscapes, feeling a profound connection to everything. It left me with a deep sense of peace and wonder, realizing the limitless potential of the mind.
Love your website. I think it’s important to discuss a candidates psych history, being especially cautious with individuals who have had any kinds of psychosis or schizophrenia but even if family members have. I worked in psych for quite a while in the past and I met oh probably a half dozen people who used mushrooms or LSD and it’s opened up a route for l latent schizophrenia to become full-blown and lasting the lifetime of the person. It does happen.
i underwent a lot of damage from my psychedelic use in the 60s. but the harmful effects occurred a half dozen times out of about two hundred trips. the harm was NOT overdose or addiction. not physical harm at all. but the damage was a fundamental change in my psyche that precluded ordinary participation in american society or business. it also eliminated my uncanny aptitude for mathematics. lord knows why. anyway, it was a hard battle to return to ‘ordinary’ happiness. perhaps it was not damage so much as an inconvenient exchange. oh, and alcohol, tobacco, and speed are definitely worse.
Something that bugs me is the graph they show with alcohol at the top and shrooms at the bottom. He mentions later in the article that “bad trips can happen” and “people can panic or wander into traffic”. What if they’re dealing with a serious mental disorder and everything that happens is internal to the person? What are the exact parameters for “Harm” as defined in the graph? Long-term? Short-term? Immediate physical? Do they even account for mental trauma or dangers? Seems like the article has a slight bias. Someone mentioned HPPD below, and that’s worth talking about. Harm in the context of any drug should be regarding the overall quality of life during AND after use. I can use alcohol for decades and then die of a car accident. More realistically, I could have liver or cardiovascular complications down the line. Does that mean my quality of life during use was negatively impacted? Does that mean the drug “helped” me? It depends on how you parameterize the analyses. Personally I’ve never done psychedelics, because doing any form of cannabis worsens my PTSD and panic attacks. To that point, many of these drugs are illegal or have only recently become legal – so our scientific knowledge on them is still in its infancy relative to things like alcohol. You can reference the studies done in the 60s, but how many of those studies have been repeated and reverified?
I use psychadelics to reexamine my mental blocks and find new ways to see the world. They have helped me overcome certain aspects of my anxiety and depression. I think they are amazing and underutilized, but I certainly don’t know all of the risks. I would quite liked to have learned that from this article rather than be told “we all know what they are”.
I made the horrible mistake of mixing LSD and THC – that specific combination for me makes moments feel like an eternity, unable to comprehend basic concepts – let alone telling the difference between death and sleep, and alters what ‘voice’ in my head I listen to. Basically the intrusive thoughts take over and I was staring at a wall thinking I was dead at best OR realizing I was actively TRYING to put myself into what I can only describe as psychosis-induced zen at worst. When my friend would try and calm me down and explain I was just tripping balls, my mind would ‘reset’ moments later making me forget what just happened and I would think I am once again dead or continue to stare at the wall – and at the worst point I was screaming/chanting the same word over and over again. I remember telling myself at one point ‘yo say something sane stop staring at the wall doing nothing/shouting or your friend might get an ambulance called and send you to a psych ward.’ Then I would pass out, probably because I was tired from the THC. Rinse and repeat a few times. Thankfully my friend saw a lesser version of that before with me when I made the exact same mistake years ago so they didn’t freak out and just let me do my thing. During my sleep I would see a fractal shape that would try and complete itself, and I assumed this was the death point once it completed – like the fractal being completed is the mind reaching the final resting moment and eternal peace at last – and there was like..
i tried shrooms the first time a few months ago and ended up doing shrooms 4 times in the one month. i’ve dealt with things like major depression, dissociation, anxiety, and bpd my whole life but for once i felt a semblance of happiness. the first times it changed my perspective and i felt like a better person, i cared more, i felt love, i appreciated the world around me and the things i had in life. on my fourth time, i had my first bad trip that traumatized me. a month later i was completely sober and physically relived the bad trip after discussing it for too long, the effects it can have on your psyche is scary. i developed panic attacks, my anxiety was severely worse, and i couldn’t even hear the word shrooms without my chest tightening, my head spinning, and my stomach sinking. as a person whose always had a hard time identifying with themselves, experiencing ego death amongst the psychosis and paranoia and other crazy shit i was feeling on the bad trip, it was really difficult to ground myself to reality for a while afterwards. i do still struggle with feeling unreal. the only thing i can do is try to spin this positively, i am grateful i had a bad trip because now i understand the dangers and won’t take it so irresponsibly, and having ego death might be a way for me to reset and take a look at myself from the outside and connect with myself.
