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EMERSON COLLEGEHONORS PROGRAM
Medical Magic Mushrooms: Understanding the Healing Effects of
Psilocybin Mushrooms through Users Personal Experiences
An Honors Thesis
submitted by
Rachel Agnir
to the Honors Program of Emerson College
in partial fulfillment of the requirements forthe degree of
Political Communication: Leadership, Politics, and Social
Advocacy
in
Communication Studies
Emerson CollegeBoston, MassachusettsSpring, 2015
Abstract
Humans have used Magic Mushrooms to expand their consciousness
for thousands of years. Excesses in drug use of the 1960s,
subsequent Drug War propaganda of the past 40 years, and
conflicting reports of the drugs effects leave the public unclear
about the realities of a Magic Mushroom experience. To better
understand the drug and its effects, people turn to the internet to
seek users personal experiences. By analyzing online forum
discussions pertaining to psilocybin mushrooms through the lens of
Social Construction Theory, we were able to build a picture of the
realities of psilocybin use. Results show that psilocybin mushrooms
can be used safely and can provide therapeutic benefits when used
in a controlled environment, when the user goes into the experience
with the proper mental preparation and mindset. Better
understanding of the effects of psilocybin mushrooms will help to
improve public opinion, making further research more widely
accepted.
Table of Contents
Introduction.4Literature Review6Changing Attitudes toward
Psilocybin Mushrooms in the U.S. .8Online Forum
Communication.12Social Construction Theory..14Methodology
....18Analysis.20Dosage...20Bad Trips ...25Treating Mental Illness
.31Maximizing Benefits ...42Conclusions ..47Implications ..50
Works Cited....51
Introduction
There exists a curious organism that grows out of the ground and
can be found in nearly every corner of the world, from Alaska to
Chile, and from California to Japan (Guzmn, Allen & Gartz
2000). This organism is a fungus, a type of mushroom that gains
nutrients from decaying organic matter and grows long, underground
connecting networks of mycelium, much like other mushrooms. While
these mushrooms are similar in growth and appearance to hundreds of
others, a particular type of mushroom has been a celebrated and
revered by humans since prehistoric times. These mushrooms appear
in cave paintings in Northern Africa and stone carvings from
Europe, Asia, and Central America (McKenna 1992). Ancient shamans,
the earliest practitioners of spirituality and medicine, viewed
these mushroom as sacred, and used them to communicate with the
spirit world and to seek divine answers to difficult questions.
These fascinating mushrooms are still known and used today, and are
commonly referred to as Magic Mushrooms.Magic Mushrooms, and all
psychedelic drugs, are a politically and emotionally charged
subject. Today, they are strongly associated with the
counterculture of the 1960s, with stoners and burnouts, and hippies
who have permanently damaged their brains through their use. They
are viewed as extremely dangerous by the generation of adults who
were raised seeing the anti-drug propaganda of the 1970s and 1980s.
At the same time, many who experienced Magic Mushrooms in their
youth will tell you that their experiences were profound, not
simply bright colors and hallucinations, but something much more
meaningful. What is the truth? Are Magic Mushrooms safe and
harmless, and potentially beneficial through the profound
experiences they may provide? Or are they dangerous, giving people
hallucinations that may put them in danger, and potentially leading
people to psychosis and a permanent break from reality? Today,
clinical research is being conducted into the therapeutic,
medicinal uses of Magic Mushrooms, and results are largely
positive. However, such a strong stigma surrounds these substances
that government approval and funding for research are extremely
difficult to obtain. For research to move forward, a clearer
understanding of the effects of Magic Mushrooms must be available
in order to erase stigma and change public opinion. In this paper,
I will first conduct a literature review detailing the public
opinion and changing attitudes Americans have held toward
psilocybin mushrooms in the past sixty years, the use of online
forum communication in affecting peoples consumption decisions, and
the communication theory of Social Construction for building
knowledge and gaining understanding of reality. Next will be a
section on methodology, how I found an online forum discussing the
realities of psilocybin mushroom use, and how I analyzed these
online conversations. In the analysis section, I will qualitatively
analyze the messages of an online forum through the lens of Social
Construction Theory, to show how these forum users come to
understand the realities of consuming psilocybin mushrooms through
social interaction. Finally, I will summarize my findings in a
concluding section and discuss the implications of my findings on
the future of psychedelic medicine.
Literature ReviewMagic mushrooms are the only psychedelic drug
known to man that are completely active in their natural state,
requiring no preparation, boiling, burning, or scraping (McKenna
1992). Magic Mushrooms grow out of the ground in fields and forests
across the world, fully functional and intensely psychoactive. The
active chemicals in these mushrooms are psilocybin and its
derivative, psilocin. These chemicals interact with serotonin
receptor subtype 5-HT2A,C, and this alteration in serotonin
neurotransmission causes an interconversion of senses, leading to
novel connections and brain activity (Snyder 2006, Griffiths et al
2006, Hasler et al 2004). Scientists widely agree upon the fact
that psychedelic drugs like psilocybin are remarkably non-toxic and
have little to no potential to cause physiological addiction
(Griffiths et al 2006, Hasler et al 2004, Krebs et al 2013).
Numerous studies conducted in the United States and Europe have
demonstrated that ingesting psilocybin mushrooms can cause a person
to have a deeply spiritual or mystical experience, in which a
person feels an inexplicable connection and interaction with higher
divinities as well as their own inner selves (Pahnke 1962,
Griffiths et al 2006, Griffiths et al 2011, Lerner & Lyvers
2006). Recent research has shown that psilocybin has the potential
to treat and possibly cure a myriad of mental disorders, including
anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction, and
end-of-life anxiety in people with terminal illnesses (Burne 2012,
Shroder 2014, Grob et al 2011). Despite promising research and
thousands of years of religious use, psilocybin is currently ranked
as a Schedule 1 narcotic by the United States Drug Enforcement
Agency. Schedule 1 drugs are described as having the highest
potential for abuse, with absolutely no accepted medical use, and
are considered to be unsafe to be used even in a controlled,
clinical setting. Numerous research reports negate all three of
these qualifiers, showing that psilocybin is non-addictive, has the
potential to treat several illnesses, and can be used safely under
the supervision of professional researchers (Griffiths et al 2006,
Hasler et al 2004, Grob et al 2011). Attitudes toward psilocybin
mushrooms in the United States have fluctuated between positive and
negative since they were first reported on by mycologist R. Gordon
Wasson, in a 1957 article appearing in Life Magazine, titled
Seeking the Magic Mushroom. Descriptions of the mushrooms effects
range from extremely positive to extremely negative. Many report
feelings of elation and ecstasy, a deeper connection to nature and
all living things, a deeper appreciation of life and increased
empathy toward others, and feelings of well-being that lasts long
after the drugs effects have worn off. At the same time, we hear
reports of people experiencing bad trips, hours of terrifying
visions, writhing in extreme anxiety, and experiencing a certainty
that they are dying. Many people report their experiences while
under the effects of psilocybin to be ineffable, or unable to be
put into words, because the experiences are so foreign and
profound. These conflicting reports of personal experiences, along
with the difficulty that many have with putting their experiences
into words, leads many to question the realities of a magic
mushroom experience. Today, people gather in online communities to
discuss their experiences and pose questions to others regarding
their psychedelic experiences, or potential experimentation with
psychedelic substances. Websites such as shroomery.com, erowid.com,
and reset.me are hubs of information regarding a wide array of
illicit substances, where members can contribute and converse
through forums with anonymity and safety. People are drawn to these
sites because they provide information from experienced users,
people who have first hand knowledge of the effects of these
substances. In these online discussions, people converse and share
knowledge in order to solidify the realities of psychedelic drugs-
where to find them, how to take them, and what they do.Changing
Attitudes Toward Psilocybin MushroomsAmerican attitudes toward
psilocybin mushrooms have fluctuated through the past sixty or so
years, based largely on societal beliefs, and sometimes at the
expense of scientific rationale. Psilocybin mushrooms were first
brought to the attention of American society in 1957, in a photo
essay published in Life Magazine titled Seeking the Magic Mushroom.
The article was written by amateur mycologist R. Gordon Wasson.
