Joseph, an Austin-based designer (his name has been changed to protect his privacy) was suffering from depression and anxiety. He’d been prescribed Prozac but wanted to try something new that might be more natural. He came across research showing that hallucinogenic mushrooms, including psilocybin — the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms” — can help people with treatment-resistant depression. Then he heard anecdotes from Silicon Valley influencers saying microdosing — the practice of taking a small amount, usually less than a full dose, to avoid hallucinogenic effects — helped them with focus, creativity, and energy.

Top Benefits of Microdosing Mushrooms: What Science Says

Microdosing mushrooms benefits fueled his interest in trying out psychedelic microdoses for himself. He searched online and watched many TED Talks on the subject, as well as read books by psychedelic researchers. Then he started microdosing on a weekly basis, eating a small nibble of psilocybin-containing mushrooms or drinking a tiny bit of LSD.

Barry followed his microdosing regimen religiously — before each dosing, he wrote down his intentions and what he wanted to get out of the experience, played calming music, and made sure to be in a meditative, positive space. As he continued, he felt that he was more connected to his work and peers and that his negative thoughts were blissfully dampened. This is the sort of subjective benefit many microdosers claim to have experienced, and a large part of it may be explained by expectations and the placebo effect. But future research is crucial to validate true pharmacological effects of psilocybin and LSD microdoses.