11/1/2015

HowtoTakeMushrooms(Psilocybinmushrooms/Shrooms/MagicMushrooms)

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How to Use Psilocybin Mushrooms (920)

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Psychedelic mushrooms containing psilocybin are one of the oldest and safest
traditional medicines and have been used for centuries in many countries around the
world. The therapeutic and spiritual uses of mushrooms are what make it such an
important tool for growth and healing.
Over 200 species of mushrooms containing psilocybin and psilocin are known,
growing naturally in many parts of the world. Mushrooms are non-addictive and
become less active with repeated short-term use. They do not have any overdose
risk. Many experts consider them among the safest psychoactive compounds
available (safer than tobacco, alcohol, and anti-depressants).
See the bottom of this page for recent academic studies on the therapeutic uses of
mushrooms. From a recent article in the New York Times:

Two weeks after Sakudas psilocybin session, Grob readministered the

depression and anxiety assessments. Over all among his subjects, he
found that their scores on the anxiety scale at one and three months
after treatment demonstrated a sustained reduction in anxiety, the
researchers wrote in The Archives of General Psychiatry. They also found
that their subjects scores on the Beck Depression Inventory dropped
significantly at the six-month follow-up.

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Before you begin, be sure to read our safety section and see the special safety
considerations for mushrooms at the bottom of this page.

Dosage

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Dosage
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The strength of mushrooms can vary somewhat, because you are consuming the
mushrooms themselves, not just the active agents. Different strains have different
strengths and potency can somewhat decline over time.
The most common variety of mushroom available is psilocybe cubensis, which is a
fairly strong strain. A typical dose of recently dried psilocybe cubensis mushrooms is
about 3.5 grams (1/8th of an ounce).
It is not possible to overdose on mushrooms. However, taking a dose thats different
than anticipated can cause temporary anxiety. Interestingly, this can happen if the
dose is smaller than expected, as well as if it is larger. In fact, some therapists
recommend starting with a fairly strong dose of mushrooms that will quickly move
people past their own psychological frameworks and into a more spiritual state,
thereby bypassing anxiousness. Other research has suggested that starting with a
small initial dose and increasing in successive sessions reduces potential anxiety.
Mushrooms are non-addictive and become much less effective if taken repeatedly in
a short period of time, as your body adjusts. This makes overuse less likely.

How to Take Mushrooms

STEP ONE
Be sure that you have set aside enough time in a comfortable
setting. Mushrooms typically last for about 4-5 hours, with the
peak happening for about two hours, beginning 30-60 minutes
after ingestion. Youll have a gentle decline 2-3 hours after
taking the mushrooms. You may want to eat before you take the
mushrooms as you may not feel hungry during the experience.
TWO
Make sure you have the right dose ready. Many people find that
mushrooms can cause stomach upset for the first 60-90
minutes of their experience, which can be distracting. Taking
the mushrooms in tea reduces this effect-- chop the
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mushrooms up, boil them for 20 minutes, and drink the liquid
(the mushrooms that remain will also still be active, but
weakened). With tea, you will feel the effects more quickly and
you also might come down more quickly.
THREE
Eat or drink the dose. If you eat the mushrooms and dont like
the taste, you can chew them with peanut butter or some other
flavorful food.
FOUR
Once you take the mushrooms, youll have about 30-60
minutes before the effects are strong. This is another chance to
make sure you get setup with anything you will want to have
handy. Lots of folks like to write during the experience, about
their ideas and feelings, so you may want to have paper or a
computer handy. If you are interested in addressing particular
emotional or psychological challenges in your life, you may
want to make a list of issues that you want to think about during
the experience.
FIVE
As the effects begin to occur, you will start to notice a change in
your perception of the world. You may see some slight changes
in your visual perception -- subtle rainbow halos around lights,
trails behind moving objects, geometric patterns when your
eyes are closed. These effects can be fun to look at, but dont let
them become too much of a distraction from thinking about
your self, your life, and your perception of the world.
SIX
Once the mushrooms have fully taken effect (60-90 minutes
after you take it), youll notice that your thoughts and emotions
feel different. While the effects can vary widely from person to
person and moment to moment, you are likely to feel some of
the following: a sense of wonder and delight, openness to
thoughts and feelings that you usually avoid, a sense of peace, a
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sense of connection to the world, clarity about relationships and

