Microdosing

Microdosing is the ingestion of minimal doses of a psychedelic substance and can be applied for various reasons. The intention is to use a fraction of an active dose, so that the effect is hardly noticeable.  If there is a noticeable change in your consciousness, you have taken too high a dose.

What is it good for?

It is commonly used as a noötropic, to increase energy or creativity, but can also be used to improve cognitive or social functions. The possibilities are endless, scientists, artists, athletes but also the ordinary man in the street can often use a little boost to optimize their performance. Microdosing is also a suitable way to become familiar with a new substance, or to restore your relationship with a substance after a difficult experience. It is also used for cluster headaches sometimes, where many report tremendous relief or even preventing attacks completely by using regular pre-emptive microdoses.

How does it work?

By taking a micro-dose at the start of your day, you can boost your energy level, your senses and your problem-solving ability. Everything seems fresher, more colourful, brighter and clearer. Usually your mood is also improved and your thoughts seem to form more easily and tend to not dwell as long. Conversation is usually more fluid and with increased empathy you can better anticipate reactions of others. 

How much should you take?

For most, an optimal microdose is somewhere between one tenth or one twentieth of an active (treshold) dose. Depending on your goal, the substance and your relationship with it, you will have to find out for yourself the dosage on which you will perform optimally. As already mentioned, the intention is that the effect is barely noticeable. If there is a significant change in your consciousness or sensory perception, you have dosed too high, the effect should barely be noticeable on the periphery of your consciousness.  

How do you apply it? 

There are a number of ways in which microdosing can be applied. One method that has recently gained popularity is the Paul Stamets method (with its Stacking Formula). It works like this:

• Day 1: microdose
• Day 2: no microdose
• Day 3: no microdose
• Day 4: microdose
• Etc. 

This method prevents getting used to by building in rest days and if you make a good note of what you are using microdosing for and what effect it has on it, you can quickly see the differences between the days with and the days without microdosing. Many people find this a very targeted way of working on yourself that allows you to achieve quick results. After 4 weeks (depending on the result), it is best to build in a slightly longer rest period in order to integrate all the experiences gained. This protocol can be repeated as often as necessary to reach your goal.

What substance can I use to do microdosing?

In essence, you can use any psychedelic substance for microdoses. In general psilocin (mushrooms, truffles) open you up, and will make you more social and creative, while LSA and its affiliates generally make you more focused and energetic. But everyone has a different internal biochemistry, wich means that substances don't automatically work the same for everyone, try out how these things work for you and record your findings for the best results. Ideally, you should try out as many different options as possible until you have found what really works for your purpose.

Attention!

Although you can find a lot about microdosing to treat depression, a microdose often acts on the mood as a normal dose, i.e. it can greatly enhance your feelings. So if you're very sad or depressed, it might not be a good idea to take something that can increase those emotions even more. Don't expect miracles of microdosing either, you won't suddenly get the life you dream of just by ingesting something a couple of times.