I’ve read many studies that have come out in the last few years expressing how psilocybin mushrooms can help OCD, not just for a day, like many drugs, but indefinitely! I was so scared to try this, but I was desperate. To date I have done mushrooms just twice, but this has helped reduce my OCD symptoms by ~75%.
The first trip was very enjoyable, and not at all scary. I took .25mg ativan beforehand since mushrooms can increase the heart rate and when mine climbs too high, I usually go into a panic attack. At first I felt very “buzzy”, almost like my whole body was tingling. I also felt a bit warmer. I giggled like a kid and my emotions felt very simple. Like when I felt joy, it was pure joy. The colors and patterns were amazing! I did not take a very high dose so my visual hallucinations were minor. I began to come down four hours later and was a little bummed.
I was expecting an instant epiphany and I didn’t get one, so I assumed it didn’t work. I went to sleep and could hardly move the following day with a horrendous stomach ache and diarrhea. I do not recomend taking mushrooms on an empty stomach!
And speaking of epiphanies, I can’t say that I didn’t experience one, as I did experience a mind-shift; a change in my perspective. I feared acquiring a new personality, like drugs would change me, but it’s really not like that. Mushrooms are fairly gentle.
The following day, I realized I had not done many of my compulsions! I was surprised that a substantial change had been made. I was ecstatic and hoping it would last. The effect is related to hyperactivity in the frontal cortex. I am not cured, but I am the most normal I have ever been, and this feeling has lasted for months. My OCD is at a minimum.
Mt second trip was much more intense. I took them the second time more for recreational purposes, rather than medicinal ones. I decided not to take ativan before hand. Bad idea. I started to panic. My fear of another stomach ache snowballed and I left happy and went right into panic and nausea. I hid my face under a blanket because the lights were insanely bright (pupils dilate a lot). After my fiancé calmed me down by turning on Friends I was completely fine. The bad trip lasted maybe 20 minutes and then I was fine. I doubt it would’ve happened had I been in a decently relaxed mind set before taking mushrooms (which I did on a full stomach of carbs and fruit).
After I calmed down, the experience was incredible. My paintings had come to life and my concrete ceiling had become a river with electric blue snakes. The characters on Friends were much more beautiful that usual. The silly jokes brought me joy and I was delighted in general. I went to bed and had no stomach problems.
Taking only two doses over the last 8 months has changed my life immensely. I think my OCD symptoms have emerged a little, but absolutely in no way like how I was before. I would also add that a bad trip is nothing to fear. Do not take mushrooms alone for your first time and take them in an environment in which you feel safe, like your home. Do not use on an empty stomach, and for those who have a sensitive stomach, consume mushrooms in tea form with a little ginger. If you are prone to panic attacks or heart conditions, please do your research and be careful.
If you google search “ocd mushroom study” you will find many valid results. Here is one article by the BBC.
MyOCDdiary 
wonderfull mushrooms
I am curious to know if your symptoms have still been in check?
I am especially curious since you have written a lot of blog entries since this one, so I’m concerned you spiralled back down.
Thanks in advance,
Victor
Victor,
Thanks for checking in! I feel that without a doubt, the most helpful form of treatment I have had has been mushrooms. They took care of most of my compulsions and much of my obsession. I had severe OCD and I would say that the first few month after I took mushrooms, my OCD improved by about 75%. It has been 6 months since the last time I took them and I do see symptoms returning a bit. I have had a few spikes, but overall my OCD is controllable. Mushrooms have been shown in studies to put OCD into remission, but these studies also show that it is not a cure and I can attest to that.
I believe OCD to be, for me at least, a lifelong battle, and I will continue to write about things I try and things I learn. I still use kava kava every once in a while as well as ativan when I travel, but I feel that if I keep learning new ways to deal with OCD, I can further improve my methods of treatment.
Thanks for reading my blog and I appreciate the feedback! Stay strong!
I am also suffering from OCD for the last 20 years ,Now it is getting worse, I also want to take mushroom. are u still taking mushrooms ,pls let me know thanks,
I have not taken mushrooms in a long time, but i might do that again in the future.
I am also OCD Suffer ,can u pls tell me
when did u last take the mushroom
Is your symptoms have still been in check?
Are you Currently taking any SSRI to control OCD
Many Thanks!!!