i’m 16 my dad is going through stage 4 liver failure from alcoholism and alcohol poisoning i’ve seen some crazy things he’s done and he’s done some crazy things to me while intoxicated i see so much harm with alcohol but i have never ever once seen do anything extraordinary off mushrooms are weed. make alchohol illegal please!!!!
The statement that bad trips are relatively rare is absolutely false. I would like to see the number of studies that measure something else than cardiovascular problems, like for example, measure of memory impairment, IQ tests, satisfaction, connection to other people and any measure on the brain, on the long term. Dependency is one problem, but their can be many of them. Absolutely all my teenage friends ended up consuming a cocktail of drugs, and it has been terrible for all of them, psychedelic drugs were part of it, usually you don’t take only those when you use them, so it might be that it is the effect of other drugs. But I saw a guy completely disconnected after having taken too many mushrooms. I can’t help myself but thinking that guy works for a big corporation or a startup that plans to release new medication based on those drugs.
I feel like i have fried my mind with psychedelics 😔 Or maybe i just realized how low i am. But I’m definitely struggling way more than I remember i did. Part of me thought it was a part of growing up, but i started to notice my memory was dog shit, and my imagination was driving me crazy. I hear pointers towards a deeper experience to life from very educated people like drs, physicists and various other highly respected individuals. That gives me hope but still, i can only imagine how people that have fallen worse than me have to deal with. I mostly feel like I am crazy for being at ease, kinda like my system only wants to be in fight or flight mode. Finding help has been difficult to say the least but, you can get better.
Although somewhat safe psychedelic use has definitely shaped a big part of the person that i am today, the thought of someone using it as weapon against me or anyone else really as just stuck to me, especially ever since stepping into higher dose territory. Having to deal with dosages above 1 or even 2 mg without any preparation or knowledge of what is happening to you is something I would not want to experience
Thank you for the very interesting article ! Allow me to comment in order to share my research (both internal and external) on psychedelics, specifically LSD. This comment is not intended to encourage their use, but rather to offer my positive experiences with psychedelics (though not without difficulties). Therefore, please think carefully before deciding to do so. Initially, I began using LSD alone with the intent to disconnect from reality during weekends, to let my mind wander and to see various things. My first experience was quite interesting; I felt a beautiful sensation growing, as things around me began to distort. However, I soon encountered my “shadow”—my dark thoughts—and it was tremendously difficult to break free from them. I truly battled with myself (With my fears, my anxieties, my nightmares). Once the effects wore off, I was relieved it was over, but I also felt a sense of pride for having managed to confront my fears and push through by sheer mental strength! (I must emphasize that things can turn quite bad if you are in the wrong mindset). I repeated the experience (possibly out of a mix of masochism and curiosity) and took the opportunity to try and capitalize more on the positive effects. I believe that it can create a bridge between the conscious and unconscious mind, allowing for very precise visualization of thoughts. My goal was to gain more self-confidence; I knew I could do it and was eager to maximize my life, to stop wasting time. Consequently, I managed to idealize myself unconsciously and through this bridge, I projected this unconscious ideal onto my physical, conscious self!
Mushrooms have shown me that you can set your soul free. First I felt like shit but after a few hours I felt a huge psychological and physical cleanse. I felt the presence of God, the universe and seen that there is more in this world than we can see. After this experience I’ve started to see people more as souls rather than physical beings. Everybody has a purpose. I’ve thanked God for this experience.
