Microdosing To Heal Our Minds: Depression And Anxiety

At Sero, it’s our mission to provide you with the knowledge, tools, and resources to feel empowered to own your personal development.

Many of our community members started microdosing with the core intention of improving their depression, low moods, anxious thoughts, and motivation. In supporting them, we’ve combed through several studies and research articles discussing the efficacy of microdosing for mood-related disorders. Here, we’ve worked to summarize some key findings to help you decide if microdosing for improved mental health could be for you.

Before diving in, if you’re looking for some anecdotal evidence to see how microdosing currently supports many, check out the reviews for our product Lite Brite (designed to uplift mood). This feedback is honest, heartwarming, and detailed. We’re eternally grateful for our customers and love reading about how our products have helped with their intentions for growth.

Microdosing for Depression and Anxiety

Psilocybin research shows promising outcomes in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and other mental health disorders that commonly occur alongside GAD such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, phobias, and addiction. This is due to its ability to assist in regulating areas of the brain involved in monitoring, categorizing, and labeling outcomes as “good” or “bad”.

One particular region of the brain currently being studied is the prefrontal cortex (PFC) which is shown to be hyperactive in individuals struggling with these mood disorders.

The PFC plays a central role in our cognitive control functions, with dopamine zipping through this region influencing one’s attention, impulses, memory, cognitive flexibility, and the filters through which we experience life.

In a study by Ananya Mahapatra and Rishi Gupta titled “Role of psilocybin in the treatment of depression” it was found that the PFC was consistently deactivated by psilocybin, which normalized the neural activity taking place. Let’s look into why this is such a promising discovery:

The PFC, along with an area called the posterior cingulate, houses an interconnected neural brain web called the Default Mode Network (DMN).

The DMN is described as the area of the brain that takes over our thoughts when we’re mindlessly moving through an activity. Think of this as the times your mind just wanders off on its own when it’s on autopilot.

For those struggling with depression, anxiety, and other obsessive disorders – the PFC has been shown to be particularly hyperactive. In conjunction, the DMN has been found to be overactive as well. This can be harmful because, for those with these mood conditions, the automatic thought patterns occurring can be distressing (eg. “I’m a failure.”, “I’m an embarrassment.”, “They don’t love me.”, “I’m not good enough.” etc.).

What the research has found is that when you take psilocybin and normalize the neural activity in the PFC, you’re also significantly decreasing the activity in the DMN.

This shift has particularly strong therapeutic potential as it provides users with the space to change those negative thought patterns taking place and assists them in emotional regulation. The individual becomes able to slow down, observe, and work through what they’re feeling rather than becoming overwhelmed, impulsive, or ruminating over the same thoughts. This ability to pause and observe oneself can make all the difference when it comes to integrating mindfulness practices and positive-mindset shifts.

To build on this, another region of the brain shown to be impacted when depression and anxiety sufferers use magic mushrooms is the amygdala. The amygdala plays a pivotal role in the perception and generation of emotions and is thought to process fearful and threatening stimuli.

Similarly to the PCF, for those with depression and anxiety-based disorders, the amygdala can be overactive,  experiencing elevated levels of fear in response to stimuli that are interpreted as threatening or dangerous. This leads to these individuals often perceiving more danger than may be necessary, in reality. Psilocybin also reduces amygdala activation which allows us to better discern and approach situations which may have been recognized as threats. This level of clarity sees patients pivot their negative mood states by allowing them to better observe the situation and more appropriately respond from a grounded perception.

These are just two examples of how psilocybin can actively work with our brain chemistry to support shifting our mood states and helping us create new healthier brain patterns.

Our formula Lite Brite was created with the intention of working with these benefits to support those trying to increase their emotional regulation, experience an uplifted mood, increase their creativity, and find more connection with the world around them. It’s our best seller, and the reviews speak for themselves. As mentioned above we’re forever grateful to have helped so many people experience a happier life with the support of Lite Brite.

A very important point to stress with microdosing for mental health is that it is only one piece to the puzzle. Microdosing should be considered a tool to support or catalyze your healing – not a magic pill that will do all the work. At Sero, we will always encourage integration of other mindfulness and mental exercises to truly rewire your mind.

For comparison: imagine you had the goal of building big muscles.  Your diet is on point, but you’re not spending any time in the gym. As could be expected, the results are simply not happening the way you’d hoped. You’re noticing some positive changes in your body and lifestyle, but the main goal isn’t being achieved with the impact you’re aiming for. You know that to really gain big muscles, your diet needs to be on-point and you need to be hitting the weights consistently.

Microdosing for mental health is similar. When it comes to overcoming depression or anxiety, microdosing is like bringing in an excellent aid to compliment your consistent mental exercises. Some of our favourite examples of exercises include journaling, talk therapy, and somatic or body-based therapy such as breathwork, meditation, the Hakomi technique, or cold therapy.

Use these things in combination, and you’ll start to notice life-altering changes as you consistently show up for yourself.

Now, if you’re currently in a place where “doing the work” doesn’t feel possible, we absolutely understand that. Taking care of our mental health can feel intimidating, confusing, frightening, and overwhelming. If you’re in this place, there is a way microdosing can still support you:

As articulated above, psilocybin supports quieting our mind which may be what it takes to help you integrate other healthy practices along the way. Many have found microdosing has helped them find the courage to take on the challenge. In other words, it can be used as a buddy to help you get going, and then a cheerleader once you really start diving in.

We hope the above encourages your understanding of how microdosing may help you should you struggle with intrusive thoughts related to depression, anxiety, and other anxiety-based disorders. We also hope you feel inspired – knowing you’re not alone and healing really is possible for you and your loved ones.

If you have any questions, you can always email us at [email protected] to discuss further.