I lsat took mushrooms a couple of years ago. I found them to enlighten my life perspective as well as alleviate some OCD symptoms for a few months, but nothing long term. I do not nor have I ever taken an SSRI. MY OCD is ver much in check due to dietary changes, therapy and correcting a hormonal imbalance and thyroid issue. Diet truly has made the biggest difference.
Thanks for the reply!
I’m 23 and have had it since 2003 (at least when it really became significant).
Currently taking Zoloft and it’s helping when it’s at high doses. Unfortunately, my OCD’s present issues are really difficult to treat in that they are relationship OCD symptoms, appearance OCD (on the partner), and trust/fear of being manipulated issues where I question everything my partner will say and feeling as though he is trying to manipulate my feelings.
The shroom idea is definitely piquing my interest even though I’m not a hard drug user at all.
It doesn’t help that I am having this kind of OCD right now with someone who suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder though. I think I have one of the most f’ed up relationships possible!
Victor,
I understand that OCD can definitely cause strain within a relationship which can be incredibly painful. I am very open with my partner about my OCD which helps because he now is able to recognize when it’s my OCD and when it’s not. Every relationship is different so I know this openness may be hard for some. I do think it helps though, so talking about about it may help, but like you said, the disorder your partner deals with complicates things a bit. It sounds like the OCD and her disorder makes things very hard for both of you, but I bet she knows how much you worry about her feelings!
As far as mushrooms go, make sure that before you try them to research online and make sure your current drugs do not interact badly with them. I’m not a hard drug user at all either and I really only tried these because I was desperate for something to help. I tried them in a place where I felt safe, had access to water, food and blankets so i felt very secure. Also, I didn’t eat before hand the first time and I got terrible stomach aches. The next time I tried them, I ate first and ingested the shrooms in a tea form and my stomach was fine. I have a sensitive stomach so for me, it is crucial to eat first.
I hope your relationship strengthens as you do because if OCD can do anything… OCD is a struggle, but new forms of treatment arrive everyday. Mushrooms worked wonders for me and I loved them. Not only did mushrooms help me physiologically, they helped to expand my mind by changing my perspective, which in turn helps me deal with my OCD.
Best of luck~
Julia
Thanks for the feedback Julia.
I guess the next logical question on shrooms would be how did you find out where to get some? I know the usual answer would be drug dealers, but it serves a purpose to still ask heh. And do you know what it cost you?
My other question is did you do them with any meds? I am concerned about trying them with Zoloft in me, an SSRI. Preliminary research reveals no risk but that it reduces sensitivity to shrooms.
Thanks for your insight!
PS: it’s a he, not a she. 😉
Victor,
As far as where to find them; asking your friends is a good idea. Cost is anyone’s guess.
I took shrooms with ativan, which is an anti-anxiety medication. The second time I took shrooms, I decided to try without ativan and my anxiety was quite severe as well as my heart rate increasing. The heart rate increase is normal, but I have heart problems so I have to be careful. I took my ativan and I was fine. Bad trips can happen, but really, it’s nothing to worry about. If it happens, you can calm down and feel better. Also, it’s not as intense as LSD. Bad trips usually happen when the person is scared before hand, in an unsafe environment with the wrong people. It’s best to be in a safe place and relax.
I have read the same things as you regarding zoloft. I think if the effect of psilocybin was diminished, it would have to do with your own body chemistry as well as the dosage of zoloft you are on. Like when I took shrooms, I took half my daily dose of ativan. It’s better to be safe, so if you are simply worried that your trip won’t be as good, you can always try it again under different circumstances.
I needed a solution desperately. I was open to the idea of shrooms. I was in a safe place where I felt comfortable, took half my ativan that was that. I had stomach aches, but that was because I didn’t eat. I had heard not eating makes the trip more intense; this is simply not true.
I hope this helps! Stay safe!
Julia
p.s. HE! 🙂
Great to read about all this, it helps make my research more solid. Do you plan to keep taking some once every few months?
As well, what’s kava kava?
Thanks,
Victor
Glad to hear that! I wrote a post about kava kava here: https://ocddiary.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/kava-kava/
it is pretty awesome! very gentle and nice to have around during those times when you need something, but not too much.
