microdosing Concepts

Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization

by Edward Slingerland · 31 May 2021

excellent natural experiment demonstrating how meeting in person, often over alcohol, enhances both individual and group creativity. Truth Is the Color Blue: Modern Shamans and Microdosing Alcohol has dominated our story for good reason. It is far and away the most widespread, popular, user-friendly, flexible, and multi-purpose intoxicant known

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use—a trend pioneered, as one might expect, in Silicon Valley—is making psychedelics easier to integrate into everyday life through the practice of “microdosing.”25 Microdosing involves taking frequent but small amounts of purified LSD or psilocybin, on the order of one-tenth of the normal dose, to induce mild, but

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sustainable, highs. The journalist Emma Hogan has documented widespread microdosing among knowledge workers in the San Francisco Bay Area.26 One interviewee, “Nathan,” credits microdosed LSD with increasing his productivity, giving him a creative edge, and magnifying his impact at investor-pitch meetings

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Ferriss, an angel investor and author, that “the billionaires I know, almost without exception, use hallucinogens on a regular basis.”27 These anecdotal accounts of microdosing enhancing creativity are supported by preliminary survey evidence. One recent study of online respondents28 contrasted the performance of self-reported

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microdosers and individuals who had never microdosed on the Unusual Uses Task (UUT). It found that microdosers generated responses that were rated as significantly more uncommon, unexpected, and clever than those of their non

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-microdosing peers. Another study of Dutch microdosers in a naturalistic setting29 found that administering a microdose of psychedelic mushrooms improved performance on two measures of creativity. The researchers in both studies acknowledged their respective limitations: The first

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relied on correlation and self-reports from volunteer online subjects, and the second lacked a non-microdosing or placebo control. Both, however, take us beyond mere anecdotal evidence. We’ll learn more from randomized, placebo-controlled laboratory studies, several of which are

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an escape room will provide the same outcomes as an alcohol-soaked holiday party, with none of the downsides. As we gather more data on microdosing psychedelics, we might find that they provide all of the creativity-boosting power of alcohol without the danger of addiction or liver damage. Other cases

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–233. Anderson, Thomas, Rotem Petranker, Daniel Rosenbaum, Cory R. Weissman, Le-Anh Dinh-Williams, Katrina Hui,…Norman A. S. Farb. (2019). “Microdosing psychedelics: Personality, mental health, and creativity differences in microdosers.” Psychopharmacology, 236(2), 731–740. Andrews, Michael. (2017). “Bar talk: Informal social interactions, alcohol prohibition, and invention.” (Unpublished manuscript.) Archer, Ruth

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cancer to the human phenome.” American Journal of Medical Genetics, 177(2), 113–125. Polito, V., and R. J. Stevenson. (2019). “A systematic study of microdosing psychedelics.” PLOS ONE, 14(2), e0211023. Pollan, Michael. (2001). The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World. New York: Random House

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. Uppsala: University of Uppsala Press. Prochazkova, L., D. P. Lippelt, L. S. Colzato, M. Kuchar, Z. Sjoerds, and B. Hommel. (2018). “Exploring the effect of microdosing psychedelics on creativity in an open-label natural setting.” Psychopharmacology, 235(12), 3401–3413. Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. (1922/1964). The Andaman Islanders. New York

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with CNN, quoted in Hogan 2017. 28Anderson et al. 2019. Another recent study that tracked the experience of microdosers over six weeks (Polito and Stevenson 2019) reported an increase in creativity among active microdosers, but this was based on a self-reported sense of creativity rather than an experimental measure. 29Prochazkova et

Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers

by Timothy Ferriss · 6 Dec 2016 · 669pp · 210,153 words

“psychedelic.” My Good Friend I have a good friend, let’s call him Slim Berriss, who’s devised a schedule for himself that combines practical microdosing and pre-planned 1- to 2-day treks into deeper territory. For him, this blend provides a structured approach for increasing everyday well-being, developing

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empathy, and intensively exploring the “other.” Here is what it looks like: Microdosing of ibogaine hydrochloride twice weekly, on Mondays and Fridays. The dosage is 4 mg, or roughly 1/200 or less of the full ceremonial dosage

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at Slim’s bodyweight of 80 kg. He dislikes LSD and finds psilocybin in mushrooms hard to dose accurately. Woe unto he who “microdoses” and gets hit like a freight train while checking in luggage at an airport (poor Slim). The encapsulated ibogaine was gifted to him to solve