Wasson, an American banker, and his Russian wife, Valentina
Pavlovna, were interested in the differing roles that mushrooms
played in different cultures. Their research led them to reports
written by Spanish Conquistadores, whose writings referenced
indigenous cultures in Mexico using mushrooms in religious
ceremonies. In a remote village in the Mazatec mountains of Mexico,
Wasson became the first Westerner to participate in the sacred
mushroom ceremony of the Mixeteco people. Wasson picked the
psilocybin mushrooms himself, with the aid of the small towns
sndico, or official. The ceremony was conducted by a female shaman,
a curandera, named Maria Sabina, and her daughter. During the
ceremony, the curandera distributed the fresh mushrooms to a group
of about twenty individuals, who sat on mats around an alter. All
present, including the curandera, ingested the mushrooms, and for
some six hours experienced vivid visions and feelings of being
transported to other places in time. All through the ceremony, the
curandera and her daughter sang, hummed, and chanted to direct the
energies of the people (Wasson 1957).Wassons experiences brought
psychedelic mushrooms into the public eye, and people were very
excited about the discovery. Hundreds of people flocked to the
Huautla region of Mexico in hopes of experiencing the mushroom
ceremony. These mushroom tourists caused great amounts of strife
for the indigenous Mexican people, whose practices had been a
secret for generations (Ceraso 2008). During this time, the United
States government was very interested in studying the mind altering
effects of other psychedelic drugs, particularly lysergic acid
diethylamide, or LSD, which had been synthesized by Albert Hofmann
at Sandoz Laboratory over a decade prior, in Switzerland. A species
of magic mushroom, Psilocybe mexicana, was sent to Sandoz
Laboratory in the late 1950s, where the active chemical psilocybin
was first isolated and then synthesized (Ceraso 2008). Between 1953
and 1973, hundreds of studies into the effects of psychedelic
drugs, including LSD and psilocybin, were funded by the U.S.
government. Researchers studied the effects of psychedelic drugs in
treating addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder, end-of-life
anxiety, and schizophrenia (Pollan 2015). Effects on creativity,
and studies on mystical or religious experiences, were conducted as
well (Pollan 2015, Bunch 2009, Griffiths et al 2006). Results of
these studies were largely positive, though by todays standards
often lacked rigid study design (Pollan 2015).During the 1960s,
psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin were supported by scientists,
artists, and young people who were interested in the drugs
abilities to broaden ones senses and change the way they viewed the
world. As the 1960s wore on, a counter-culture movement among the
youth of the country grew, and citizens began questioning the
government and the society in which we live. Social activists
demanded civil rights for African Americans, anti-war protestors
marched in opposition to the Vietnam War, and hippies practiced
free love on the lawn of the White House. The counter-culture
embraced cannabis and psychedelic drugs for their ability to
broaden their perceptions and think about society and social norms
from a new perspective. These drugs helped them to question the
objective reality that they had known since birth, and people
formed their own subjective reality of how the country and its
people should operate. The counter-culture, and its desire to
create change in society, put pressure on the government. Protests
were televised and shown in every home, and popular musicians
advocated the use of mind-altering substances and the questioning
of the powers that be. Psychedelic use was widespread. It was
during this time that newspapers began to report sensational
stories about young people, high on LSD, who became convinced that
they could fly, and fell or jumped to their deaths. President
Richard Nixon proclaimed drugs to be the number one threat to
America, and declared a War on Drugs that has lasted for over forty
years. In 1971, Nixon passed the Controlled Substances Act, which
classified all known narcotics into schedules according to how
dangerous they were. Despite having demonstrated many medical
benefits in the previous decades, all known psychedelics, as well
as cannabis, were placed under the strictest restriction as
Schedule 1 drugs. While this did little to curb the widespread
recreational use of psychedelics, it effectively halted all
scientific research into these chemicals. The sensationalized
dangers of psychedelic drugs were reported in news broadcasts
across the country, claiming that the use of psychedelic drugs
caused psychosis, and led to insanity. Reports of people being
stuck in permanent trips, who were unable to return to reality,
terrified the public. Over time, a generation of Americans came to
know psychedelic drugs as the most dangerous and terrifying of all
drugs. Today, many people still hold this view.In the past decade,
research into psychedelic substances and their potential to treat
mental disorders has experienced a revival, which many are calling
a renaissance (Sessa 2012). Within the scientific community, there
has been renewed interest in studying the effects of psilocybin on
end-of-life anxiety and addiction, as well as its ability to induce
mystical experiences (Sessa 2012, Shroder 2014, Griffiths et al
2011). In the United States, the DEA is making small concessions to
allow research into psychedelic substances, and studies are being
conducted by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic
Studies (MAPS) and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
According to UK psychiatrist Ben Sessa, there is a strong
commitment to get research into psychedelics right this time
around, by undertaking meticulously planned randomised, controlled,
double-blind studies, in contrast to the anecdotal studies of the
1960s (Sessa 2012). In todays research, there is a strong emphasis
on set and setting which is the mental and emotional state of the
person being administered the drug, as well as the safe,
controlled, and therapeutic setting in which the drug is
administered. The highly positive results of these studies have
generated much media buzz, prompting the publication of articles in
the New York Times, Forbes, the New Yorker, and the Huffington Post
(Bone 2014, Kotler 2015, Pollan 2015, Gregoire 2015). This increase
in reputable research and media attention from well established
publications shows a recent shift in attitudes and beliefs
surrounding psychedelic drugs.
Online Forum CommunicationBefore making decisions about what
product to buy or what hotel to book, consumers seek out
information in order to reduce the risk of making a poor choice.
Rather than looking to sources that have some sort of stake in the
consumers final choice, such as the company selling the product or
its competitor, people find consumer-dominated reviews to be more
trustworthy and compelling (Prendergast, Ko & Yuen 2010). As
such, word of mouth communication from the perspective of
experienced users has been found to strongly influence the beliefs
and decisions made by potential users. Increasingly in the past two
decades, people have begun to rely heavily on the internet for
finding information that they are interested in. On the internet,
one can find a wealth of knowledge regarding psychedelic
substances. A report of hallucinogens on the internet, published by
the American Journal of Psychiatry, found that with a simple
internet search, one can find thousands of pages of information
regarding psychedelic drugs, what they look like, how to grow or
synthesize them, how to take them, and what their effects are. The
authors of the report found that much of the information was
unverifiable, as the underground knowledge of psychedelics far
outpaced anything that could be found in medical texts (Halpern
& Pope 1999). The internets collective knowledge of psychedelic
drugs is largely a collection of consumers personal experiences. A
study of the effects of online word of mouth communication on
consumers purchase intentions, published in the International
Journal of Advertising, found that interaction among consumers on
online communities such as internet forums and bulletin boards, had
the same ability to influence consumer intentions as face-to-face
word of mouth communication (Prendergast et al 2010). In an online
community forum, members can post a message, to which other members
can reply, creating a united thread of messages under one topic.
According to Prendergast et al, When the forums are
consumption-related, the members may share enthusiasm and knowledge
about a specific consumption experience or related group of
activities (Prendergast et al 2010). Rather than being passive
consumers of content, members can take an active role in creating
content. Consumers can share their personal experiences, ask
questions, and provide opinions to others. Research regarding
online community forum discussion as part of a distance-learning
program shows that the social environment created by forum
discussion allows community members to better construct knowledge.