As far as shrooms go…I really think that for me, OCD is gonna be around forever. i’m not a pessimist, but practically speaking, I’ve accepted that it may be here my whole life. And with that, I really don’t make plans about treatment. I go with the flow, like some nights I really just need an ativan and some nights, I need kava kava. I hope my OCD doesn’t get to the point again where I need shrooms, but if it does, I won’t be depressed, but instead ready to deal with it.
Investing my energy into finding a cure never seemed practical to me so I try to keep my OCD manageable through various forms of treatments for different circumstances. If you’ve read my post on SSRI’s you’ll know that I’m not using them and don’t plan to. Sometimes they are very helpful, but for me, I don’t think they would be.
I hope zoloft helps you and that one day you wont need it anymore. Keep me posted!
Hi Julia
I agree with you, I know my OCD will be around for a long long time. I think I’ve accepted that.
One thing I have noticed with my therapist is he doesn’t use CBT to treat pure O or even OC symptoms. He’s always helped me get out of my periods by extensive conversation, be it psychoanalysis, or simply discussing tips with good information to encourage me to feel confident about trying methods to overcome the obsessions.
I am considering trying the mushroom route, and have had some contacts with friends who may be able to get some. My therapist is on the fence about it, obviously because it could swing either way and I am generally a worrywart so the psychological background may impact the trip.
I agree with some of the research on how to treat most forms of OCD is by convincing yourself there is no definite answer and you accept that if something is gonna happen, well so be it.
My therapist’s interesting example was of someone who was scared to go to Cuba when he had an obsessive thought that he may be taken to be a man prostitute there. The way my therapist tackled that was by simply saying “Well if I’m going to be a man prostitute, then so be it. 3 years down the road I’ll write a book about it!”
Kinda interesting.
My relationship has been most stressful. We live far apart (4h drive), he has BPD, I have OCD, he’s penniless in a poor family with his mom only and I am in my 4th year of university with a very intense term. So without a doubt my OCD is much more severe than normal lately.
Despite that, we love each other and I’ve learned to cope with his self-harming behavior and (to a certain extent that my OCD allows), his chaotic thinking (switching thoughts by the minute at times, big no no for people with OCD who must have control and consistency!), but my obsessional thinking on small conversational details has been very strong and has made it so hard to deal with, yet he supports me and helps me by hearing my obsessions out. I make an effort not to get reassurance too often now as I know it could trigger more obsessions down the road.
Another tip I’ve been told is to remember that OCD and anxiety is based on the desire to control everything when doubt is at hand. Reminding oneself that in life we cannot control everything, that bad things can and will happen is helpful. That uncertainty is a human thing and we simply won’t know the answers to each situation.
Hope this also helps anyone else too! And thank you for listening! 🙂
Vic
Hi Victor,
Thanks so much for sharing your story! I especially like what you wrote in the last part about the need to control things. I think that’s very poignant. It’s really good to hear that you have such a supportive partner. It sounds like you guys are really there for each other, and I know how much that really helps! My OCD was wretched my final term of school, but that’s also when I sought help. School really is awful sometimes, isn’t it? It sounds like you have a therapist who listens which is great! Though, make sure you are totally comfortable with your treatment as psychoanalysis is usually not the psychological treatment of choice.
I can see why your therapist may worry that your worry-wart ways may induce a bad trip, and as I am quite a worry-wart myself, I worried about that too. LSD or mescaline would be pretty much the worst decision ever for someone prone to panic; it’s too intense. Mushrooms on the other hand are very gentle and I was giggling the whole time. I felt pure joy. In fact, I was expecting it to be a bigger deal than it was so in that way, I was almost disappointed, but relieved. Like alcohol or weed, you can take a lot or a little, and if you’re nervous, I’d say take your medication, and put on a happy show like “Friends” or something in the background. My second trip, I got so nervous I would get a stomach ache that I started to get upset. My husband gave me a hug and put on “Friends” and within a few minutes I felt better.
I would say if you are really nervous about trying it, wait until you’re ready. Wait until you feel excited to try it; excited at the prospect that something could really help you. It’s ok to be a little nervous, but you should definitely go into feeling ready and able. I was so desperate for something to help me, I couldn’t wait to try it and though I was nervous, I felt ready and it was great.
Again, thanks so much for sharing! It’s good to hear from ya!