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people came in with, 44 had solutions.” 50 mcg is considered a “concert dose” or “museum dose.” Self-explanatory. 10 to 15 mcg is a “microdose.” Described by Jim: “Everything is just a little better. You know at the end of a day when you say, ‘Wow, that was a really

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good day’? That’s what most people report on microdosing. They’re a little bit nicer.” He elaborates: “What I’m finding is that microdoses of LSD or mushrooms may be very helpful for depression because they make you feel better enough that

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[depression] an illness. It may be the body’s way of saying, ‘You better deal with something, because it’s making you really sad.’ “[A microdose of psychedelics is] actually a low enough dose that it could be called ‘sub-perceptual,’ which means you don’t necessarily see any differences in

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’t glitter even a little, and the flowers don’t turn and watch you.’” Albert Hofmann, the inventor of LSD, considered microdosing the most neglected area of research. Hofmann microdosed LSD often for the last few decades of his life. He remained sharp until he died at 101. He would take it

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when he was walking among trees. In Jim’s opinion, microdosing psychedelics does a far better job than a whole class of drugs we now call “cognitive enhancers,” most of which are simply derivatives of speed

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. Oddly, there are consistent reports of microdosing having a lag effect. I’ve experienced this myself, and it’s the reason for Slim Berriss’s Monday/Friday spacing of ibogaine. Many

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microdosers, including one executive who runs a large corporation with manufacturing in five countries, have said, “The second day is better.” Which Users Have the Most

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successful intervention—to die prematurely from drug use or related violence. Based on notes from non-addict friends who’ve done “full-ride” iboga and microdosing, microdosing twice weekly appears to provide at least 50% of the anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) benefits with a tiny fraction of the risk. The typical ibogaine experience

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New York University School of Medicine], has stated in presentations that certain aspects of ibogaine defy traditional paradigms in pharmacology.” TF: I have noticed that microdosing seemed to increase my happiness “set point” by 5 to 10%, to peg a number on my subjective experience. This persists for several days after

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.” —Henry David Thoreau, Walden Fear-setting (page 463) is one instrument in the toolbox of conquering fear. Another of my favorites is fear-rehearsing—regularly microdosing myself with the worst-case scenario as inoculation. One exchange with Jocko Willink (page 412) explains the value of planned exposure to the “bad”: TIM

How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence

by Michael Pollan · 30 Apr 2018 · 547pp · 148,732 words

fruit, in the form of the valley’s ongoing interest in psychedelics as a tool for creativity and innovation. (As I write, the practice of microdosing—taking a tiny, “subperceptual” regular dose of LSD as a kind of mental tonic—is all the rage in the tech community.) Steve Jobs often

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have it still: I know of one Bay Area tech company today that uses psychedelics in its management training. A handful of others have instituted “microdosing Fridays.”) In 1961, Stolaroff left Ampex to dedicate himself full-time to psychedelic research. With Willis Harman, he established the orotundly titled International Foundation for

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increased, but control is maintained.” (She told me that there was a time when she put that tonic dose at 150 micrograms—far above a microdose and enough to send most people, myself included, on a full-fledged trip. But because frequent use of LSD can lead to tolerance, it’s

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named by the German chemist Arthur Heffter in 1897. The Doors of Perception is a first-person account of Aldous Huxley’s first mescaline experience. microdosing: The practice of ingesting a small, “subperceptual” dose of a psychedelic, usually LSD or psilocybin, every few days as an aid to mental health or

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and Weil, 201 Mesoamerican Indians, 107 Mettes, Patrick, 332, 336, 337–38, 340–44, 346, 356–57 Metzner, Ralph, 190, 191, 195 Michaux, Henri, 278n “microdosing,” 14n, 175 middle-aged people, 7, 73, 321 Miller, Savannah, 363–64 mind wandering, 304 Miserable Miracle (Michaux), 278n Mitchell, Edgar, 358–59 MK-Ultra

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.) * David J. Nutt, Drugs Without the Hot Air: Minimising the Harms of Legal and Illegal Drugs (Cambridge, U.K.: UIT, 2012). This is why people “microdosing” on psychedelics never take them on consecutive days. * Theresa M. Carbonaro et al., “Survey Study of Challenging Experiences After Ingesting Psilocybin Mushrooms: Acute and Enduring

Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work

by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal · 21 Feb 2017 · 407pp · 90,238 words

retreats, Wall Street traders zapping their brains with electrodes, trial lawyers stacking off-prescription pharmaceuticals, famous tech founders visiting transformational festivals, and teams of engineers microdosing with psychedelics. In other words, everywhere we went, someone was trying to steal the kykeon. We wanted to know precisely where this trend was originating