Learning is a social process, and through interaction via online
forum discussions, people can collaborate and converse in a back
and forth manner, building understanding and reinforcing ideas and
concepts, even at a distance (Mohammed 2014). There exist many
hundreds of online forums, each pertaining to a specific interest,
product, or activity, where consumers who are interested in that
item can converse with like-minded individuals. As Halpern and Pope
demonstrated, millions of people come together on the internet to
discuss psychedelic drugs. People are looking for information
before consuming psychedelic substances, in order to reduce the
risks associated with buying and consuming illicit substances. In
an online community forum dedicated to the discussion of
psychedelics, novice consumers can pose questions to the community,
and can gain insight from the experiences of others. Through
discussion and social interaction, members of the community forum
can build understanding and reinforce concepts regarding
hallucinogenic substances. Consumers seek out information from
people who have personal experience, rather than turning to the
information provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration or
other government funded agencies. This is similar to other consumer
behavior, in which consumers look for recommendations about
products from real people, rather than the corporations or
businesses that may have a stake in their decisions. An online
community forum dedicated to the discussion of psilocybin offers
dozens of examples of such interactions. Novice consumers of the
drug can read the personal experiences reported by others, and pose
questions to other members of the community. Community members
share their experiences and knowledge, and build off of one
anothers posts in order to form answers to the questions. Reading
through these forums, we can observe consumers constructing
knowledge and understanding about the drug through their online
socializations. Social Construction Theory, which will be expanded
upon in the next section, states that reality is created through
social interactions. Through this lens, we may come to understand
the realities of psilocybin mushroom use, and see how these
realities are constructed through the sharing of many users
personal experiences. Social Construction Theory
According to Grounded Theory Review, a peer reviewed journal,
social constructionists view knowledge as constructed, rather than
created (Andrews 2012). Social Construction Theory explains that
our understandings of reality are based on social beliefs and
interactions between members of a society. We construct our reality
through interactions with others and through discovering the views
of reality held by those with whom we interact. Beliefs that are
socially constructed are based upon certain cultural norms and
circumstances, and as such different cultures may hold different
realities regarding the same object (Boghossian 2001). Social
Construction theorists Berger and Luckmann draw a distinction
between objective and subjective reality. Objective reality is the
truth by which we live our day to day lives. Components of
objective reality are facts that can be proven with science- that
we must breathe oxygen to survive, that the Earth revolves around
the sun, that gravity holds us to the planet. Included in our
objective reality are the routines and habits that have been
reinforced generation after generation, forming a general store of
knowledge for human beings (Andrews 2012). This would include facts
of life such as- we sleep at night and wake during the day, we work
to support our selves and loved ones, and we uphold the rules and
laws of society. According to Andrews, our objective reality is
continuously reaffirmed as true through our interactions with
others, from our birth.At the same time, people experience a
subjective reality. Subjective reality, according to Andrews, is
achieved through primary socialization. Individuals come to
understand their sense of self and place in society through
interactions with other individuals who are significant in their
lives. Through the medium of language, objective reality is
rendered meaningful to an individual person, thus creating their
subjective reality. Subjective reality can be different from person
to person and from culture to culture, depending on differing
beliefs and values (Andrews 2012, Boghossian 2001).Looking at
psilocybin mushrooms, we can see that there is an objective reality
surrounding them. They are a physical organic entity that grows
from the ground, and contains a chemical that causes changes in
human brain functions when ingested. At the same time, psilocybin
mushrooms are understood in differing subjective realities. For the
shamans of indigenous tribes in Mexico, the mushroom is a divine
gift from the creator of the universe, something that has a spirit
and a mind, that can teach and help you (Wasson 1957, McKenna
1992). For the United States government, the mushroom is a
dangerous substance, that causes people to think in radically
different ways than normal, and interferes with the normal
functions of society. Because these two cultures have different
beliefs, they have completely different subjective realities
regarding the same object. Philosophy professor Paul Boghossian
writes about the controversy between the ideas of Social
Construction, which suggest that reality is constructed by humans,
and the natural sciences, which suggest that there is a reality of
hard facts separate from human interpretation. Boghossian argues
that while human reason generally defers to rationality and science
when considering the truth, the social and the rational cannot be
fully separated from one another, as rationality is in fact a
social construction and reasoning is created through human thought
and interaction. While reason and science are important for giving
evidence to convince people of a reality, the social beliefs
surrounding those people will always have a strong and profound
effect on their reality (Boghossian 2001). On online forums
dedicated to the discussion of psychedelic substances, members
interact socially, ask questions, and share experiences and
knowledge. According to Social Construction Theory, through these
discussions, people are building their own subjective reality
regarding these psychedelic substances. According to Andrews, the
goal of Social Construction Theory is to understand the world of
lived experience from the perspective of those who live in it
(Andrews 2012). In order to understand the realities of psilocybin
mushroom use, we must study the subjective reality as put forth by
the lived experiences of psilocybin users.
MethodologyThe first step in undertaking this analysis is
finding a good forum to study. There are many online community
discussion forums dedicated to the subject of psilocybin mushrooms
and other psychedelic drugs. The most well known and most
frequented websites are erowid.com and shroomery.com. Both of these
websites contain hundreds of pages of information on every type of
drug, not just psychedelics, but also amphetamines, opiates, and
research chemicals. The Shroomerys forum page contains hundreds of
thousands of threads. As such, I found both of these sites to be
difficult to maneuver, and ruled them out.The forum I chose is
located on a relatively new website called Reset.Me. Reset.Me was
founded in 2014 by Emmy award winning CNN correspondent Amber Lyon.
After covering stories in war-torn Bahrain, Lyon developed post
traumatic stress disorder, and found a cure for her mental distress
in psychedelic therapy. Reset.Me is dedicated to collecting stories
and information about the therapeutic and medical uses of
psychedelic substances, as well as physical, mental, and spiritual
well-being. The website is very organized and easy to navigate, and
the forum discussion threads are clearly separated by topic. As
such, I was able to collect data in the form of message threads
that were specifically dedicated to the discussion of
psilocybin.Under the topic Psilocybin Mushrooms were 103 message
threads, each with anywhere from zero to 25 replies. Using a
qualitative approach, the researcher read through each message
thread in order to determine over-arching themes regarding
psilocybin use that were brought up repeatedly in discussion. Then,
utilizing purposive sampling, threads that addressed important,
recurrent themes and also contained a back and forth discussion
between at least three members were selected to be further
analyzed. Through the lens of Social Construction Theory, the
researcher can describe the subjective reality regarding these
themes that has been socially constructed by members through
discussion of their lived experiences.
Data AnalysisThemesReading through the Psilocybin Mushroom
community forum on Reset.Me led to the emergence of several themes
that are discussed many times. Community members often posed
questions, looking for guidance and thoughts from other members who
had more experience with psilocybin mushrooms. The first theme that
emerged and will be discussed in this paper is dosage- how much to
take and how often to take psilocybin mushrooms, in order to
maximize therapeutic benefits. The second theme is Bad Trips- what
they are, why they happen, and how they can be avoided. The third
is treating anxiety and depression with psilocybin mushrooms-
peoples lived experiences and how it works on the mind. The fourth
and final theme is what can be done before, during, and after a
psilocybin experience in order to maximize its therapeutic
benefits.DosageThe question of dosage is one that is in the
forefront of new consumers minds. How many mushrooms should I eat?
How many grams of dry or fresh mushrooms is the proper dose to
begin with? How often should I take them? These questions, and
users responses based on personal experiences, can be found
throughout hundreds of messages within the 103 threads. One post
that covers all of these questions, through the discussion of six
participants, is titled simply Psilocybin Dosage. The Original
Poster (OP), poses the following questions to the community:Whats
your intake level at, and how often do you flirt with magic
mushrooms? Monthly event, biweekly? Usually fluctuate around 1G-2G
on what I call Psychedelic Sunday with occasional 8ths all forming
profound, functioning experiences.
The first commenter (C1) gives his opinion based on personal
experience:The matter of dosage is very idiosyncratic and unique to
each individual. Some have a high sensitivity to the compounds
within the mushroom, some less so. In my early years, I followed
Terence McKennas dictum of taking heroic dosages, 5g dried or 50g
fresh Amazonian cubensis. As the years went by, I found that even
2-3g dry could elicit even more profound openingsBut I am very
sensitive to their effects as I have aged. Unlike Terence, I
recommmend starting low and then working up as you are less likely
to experience panic once more familiar with the effect of the
mushroom.In his youth, C1 regularly took a dose of 5 grams dried
psilocybin mushrooms. Now that he is older, his tolerance has
decreased, and he prefers to take between 2 and 3 grams. The second
commenter (C2) writes:I lean towards 5+ grams. I really like to go
deep into a trip and Ive had smaller dosages but it never felt
satisfying. Ill admit though, I go deeper than most when I go and
Ive had friends be uncomfortable with my consumption.For C2,
upwards of 5 grams of dried psilocybin mushrooms is a standard
dose. He admits that this is a larger dose than others would take,
according to his experiences with friends who have also consumed
psilocybin mushrooms. The third commenter (C3) joins the
discussion:Im in general agreement with [C1] and the Griffiths
group on the dosing issueThe perspective dawns that this isnt a
one-time thing where you want to level your ego, but a sustained
relationship a person who starts with 1 gram, increases the dose to
3 grams and then ends a series with a 5 gram dose will tend to have
a far deeper and more impactful overall experience than a person
who takes a 7 gram standalone dose. I have also noticed that my
general sensitivity over the years has drastically increased these
days I go substantially deeper on 3grams.Similar to C1, C3 at one
time took a standard dose of 5 grams. As he has aged, he has
realized that such a large dose is not as beneficial as taking
smaller doses over subsequent experiences. Today, his usual dose is
3 grams dried psilocybin mushrooms. For a novice consumer, C3
suggests begging with a small dose of 1 gram, and increasing the
dose with each experience. The fourth commenter (C4) adds her
experiences and writes:Approximately every seven daysaround about 2
grams or so I dont have any extreme psychedelic experience, but my
brain feels healthier, my body feels healthier, Im motivated to
clean or garden or cook or chat with people. Things that were
habitual like playing a favorite MMO or watching
horror/action/violence oriented movies become distasteful. The
effects last for days.The usual dose for C4 is 2 grams dried
psilocybin mushrooms. C4 is the first to address the frequency of
her consumption, which is once a week. C4 also mentions the
positive effects on her mood and behavior that she experiences from
weekly doses of psilocybin. Finally, commenter number five (C5)
shares his knowledge of dosage and potency:My area of expertise is
in the Psilocybe Cubensis species, so Ill elaborate on them in
terms of dosages.There are over 40+ strains of P.C. mushrooms and
they all vary significantly in potency.I recommend to start off
with 1 gram of dried mushrooms. And after an hour has elapsed work
your way up to .5 grams per every hour.While C5 does not mention
the dosage that he takes, he does address the problem of varying
potency within psilocybin mushrooms. He suggests that a novice
consumer begin with a small dose of 1 gram dried psilocybin
mushrooms, and then ingest another .5 grams every hour, until the
desired potency is reached.Further analysis of this discussion can
help us to understand what are considered the best practices
regarding dosage with psilocybin mushrooms, as constructed through
the social interaction and shared personal experiences of
experienced users. C1 and C5 touch on why dosage can be such a
difficult question to answer. For one, every individual is effected
differently. Some people are more sensitive to psilocybin than
others, and C1 and C3 report that they are more sensitive to the
chemical in the mushroom now that they are older. Another
difficulty is the fact that differing strains of psilocybin
mushrooms, such as Psilocybe Caerulescens, Psilocybe Cubensis, and
Psilocybe Mexicana, have differing potencies. As C5 points out,
concentration of psilocybin varies between fresh and dry mushrooms.
