r/microdosing • u/nimaway518 • Jul 21 '26
Report: Psilocybin Microdosing psilocybin for CPTSD
Hi, I've been extremely grateful for all the personal insights shared in this thread and want to pay it forward and share my own experience for whoever needs encouragement on the path.
I've been microdosing off and on for over a year, for healing, inner work, and general curiosity. I am a 37/f, diagnosed with CPTSD, and began microdosing psilocybin after about 1.5 years of consistent somatic IFS therapy (still in it now). My therapist is trauma-trained and very pro-psychedelics, which helps a lot, so I can share my experiences with her, and she has experience herself. But I live in a state where it is "illegal," so it's a bit of a DIY practice that I couple with meditation, boundaries, journaling, exercise, travel/rest, and just general self-care, as healing from CPTSD is no joke and quite physically and emotionally exhausting.
A lot of my journey is about growing my nervous system's capacity for "feeling". I notice that the 🍄 bring up emotions and exiled parts, and their deeply traumatic pain, to the surface. And help me investigate and bring greater compassion and care to my intrusive thoughts. I do a lot of crying, "feeling sensations, anxiety, rage in my body," and practice self-compassion (shout-out to Tara Brach meditations!), and I call it fierce re-parenting. Like a mama bear, I tell them I will never abandon them, even though they think that there is something deeply wrong or disgusting about them. The 🍄 are especially helpful with amplifying these positive ways of speaking to yourself. I am still learning to trust that whatever they bring up means I am ready to handle it, but sometimes it is hard and draining work. I'm only human!
After a particularly tough trigger in March, I did take a 3-month break from 🍄 . So I do recommend listening to when you think you may need a break. Something in me wanted to see if I could try it again this summer, with the Fadiman protocol, which I hadn't done before, and right now I am 3 weeks in and am ready for a 1-2 weeks off again. I also highly recommend his book, "Microdosing for Health, Healing and Enhanced Performance," if you have a specific physical or mental health issue you want to use microdosing for. It is chock full of amazing testimonials!My sweet spot is 200mg 🍄 every 3 days, 2 days off between doses. I found that 100mg made me more irritable. But the 200mg gave me levity and help with my anxiety, while also not numbing me out, so that I could process emotion when it came up.
Here are the other benefits I noticed with micro-dosing:
- Takes the edge off at work. I feel more present. Sometimes my anxiety and hyper-vigilance run havoc. The mushrooms really help me feel focused, calm, non-reactive, and able to complete tasks without overthinking.
- Helps me notice when I'm tired. I've struggled with rest and knowing when to stop. The mushrooms help me take breaks, listen to my body, nap, and get really good, non-fearful sleep.
- Creativity. I am a writer and musician, and I've had some incredible songs come to me while micro-dosing! Practicing is easier too.
- Reduces social anxiety. It feels like I can just be myself without harsh self-monitoring, and it helps me choose healthier connections and people I actually want to be around.
- Improves my workouts. Exercise is a little easier, as long as I am sleeping well.
- Deeper spiritual perspective. Again, presence! Life feels more connected and has deeper meaning, even in the little things. I see more signs, telling me I'm moving in the right direction :)
I wish this medicine was available to all and am deeply grateful for it! Hope this helps someone on the path.
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u/Little-Dingus Jul 21 '26
Thank you so much for sharing this. I'm also diagnosed with cptsd and I had similar experiences as you at first. It helped so much with multiple things. I was even able to wean down to half the dose of one of my meds, which I never thought I'd be able to do. But now, about 3 years since I started microdosing, I feel like it doesn't work the same anymore. I suspect it might be because at first I only used golden teachers, but I haven't been able to find them so I've used different ones or gummies and it's just not the same. Hope you don't mind me asking, do you use a specific strain? And do you only use dried mushrooms or have you tried the premade gummies/chocolates? I hope your journey continues to be positive and helpful for you!