Julia
How do you know it help by 75 percent…….if that is case, if it is possible to try to become normal person…..can I have your email,please…..
Some sites says it helps but some site says it makes ocd worse…………….so difficult to have a hope for ocd…….I really feel very depressed……why I had the worse illness in the world………
jason,
thanks for your feedback! i guess 75% is a random number in way, but i chose it because my symptoms decreased a lot, but not completely. they have since returned, but having a few months with fewer compulsions was amazing! definitely a great idea to do your research on mushrooms; i am a huge advocate of research. i havent read much about people having their ocd symptoms worsen. are you reading that the trip was bad or that the symptoms increased in severity after?
it is very difficult to have hope for ocd and not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel can make things just terrible, but what helps me is to know that maybe my ocd wont go away. i know that sounds weird, but what i mean is that maybe it will, maybe it wont, but i am choosing to focus on the present.
dont lose hope in yourself. ocd is a jerk, but its not who you are or what you really want. it feels sometimes that ocd is all that you are, but its not true. there is a better, stronger part of you that knows ocd is not the truth. please email me if you like at myocddiary @ gmail
take care and stay strong!
Hi,
Do you mean that your ocd has returned and magic muchroom is no longer effective to you???
Do you have to live with ocd forever???
Why the medical field is so useless in that the med that is given to treat us is so long ago and nothing new come up recently???
I think this world is only about money for the normal people.
Your email is myocddiary @ gmail . com???
I think it would be good that we can be freinds as we share our experience with ocd…who else really understand us???
I was working in a German company and was asked to go when they know my condition….
Most of my colleagues are frustrated with me and they stop being close to me after knowing my condition…they stop replying my sms and my email….it is sad but what to do…I choose not to let people know from now onwards…
I read this….
There is no cure for OCD. Some medicines can help reduce some of the obsessive behavior. It’s really something you need to talk to people about, like why you feel the need to do the things you do obsessively and determine if it helps your life and start trying not to do them.. it’s different for every case, in some OCD is pretty harmless and they can still live just with quirks, it doesn’t hinder quality of life significantly.
DO NOT listen to the guy who said to use magic mushrooms. There is work on a drug that uses a similar sort of active ingredient but actual magic mushrooms themselves in drug or natural dried form are not safe for you to use to self medicate, it can actually worsen your OCD.
Psilocybin, the active ingredient found to help some severe cases of OCD is found in hundreds of species of mushrooms and fungi. If you want to request a trial perhaps talk to your doctor about getting some isolated Psilocybin? It is only used to treat experimentally very very severe cases at the moment. It is indeed found in magic mushrooms, but not in a stable or safe way for you to take to self medicate as the amount varies. They also can induce panic attacks which can be worsened because of your OCD. Psilocybin can also stay in your system for around a week. I really, really would not recommend mushrooms for self-medication.
Edit: I was talking about this with my family over dinner, turns out a friend of my sisters from an OCD support group did self medicate with magic mushrooms and while temporarily it did relieve her from her dermatillomania (skin picking) it worsened after taking the drugs and she experienced panic attacks while under influence.
Source(s):
Sister with OCD
Jason:
That is terrible to hear that some of your colleagues turned you away after finding out about your OCD. The stigma associated with mental illness makes things a but more difficult, but remember that not everyone is like that, and there are some wonderful people out there!
I know what you mean that it seems like no new treatments are available for OCD, but just keep hope! Surgery has become a new option for some and one day, new medications may be on the market. Therapy is also a great option.
My OCD has returned since taking mushrooms, but does that mean it was a waste of an experience? Absolutely not. I gained insight, perspective as well as a few months of lessoned symptoms. I saw some boundaries of my life vanish. I have yet to read any scientific evidence that indicates that mushrooms make OCD worse, but I can say that if someone decides to try mushrooms with negative expectations and anxiety, a good trip may be hard to get. Trying mushrooms is a personal choice.
Correct, there is no cure for OCD, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from giving up! Living a happy life is possible. In my journey for treating OCD, my goal is to find efficient forms of management, not antidotes.
So sorry to hear you are depressed. That is quite a rotten feeling and I hate when that feeling happens. It can be addictive, but show yourself compassion and don’t give up hope!
Take care!