C1 suggests that 5 grams dried would be equivalent to 50 grams
fresh. According to Social Construction Theorys dual realities,
there is no objective reality to the proper dose of psilocybin.
Rather, proper dosage is subjective, and differs from person to
person.This conversation touches on the idea of the heroic dose, or
5 grams of dried mushrooms. The heroic dose was suggested in the
1980s as the optimal dosage by psilocybin mushroom pioneer Terrance
McKenna, a leading voice of expertise in the field. 5 grams is
considered a very large dose, which will plunge you deep into a
strong experience. A 5 gram experience is likely to be emotionally
challenging with substantial changes in cognition. C3 describes
this as an experience meant to blow you away and level your ego. As
such, C3 and C1 do not advocate for following this old standard,
because it can be too intense of an experience for a novice
consumer. However, C2 writes that he prefers taking a large dose, 5
grams or more, because he prefers to go deep into the trip and
smaller doses do not give him the experience he is looking for. He
points out that he does go deeper than most, which has made his
friends uncomfortable in the past. C2s experience reinforces the
idea that appropriate dosage is subjective, and different for
everyone, so it is important to determine the proper dosage for
your own body.C1, C3, and C5 suggest that the best method for
determining the proper dose is to start small, and work your way up
through successive experiences. The best practice would be to start
with 1 gram of dried psilocybin mushrooms, followed by a waiting
period, and then a larger dose of 2 to 3 grams, another waiting
period, and then 4 to 5 grams. C3 suggests following the model of
the 2011 Griffiths study from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine,
which demonstrated that fear and anxiety associated with higher
doses of psilocybin were markedly reduced if the consumer was given
increasing doses at one month intervals. By combining the
experiences of the commenters with the findings of clinical
research, a novice consumer can construct a safe method for
determining a proper dosage.Although the OP poses these questions,
he does have some experience himself. He ingests one to two grams
of dried psilocybin mushrooms, once a week. Occasionally, he takes
8ths, which means an eighth of an ounce dried psilocybin mushrooms,
or about 3.5 grams. C4 ingests 2 grams dried, once a week. C4 does
not experience psychoactive effects at this dose, but has found it
to positively effect his life to take a moderate dose once a week.
Positive effects that he reports include a healthier mind and body,
increased motivation, and reduced stress and negativity. OP and C4s
experiences would suggest that taking a moderate dose of psilocybin
mushrooms on a weekly basis is not dangerous and can be largely
beneficial to ones overall wellbeing.
Bad TripsA common theme that occurred multiple times throughout
the forum is the idea of a bad trip, or an experience with
psilocybin mushrooms that was difficult, terrifying, or
uncomfortable to the point that the consumer feared for their life
or their safety. Questions that arise are: Why did this happen to
me? What does it mean? and Has this happened to anyone else? One
thread that exemplifies this theme is titled Really, Really Bad
Trip. Could Use Some Insight.The first message of the post is a
description of a consumers first trip, in which he ingested 4 grams
of psilocybin mushrooms alone in his home, and faced hours of
visions, thoughts, and feelings which terrified him. After an
initial fifteen minutes of euphoria, the Original Posters (OP)
experience quickly took a turn for the worse: It really started to
hit hard. The first things I started feeling at this point were
almost depressing. I felt like I had become that stereotypical
druggie you hear about when youre young. I felt like I was at the
lowest of the low, scum of the Earth. I ended up calling my best
friend and having him come over. Just before he got there, I
started feeling like none of this is real (this life) and that he
wasnt going to show up. I turned on the TV and started watching
Orange is the New Black just to try to get my mind off of what was
going onHe finally showed up, sat down and started talking to me. I
was becoming too far gone to have a conversation or even try to
explain where I was. My thoughts of nothing being real and
everything being a fabric of my conscious started to grow when the
people talking on the TV started saying exactly the same things my
friend was saying I started to completely lose grasp of the real
world. I felt like I had realized what death was and everything was
a simple fabrication of an eternal consciousness. The scariest
thing about the whole trip was how familiar this place was to me. I
felt like I had been there a 1000 times before I literally thought
my death at this point was inevitableIt peaked in this eternal
consciousness state for about 3 hours and the whole time I felt
like I was literally going to die I will never touch mushrooms or
any other hallucinogens again in my life for fear of returning to
this place I was in. Has anyone experienced something similar? Can
anyone experienced give some insights into what Im going
through?The OPs first psilocybin trip was difficult for him. He
lost his sense of reality, including experiencing audio
hallucinations and a feeling that time had stopped. He and felt
anxious and panicked. He lost his sense of self in the feeling of a
larger consciousness, and felt that he was dying, which terrified
him. He then asks for people who are more experienced with
psilocybin mushrooms to give their knowledge and help him to
understand what he experienced. The first commenter (C1) replies by
first sharing his own experience of a bad trip, in which he
experienced a similar strange feeling of cyclical death. Not only
did he feel as though he was dying and leaving his body, it felt
intensely familiar, as if he had experienced death thousands of
times. C1 goes on to give OP the following insights:Psychedelics
are very powerful tools and have the tendency to tear down any
belief structures you have whether it be your religious structure
or cultural structure. What they have done for me is shown me that
we dont really know anything Once I accepted this, my experience
with psychedelics became much more amazing. Bad trips come from a
bad set (set being your mindset, what you are trying to get out of
the experience) and setting (setting being the environment your
taking them in). What leads me to a bad trip every time is not
surrendering to it Meditation has become my greatest tool for
surrendering Some of my most beautiful trips came after a very bad
one. It just takes time to workout what went on in the trip and
what it really meant.C1 tells the OP that for him, first accepting
that he did not know anything about reality helped him to embrace
the sometimes confusing experience of psilocybin mushrooms. He
writes of the importance of set and setting, as well as having the
proper tools and strength to surrender to the experience. He
finishes by telling OP that good trips often come after bad trips,
with time.The second commenter (C2), shares his knowledge of the
traditional, shamanistic practices of the indigenous Mexican
mushroom ceremony. He points out that traditionally, a person
consuming psilocybin mushrooms would be in the company of an
experienced curandera, a female shaman, who had knowledge of
leading people through spiritual journeys, and would use singing
and chanting to guide their state of consciousness and keep them
grounded. C2 shares the following insights:To navigate the deeper
visionary states that the mushroom can open requires some mental
discipline What youre describing is an experience in which you were
unprepared and hence were swallowed by your fears Going into an
experience unprepared can all too easily result in being taken into
the negative mind states of fear and hopelessness, even panic even
the scaring away experience has its value in that one becomes a tad
more circumspect about approaching it too lightly. I would also add
that the experience unfolds far longer than just the few hours
following ingestion. The healing effects continue to unfold over
months and years.C2 warns the OP about approaching psilocybin
mushrooms too lightly. If you go into the experience mentally
unprepared, you are likely to have a strong fear reaction. But, in
time, the healing effects of the experience my unfold for the OP.