people in your life, unity with the universe, excitement and joy,
strong emotions. Mushrooms generally dissolves mental
boundaries, making it easier to feel thoughts and emotions and
letting you fully immerse yourself in an idea or feeling. This can
be powerful at times, you may become very happy or very sad,
very thoughtful or frustrated or engaged with an idea.
Mushrooms have been shown to enhance problem solving for
science and engineering professionals, given its ability to allow
deep immersion in a thought with heightened creativity and
openness to new ways of tackling a problem. It is important to
remember two things as you being your mushroom experience:
1. stay open to your feelings and let them flow through you 2. if
you feel too stuck in an idea or a sad emotion, start thinking
about something positive and you will notice that your mood
changes. Putting on positive music or a comforting movie can
also help if you have any anxiety. But its always best if you can
stay open to your feelings, good or bad, and let them flow.
SEVEN
As you experience this process, try to stay as open to your
feelings and ideas as you can. If you have been depressed or
stressed or anxious, youll find that you can still feel those
feelings intensely and they can be very immersive. However
youll also notice that theres a certain softness present in even
the most difficult feelings-- you may still feel troubled by a
problem in your life, but youll also be able to look at the issue
with more openness and the fear that you associate with that
problem will be much reduced. The more you can stay open to
even the most challenging feelings, the more meaningful and
effective the experience will be. As you think about difficulties in
your life or things that have led to anxiety and depression, try to
find new ways of approaching those feelings and opportunities
to come at those challenges in a new way. Youll find that just
spending time thinking about challenges in your life will help
you re-store those memories and ideas without as much
associated stress and fear.
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EIGHT
Dont forget to spend some time relaxing into the experience.
Its worth taking some time just to relax and be present with the
experience without specific goals. Not only does it give you
relief and relaxation, but you may find that important realizations
arise about issues that you werent even expecting to think
about.
NINE
As the effects of mushrooms start to fade, you will have a
couple hours of gradual reduction in the intensity of the
feelings. This can be a good time to write about your experience
or talk with a friend or loved one about what youve been
experiencing. Gradually, you will start to feel back to your
normal self, and this can sometimes lead to a bit of
disappointment as your typical mental habits start to pop up.
Getting to such a free space and then coming back to yourself
can leave you longing to always be so free. But as you think
about your experience and the ideas and feelings you had, youll
realize that so much of that freedom and openness is still with
you. Take some time to think about whats happened and to
remind yourself to bring some of that openness into your day to
day life.

Afterwards
Typically, people feel very free and open in the days following a mushroom
experience. You should try to get a good nights sleep afterwards, and you may feel a
little tired the next day.
Most people find that they have an afterglow from their mushroom experience that
can last days or weeks, improving their mood and outlook and keeping them very
open to others. Ideas and issues that you explored during the experience will have a
new clarity to them. Emotionally difficult topics, memories, and experiences are likely
to feel much safer and will bring up less fear when you remember them. You are
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likely to feel better able to tackle challenging emotional experiences in your life.
The positive effects of mushrooms can last for years, even from just a single
experience. In a recent study at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, an incredible 94% of
participants who had a single dose of mushrooms said it was one of the top five
most meaningful experiences of their lives. Another study found long lasting changes
in openness more than a year after a single mushroom dose.
As you can read in the studies above and below, mushrooms have been shown in
many research settings to dramatically reduce anxiety, depression, and other
psychological challenges with just a single dose. However, you may wish to repeat
the experience a few times to further explore and address any emotional and
psychological issues that you are working with.

Special Safety Considerations

In addition to our standard safety suggestions, do not use mushrooms if you are
currently taking psychoactive pharmaceuticals, such as anti-depressents, anti-anxiety
drugs, etc. Always research any supplements or other medicines that you may be
taking to avoid interactions.

Articles and Research on Mushrooms

New York Times
How Psychedelic Drugs Can Help Patients Face Death
MAPS.org
LSD and Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Anxiety
New York Times
Hallucinogens Have Doctors Tuning In Again
New York Times
The Guardian: Magic mushrooms may help with depression, say
leading scientists
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Pubmed
Pubmed search for psilocybin: a good way to find latest
research
9/20 Coalition
9/20 Coalition for Psychedlic Mushroom Education

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