Medicinal Uses of Psychedelic Mushrooms
There’s an old adage among Canadians that the simplest, most natural things in life are often the most rewarding, which is becoming very apparent for many people when it comes to natural medicines and healing techniques. Naturopathy, holistic treatments and the like have surged in popularity throughout the past 20-30 years. Although our society is flush with technological and scientific developments, returning to the “old ways” of supporting health & fitness seems to work wonders for many folks whose struggles with injuries & illnesses can last for years, if not decades. Plant-based medicines and natural health supplements can be found on the shelves of any health store nowadays, and this market is expected to keep growing up to $270 Billion in North America by the mid 2020’s.
If you’ve ever tried natural remedies or treatments, you’ve probably experimented with the usuals: herbal supplements, plant-based medicines, alternative treatments such as cannabis. Although it isn’t technically “plant-based”, consuming magic mushrooms for medicinal reasons has become one of the fastest growing trends in natural medicine today. These fantastical fungi are some of the planet’s most misunderstood, but some of its most versatile organisms when it comes to healing. Psychedelic mushrooms have the potential to break down barriers you’ve been struggling with emotionally or mentally, and they also have the active compounds like psilocybin or psilocin to physically enhance your body’s biochemistry.
Psychedelics are gaining a lot of validity in the medical community in addition to becoming more socially acceptable in society. Medical magic mushrooms aren’t just for tripping or hallucinating, as more and more Canadians are discovering that they can be a very effective treatment for some serious conditions like depression, anxiety, addiction and PTSD.
How can psilocybin medical uses help you in your quest for good health and fitness? What are the health benefits of magic mushrooms? Let’s explore some of the ways in which psychedelic mushrooms are changing peoples’ minds and enhancing their lives with psilocybin medical treatments.
MEDICAL MAGIC MUSHROOMS
To understand the medicinal uses of psilocybin and other psychedelic substances, you have to first appreciate the spiritual or mystical significance of peoples’ experiences while under their influence. Throughout ancient history, cultures around the world have looked to psychedelic mushrooms for guidance, emotional support, and a dose of perspective on themselves and the world they inhabited. Whereby our ancestors explored their consciousnesses and held psychedelic mushrooms in high regard, governments in the modern era have ruled against such transformative substances. The general consensus amongst proponents of psychedelics is that authorities fear the positive effects of an enlightened, proactive populace that is both healthy and free from the shackles of mental stress. Whether you believe in this kind of conspiracy or not, it’s becoming harder and harder to deny the efficacy of magic mushrooms medical uses and the benefits of these kinds of mystical experiences.
This idea of ‘mystical experiences’ was the focus of one of the most important studies that precursed the psychedelic culture revolution and helped form our current understanding of psychedelics as medicine. The “Leary Experiments” (1962) as they became known, were conducted by Harvard graduate Walter Pahnke & his mentor Timothy Leary on the premise of psychedelic experiences having medical viability as much as they could spiritual significance. In their studies, Leary & Pahnke found that the majority of the participants had life-changing experiences while under the influence of psilocybin. In fact, most of the participants of the study even rated their psychotropic experiences from magic mushrooms as one of the most impactful experiences they had ever encountered.
Subsequent studies, including Dr. Roland Griffiths and his groundbreaking research work with John Hopkins University (2006), have looked at psilocybin’s unique abilities to enhance our cognition and emotional states. One of the most studied psychedelics medical uses is psilocybin’s potential to reduce the effects of debilitating neurological conditions, such as depression, chronic anxiety, or emotional trauma. By studying the effects on the brain, researchers hope to better understand psilocybin’s relationship to neurological health, positive moods and behaviors, and a general sense of how psychedelics improve cognitive functionality. It’s not as simple as saying that “Magic mushrooms improve your mood, therefore you’re more apt to positivity and positive behaviors”, but how else can psychedelic experiences enhance your mind & body? It is generally understood that psilocybin’s chemical compounds are similar to serotonin, which is an essential neurochemical for moods and motor skills, but is this the key to why shrooms make such an impactful treatment?
A more recent study in 2016, overseen by the Imperial College London, honed in on psilocybin medical uses for treating depression and what they found has solidified previous assertions. In their research, the faculty found that all 12 participants exhibited reductions in the effects of depression, and almost half (5 of 12) went on to overcome their depression shortly thereafter. In this study, among many others, medical magic mushrooms have shown a consistent capacity for improving a person’s quality of life. These kinds of qualitative factors can be difficult to quantify and transfer into easy-to-prescribe doses for people en-masse, but they do illustrate psilocybin’s positive effects on brain chemistry and personality, and not just one or the other.
Behavioral or personality disorders, as they used to be known, are still under-analyzed even though we know a lot more about their detrimental effects on our overall health. Depression has become such a monumental problem in modern society that nearly a quarter of all women (20-25%) and 8-12% of all men suffer from some form of depression throughout their lives. Antidepressants have received some negative backlash in recent years due to some of the harsh side effects of their long-term use, creating even more buzz about more natural, alternative treatments such as psilocybin medical use. When controlled in microdoses, psychedelic mushrooms can counter the negative effects of depression but without risking any psychoactive episodes. For more information on microdosing psilocybin, check out our helpful guide and microdose calculator.
In the same vein of thought, psychedelics for medical use have shown some success when applied to patients with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Mental, emotional or even physical trauma can linger with a person for many years, and the toll that these kinds of trauma can take are often long term and very crippling. When it comes to conventional treatments for PTSD, months upon months of therapy or heavy doses of antidepressants can take a very long time to have any effect, and there’s always the risks of personal harm or suicide throughout the recovery process. Small groups of clinicians, therapists and psychedelic guides have been dabbling with psilocybin treatment for PTSD, and the results have outshone anyone’s expectations.