The third commenter (C3), reiterates and expands on insights given
by C1: I think there were some useful realisations in there that
you might take wisdom from in time. I feel, as mentioned above,
that lack of surrender played a big part in your experience,
especially the part where you said you switched the TV on. I have
always felt an instinctive need to keep a big distance
before/during a psychedelic experience.C3 again writes of the
importance of surrendering to the psilocybin experience, rather
than fighting its effects. For him, attempting to distract yourself
with technology is a particularly bad idea. A fourth commenter (C4)
gave the following insights and explanation into what the OP
experienced: I believe what you were experiencing was the death of
your ego and identity. In order to allow the spirit to work it
takes a deep level of faith to let go of everything you know. This
is all internal work, when you turned on the T.V and had your
friend come over you were fighting against the current. Your mind
was trying to attach itself to reality in order to maintain its
identity. Everything you experienced was spot on, except you were
never in any physical harm, your identity was dying. Dissolving the
ego is part of the ceremony, it is a common theme among exploring
the mushroom. Do not fear going back. Next time, try 3 grams, and
calm yourself, lay down, get comfortable, without any outside
stimulation. Close your eyes and let go.C4 explains that what the
OP experienced was actually quite common for a psilocybin trip.
What he experienced was ego-death, or the dissolution of boundaries
between oneself and everything else. Had the OP conducted the
proper mental and emotional preparation before taking the dive into
a psilocybin experience, he may have had a very positive
experience. C4 suggests that next time, OP takes a smaller dose, in
a comfortable setting, with a calm mind.According to Social
Construction Theory, the Original Poster has had an objective
experience. The objective reality of his experience is that he
ingested psilocybin mushrooms, and subsequently spent several hours
feeling anxious, afraid, and disturbed. In order to give meaning to
his objective experience, the OP seeks communication and
interaction with others. He asks for the insights that they have
acquired through their own lived experiences. As each commenter
gives his or her thoughts and shares experiences, a subjective
reality is constructed regarding the OPs experience of a bad
trip.Through this discussion, we come to understand what a bad trip
is, why it happens, and how to improve your chances of having a
more pleasant experience. Psilocybin, which many users refer to as
the spirit of the mushroom, is a very strong chemical that should
not be taken lightly. It is very important to be mentally prepared
before undertaking a psychedelic journey. C1 explains the
importance of set and setting to the OP. Set is the state of mind
that you go into the experience with, your expectations of what
will happen, and your intentions of what you wish to gain from the
experience. It is important to go into a psychedelic experience
knowing that it may be difficult. You may face thoughts or memories
that you find disturbing or uncomfortable, and you have to be ready
and accept that you may see reality in a way that you never saw it
before. As C1 wrote, psilocybin has the tendency to tear down any
belief structures you have whether it be your religious structure
or cultural structure. Ingesting psilocybin causes the user to
think in new ways, and old patterns of thought may break down. For
people who are not expecting their understandings of reality to be
questioned, this experience can be terrifying. As C1 points out,
familiarizing oneself with meditation is a good way to strengthen
your mental state and have a good set.Setting is the environment
and surroundings in which the user trips. In order to have a good
trip, the user should be in an environment that is safe and
comfortable, as well as conducive to higher consciousness. As C3
and C4 point out, turning on the television created an environment
that ran counter to the spiritual experience. By attempting to
ground himself in a reality that he understood, the OP ended up
fighting against the current. Struggling against the dissolution of
your reality causes extreme stress and fear. This is
understandable, if you were not expecting to lose your sense of
self in the experience, you may be fearful and fight the death of
your ego and identity. But it is this struggle, caused by a lack of
mental preparation, that induces a bad trip. C3 writes that after
reading the OPs report, he believes there were still useful
realizations to be gained from the experience. C4 writes that
everything the OP experienced was spot on and in line with what
others experience on psilocybin. The loss of sense of self as
separate from the rest of the world is a common occurrence reported
among psilocybin trips, and is often referred to as ego-death. The
feeling that nothing is real is also commonly reported, that our
environment is simply a construct of society, and as such is not
real. A feeling of oneness with a higher, eternal consciousness is
also reported as a mystical experience observed on mushrooms. All
of the aspects of the OPs experience were not so very different
from the positive experiences had by others on psilocybin. What
caused his experience to be so negative was simply that he was not
prepared, mentally and emotionally, for a very serious event. All
four commenters gave similar advice in the end of their posts,
telling the OP to take some time and think about his experiences,
and consider trying the mushrooms again one day, with the proper
mental preparations and expectations, and to surrender to the
experience.
Treating Anxiety, Depression, and other Mental DistressUnlike
other online forums such as shroomery.org, Reset.Me was created to
be a community focused specifically on the use of psychedelics as a
therapeutic treatment for mental health problems, including
depression, anxiety, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and
addiction. As such, many members were drawn to the Reset.Me
community forum discussion to better understand how psilocybin
mushrooms can be used to help them overcome mental distress.
Questions that arise are, Under what circumstances should I take
them? How do they work to treat anxiety and depression? and, What
have other people experienced using psilocybin to treat mental
distress? This topic is incredibly important when looking at the
future use of psilocybin in medicine. By looking at users personal
experiences, we can understand the subjective realities held by
people who have treated their mental illnesses with psilocybin
mushrooms. The forum thread that I will analyze to address this
theme is titled The catch 22 of mushrooms and depression. The
Original Poster (OP) writes:I have never done any psychedelics
(only weed, which I love) but Im very anxious to try psilocybin
mushrooms. I have a light depression, and I feel that I need a new
perspective on lifesomething needs to be changed, and that change
has to come from inside of me. Ive heard a lot of warnings that you
shouldnt take mushrooms if youre feeling depressed, but at the same
time Amber Lyon, and a lot of other people, claim that psilocybin
is great for treating depression and anxiety. Now, how am I gonna
be able to treat my depression with psychedelics if Im not supposed
to take them while depressed?Here, the OP addresses the
contradictory advice given regarding psilocybin and mental
distress. Recent studies and personal experiences suggest that
psilocybin mushrooms can effectively treat mental illness,
including anxiety, depression, and stress. However, in order to
have a therapeutic experience, it is important to be in a good
state of mind when you take psilocybin, as a negative state of mind
can lead to a fearful trip. So, how does someone with depression,
for example, ever treat their depression with psilocybin, if they
are not supposed to take psilocybin while depressed? The first
commenter (C1) replies:I think its a risk you have to sum up on
your own. Do the risks outweigh the benefits? I personally think
depression is a bit of a scam. I dont mean we do not get it, I just
mean that its more to do with seeing the world as it really is, and
not so much about a chemical imbalance Society conditions us to be
negative, some things (weed, mushrooms, or some events) can
deprogram your mind, and let you be human again (as opposed to
being pseudo).If you are stuck in a rut, then I would say you need
something major to get you out.C1 suggests that it is up to the
individual to decide if using psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutic
use is a good idea for them. He believes that depression, rather
than being an internal mental problem, is actually a manifestation
of societys negativity. Because psilocybin can deprogram your mind,
and dissolve ingrained patterns of thinking, it can give people the
jolt they need to get out of a negative thought pattern. The second
commenter (C2), adds his experience and advice:The advice under the
Safety section on this website itself says: If youre in a bad
mindset- depressed, in a bad mood, or not feeling well- then do not
trip. This is sound, timeless advice and as a proponent for Set and
Setting, I cant really argue with it. Howeverwe need to assess the
extent of our problems, and decide whether we are willing to face a
difficult psychedelic experience in order to address an underlying
issue During psychedelic experiences I have felt an overwhelming
amplification of anxiety, depression, self-doubt etc etc, however I
have always felt that there was a point to it. For instance, the
psychedelic experience allows you to drill down and interrogate the
thought pattern, belief system, environment, behavior and so on
that is contributing to the ailment you are trying to address. For
me, its like the medicine is saying Look at this! You dont like
this? Then why do you think like that? Heres how you fix that
problem.This is how you heal. I think for the most part bad
tripscan be avoided, but in some cases they may in fact be the
experiences that you learn the most from because they are
confrontational, and transformativeyou are unlikely to find the
perfect time to have your experience, so I would suggest make sure
everything else is as optimal as possible. Prepare yourself, be
open to the experience (whatever it may be) and go with it.C3
writes that the advice to not trip while depressed is congruent
with the idea set and setting, which insists that the consumer must
be in a calm, positive frame of mind in order to avoid a bad trip.