Let keep in contact and we exchange any new form of treatment when they come out…….my email is jasonweecl@live.com
I am against taking the SSRI as they have too much side effect and is often not useful………why is that we had to tolerate the side effects and it take months for us to know if one is helpful…if not, we get on to another one…..
And these SSRIs are developed so long ago….the medical industry is simply useless…….or they just want profit……if we get a cure, imagine how much money they will lost….
I was thinking that you take some magic mushroom and the symtops will go for few months…and then take again and it will reduce the symtop for few months and you can keep doing that…..quite sad to know it stop working on you…….
Look through the web…seems like not much advancement in using magic mushroom as a cure…..look like the medical industry had failed again…..
Good to come to this site although it is not very active….some people believe that ocd is a behavorial problem which can be solved…but not easy…….
Why not talk about the best methods that you guys have???
This blog no longer maintained??? My email is jasminelee_44@yahoo.com
Wonder if the owner of this blog can contact me? Thanks
Hi Jasmine,
My blog is still active, no worries! id be happy to email you. Expect one today.
I was diagnosed with OCD when I was very young, around 6 or 7 and I was on SSRI’s most of my life from then up until senior year in high school. Soon after stopping my medication I tried magic mushrooms for the first time. I took them with 3 of my best friends at a recreational park on a dark and rainy night. At first when I started feeling their effect I experienced what was probably the worst anxiety attack of my life. I was terrified. I thought I would go crazy for the rest of my life and live in a mental hospital. That lasted about 30 minutes. After that feeling had subsided though, I felt what I would say was the most calm and happy I’ve ever felt in my life (and that lasted about 6 hours with occasional but short lived reoccurring anxious feelings). We spent most of the trip sitting in a car, talking and listening to music. I think this really taught me a lot about what anxiety is and where it comes from (I learned a lot more than just that from the mushrooms). Anxiety is all in your head.
Ever since this day my OCD symptoms have been very, very minute compared to what they were before. I don’t know if I would recommend it for anyone, but it worked for me. I would, however, recommend never taking SSRI’s because they are totally unnatural chemicals made in a lab and should probably not be put into your body. They made me feel like I wasn’t truly alive when I was taking them.
I’m glad to hear mushrooms helped you! Bad trips can be a little scary…I had a couple and while they were not fun AT ALL, it wouldn’t stop me from trying them again, but i definitely need to be in a remotely good mindset to do it.
I’m in agreement about SSRI’s…. I’m so sick of doctors telling me to take them after talking with me for a whole 5 minutes.
Stomach upset isn’t a direct result of the mushrooms, it’s usually casued by the spores. Pick the mushrooms well before the veil breaks and they won’t be producing spores.
Another thing to consider, you can take them every day, but at approximately 1/15th -1/20th of a hallucinogenic dose.
You won’t see anything, your thinking will be altered very marginally, in a positive sense.
The best way to do this is by drying them, grinding them to powder and very slowly increasing the dose. If your thoughts start becoming too creative but difficult to control, you are taking too much…ease off.
Self control and moderation is the key here!
If you take a hallucinogenic dose, don’t touch them again for at least a week.
They can save your life, but they need to be treated with respect and reverence.
They’ve saved my life twice!
I spent 18 months on SSRI’s, they made me both numb and dumb.
The pharmaceutical industry and legislators are ignoring the natural remedy, because there’s no profit in it for them
I should also mention that there are treatments and exercises for anxiety, drug free…
I used to massage for a chiropractor/osteopath and have a holistic view of the body.
My tip, find a good chiropractor/osteopath/masseur and you will find specific tension in your upper back between the lower part of the shoulder blades.
Nerves from this region service the adrenal gland and the tension is overstimulating this gland.
It will take some time to break the habit that your muscular-skeletal system has formed, but it can be broken.
I know this because I’ve endured literally years of intense stomach churning anxiety, and broken the cycle with gentle exercises that I do regularly.
Find someone to help you on your way and then devise an exercise regime that works when you feel the necessity.
Just know that it can be done and you can do it also
Thanks Barry, I like the info you posted. I am big fan of exercise and believe it does wonders.
@ Glenn
Are you saying that you use them daily to treat yourself? Also have you used them with SSRIs? Or do you know if anyone has had any issues using them with SSRIs?
