Key Messages
Explore How Microdosing LSD Can Reduce Anxiety and Generate Happiness with Fewer Side Effects Than Prescription Drugs
Ayelet Waldman was struggling with her mental health and couldn’t find a solution that worked for her.
That’s why she decided to take the unconventional route of trying an experiment – one involving tiny doses of LSD over the next 30 days.
Throughout this process, she explored the misunderstood substance, learning about its history and potential benefits.
It was also during this time that Waldman came to recognize the double standards and absurdity of a society addicted to prescription drugs but willing to incarcerate people who possess a substance that has been proven safe.
Through her journey of taking acid to improve her mood, she found out if it actually would be enough to get her closer to having “a really good day”.
Discover how microdosing LSD helped one writer tackle her mood disorder and why Steve Jobs and other Nobel Prize Winners attribute success to taking LSD.
Also, find out how psychedelics like LSD can reduce anxiety while generating positive feelings such as happiness due their minimal side effects compared to most prescription drugs.
Microdosing LSD May Be the Answer to Treating Mood Disorders
Ayelet Waldman had been struggling with her moods, irritability and shame for years, yet found no relief from the professionals – from Freudians to cognitive behavioral experts, social workers to family therapists.
She even spent hours meditating in an effort of mindfulness, only to find that she still wasn’t feeling better.
Nor did the various medications she tried seemed to help either: Celexa, Prozac, Zolkft as well as Adderall, Ritalin and more had all come up short.
It was not until her diagnosis changed to one of premenstrual dysphoric disorder that Waldman realized there was something wrong with her hormones – and the cycle and timing of her emotion swings could finally be monitored effectively.
Yet while this insight gave a name and treatment plan to her condition, it wasn’t enough when perimenopause came on the horizon – causing further dips in mood and increased frustration.
At this point James Fadiman’s work became relevant to Ayelet – which dealt with microdosing LSD in order “to treat mood problems”.
People who engaged in this method had apparently noticed an improvement – claiming they’d experienced a really good day.
And this is all Ayelet really wanted ever since dealing with depression first started; a really good day.
The Benefits of Microdosing: How Taking LSD Brought Joy to One Family’s Life
Microdosing is an emerging approach to improving moods, based on taking very small doses of LSD every three days.
It’s so new that Waldman had to teach her computer’s spell-checker to recognize it!
The idea behind this process is simple: the patient takes a tiny dose of LSD in a repeating three-day cycle.
On day one, you take your dose and monitor how you feel – both physically and mentally.
On days two and three, no LSD is taken but the effects are monitored.
On day four they start the cycle again by taking another tiny dose.
This dose should not be greater than one-tenth of what a typical LSD user would usually take – which is usually between 100-150 micrograms – with Waldman opting for just ten micrograms at a time (two tiny drops).
The benefit behind microdosing is that it delivers an improvement in mood without any other noticeable physical or mental effects as seen with larger doses.
Waldman was curious about this new approach to improving her mood – however she was also careful about continuing due to her knowledge of drug issues from being involved in drug reform issues as a lawyer.
With her family suffering from her moods too she decided it was worth a try and sourced the drugs from someone else instead of buying them online.
To ensure safety, she tested the drugs with a testing kit she purchased from Amazon before taking her first dose which led to having ‘a really good day.’
Microdosing on LSD: A Journey to Increased Awareness and Improved Mood
When Ayelet Waldman first started her experiment of microdosing with LSD, she soon noticed that her senses were heightened and she was more mindful of the world around her.
She felt love when thinking of her family, and experienced a much more productive day – something that had been lacking for a long time in her day-to-day life.
On the third day (which is typically used as a control day to better identify the effects of the dose), Waldman noticed that she reverted back to feeling irritable, although it was less intense than usual.
As she continued into days four and beyond, Waldman realized that she was able to control her impulses far better than before and that when something unexpected happens, such as spilling tea over a book while petting her dog, anger could be quickly pushed away and replaced with calmness instead.
This positive experiences correlated exactly with what researchers already know – psychedelic treatments such as LSD can encourage new neural connections and networks within the brain which help people gain new insights into their own problems.
Reduced anxiety and improved moods have also been positively linked to these treatments – all results that Ayelet Waldman saw after just one week of microdosing.
LSD: Separating Fact from Fiction – Microdosing, Psychological Reactions and Social Uprising
Millions of people have been using LSD for decades, yet the drug is often misrepresented as harmful without taking into consideration it’s safety record.
The truth is, despite its bad rap, LSD is actually a very safe drug.
As an example, a 2008 review in the respected journal CNS: Neuroscience and Therapeutics showed that 0 deaths had ever been attributed to jumping off buildings thinking they could fly.