However, a bad trip could be exactly what is needed to cause a
person in mental distress to restructure their understanding of
reality to the point that they can address their deepest personal
issues. C3 suggests that, if you really want to confront your
demons and better your life, it is worth it to risk having a
difficult experience. Even if the OP isn't capable of having the
opportune mindset, he should be sure to take all of the necessary
preparations that he is able to.Commenter number 3 (C3) first asks
many clarifying questions about the severity of the OPs depression,
and then tells at what degree of mental distress he would consider
psilocybin use to no longer be appropriate. If the depression is
associated with psychotic symptoms, he would not suggest trying
psilocybin. He writes:Once you have established a base-line sense
of the severity of your depression (and ruled out psychotic
symptoms), you then need to very honestly consider the risks of
using a powerful psychedelic, so that you can make an informed
decision per their useLet me make clear up front that I do not feel
that sacred plants or psychedelics are strictly about treating
symptoms per se. These are transformative agents that can radically
re-orient our perception of Reality at the rootsTo view these
sacred plants as simply sophisticated anti-depressant or anxiolytic
medications is excessively simplistic and somewhat naive. So I want
to make clear: when you are working with these plant teachers, you
are working with something VERY powerful. It requires a certain
attitude of vigilance and respectthe recent research at Hopkins has
shown that starting with a lower dose and gradually building can
attenuate or prevent anxiety-reactions. I think it is a good idea
to start low, gauge your response, and then gradually increase your
dose across several serial exposures. For C3, psilocybin mushrooms
are not really a medicine to be used to treat symptoms. Rather,
they are something that you must work with over time to reorient
your perceptions. By making us look deep down into the roots of
reality and our understandings of life and society, the mushroom
can treat the underlying causes of mental distress. In order to
mitigate added anxiety due to the depression, C3 suggests a
staggered dosing technique, beginning with a low dose. The fourth
commenter (C4) gives a brief description of using psilocybin to
address his negative feelings:I was in a similar situation last
year, I had questions but no real idea of what these questions were
and it got me down Since last December I have had 5 sessions with
Psilocybin, all of them have been extremely positive & life
changing. Set & setting are very important, stay positive,
meditate & relax.C4 found psilocybin to be extremely beneficial
in giving him a more positive outlook on life, and suggests that
the OP try psilocybin with a good set and setting. The fifth
commenter (C5), in a similar vein to C3s second point, writes his
understanding of how and why the mushroom works to assuage mental
distress:Do not think of the mushroom as a drug you are taking to
relieve your depression. The medical model is really quite limited
in truly grasping what is happening with the mushroom. In a sick
society, such as ours, where government surveillance by a hidden
authoritarian system is considered necessary to control its
citizens, not feeling some depression would be more suggestive of
the problem than to actually feel depressed. It may not be that the
depression is the problem, but the beginnings of the
solutionPsilocybin opens up awareness to a full view of the soul
dimension, something our one dimensional materialist culture is
mostly blind to and, largely, even denies its existenceIt is the
loss of soul that characterizes life in our Western civilization
and which is the true cause of many of our so-called ailments,
including anxiety and depression once you see from the soul level,
you realize that not living from the depths of who we really are is
the chief malaise of contemporary Western civilization. The medical
model attempting to explain anxiety and depression as brain-based
imbalances is an attempt of a science blind to the soul dimension
to explain what is essentially is incapable of understanding. The
soul is the source of our anxiety and depression and is a natural
response to what is essentially an unlivable way of being in the
world that is unconsciously imposed upon.According to C5, mental
ailments and distress are caused by the society that we live in,
which is largely materialistic, authoritarian, and one-dimensional.
Over time, these societal norms have been reaffirmed over and over,
until they become understood as the true way that the world is, or
as Objective Reality. According to C5, psilocybin mushrooms can
break through this illusion, bringing the user back in touch with a
deeper truth, or the soul dimension. By coming back in contact with
the soul, users can alleviate their anxiety and depression because
they will know a truer reality.The sixth commenter (C6) writes his
own understanding of how psilocybin mushrooms affect mental
distress:Mushrooms are an emotion amplification machineThe thing
that i have found about mushrooms is. They will make you confront
your darkness, your problems, your ego, your sadness.This is about
coming to terms with who you areNot everyone is strong enough to
pull themselves out of the darkness they May or May not experience
from psychedelics. But ive always found that darkness, is you. Its
beneficial to work through and to find the light in the end. There
are too many people in this world who suffer from Neurosis.
Mushrooms is one of those things that i have found can really bring
those out.According to C6, psilocybin amplifies your emotions, and
can force you confront a lot of negativity, especially regarding
yourself. Not everyone is strong enough to confront the personal
problems and negative memories that psilocybin draws forward and
shows to you. If you can work through them though, it can be very
beneficial in coming to understand yourself. While it may be a
difficult experience, it can be beneficial in addressing reasons
behind your depression and anxiety. Commenter seven (C7) gives the
OP advice on dosage, as well as other holistic methods for
relieving depression:Take a minimal dose, do not go searching for a
freak out trip experience, simply dose enough to adjust your
amygdala and maybe relieve your depression for a few days Invest in
some eggs, turkey, spinach and other high tryptophan foods to
naturally start relieving the depression symptoms. Get exercise,
stay on schedules for eating and sleeping. Drink plenty of
water.According to C7, when treating mental distress with
psilocybin, it is important to begin with a low dose, in order to
avoid a bad trip which could exacerbate negative feelings
afterward. C7 also suggests the OP use psilocybin in tandem with
other natural methods of relieving anxiety and depression,
including diet and exercise. An eighth commenter (C8) talks about
two of his past experiences with psilocybin mushrooms. The first
was positive, due to extensive preparation, while the second was
negative, due to poor set and setting. He goes on to talk about the
importance of integrating insights from the trip in the days,
weeks, and months following an experience:What ever you do and what
ever happens, you have to understand and prepare yourself for
integrating the experience afterwards Depending on what you
experience you will come out with more questions that need to be
answered. Spend some time interpreting your experience. If you saw
yourself as a kid what did your see yourself doing? What does it
mean? But remember, what you see is entirely YOUR interpretation of
the situation.According to C8, most of the therapeutic work of the
mushroom comes from you, not from the experience itself. It is
important to integrate what the mushroom has taught you, in order
to obtain healing. Simply ingesting psilocybin mushrooms will not
do much to treat mental illness. All it can do is open up thoughts
and insights that, in your normal state of mind, you would not
think of. Once the experience is over, healing your trauma depends
on the time and effort you put into putting your realizations into
daily practice. Finally, a ninth commenter (C9) gives his advice on
dosage and personal experience treating his own mental distress:I
think a really important point here is dosage. You dont need to
trip balls your first time. 2 grams (dried) will be enough to shake
things up a little bit. If you are comfortable with that, then
reflect and consider doing it again. Up the dose when you are sure
that its something that will help younever has something changed me
so positively before. The how is hard to describe, and words are
taken so literally and without the emotion intended in settings
like this, that its too hard to truly communicate it. I would use
words like: love, oneness, understanding, experiencing everything
that lives.According to C9, dosage is especially important when
using psilocybin mushrooms to treat depression and anxiety. Too
high of a dose will not be therapeutic, so C9 suggests a moderate
dose of 2 grams. He goes on to write that psilocybin mushrooms have
changed his life and made him a much more positive person,
suggesting that they do have a positive effect on mood disorders
and mental illness.By reading through this social interaction, we
may come to understand the subjective realities which are built
around the therapeutic use of psilocybin mushrooms in treating
anxiety, depression, and mental distress. To begin, we must look at
the OPs post. The OP is confused by two conflicting truths that are
given by Reset.Me, and many psilocybin consumers. The first is the
fact that many people have been healed of their mental distress,
including anxiety and depression, through the therapeutic use of
psilocybin. The second deals with the importance of having a good
mindset before your experience. As such, it is suggested that
taking psilocybin mushrooms while depressed can lead to a negative
experience, and is not advised. This paradox again highlights the
uncertainties regarding the realities of the psilocybin experience.
Does it heal depression, or make it worse? According to the
commenters, it can do both.C2 and C6 describe psilocybin mushrooms
as amplifying your emotions. C2 writes, During psychedelic
experiences I have felt an overwhelming amplification of anxiety,
depression, self-doubt and C6 writes, The thing that i have found
about mushrooms is. They will make you confront your darkness, your
problems, your ego, your sadness. If you have negative thoughts and
anxieties, those feelings may be amplified during the trip and
enlarge to take over your entire consciousness. This can be a very
dark and challenging experience, especially for someone who is
already feeling emotionally distressed before the experience.