Dr Gonzo,
I was using them daily – in extremely small doses, as much to cure my procrastination, which for me was OCD combined with self doubt and negative thought patterns.
The added benefit was that the psilocybin counteracts the mental cloudiness that the SSRI’s were causing.
The work that I was doing at the time needed a lot of calculations, which I can normally do in my head.
However with the SSRI’s, a lot of the time, I couldn’t even think clearly enough to use a pocket calculator.
That effect, as you would know, lasts for 2 – 3 hours at least.
I found SSRI’s exasperating, and have since discontinued their use with no regrets.
I’ve been diagnosed as Bi-polar II and when I fall to depression, my thought patterns become obsessive/repetitive.
I’ve a prescription for Lamotrigine, which I still haven’t used and really don’t intend to…
I’ve used up the psilocybin mushrooms that I had cultivated and haven’t grown any more, but will be again soon.
For me personally, it’s a case of when I feel the need arise…
All you need to stay aware of is moderation and self control.
Hey, I’m a sufferer with ocd as well, the pure kind where you worry about compulsively thinking but not actually, though the fact that you have to “check” is pretty horrible to be honest. I’ve suffered for two years now and have done mushrooms once before. I’m glad that you corroborate what i experienced, in the sense that the compulsion to act was drastically reduced within the first few weeks. I found this came back and was thinking of trying a higher dosage and doing it on my own this time instead of with friends. Doing them in nature is amazing and if you want to get the most out of your trip this is the only way. I’ve got a summary of my experience here:
http://symmachy.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/some-people-seek-happiness-others-create-it-psilocybin-mushrooms/
What kind of mushrooms did you take? Was thinking of growing some and wondered what kind to try out. Be great to have your input on any positive drug stories, i’m running a section on my site to try and show people that not all drugs need to have a stigma attached to them.
Cheers
bp.
thank you! I am not sure of the exact species of mushrooms I used. I tried it 3 or 4 times and each with varying doses. Some trips were good and I had the occasional bad one. i value each experience, but I did find that the biggest reduction of OCD symptoms happened after my first trip.
I’ve read all of your experiences,,and am quite excited about this. My son has ocd..and is currently on zoloft..of which we have recently reduced the dosage as he was feeling very aggressive! I am curious to know with continued usage of the mushrooms…do the symptoms of ocd stay in check? May e-mail me at…ferallady@yahoo.com
When it come to growing mushrooms, psilocybe cubensis is the easiest to grow, though there are many species of mushrooms that contain psilocybin.
Different psilocybin containing species vary in strength, as a general rule ones which grow on decomposing wood are stronger and much more difficult to grow than Cubensis.
Having a strong hallucinogenic does can be therapeutic/cathartic.
This can’t be repeated within 7-14 days, preferably 28 days.
Therefore I see the biggest benefit coming from minute doses daily.
For interests sake – research both the serotonin and psilicybin molecules…stunning similarity
peace out
First of all, a huge “thanks” to the author of this helpful Web site for providing open and honest information to us OCD sufferers out there…
Now a question for Glenn:
I have OCD myself and have made the rounds with SSRIs over the years; however, the side effects ultimately caused me to give them up, and I have been medication free for a number of years now (other than taking 1g of Tryptophan in the evenings, if that counts).
I have taken psilocybin mushrooms numerous times throughout my life and, although some experiences have been very difficult, I can confidently say that that in general they have had a reducing effect on my OCD. However, it is never so simple, as one time on a relatively high dose I went to a painful place in my psyche from which afterwards seemed to exacerbate the OCD (had I however taken the mushrooms in a therapeutic setting with a trained therapist I am convinced that this wouldn’t have happened and the lasting effect would have been positive – unfortunately, however, there is no one currently allowed to practice therapy with psychedelics due to political reasons which need not be mentioned here).
In any case, I have been considering trying “sub-dosing”, as you mentioned in your posting, for some time now, in part because the cathartic experience of a psychedelic experience (and the integration time required afterward) is not compatible with my busy lifestyle. I have always taken mushrooms in a psychedelic dose. Thus I have a few questions for you:
– Have you noticed that the effects diminish over time?
– What would be the optimal time of day to take the sub-dose?
– Do you know if taking Tryptophan would interfere?