I did shrooms multiple times and the anxiety that I experienced during every single trip was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I’m aware that your trip depends on your mood and environment and each time I was in a good mood and comfortable environment, It was so overwhelming that I really felt like my life was over, it was honestly horrifying and it has had lasting effects on my life. However my experiences with lsd have been the complete opposite. I believe that some people just can’t handle psilocybin.
shrooms was a hilarious and awesome time for me. lsd though tweaked me out. made my anxiety go through the roof. everyone is different. some people have better trips on lsd rather than shrooms. there’s also a huge difference on how much someone takes for their first time or any time. the more you take the more intense the trip will be
I am high functioning autistic, only figured this out at age 44 in 2005. Prior to that, I was a lost soul, placed on the wrong planet. Had a horrible childhood growing up in row house Philly in the late 60’s / early ’70’s, everybody hated me, from my own parents to other kids to teachers, etc. My first solace in life was being taken to see The Grateful Dead in high school by older siblings of a rare friend. I subsequently smoked weed & then tried LSD. Some of my 1st trips were profound & difficult, but I started to realize, the problem wasn’t the world, it was my interface with it, & that I had profound stockholm syndrome with my relationship w/my parents, both of whom were dysfunctional & probably mentally ill. It wasn’t until I ran away from home at age 17, was able to go to college & get degrees / licenses in engineering, go on to my own successful career, all the time whilst going to Grateful Dead (& other psychedelic band) concerts & using LSD & Shrooms, that I righted my own ship enough to live a fairly normal life in society. It has only been since my discovery of my HFA condition nearly 2 decades ago, & the increasing awareness of therapeutic use of psychedelics, that I’ve slowly realized I was actually performing therapy on myself, & the psychedelics were actually helping me cope with the world, at the same time I was having a kick ass time lol.
I did a psilocybin trip once. I managed to save a guy about to fall back down 10 feet of stairs. I was OK until I went to bed. Major demons greeted me once I closed my eyes. They were ugly but, the troubling aspect was that I knew without a doubt that they came from me. Two weeks of nausea followed until the memory had faded sufficiently. You make up your own mind on this, just sharing my first and last experience.
I have tried shrooms 6 years ago, had a profound realization. Back then I was facing issues with my masters and professional career path. I did it with my best friend who already tried it before me. We took around 2 grams. 1 hr after taking, my ego and expectation was not letting the substance to kick in. Suddenly it started and was marvelous. I came out of it as a new optimistic person. I was happy for the smallest thing I was doing. It kept me like this for 1 or 2 years. After that the cruel corpo life smashed that vibe. Since 7 years i didnt do it again, I miss that optimistic perceptions of things, the lack of fear for death. Now it seems the brain needs another session, however I’m a bit reluctant as I might have heart palpitations. Is it worth still trying?
The risks of a psilocybin mushroom and DMT along with Ayahuasca are that you will risk coming back to this reality with a more profound awareness than you could ever have imagined. DMT, when smoked “literally,” takes you to the spirit realm and will prove to you that everything we’re going through here is all a simulation, although the experience itself here is real but nothing here in itself is real. The spiritual journey of psychedelics is VERY important. Ancient religions such as the Bible, the Mayan, and the Hopi are all based on DMT and mushroom trips.
“Psychosis will wear off and it will be fine” I dont know about that one chief. I had a bad trip 2 years ago and the first few months i was fighting against anxiety disorder and trauma. Just a few weeks ago i had my first flashback since a really long time. So it definitely can fuck you up and change the way you life since you want to avoid other people taking drugs because beeing in presence of them might gives you flashbacks again. So basically no disco/club anymore.
It makes me happy to see psychedelics moving to such a positive public perception, because of how profoundly they affected my life for the better. As an (at the time) undiagnosed autistic who lived their life struggling to meet the minimums of society, coming into my 20’s I was extremely suicidal because I felt as if I would collapse under the weight of the world before ever becoming happy with myself. I actually went and sat in an ayahuasca ceremony, which involves drinking a tea that utilizes a very naturally brewed DMT/MAOi compound, and it helped me discern my experiences in life to my own identity, and appreciate my existence in its whole. Since then, I’ve simply moved down a path of self growth and healing from a lifetime of traumas that I otherwise would have likely succumbed to. Psychedelics can be some of the most connecting, healing substances on our planet.
