You’re about to embark on your microdosing journey. You have an intention for what you’re looking to heal, process, or shift. You’ve landed on a protocol that works with your schedule and lifestyle, and you’re planning on taking your first microdose this week.

If you’re feeling a tad apprehensive, curious about what might happen, or experiencing a touch of “fear of the unknown” – we totally get that (and have experienced this ourselves when we were first exploring the medicine). Knowing this is a common experience, we created this post to support you in navigating what effects to expect on your dose days.

Let’s get into it:

Unlike a macrodose, the effects of microdosing are very, very subtle. For some, barely noticeable. To begin, we’ll define what constitutes a microdose:

The term ‘microdosing’ can be broken down into these three components:

• The low dose use of a psychedelic (dose)
• A schedule of multiple dosing sessions (protocol)
• Your reason “why” for microdosing, often representing an intention to improve well-being and enhance cognitive and/or emotional processes (intention)

On your dose days, you should very subtly notice the benefits of microdosing, aligning with your intention. This “feeling” is incredibly minimal – similarly to if you were to take an ibuprofen if you had a headache, you wouldn’t necessarily “feel” the ibuprofen, but you would notice your headache subside. Microdosing is similar, in that you’ll notice minute shifts after taking your microdose. Typically, you’ll notice the microdose in your system around one-hour after taking your dose, and the noticeable benefits will be felt for 4-6 hours. After this, an “afterglow” effect may be present for 24-hours, which is less noticeable.

Most commonly, those who microdose describe their experience as “I felt just like myself, but on a really good day.” There is no impairment, and you should not feel “high”.

While the immediate effects of microdosing can serve as a beautiful way to elevate your state, the most important thing to consider are the long term effects of regular microdosing – this is where the magic can be found.

A great practice while microdosing, is to track the effects is with intentions and reflection. For instance, if your intention was to feel happier overall, you could check in with yourself every evening before bed to rate your happiness on a scale from 1-10 and see if it improves throughout the month, after three months, six months, etc. For some, they “feel nothing” when they microdose, but upon reflection, have realized they’re far less reactive to things, are sleeping better, finding better communication in relationships, feeling more inclined to live a healthy lifestyle, feeling greater self-worth, etc.

The benefits of microdosing are heightened when paired with other healing practices, such as journalling, therapy, breathwork, and meditation. With this, we always encourage finding mindful integration practices to ritualize alongside your microdosing protocol. If you already have mindfulness practices, you’ll also be able to note how microdosing supports these. For example, you may find that you experience more “downloads” during therapy, that you’re able to go deeper into your meditation practice, that breathwork sends you souring energetically, or that you’re more in-tune with your body during exercise.

We thought it would be helpful to share some of the long term benefits our community has reported from regular microdosing:

On feeling in alignment:

“Have you ever been driving your car around thinking, “Hey it’s running but I should probably bring it in for servicing or something?” And it’s not until you get the car back after a tune up and wheel realignment that you realize how rough it had been riding and also how much you had been compensating with your steering to correct for bad alignment. So then you think, “Geez, I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten, I should have brought it in sooner.” Yeah, me too. I had never taken any kind of psychedelic before, not even recreationally, and when my 2 besties started microdosing and sharing their experiences, I thought, “Meh, what’s the worst that happens? I don’t like it?” But, it wasn’t until after those first couple of weeks of microdosing that I realized how “out of alignment” my mood and outlook had been. Now after 3ish months using Lite Brite twice a week I feel so much lighter, connected, and grounded. I am so filled with gratitude for this particular product and all the information and education that Sero has provided along the way. Keep up the amazing and important work!” – Patty, on Lite Brite

On reducing anxiety:

“My partner and I have been microdosing with Sero for a few months now. Without any exaggeration it has changed our lives positively. I work in a high stress environment and it has helped me gain a new perspective that lowered my day to day stress. All the information on the website helped ease my anxiety with trying it for the first time. My parents originally recommended me to Sero and now I’ve gotten a few coworkers and family members into it as well. Universally it’s been praised.” – Lucas, on Lite Brite

On cultivating presence:

“My partner and I always makes sure to have a his and hers bag of Lite Brite for one another in the cupboard! It has become a part of our weekly rhythm and has impact our lives in such a positive way. It allows me to be more present in my body. I’ve become more focused and I look forward to the little things throughout my day. When I do have a down day it allows me to be in touch with how I’m feel more so that I can move through it faster. I’ve shared it with multiple friends and have only had positive responses!” – H, on Lite Brite

On feeling more creative:

“The Cacao Star Bar is my go to! I have recently taken a break from drinking alcohol, and I love to have a square or two in social settings to help me feel more comfortable and open. I notice the after effects for a few days after- I feel creative, grounded and my overall energy and mood is more joyful. Very grateful for Sero and the intentionality and care they put into all of their products!” – Kaylee, on the Cacao Star Bar

On working through trauma:

“I am early on this journey-just a few weeks in but I have noticed all the positive subtle changes. Most importantly, the feeling of being “content”. My intention is very clear and it is helping me see clearly as I heal from having emotionally immature parents and all the trauma that comes with it. I have been able to reflect more deeply and release my emotions. I am still figuring out my perfect dosing and hoping to combine it with other products. I have been struggling to move back towards the healthy habits that I lost over the last year since dealing with trauma combined with the pandemic. It’s been a few weeks only with inconsistent dosing and I have started to notice a positive shift in my thinking patterns and have started making the effort to make healthy changes in my life. I love what Sero stands for and the intention cards. I believe in ancient plant power and will continue to provide more feedback.” – Reema, on Lite Brite

On feeling more productive:

“If I could give 6 stars, I would. I’ve used Connect Four for about 2 months now and the effects I’ve felt have been life changing. I find my mind is incredibly clear, I’m extremely productive, and I can handle stress so much better.” – Dave, on View Master

These are just a handful of examples of psilocybin supporting long term change. You can read through many more reviews on all of our individual blend pages on our website. We look forward to seeing more academic research on psilocybin and PTSD, concussions, PMS, eating disorders, anxiety, depression and chronic pain – we’re on the precipice of psychedelic research beginning to receive more attention and funding in the research space. It’s an exciting time.

Finally, we wanted to address the concern: “What if I don’t feel anything at all?”

If you microdose for a few weeks and are not noticing any effects in the moment, that’s okay! The medicine is still working its magic. It doesn’t mean your microdosing is any less effective at supporting your healing journey; it just may mean increasing your dose until you feel the very subtle glow of a microdose. We recommend everyone start with 125mg as this is very low, but it is worth noting that many folks land on 250mg as an ideal microdose, taking this 2-3 days a week. It is always important to remember that your personal physiology will respond differently to psilocybin than the next person, so it’s worth continuing to find your perfect dose and schedule. For example, there are some people who have found their “microdose” is 600 mg, when for most – this would be far too high. We only share this to emphasize just how varied one’s personal sweet spot may be. With a bit of trial, you’ll find your ideal landing place.

If you have any questions before diving into your microdosing journey, we have a few additional resources for you. Be sure to take a look at our FAQ page as well as our Microdosing 101 page. If you still have a question unanswered, we’re always available to connect and support at [email protected].