Скачать или смотреть Finding Light in the Darkness #1 - The Science Behind Microdosing Psilocybin for Mental Health

Post-holiday winters can be especially dark and difficult emotionally. Some people like the rain and cloud cover but still may find it hard to get grounded in a new year, especially if it starts out with a lot of uncertainty. We don't have the power to know or change everything. What we can do in the darkness is find our own light - the light of learning, self-care, and understanding.

Join us as we kick off with an illuminating talk on how psilocybin mushrooms can be used for personal growth, discovery, and healing through microdosing. Whether you have some info or experience in this growing field or you’re brand new to the world of psychedelics for healing, you’ll find new perspectives, new connections, or both in this multipart series exploring the benefits of using different dosing amounts and how they relate to healing.

Part I - The Science Behind Microdosing Psilocybin and Why it Matters for Mental Health

Psilocybin affects very specific areas of the brain that directly impact thought. The brain is an organ that keeps the body alive, it is necessary and important. It does not rely on how we feel, it is just processing and maintaining survival. The complicating variable in individuals' lives is thought. Thought is a result of information. Information is derived from belief systems, personal experiences and education taken in during each person's life. Rigid thinking, unhealthy coping behaviors, decision making, personal beliefs and identity are all a result of how an individual thinks.

Access to mental health services is widespread at this point in time. More therapists, psychiatrists, wellness coaches, addiction services, and other mental health professionals are offering services via apps and other telehealth options while many insurance companies have increased their mental health services coverage. However, the decline of overall mental health for many people has increased at a substantial rate. Rates of addiction, domestic violence, self-reported feelings of anxiety and depression, overdoses and suicide are on the rise. With all the money that has been thrown toward these issues from well-meaning government and private funding agencies, and the plethora of pharmaceutical options, why does the situation seem to be getting worse instead of better? It is because the mental health crisis is not about lack of funding, pharmaceuticals, or access to talk therapy and other long practiced modalities. It is about the root issue of how people think and why they stay stuck in unhelpful thought patterns.

Understanding the science of how psilocybin impacts areas of the brain, specifically including the amygdala, default mode network (DMN), prefrontal cortex and 5HT2A receptors, provides insight into how thought can be impacted. When psilocybin is introduced, the small changes that happen from consistent, small microdose amounts add up to huge changes in short- and long-term mental health outcomes. As the brain is quieted and open to new ways of thinking, an individual can change how they respond to information, and how they view themselves and others, changing their daily lives. This is a true solution to the mental health crisis and should no longer be one of nature’s best kept secrets or withheld by politicians out of personal fear due to lack of understanding.