– Perhaps most importantly: I am in a line of work where I have to be very sharp, clear, and above all quick with my intellect. (I also have a newborn baby at the moment.) From your experience, would a daily sub-dose of psilocybin interfere with my ability to operate in the world with full efficiency? (Of course, the OCD itself is preventing my going about my life efficiently, and so it would seem to be a kind of a trade-off).
Thank you in advance for any advice.
Thanks Glen!
OK I am going to give some background on how I came about to find that micro doses were of greatest benefit.
I am bipolar, when in the depressive state I am afflicted with what I understand to be medium to strong OCD characteristics, it’s the neagtive thought patterns which slowly lock me into total inertia.
I just watched “The Kings Speech” last night, and I’m not sure if all would agree, but for me, OCD is like a mental stammer.
I am somewhat/slightly OCD (perfectionist) normally, but it does not interfere with my life adversely.
Over 12 years ago I was going through a fairly serious depression and had some mushrooms available. I was as scientific as I could be, drying them, weighing them, and then working my way up to find a good dosage.
I can tell you from experience, and what I had read at that time, a large dose was called “Heroic”!
From the experiences we have both had with large doses, RIGHTLY SO!
I’ve frightened myself a few times, and have no desire to repeat the experience.
Anyway it was while I was incrementing towards a “Party Dose” that I noticed the effects at the different levels.
For example, at low doses (borderline sub-hallucinogenic) the colour green is the first to be amplified.
This can be a very good indicator as to the strength of the dose. I would consider this green glowing dose too strong for daily usage as slowly your thoughs will become too creative and run amok.
However, I have surfed,7 days in a row, whislt on the glowing green dose, with all of the vigour, concentration and crystal clear focus of when I was a teenager.
It doesn’t impair mental and physical function > concentration, co-ordination whatsoever. If anything it brings complete clarity.
So whereas a hallucinogenic dose is only possible every 7 – 14 days, a very small dose is possible daily.
At this point, I’ll highlight that I had experienced and observed all of the stages of increasing the dose.
This is important because for OCD and depression sufferers, the subtleties will either be overloooked or missed altogether.
If enquiring about someones trip, they responded that they felt “kinda different”, it would normally be conveyed as a disappointment, especially if the expectaion was to be “Trippin’ Balls”
So that’s the background…
Fast forward to late 2010, I was in the midst of another deep depression and sought help, and as a result ended up on SSRI’s. It was at this time I started cultivating mushrooms again.
Now as you’ve experienced the SSRI’s can be thoroughly exasperating, for me they obscured all mathematical functions and my ability to visualise. I charasterised it as a brain fog.
Anyway, for the crop I had grown, dried, powdered and put into capsules, 12-14 capsules was “party” ,14 – 20? heroic, and just ONE in the morning when taking the SSRI completely eliminated the brain fog.
As a point of comparison, taking two in the morning, whilst still below green glowing dosage, my thoughts whilst wonderfully creative, were too difficult to control and shifting to a manic phase.
I took one everyday for approximately 8 months, with no side effeect whatsoever, no withdrawals and no regrets.
As a comparison – I gave someone close to me, who was concerned with my self medicating, a dose of one capsule and enquired at the end of the day what they had felt. The dosage was so low that they hadn’t felt any different at all.
Now for credibility, I am using my real name, and my real email address.
I’d encourage anyone suffering OCD, and depression for that matter, to try mushrooms – according to the guidelines I’ve provided, without fear or prejudice.
There are sites dedicated to growing, awash with friendly, knowledgeable and helpful people.
peace out
Sorry forgot to mention tryptophan, well cheese and crackers make me sleepy, and plenty of other tryptophan containing foods also, so if you’re taking the Tryptophan at ~ opposite ends of the day, the serotonin from the tryptophan will have dissipated > been converted to melatonin > sleep, gone by the morning.
The psilocybin > psilocin disappears in 3-4 hours during the morning
Were you on any ocd medications when you tried it?
No, though I did take a small dose of ativan (anti anxiety) prior because my heart rate is a bit high anyways because of a thyroid problem.
Hi a few questions:
1. How many grams did you take each time?
2. How many months after your first trip did you have your second trip?
Thanks.
I’m not sure how much I took 😦 but it was considered a small dose by the person I got them from. I took the second after about 6 months.