6 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Microdosing
How to ensure your journey is a positive one.
Microdosing, the practice of taking small doses of psychedelic substances, has gained popularity for its potential to enhance mental well-being and promote subtle shifts in perception. However, to fully harness the benefits of microdosing, it is important to avoid common mistakes that can hinder its effectiveness. In this article, we will explore six mistakes individuals often make when microdosing and provide insights to help you navigate this practice more mindfully.
1. Taking Too Much Or Too Little:
When it comes to microdosing, less is more. It is crucial to start at the lower end of the microdose spectrum and gradually increase the dosage over a few days to find your personal sweet spot. For psilocybin, the microdose spectrum ranges from 0.1 to 0.3g of dried mushroom powder.
A true microdose should be sub-perceptual, meaning you should not experience strong sensations, visual distortions, or heightened sensory input. Instead, it should offer a subtle shift in your experience, difficult to pinpoint precisely. One common reason people abandon microdosing is seeking a more pronounced effect, which leads to higher doses that interfere with daily tasks. Conversely, too small a dose may result in individuals feeling no changes at all. Discovering the optimal dose for each person is essential for comfort, safety, and efficacy.
2. Dosing Everyday:
To maximize the benefits of microdosing, it is recommended to follow protocols that include specific dosing, transition, and integration days. These protocols also help prevent quick tolerance build-up, which can render psychedelics ineffective over time. While research on microdosing protocols is limited, it is reasonable to assume that consecutive dosing days will yield diminishing results, just as with larger psychedelic doses.
Microdosing should not be viewed as taking a pill or supplement. It is a practice that aids in shifting the brain toward healthier patterns and behaviors. Taking breaks from dosing, whether for days, weeks, or even months, supports long-term sustainable results.
3. Dosing With Food:
When microdosing, it is generally best to do so on an empty stomach, especially when using psilocybin. Combining psychedelics with food often leads to an upset stomach, but with microdosing, the combination is more likely to diminish the effects rather than cause physical discomfort.
Ideally, microdosing should be done in the morning on an empty stomach, followed by a minimum 30-minute wait before eating. The choice of food also influences the experience. Consuming leafy greens, vegan meals, fruits, nuts, and natural fats is ideal on dosing days. On the other hand, it is generally advised to avoid dairy, red meat, processed sugars, heavy caffeine, and large meals.
4. Combining With Other Substances:
While it is technically possible to combine microdosing with substances like cannabis or alcohol, it is generally discouraged. The purpose of microdosing is to cultivate subtle awareness and notice the nuances that often go unnoticed in everyday life. Adding other substances can muddle the experience and blur the perspective.
When multiple substances are involved, it becomes challenging to discern what originates from one's own body, mind, and consciousness and what stems from the substances themselves. While an occasional glass of wine or a puff of cannabis during microdosing months might be tolerable, regular consumption of any substance calls for curiosity about underlying attachments and potential addictive patterns. Working with a professional can aid in exploring these aspects through microdosing.
5. Not Journaling
The act of writing can be therapeutic, and in the context of microdosing, it helps individuals to process their experiences, articulate their thoughts, and delve deeper into their subconscious. To this end, journaling serves as a window into the mind, revealing patterns and shifts in thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that might otherwise remain unnoticed.
It can also highlight correlations between dosage and effects, which can then be utilized to optimize the microdosing regimen. In the long term, the practice of journaling fosters self-awareness and mindfulness, both of which are key elements in maximizing the benefits and enhancing the overall psychedelic journey.
6. No Introspective Container:
In our fast-paced lives, finding moments of introspection can be challenging. Microdosing invites us to embrace subtlety, presence, and mindfulness. Many of its benefits unfold when we consciously witness our patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior in a new light. This enhanced awareness is facilitated by reduced activity in the Default Mode Network of the brain.
However, recognizing patterns rarely occurs spontaneously amidst our busy and distracted routines. This is why creating an intentional practice and introspective container is crucial to unlock the benefits of microdosing. Merely taking a pill and continuing with daily routines without slowing down and checking in with oneself often leads to missed opportunities for potent insights. Embracing a gentle and intentional practice with a mindful container allows the innate wisdom of microdosing to emerge into conscious awareness.
Summary
Microdosing offers a pathway to explore the subtle realms of consciousness and enhance well-being. By avoiding these common mistakes—taking too much or too little, dosing every day, combining with other substances, treating it as a hack, and neglecting an introspective container—you can ensure a more meaningful and transformative microdosing experience. Embrace the subtleties, be mindful, and create a supportive practice to fully unlock the potential of microdosing.