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kind of result that most people associate with the navel-gazing world of psychedelics. But similar outcomes are happening in Fadiman’s current survey of microdosing among professionals. With more than four hundred responses from people in dozens of fields, the majority, as Fadiman recently explained, report “enhanced pattern recognition [and

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world, “it looks like nothing fancier than a talking ATM.” It’s true for ecstasis as well. Soccer moms with Kundalini yoga practices; business men microdosing psychedelics; tech nerds tracking biometrics, The Simpsons going to Burning Man—these developments might seem pedestrian. But they are the “talking ATM’s” of altered

Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation

by Hannah Gadsby · 15 Mar 2022 · 373pp · 132,377 words

spent the next few days repeating each of those ten phrases over and over and over again under the influence of my best guess at microdoses of MDMA. I feel obliged to tell you not to try this at home. But that feels cheap after I just told you that I

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been educating myself on all things trauma for a few years by then, and had become quite intrigued by the research being done into the microdosing of various mind-altering substances. To be clear, I am under no illusions that I am an expert. I know exactly what I was: I

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biological specifics of autistic women, or any women for that matter. What did I have to lose? I had intended to try and see if microdosing could help me develop a buffer between me and the uncontrollable panic that thinking directly about my trauma inevitably invited. But after I was triggered

The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman

by Timothy Ferriss · 1 Dec 2010 · 836pp · 158,284 words

injection *Deca-Durabolin® (nandrolone decanoate) (left shoulder) Delatestryl® (testosterone enanthate) Depo®-Testosterone (testosterone cypionate) Sustanon® 250 (testosterone blend) HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) *Biopuncture protocol using microdoses of Traumeel and lympho- myosot (Achilles tendon, infraspinatus) Subcutaneous (under the skin) injection HGH (human growth hormone) *Biopuncture protocol (same as above) It’s quite

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biopuncture solutions aren’t diluted to the extent that they contain no active product (like most homeopathic medicine), they are diluted and referred to as “microdoses.” Lee used both Traumeel and lymphomyosot in my treatments. In addition to the drug treatments, we also tested a saline solution with 20% dextrose. It

Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World

by Malcolm Harris · 14 Feb 2023 · 864pp · 272,918 words

the work into the present, and his 2011 book, The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys, inspired a surge of interest in “microdosing,” now a popular performance-enhancing method in Silicon Valley tech circles that involves taking tiny amounts of LSD before work, a practice first proposed by

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): 211–27. 17. Todd Brendan Fahey, “The Original Captain Trips,” High Times, November 1991. 18. Vince Polito and Richard J. Stevenson, “A Systematic Study of Microdosing Psychedelics,” PLOS ONE 14, no. 2 (February 6, 2019): 2. 19. Jay Stevens, Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream (New York: Grove Press, 1987

Things That Matter: Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life

by Joshua Becker · 19 Apr 2022 · 215pp · 62,479 words

-been-since-at-least-1710. BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3 Olivia Solon, “Under Pressure, Silicon Valley Workers Turn to LSD Microdosing,” Wired, August 24, 2016, www.wired.co.uk/article/lsd-microdosing-drugs-silicon-valley. BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4 Blaise Pascal, Pensées, trans. A. J. Krailsheimer (New York: Penguin, 1995), 120

Health and Safety: A Breakdown

by Emily Witt · 16 Sep 2024 · 242pp · 85,783 words

Karat Gold.” Drugs in New York were class-specific consumer goods; AK-47 24 Karat Gold was not a drug the young professionals would be microdosing. The gentrifiers had their own delivery services for pot, mushrooms, pills, ketamine, and cocaine: the cars with tinted windows that would pull up outside bars

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Adderall to stay awake and smoked weed to add a layer of interest to their surroundings. There were cokeheads and ketamine queens and people who microdosed mushrooms. Others took a carefully weighed-out dose of MDMA or dipped into their little Ziploc bags of it all night. The sober crowd drank

The Startup Wife

by Tahmima Anam · 2 Jun 2021 · 297pp · 83,528 words

of rosemary fills my nostrils. It’s like my mouth is getting an expensive spa treatment. “Vitamin smoke,” she says. “And it comes with a microdose of pure oxygen—great for asthmatics. There are going to be way more asthmatics in the afterworld.” Destiny nods. “True.” “It’s got all the

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a strictly non-penetrative ritual.” He looks to Cyrus for approval. Cyrus, who has finished his drink, appears not to have heard him. “Want to microdose?” Craig asks, removing a small vial from his pocket. I shake my head, but Cyrus doesn’t, so Craig passes him the vial and Cyrus