I tried psychedelics one time and still have flashbacks of panic and anxiety. Things I did not experience before. I wish I did not take them. And I know more.l people suffering the same. Don’t do them. Yes some people enjoy them, but they tend to be some seriously mentally f@ckd up people. So this stuff helps them. But people who are mentally ok should not do it
The only reason people claim the legal drugs like alcohol are so much worse that the illegal ones is because the legal drugs are widely use. Psychedelic drug are genuinely dangerous. They can severely handicap your ability to contemplate reality. Which can lead to serious problems if the user doesn’t want to just lounge around.
In my experience using psychedelics, I believe a consistent, recreational usage of them can be harmful. The enjoyable high of LSD or Shrooms is fragile, and when a bad trip happens, it has the potential to be traumatic. I’ve had trips where I would dissociate or enter periods of depression and anxiety because of the things I would experience during my bad trips, and those effects are, although impermanent, long-lasting. And although the research into psychedelics is still minimal (compared to other drugs), its abuse, I believe, has the real and reliable potential to induce a persistent psychosis. As with any substance, people ought to proceed with caution and respect, but I agree that psychedelics are much less risky than even something like weed.
I had a big downfall with benzo’s. It was the worst time of my life. I wont wish it upon anyone. I took psychedelic mushrooms for the 1st time in 2021 at my lowest. It changed my lIFE the first time a took it. I shook the benzo habit. I cant describe in words what the journey has been. I have been sober for more than a year. No more depression, no more anxiety. Im just living my life in the most natural realistic form
The problem with psilocybin and hallucinogenic mushrooms is that they alter permanently your brain at the synaptic level. My brother lived for several years in South Mexico. While there, he consumed mushrooms very frequently. He rapidly developed an acute form of schizophrenia. Nowadays, almost 20 years later, even with medical assistance, he’s unable to work, has difficulties to focus on anything, etc… He made me try once… 5 hours being literally BEYOND reality, what I saw was both disturbing and scary.
I did try LSD ( actually prodrug 1d-lsd legail in japan) as a treatment with my longtime depression. Succesfully I could recover myself from such a darkness but after using it I felt like I was not sure my body and mind is integrated well. I mean I lost some sense of myself for a while. Aftere a month, that state completely passed away but if I tried once more that’s gonna be a true loss of myself. I think this is kind of flushback, but certainly brain are different compred to before.
I heard somewhere that you shouldn’t take psychedelics more that once or twice a year, since they literally change the way your mind works and you don’t want to accidentally beat your brain into being evil or broken. Is this a fair statement? Actually asking, is it ACTUALLY smart to only take psychedelics once or twice a year? I do know how to take them safely otherwise, I’m always with someone else in a comfortable and responsible place (as in no kids, no parents, no chance of being caught by unwanted eyes) and I’ve personally been careful my first few times to stay inside, as I can’t seem to act any level of sane. Is it really just.. good to only do it every now and then tho?
I had a mushroom journey in 2019 and it was the most beautiful experience of my life. My mental health improved, my eating disorder remarkably disappeared. I went in again a year later to share the experience with my sister. Two months after that I decided to try microdosing and my brain literally began melting on the third day. I mean seizures, constant internal head tremors, severe distortions of perceptions and total loss of sleep (I did not sleep at all for months and not more than a couple hours for 2 years after that). No doctor could figure out what was happening to me exactly thinking I had encaphilitis. This hell continued for 1.5 years and I attempted to end my life multiple times ending up in a long coma. My brain began to heal about 6 months ago but I still live with some of the symptoms. I am not the only one, it is so rare but there are a couple others like me who ended up with smilar severe conditions following psychdelics but nobody stumbles upon these niche forums until it is too late. I decided to comment here because in the article Matthew states that any negative impacts are ‘known’, forgetting that we are dealing with substances that we still understand so little about, particularly in relation to the intricate complexities of the human brain. I understand why people who have had amazing healing experiences like I did first would want to protect this idea but we must remain aware that individual responses can vary greatly, and there are risks and consequences that have yet to be fully comprehended.
During my early twenties I regularly used weed and LSD, however as I neared my thirties, it started giving me more and more bad trips. It eventually got so bad that I totally quit both. For a while I really enjoyed both subtances but my mind just couldn’t handle it anymore. Now after many years of being sober I sometimes run into old timers who still use and when I see them I’m so glad that I quit when I did. Thinking back of the experiences, it taught me a lot about life, but I’m glad I’m no longer using.