Does Tolerance Apply to Microdosing?

The Psychedelic Renaissance is here and it’s here to stay.

In tandem with the explosion of this once-banned industry, our knowledge base as consumers has to evolve, and with that language also has to keep up.

The more and more mainstream these compounds become and the more questions I answer from our community, the more I feel like language is inept and often fails us.

Case in point, the word tolerance.

Tolerance within the context of psychedelics is the phenomenon where repeated exposure to a psychedelic substance within a short period leads to the potential for the same dosage to have lesser and lesser effects.

This means that due to compensatory mechanisms in the body, higher doses are required to achieve the same level of psychoactive experience as before.

Associating these words strongly suggests that to achieve maximum efficiency, then large psychoactive doses are required.

Personally, I believe quite the opposite.

I am a huge advocate of Minimal Effective Doses ( MEDs), and here’s why.

Chasing the Dragon: Myth or Reality?

“Chasing the dragon” refers to the attempt to re-experience the initial high of drug use. The kind of pursuit that can lead to increased consumption and potential harm. 

This concept is more commonly associated with addictive substances, some have applied this to psilocybin use. 

Anyone who has experienced a larger dose of psilocybin knows that there is no rush to repeat the experience. 

Time for integration and reflection is part of the experience after the initial ceremony. It’s actually when the real ‘work’ starts.

So as profound and amazing as a larger dose may feel, it’s not something we tend to want to repeat immediately or even soon.

Based on this aspect of psilocybin alone, tolerance is a moot point and simply does not apply.

Understanding Psilocybin Tolerance

I’m not a neuroscientist or a medical professional of any kind.

This means that you can ask ChatGPT for more nerdy explanations regarding the potential decrease in the sensitivity of the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2A) in the brain.

Until then, here are my two cents on the topic. 

As I understand it, receptor downregulation is a compensatory mechanism that the brain employs to maintain homeostasis and prevent excessive stimulation of the receptor. 

The theory of this study on pigs suggests that the development of tolerance to psychedelic substances is closely related to the downregulation of the 5-HT2A receptor. 

So as the receptor becomes less sensitive, higher doses of the substance might required to achieve the same psychoactive effects, leading to a cycle of increased consumption and potential risk of adverse effects.

The Art of MEDs

MEDs is an acronym that stands for Minimal Effective Doses and was inspired by Tim Ferriss from this 4-Hour Work Week book.

In other words, the medicine, or the poison, is in the dosage.

When considering a larger dose, have you fully thought through the risks and assumed benefits?

Conversely, if you are taking tiny microdoses, are you sure the smaller doses are not efficacious?

Neuroscience has evolved nearly beyond recognition in the past two decades. We have learned SO much about our brain and so many assumptions, myths, and theories have been debunked and disproven.

The brain’s ability to be plastic is a new concept. It’s no longer accurate to say that an old dog can’t learn new tricks. 

Turns out that we can learn new tricks, new habits and new behaviours, at any age or phase of life.

The Upgrade Feels Like

The sub-perceptual doses that define microdosing are enough to give us a new perspective on life and ourselves.

Many of our community members report that it’s so much easier to drop habits that do not serve us and conversely, there is much less resistance to executing the habits that benefit us.

Fellow microdosers also report that is easier than ever before to smoke less and drink less. The reduction of these harmful habits does not require willpower, but the taste or urge for these just goes away.

Also, when microdosing many report that it’s easier than ever before to exercise, to be social, to start the new project that we’ve been procrastinating on forever. 

In other words, resistance to new habits that benefit us has now been replaced with enthusiasm.

Once we have the felt experience of not drinking and smoking, it is so much easier to repeat in the future.

Having the felt experience of exercising with enthusiasm and working on that dormant project means that the next time we consider such an activity, we are likely to remember the enthusiasm we started with.

Habits that previously seemed outside the realm of our personality are now achievable, enjoyable and repeatable adding a good dose of dopamine and endorphins to the mix.

Mircrodosing has nothing to do with feeling buzzed or intoxicated in any way. 

It’s about the slow, achievable and sustainable changes in our habits, behaviours and cravings that ARE the desired effect, and not the dragon itself. 🐲

Each One, Teach One

When I think about it, most of what I know about psilocybin has been taught to me by another fellow citizen scientist or via my own personal experiences.

To recap, here’s what I’ve learned and what you might want to also keep in mind.

Key considerations include:

• Various Protocols to choose from
• Finding your Ideal Sweet Spot dosage
  
• The Difference between MIcrodoses and MAcrodoses
• What is the Afterglow Effect?
  
• How to Integrate Your Evolution
  
• The Power of Journaling
• Peak Experiences, are you sure you want one?
  
• Is Microdosing a Life-Long Practice?
  

The Learning Curve Is Real

I know I’ve given you much to consider and quite a long reading list but this is what is required of us if we are to interact with psychedelics.

We must learn as much as we can, test our assumptions, pay attention to our experiences, and pass on whatever is useful to others.

I have never found it useful or even accurate to use the words tolerance and psilocybin together. To me, that’s like saying I can’t drink from a certain body of water because there are no waves for me to surf on. Doesn’t work, right?!

Well, the above is simply how I see the issue and I hope to learn more as science catches up. Do you agree or disagree with my assumptions?

Do you have assumptions of your own that you would like me to elaborate on in a future blog post?

Let me know in the comments below. 

If you’re ready to start microdosing? Get your Starter Pack here and join our free group coaching call for beginners every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month to be part of the community and learn everything you need to know.

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Until then,

Shine bright. Do good. Flow strong

Asha ✨