According to the experienced users, however, it is precisely this
difficulty and amplification of anxieties and fears that can make
the experience therapeutic and beneficial in treating mental
distress. The mushroom opens the door to the subconscious, and can
show you the thoughts and feelings that you have been suppressing
in your day to day life. Psilocybin mushrooms can break down your
thought patterns and entire system of beliefs. This can be scary,
but also allows you to look at common thoughts and occurrences from
a brand new, and possibly more clear, perspective. The mushroom can
force you to face your demons, but if you are prepared for this and
face them with the intention of healing, then you can overcome
them. By observing this social interaction between experienced
users, we can construct an understanding of the subjective reality
regarding the treatment of mental distress using psilocybin. C1,
C2, C4, C7, C8, and C9 all suggest that treating depression with
psilocybin mushrooms is in fact a good idea. C4 writes that all of
his experiences with psilocybin in treating his depression have
been extremely positive & life changing, while C9 writes that
never has something changed me so positively before. Most
commenters give advice on how to maximize the chances of a positive
experience. C3, C7, and C9 all suggest starting with a lower dose
to avoid having too intense of an experience too quickly, which can
do more harm than good. C2, C3, C4, and C8 stress the importance of
going into the experience prepared, doing research before
undertaking a psilocybin experience, having a proper mindset, and a
safe and comfortable setting. C8 addresses what should be done in
the time following the trip in order to maximize its positive
effects. It is not the psilocybin experience itself that can heal
you, but rather what meaning you take away from what it shows you,
and how you integrate those lessons into your life from that point
forward. C1, C3, and C5 hold their own subjective reality regarding
anxiety and depression, and the effects that psilocybin mushrooms
have on them. C1 writes, I personally think depression is a bit of
a scam. I dont mean we do not get it, I just mean that its more to
do with seeing the world as it really is, and not so much about a
chemical imbalance. For C1, the mental illness called depression is
not an objective reality, but a construct. C5 writes, In a sick
society, such as oursnot feeling some depression would be more
suggestive of the problem than to actually feel depressed. C1 and
C5 call into question the objective reality of mental distress
being an internal problem, caused by chemical imbalances. Rather,
they see these afflictions as mere symptoms of a deeper problem,
one that is rooted society, and not the individual. C3 and C5 write
that the medical model does not accurately show how psilocybin can
help alleviate mental distress. C5 writes that you cannot think of
it as psilocybin being a medicine that you take, and taking it will
cure your anxiety and depression. C3 says To view these sacred
plants as simply sophisticated anti-depressant or anxiolytic
medications is excessively simplistic and somewhat naive. For C3
and C5, the reality of the mushroom is that it is sacred, and has a
spirit and a mind of its own. Throughout other message threads, we
find that these two particular community members have decades of
experience with psilocybin mushrooms, and have been steeped in the
ancient shamanistic practices of indigenous Mexican populations. As
such, their subjective reality regarding the mushroom is much more
profound and reverent than many other users. According to these
users more spiritual understanding of psilocybin mushrooms, the
mushroom is working on a much deeper level than simply alleviating
anxiety and depression, because these are simply the uppermost
surface symptoms. C3 writes that these sacred mushrooms are
extremely powerful transformative agents that can radically
re-orient our perception of Reality at the roots. When thinking
about the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin, we must understand
that they call into question our objective reality, all the way
down to its foundation. According to C5, what many would consider
the objective reality of our day to day lives, i.e) our functioning
within society, is not reality at all. Rather, there is a deeper
reality of existing as a living, conscious being. C5 calls this the
soul dimension, which was described as the soul landscape by
Terrance McKenna, and is prominent in the subjective realities of
many psychedelic users who use these substances in tandem with
meditation. Society, jobs, cars, national boarders, and everything
else that human kind has created, is simply a faade over reality,
and is a creation of the over-active human ego. Society is
something that has been constructed by humans, but humans are a
construction of the universe. As such, humans belong to a reality
that goes far deeper, and existed long before society. Over time,
and as society has been built up, living from the soul dimension
has been forgotten. According to C5, it is this disconnect from our
true reality that causes mental and spiritual distress. Ingesting
psilocybin mushrooms brings us back into contact with the soul
dimension. By integrating the teachings of the mushroom spirit into
our lives, we can come to understand reality differently. By
reorienting our understanding of reality and our priorities, we can
heal mental and emotional distress by addressing its root
cause.
Maximizing BenefitsThe final theme that I will address is the
general question of best practices- What should I do in order to
have the most therapeutic and beneficial experience possible? Some
of these practices will have been addressed in previous sections,
and include beginning with a low dose, and having the proper set
and setting. One thread that fully addresses every aspect of this
question is titled General Therapeutic Guide. The Original Poster
(OP) writes:I ask those of you who have successfully used
psilocybin to aid you in curing your anxiety, depression, PTSD, or
various other mental health issues to explain to the rest of us
exactly how you went about doing thisWhat is the general
therapeutic approach? Must one close their eyes in lotus position?
Lying down? I myself had a psilocybin experience three days ago I
am not exactly very close to healed. I dont believe I did it right.
This occurred to me when I saw that picture of Amber lying down
with eyes-closed after taking psilocybin.How is it done properly?
If you are privy to such information, explain below.The OP of this
thread has had at least one psilocybin experience, but does not
feel particularly healed. He asks members of the community to
explain the proper ways to use psilocybin therapeutically. The
first commenter (C1) discloses that he has ten years of experience
working with psychedelics for his own personal healing and growth,
and for the past five years, he has been helping others with
psychedelic-assisted therapy. He gives a lengthy reply:I take a
shamanistic/yogic/coaching approachI begin by opening a sacred
space where I invite the specific energies and angels that I wish
to have support from. I ask them to keep us safe and I set the
intention for the trip. After having ingested the mushroom Ialways
meditate with it. This was something that the mushroom told me to
doWhen I meditate with the mushroom I simply ask it to work with my
body, to heal me and also, when possible, to show me what it is
doingWhen we distract ourselves by running around and fiddling with
stuff, we dont get the full effect My experience is that it isnt
actually the trip that is the tripThe trip is taking all the
insights that the experience has opened up and applying it in your
own life1. Become conscious.As long as you are unaware that you
have a problem, you cannot work with it. The first step is becoming
aware of what, how, why, whatever. When you become aware of a
problem area explore it as fully as you can.2. Accepting it.Many
who become aware that they have a problem will immediately try to
hide from it or force it down into the sub-conscious again. If you
do not accept the problem, you cannot work with it.3. Make
changes.When I have become aware and accepted the way things are
right now, life will show me ways to move forward. One needs to be
open to all the different ways that life does so. It might be
meditation practice, it might be helping out at an animal shelter,
it might be to be more loving in your close relationships, it might
be forgiving4. Be grateful.When one can look back on all the hurt
and suffering with gratefulness, then one has learnt the lesson
contained within the experience.C1s method for having a therapeutic
experience includes meditating and being aware of mindfulness
techniques during the experience. He suggests being calm, setting
an intention, and not distracting yourself with other activities.
C1 gives his four step method to having a therapeutic experience,
which includes becoming aware of your problems, accepting them for
what they are, implementing positive changes to address these
problems, and being grateful for the experience. The second
commenter (C2) gives his advice and seconds C1s assertion that work
must be done after the trip is over:One therapeutic approach I
promote is look at whats going on around you, and recognize how
much you are truly needed to better society, and how your positive
energy spreads (and needed greatly!) It doesnt happen in one night,
but with constant adjustments to your routine, life will become a
lot more easy to enjoy.C2 suggests that an important therapeutic
practice to keep in mind is to simply be aware of what is around
you and how your energy effects your surroundings. You can choose
to think positively and spread positive energy. He also reiterates
the fact that life will become better if, over time, you use what
the mushroom taught you and incorporate it into your life. The OP
responds to the commenters, writing:This is all very good advice.
