“Adults Who Microdose Psychedelics Report Health Related Motivations and Lower Levels of Anxiety and Depression Compared to Non-Microdosers”, 2021-11-18 (; backlinks; similar):
The use of psychedelic substances at sub-sensorium ‘microdoses’, has gained popular academic interest for reported positive effects on wellness and cognition.
The present study describes microdosing practices, motivations and mental health among a sample of self-selected microdosers (n = 4,050) and non-microdosers (n = 4,653) via a mobile application.
Psilocybin was the most commonly used microdose substances in our sample (85%) and we identified diverse microdose practices with regard to dosage, frequency, and the practice of stacking which involves combining psilocybin with non-psychedelic substances such as Lion’s Mane mushrooms, chocolate, and niacin. Microdosers were generally similar to non-microdosing controls with regard to demographics, but were more likely to report a history of mental health concerns. Among individuals reporting mental health concerns, microdosers exhibited lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress across gender. Health and wellness-related motives were the most prominent motives across microdosers in general, and were more prominent among females and among individuals who reported mental health concerns.
Our results indicate health and wellness motives and perceived mental health benefits among microdosers, and highlight the need for further research into the mental health consequences of microdosing including studies with rigorous longitudinal designs.
[Keywords: addiction, ADHD, anxiety, Autism spectrum disorders, Bipolar disorder, Depression, human behavior, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, psychiatric disorders, psychology, psychosis, Schizophrenia]
…Design and participants: We collected cross-sectional data between November 2019 and July 2020 from self-selected respondents recruited via media related to psychedelic use such as podcasts and online psychedelic research conference presentations. Participants were directed to the Microdose.me website. The website directed participants to install the Quantified Citizen (QC) application32 to their Apple mobile device. The QC application was only available on Apple iOS devices at the time of study; as such, participants were limited to iPhone users. The application hosted the study and participants completed questionnaires and assessments entirely within the application. To encourage participation, users were explicitly not asked to submit any personally identifiable information and use of the application was designed to be completely anonymous. All participants endorsed being 18 years of age or older and capable of responding to an English survey. Nonetheless, given the anonymous nature of the study design, these inclusion criteria could not be verified beyond participant self-report. All participants provided informed consent prior to study initiation. Data are drawn from the baseline and supplementary questionnaires from a longitudinal study of microdosing and mental health and consisted of a maximal total of 123 questions, organized hierarchically such that many items were contingent on prior responses.