It’s been a couple of months since my last microdose. This wasn’t a conscious decision, but just how things have gone. Despite it being a while, I’ve found that the insights, feelings, and ‘smoothing’ effect of microdosing has remained. Does that mean I don’t need to do it anymore? Maybe, maybe not – with psychedelics it’s never quite as simple as that. I’m sure the positive effects have firmly taken hold, in a positive way. But who knows what else could unfold from future microdosing or psychedelic experiences – that is always the clincher, that little bud of curiosity waiting to bloom under the right conditions.
One of the great things about psychedelics in general, and microdosing with LSD, or psilocybin, is that there is no addictive effect (for the vast majority of people). They’re almost the anti-addictive drugs. When you take them too often, you will soon be put in your place by the drug itself, in a way that is unambiguous and easy to work with. Of course there is also very strong evidence that they can help those suffering with alcoholism and opioid addictions – both notoriously difficult to treat.
I believe that this characteristic of these compounds makes the dosage and frequency of microdosing quite self-regulating. You may notice from reading studies, anecdotal experiences, and information from organisations that are facilitating microdosing experiences, that a specific dosage/routine is established. Whilst I don’t doubt this can work, it isn’t necessary and I believe more to do with the fact that their studies or facilitation services need to be carried out in a scientific way, or a way that seems professional to the paying subject. You don’t need to worry about that at home. Whilst some people love routine, structure etc, if psychedelics have taught me anything it’s that if you can do away with it as much as possible, life feels much more natural, and things actually end up coming together surprisingly easily – sometimes to the irritation of the more ‘organised’.
So, during this break there have been many days where I felt I was microdosing even though I wasn’t. I remember one particular day when I was taking a flight, and felt an almost ego-death type feeling the entire day, without any trippiness – a kind of constant flow state. As often as once a week at a miminum, I’ve began to notice this effect, and I end up reminding myself that I have not dosed that day at all, despite that familiar feeling. Likewise, when microdosing I often feel as though I am not under the influence of anything at all, so my normal state of being has changed over time, and it seems that microdosing is responsible for this positive change.
This leads me to an obvious conclusion that it may not be necessary to microdose forever, and as time goes on it becomes less important to dose regularly, or as regularly as in the beginning. Even once a month can be enough after the main benefits have taken hold. When psychedelics do eventually become a legal/prescription medication, it will be interesting to see what doses are prescribed, along with frequency and duration of the course of ‘medication’.
I suspect a common consensus will be reached, however, I believe the optimum dose, frequency and course must depend on the individual, which is why I hope the patient/client will be afforded a real say in the matter as this could be closely linked to the success of any treatment. It seems all too common that once one ‘expert’ has discovered something that works, it can be decades before it is realised that other approaches also work, or even work better.
It will be interesting to see the science that eventually proves this, but I’m convinced that what microdosing is facilitating is the formation of new neural pathways much quicker than normal, speeding up the process of change happening within the psyche. The breakthrough here for medicine, mental healthcare, and wellbeing in general is that the cost and speed at which a person could be helped and even transform their lives could be accelerated beyond anything that any other clinical treatment has ever managed before. It may also yield results that are consistent across the vast majority of subjects, I predict a success rate way above 70%.
What times we are living in, with many ideas from the past finding their place in society once again. Whilst some of these ‘old’ ideas are certainly not progressive, I find it interesting that some of the most progressive ideas are also not new either, so maybe it’s a bit of a question of what aspects of the past we’ll return to and stick with, and which parts will be thrown out once again. The psychedelic revival though is alive and kicking, and I have a feeling it will not be silenced this time.
Microdosing Journal 