The mushroom did teach me a truth of which I am now perfectly
cognizant, but have declined to put into practice, so I should work
on that.This comment suggests that the OP is willing to make a real
change to his life and routine, by putting into practice a truth
that the mushroom taught him. He decides to put the advice of the
other community members into action in his own life. Finally, a
third commenter (C3) gives his list of best practices:I like to
boil this down to the simplest, most effective discipline:(1) Eat
the mushroom at home in a safe and quiet environment.(2) Place
attention gently on the breath, notice the in-breath and the out
breath. When the mind wanders, note, thinking, or feeling, and
gently bring attention back to the breath. This practice, gently
exercised, brings the mind into one-pointed concentration, where
you are no longer disbursed and expending energy on anything else,
simply being aware.(3) Trust what the mushroom shows you. Do not be
swallowed by fear or carried away by ecstatic joy, remember, in all
and everything, cultivating awareness is the key.(4) You will be
awed by the teachings of the spirit in the mushroom. They will only
be vouchsafed to a mind that is clear, steady, and open to receive
them.Through the lens of Social Construction theory, which suggests
that we construct our own reality through social interactions, we
can see how this conversation helps the OP to understand the
realities of using psilocybin in the most therapeutic way. After
posing his questions, several members of the community describe the
best therapeutic practices that they themselves use. During the
discussion, the OP responds to the commenters and thanks them for
their advice. He realizes that he had made a discovery during his
psilocybin experience, but had done nothing to implement what he
had learned in his daily life. After this conversation, the OP
understands that this step is crucial to the healing process. Once
the experienced users share their personal stories and experiences
with him, the OP can construct a body of knowledge surrounding the
therapeutic use of psilocybin mushrooms. Both C1 and C3 stress the
importance of trusting the spirit in the mushroom to guide you, if
you intend to have a therapeutic experience. According to C1, many
of his practices were told to him by the mushroom itself, while he
was experiencing their effects. To begin his therapeutic ritual, C1
creates a sacred space, where he invites the energies and spirits
to aid him and his patient on their journey. He sets an intention
on how he wants the trip to go, and maintains a channel of
communication with the mushroom itself, asking it to heal him, and
to show him what it is doing. Maintaining a deep reverence for the
powerful mushroom is important for having a beneficial experience,
as is being in a safe, quiet environment. For the deepest, most
therapeutic trip, one should meditate during the experience.
Meditation helps to focus the mind inward, and removes outside
distraction. C3 suggests focusing on your breath, a common
meditation technique, in order to bring the mind into one-pointed
concentrationsimply being aware. C1 also notes that When we
distract ourselves by running around and fiddling with stuff, we
dont get the full effect. Using meditation, you can remove yourself
from distraction and instead turn your attention toward your inner
self. By focusing your energy toward quieting your mind and
introspection, you can get the fullest experience and learn the
most from the mushroom.In order to get the most out of your
psilocybin experience, you must put in work after the trip is done.
The mushroom may show you a problem in your life, such as an error
in your thinking and actions. Once you are shown this problem, you
must look at it, and really consider all of its implications, even
if it is painful. You must resist the urge to bury the realization
in your sub-conscious. This can be difficult, because your mind
will want to protect itself from the realization that something it
has been doing is wrong. By going into the experience wanting to
confront these issues, you can overcome this impulse. By trusting
that the mushroom will help you, and being open to its teachings,
you can gain valuable insight into your own mind, as well as the
nature of reality. In the days, weeks, and months following your
experience, you must put what you learned into practice. This step
in C1s list is called Make changes. He writes that once you become
aware of your problem, and accept it for what it is, life will show
[you] ways to move forward. C2 writes that healing doesnt happen in
one night, but with constant adjustments to your routine, life will
become a lot more easy to enjoy. With the proper set and setting, a
calm and open mind, meditation, and the dedication to continue to
work on yourself after the experience, one can maximize the
therapeutic benefits of a psilocybin experience.
Conclusions and ImplicationsMany people take to the internet to
find information. People find the personal experiences of others to
be the most persuasive in effecting their actions and beliefs. As
such, many turn to online community discussion forums to gain
knowledge and understanding of a product or object, because the
forums allow them to ask questions of experienced users. By
participating in the online social interactions, people can take
part in constructing the collective knowledge and understanding
held regarding a particular subject.In this study, I wanted to
understand the realities surrounding the therapeutic use of
psilocybin mushrooms. By undertaking a qualitative analysis of an
online community forum dedicated to the discussion of psilocybin
mushrooms, I was able to discover overarching themes that community
members were interested in discussing. Then, using Social
Construction Theory, I was able to formulate answers to the
questions posed by these themes as they were constructed through
the social communication of the message threads. Many questions
surround the medicinal and therapeutic use of psilocybin mushrooms.
Through a qualitative analysis of all of the message threads on the
psilocybin mushroom forum on the website Reset. Me, four major
themes emerged as being important to consumers. The first is the
question of dosage, or how much of the mushrooms should be taken.
The second was Bad Trips, what caused them and how to avoid them.
The third and largest theme was treating mental distress with
psilocybin mushrooms, how and why it worked. The final theme was
maximizing therapeutic benefits, rather than ingesting psilocybin
mushrooms for recreation. Dosage is largely debated, as potency of
the mushroom varies between strain and preparation. At the same
time, psilocybin affects people differently. The prevailing wisdom,
gained from the combined personal experiences of community members,
is that it is best to begin with a small dose, about 1 gram dried,
and then slowly increase the dose over successive experiences until
you feel you have hit a dose that suits your needs.Bad Trips are a
real occurrence. Some peoples experiences with psilocybin mushrooms
are terrifying and difficult. However, bad trips can easily be
avoided with proper mental preparation, as well as a good set and
setting. Bad trips happen when a person consumes psilocybin
mushrooms unaware of the fact that they cause a breakdown in normal
thought patterns. For a person who is not expecting this, they can
easily become frightened by abnormal thoughts and feelings. When
they become frightened, they may fight the experience, and attempt
to ground themselves in a reality that they understand. In order to
avoid a bad trip, a user must go into the experience understanding
that psilocybin mushrooms will show them a different way of viewing
reality. Being prepared, and not fighting the experience, will give
the user a much easier trip. Set refers to the mindset that you go
into an experience with, and setting refers to the environment in
which you have your experience. With a calm, open, and knowledgable
mind, as well as a safe and comfortable environment, bad trips can
be avoided.A question regarding the therapeutic use of psilocybin
mushrooms is how they can be used to alleviate mental distress,
including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other negative thought
patterns. According to user experience, psilocybin mushrooms break
down normal thought patterns, allowing the user to make new and
novel observations regarding something familiar to them. The
mushrooms can bring to light all of your demons, and show you the
anxieties and fears that you have been suppressing. Through the
conversation of users we learn that, if you go into this experience
with the proper mindset and the desire to work through difficult
emotions in order to heal, the mushroom can show you the deep,
underlying reasons for your symptoms. If you are willing to trust
what the mushroom shows you, and integrate its teachings into your
life, you can be healed from anxiety and depression. Finally, the
therapeutic benefits of psilocybin mushrooms can be far greater
when used in a specific way. Rather than walking around, talking to
people, or watching television, you must focus your intent upon
healing. In a safe, comfortable environment, with a mindset of
openness to what the mushrooms might show you, a user can gain
deeper insight by turning their attention inward, and quietly
meditating. Being open, surrendering to the experience and
accepting the teachings makes the process go smoothly. Then, in
order to maximize the benefits of the experience, one must remember
the teachings and integrate them into their day to day life. In
this way, the benefits of the experience last far longer than the
experience itself.The question posed by the general public
regarding psilocybin mushrooms and other psychedelic drugs is Are
they dangerous? Or, are they beneficial? To understand what the
reality is, we can look to the lived experiences of users. The
consensus among the experienced users of psilocybin mushrooms on
Reset.Me is that they can be both. They can be dangerous to ones
emotional wellbeing if approached recklessly. If they are taken in
the wrong state of mind, or in a setting that the user finds
disturbing, the experience can quickly turn into something
incredibly frightening. However, if they are taken with the proper
mental preparations, in a positive and open state of mind, and a
safe and comfortable setting, the benefits of psilocybin mushrooms
are beyond compare.
ImplicationsAs we have seen in the past, societal beliefs
regarding psilocybin mushrooms strongly affect an individuals
subjective understanding of them. We know that knowledge of a
subjective reality is created through interacting with others, and
that people are most persuaded by the personal experiences of
others. In order to sway public opinion toward a more positive
understanding of psilocybin mushrooms and other psychedelics, it
will be important to bring to the public the personal experiences
of users. Users personal, lived experiences demonstrate that
psilocybin mushrooms can be largely beneficial to a persons
wellbeing, under the proper circumstances. By making the realities
of psilocybin use known on a wide scale, policy makers may be able
to sway public opinion. Once more people are on board with
therapeutic psychedelic use, and understand how they can be used
beneficially rather than recreationally, public support for
research will increase. In order to speed this process, advocates
could produce online videos and television commercials in which a
user shares their personal, lived experience. By getting real
peoples stories out to the public, advocates may be able to change
the perception that psychedelics are dangerous drugs of abuse.
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