Many military veterans, police officers, firefighters and medical professionals can fall under the hex of PTSD and depression, but therapeutic magic mushrooms have proven to be a very influential treatment in dealing with this serious ailment. How do psychedelic mushrooms accomplish such life-changing results? To reiterate, the research is in its infancy, but what is understood is that these mystical experiences brought on by psychedelics can lead to quick turnarounds in moods, brain chemistry and overall cognitive function. Some respondents have detailed their experiences with psychedelics as a treatment for PTSD, and almost across the board is the common result of “renewed perspective” about themselves, about others or the universe as a whole. This ‘awakening’ of new ways of thinking, a dissolution of the ego, and an enhanced sense of empathy towards others and the world around them are just a few of the positive outcomes of psilocybin medical treatment.
Anxiety, especially end-of-life anxiety, is another realm of study for magic mushroom treatment. For those patients in hospice care, or anyone who is nearing the end of their life, fear of death can be an overpowering feeling that actually contributes to the deterioration of their health. Similar to the ways in which psilocybin can help a patient deal with PTSD, severe anxiety can be assuaged by a renewed perspective and enlightened experiences from psychedelic mushrooms. Many psychedelic users report that they had very impactful experiences that bring about personal growth and epiphanies. With these kinds of psychotropic episodes, a person can tackle serious mental or emotional issues much more fluidly. Whether the dissolution of the ego is responsible, or that the hallucinations brought on by psilocybin can reshape your views of reality, psychedelic medical uses are sure to provide some relief from crippling anxiety and stress.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF MAGIC MUSHROOMS
It goes without saying that all of these magic mushrooms medical uses can have profoundly positive outcomes, but there is also the risk of setbacks whenever you dabble with psychedelics. Bad trips, overly intense psychoactive effects and the potential for powerful emotional experiences can lead to some patients feeling overwhelmed. This is quite common, especially among new psychedelics consumers. Just like with any substance, you need to build up a tolerance to effectively manage your day-to-day use. Until your tolerance is balanced – and every person can have different levels of tolerance to psilocybin – you need to be sure that you’re sticking to the golden rule of dosing psychedelics: start low and go slow. Even just a regime of microdosing can lead to a steady, safe and healthy build up of your tolerance to psilocybin or other psychedelics. Consistency is the name of the game, more so than dosing to your perceived needs. Proper dosing and careful planning with the help of a psychedelic guide is crucial to succeeding with psilocybin for medical use. If you commit to being in the right headspace, maintaining a respect for the magic mushrooms and dose them accordingly, you can revolutionize your health and even your fitness.
What are some other health benefits of magic mushrooms? Although these next several conditions are not less serious than depression, anxiety or PTSD, they are a lot more common among average Canadians. Conditions like OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), caffeine or nicotine addiction, and even common cases of insomnia can be helped by consistent psilocybin consumption. Some studies conducted in federal penitentiaries showed that even just small doses of psilocybin could help to reduce irritability, aggression, and make an inmate less reliant on cigarettes to cope with stress or nervousness.
Daily grinds like your morning coffee, workouts, lunchtime smoke breaks and evening social gatherings can benefit from microdoses of shrooms. Psilocybin medical use doesn’t have to mean transformative psychedelic experiences, because magic mushrooms can be just another part of your daily health regime. In some other research groups, psychedelics have been introduced as a means of improving attitudes, boosting moods, enhancing creativity and making a person more productive at work or in school. Microdosed magic mushrooms have consistently shown an aptitude for improving cognition and productivity, whether it’s scholastic productivity you’re after or even athletic performance.
On top of these self-improvement capabilities of psychedelics, psilocybin medical uses can also include social anxiety or lack of empathy towards others. Perspective is very important, especially when you’re considering the plight of others. For some individuals, being empathetic to others is very difficult and it’s not always a conscious choice to act this way towards others. As far back as the ancient Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Mazatapec peoples who the potent strain of psilocybin is named after, magic mushrooms have helped individuals deal with their own mortality and process some very complex concepts such as “the self vs the other”. Understanding yourself is a lifelong procedure, but with some aid from psychedelics your outlook on the universe around you can help to define the fundamental concept of the self. Many neurological disorders can be traced to mental or emotional issues that stem from self doubts or personal trauma. It might sound a bit ethereal, but working on your understanding of your deepest consciousness can be very rewarding and lead to a lot of benefits.
Phobias, anxieties, and antisocial behaviors can all be lessened by psychedelic medical use, and sometimes from only one psychedelic experience. One of the best parts of medicinal magic mushrooms is that it can have great impact with only a limited number of interactions. Some participants in research studies only ingested psilocybin once and went on to experience profound personal growth or a bevy of health benefits. There’s no formula for short- or long-term benefits of psilocybin, but you can be sure that it can lead to life-changing results.
NATURAL HEALING, NATURAL ENHANCEMENT
While magic mushroom medical uses are not perfect for all injuries or illnesses, this organism and its active compounds are undoubtedly beneficial for many of life’s mental, physical and even spiritual ailments. If you’ve been struggling with some personal trauma, mental disorders or physical injuries that you just can’t seem to overcome, medical magic mushrooms just might be the secret ingredient you’ve been looking for. Psilocybin and other psychedelics seem to be shrouded in mystery even to this day, but with a little more open mindedness we can unlock even more of its secrets so that humanity can continue to benefit from these medicinal mushrooms. If we continue to invest our trust and resources into the hard work of researchers, we’ll continue to expand on our knowledge of these amazing fungi and their capacity for healing our minds, bodies and souls.
“Minds are like parachutes… they only work when they’re open.” — Lord Thomas Robert Dewar