Similarly, while many rumours abound around potential links between LSD use and psychotic episodes, recent studies in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that lifetime psychedelic use correlated with a 36 percent reduction in suicide attempts.
In other words, millions of people have used LSD to very little ill-effect.
Instead of focusing on outdated myths or unfounded fears about this drug’s effect on users, we should instead be looking at both scientific evidence and real life experience to evaluate how safe it truly is – because the overwhelming evidence shows that it is indeed safe; even when taken at levels far greater than what has become popular with ‘microdosing’ today.
The Power of Psychedelics: How LSD Can Help Unleash Creativity and Innovation
LSD has a bad rap, but it can be used for much more than party time.
In fact, research shows that LSD can improve focus and enable better creativity and problem-solving.
Steve Jobs, the legendary co-founder of Apple, is one example of this – he attributed his success to the fact that he dabbled with taking LSD.
Kary Mullis was another – he won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry after crediting LSD with helping him solve tough problems and create new ideas.
In addition to anecdotal evidence, there’s also research backing up the idea that LSD enhances focus and creativity.
A recent study found that under the influence of LSD, people experience increased brain connectivity as regions of their brains communicate unlike they normally would – sparking new ideas and breakthroughs.
There’s even been an experiment conducted where senior research scientists were given a small dose of LSD while completing tests and solving problems – they reported experiencing intuitive sparks which led to solutions to their problems!
LSD may have done Steve Jobs and Kary Mullis (and many other high-powered professionals) good in terms of enabling them to solve those thorny problems they were once stuck on.
So if you want better results at work or school, you might want to consider exploring the world of psychedelics – just make sure you do it safely!
The High Price of America’s War on Drugs: Racial Prejudice and Mass Incarceration
The US war on drugs is causing immense damage to individuals and communities, particularly in the African American community – and it’s not even achieving its intended purpose.
In fact, studies show that drug possession arrests disproportionately affect African Americans, despite the fact that White people are five times more likely to use drugs than African Americans.
This racial disparity can be traced back to the very first antidrug laws created to outlaw opium in the 1870s which were targeted towards poor Chinese immigrants.
Fast forward to today and it is evident that this racism is still prevalent in our society – for every White person convicted of drug offenses, 10 African Americans are incarcerated for minor possession charges.
Despite all this effort put into cracking down on drug possession, people are still taking drugs like LSD, many of which are mostly harmless.
This has had an adverse effect on our prison population as well as causing additional racial prejudice among minorities.
Moreover, drug production and trafficking lies beyond the reach of regulation and taxation – funding violence and crime while drugs become cheaper and cheaper.
Uncovering the Benefits of Microdosing LSD with James Fadiman’s Research
The available evidence suggests that microdosing psychedelic substances can be an effective way to gain some of the benefits from psychedelics without triggering a full-blown trip.
This is evidenced by the findings of researcher James Fadiman who, since publishing his protocol for microdosing in 2011, has received over 300 requests for it and has heard back from 50 respondents.
Out of those 50, only two reported having negative reactions to microdosing; one stopped halfway through the month due to extreme tiredness on the second and third day after taking a dose, while another stopped due to changes in their life circumstances.
Most others reported feeling positive emotional, physical and intellectual benefits as well as improvements to their personal relationships.
In addition to these anecdotal reports, there are additionally two potential research projects underway already in Australia and Europe which could offer substantial evidence as to how effective microdosing can be.
Hopefully with enough gathered scientific evidence we will have definitive answers soon.
The Power of Microdosing: How a Month-Long Experiment in Psychedelics Changed One Person’s Life
Based on the results of her experiment, Waldman concluded that microdosing for 30 days had a positive overall effect, although the outcome wasn’t perfect.
She noticed an improvement in her moods and behavior throughout the month – including an increased ability to deal with stress without arguing or yelling.
Her family even observed that she was “nicer and happier” throughout her experiment.
However, there were still some moments of unease throughout her 30 day period as she occasionally felt dizzy or nauseous on days when she took a dose and although she did not have too many negative effects emotionally, Waldman did have one major fight with her husband that lacked her usual levels of anger control.
At the end of it all, Waldman concluded that while microdosing over a 30-day period had positive outcomes overall, it was ironic that this medication – which had worked so effectively for stabilizing moods – was illegal at the same time.
Wrap Up
The final takeaway from A Really Good Day, is that society’s attitude towards drugs is wrong-headed.
We tend to medicinally use higher dosages of drugs in an effort to treat mental health issues, but with limited success.
On the other hand, illegal drugs are criminalized even when they do not offer any considerable amount of harm.
The book highlights LSD microdosing as an example– even though it has been found to produce many helpful benefits, it remains illegal and therefore people have no access to its potential positive effects.
By understanding these points, we can begin to make more informed decisions surrounding drug usage and law reform that could lead to even more ‘really good days’ for us all.
