Should Elderly Men & Women Use Psilocybin Mushrooms?
Recently, the psychedelic substance psilocybin has broken out of the black market and into the mainstream. The FDA has designated psilocybin a breakthrough therapy, and various jurisdictions around the country have legalized or decriminalized “magic mushrooms.”
Is psilocybin safe for seniors, though, and if so, what benefits might it offer for people nearing the end of life? We’ll examine these questions in this guide and help you find out if you should be using psilocybin as a senior citizen.
What is psilocybin?
Psilocybin is a natural psychedelic substance found in psilocybin mushrooms. Offering potent hallucinatory experiences at high doses, psilocybin appears to provide benefits at surprisingly low doses as well. Psilocybin does not seem to have any serious side effects, but it’s being looked at with utmost seriousness as a potential treatment for conditions as varied as PTSD, dementia, and OCD.
What does psilocybin do?
Psilocybin appears to primarily exert its effects by impacting two structures in the brain: The prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. Known as the brain’s emotional processing center, the amygdala’s response to negative emotional stimuli appears to be reduced for a considerable amount of time after taking a single dose of psilocybin. In the prefrontal cortex, psilocybin seems to reduce your overall sense of self while enhancing pleasant or positive feelings.
How does psilocybin help elderly people?
While psilocybin seems to be able to help people of all ages and from all walks of life, this psychedelic’s impact on senior citizens is particularly compelling. Over the last few years, abundant scientific evidence has begun accumulating that indicates psilocybin may help with neurological conditions that affect older people while also reducing anxiety and depression that can occur toward the end of life.
Does psilocybin help with end-of-life anxiety?
A Johns Hopkins Medicine study from 2016 started the conversation regarding psilocybin and end-of-life anxiety. In this study, researchers found that a single dose of psilocybin was effective for reducing end-of-life depression and anxiety in cancer patients for months at a time. This initial evidence has led to further research supporting the ability of psilocybin to “rewire” your brain to be more accepting and less afraid regardless of your current status in life.
Does psilocybin help with depression?
Whether you’re elderly or young, psilocybin appears to have significant potential to help with depression. A Johns Hopkins Medicine study just released in 2022 shows that a single dose of psilocybin helps relieve major depression for up to a year, offering considerably greater relief than commonly prescribed antidepressant medications. It’s evidence like this that is causing even the most ardent skeptics to finally take psilocybin seriously as a therapeutic substance.
Does psilocybin help with pain?
Research into psilocybin for conditions like depression and anxiety is now commonplace, but a more recent development is increased funding being poured into the potential of psilocybin to relieve chronic pain. Some companies that research psilocybin believe that, since this substance supports neuroplasticity, it may be able to rewire the way the brain handles pain in the same way it rewires neurological processing of emotions. Individuals who have received psilocybin therapy for other reasons commonly report reductions in pain as well, lending legitimacy to this new potential benefit of psilocybin.
Does psilocybin help with dementia?
Evidence is mounting that psilocybin may help with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of age-onset dementia. A 2020 scientific review, for instance, took a look at all the studies conducted into psilocybin for dementia to date, and it found that further research into this potential benefit is definitely justified. For seniors suffering from this terrifying and life-altering condition, psilocybin could be a ray of hope.
Is psilocybin anti-aging?
Research dating back to 2011 suggests that psilocybin may have an anti-aging effect on your personality. This means that taking psilocybin might make you feel younger even if it doesn’t physically reverse your age. Given what we know about the placebo effect, however, feeling younger might be enough to reduce or even reverse age-related conditions.
Does psilocybin have any side effects?
One of the most remarkable things about psilocybin that scientists have discovered is its apparent total lack of serious side effects. Right after you take it, psilocybin can cause nausea, increased heart rate, or paranoia if consumed in high doses, but this substance appears to have negligible toxicity and doesn’t commonly result in any long-term adverse effects. People who use psilocybin consistently, on the contrary, almost universally report significant increases in happiness and overall quality of life.
Is psilocybin safe for seniors?
Psilocybin does not appear to pose any particular dangers to seniors, and evidence indicates that older individuals are among those most likely to be helped by psilocybin’s benefits. Whether it’s depression, anxiety, or even dementia, psilocybin appears to alleviate or even eliminate common age-related conditions, essentially serving as an “anti-aging” therapy for individuals nearing the end of life.
What is microdosing?
Microdosing is when you take an amount of a substance that is generally considered to be less than its effective dose. With psilocybin, for instance, a microdose consists of anywhere from 1/10th to 1/100th of a normal dose of approximately 10-25mg, which is far less than science tells us should be needed to result in noticeable effects. Even so, microdosing psilocybin is often reported to provide benefits just as impressive as taking a normal dose, and it doesn’t result in the “trip” that larger doses cause.
Should seniors try microdosing psilocybin?
For seniors, microdosing might be the ideal way to try psilocybin for the first time. Even though it’s generally a pleasant experience, full-on “tripping” on psilocybin can be overwhelming for anyone, and there’s always the chance that environmental factors could transform your psychedelic experience into a “bad trip.”
Since it doesn’t profoundly change your state of mind, however, microdosing cannot cause a bad trip. Nevertheless, many seniors who “microdose” report the same reductions in anxiety, depression, and even pain that are commonly reported at higher doses of psilocybin.
How much psilocybin should a first-timer take?
The amount of psilocybin you should take the first time you use this psychedelic substance varies depending on your intended effects. If you want to experience a full-on psilocybin “trip” for instance, you will need to take at least 10mg of this substance. The effects of psilocybin increase in intensity the more you take, so some users take up to 50mg of psilocybin per dose.
If you want to avoid intense effects and try and try microdosing psilocybin, however, you should limit your dose to a maximum of 1mg of psilocybin. While this might not seem like enough to cause any noticeable effects at all, there’s mounting evidence that even the tiniest doses of psilocybin can offer profound benefits.
Is psilocybin legal?
The legality of psilocybin varies depending on where you live. The District of Columbia and the state of Oregon, for instance, have decriminalized psilocybin use, and they’re joined by a handful of municipalities scattered across the country.
There is increasing reason to believe that the US federal government will revise his stance on psilocybin in the near future. Previously, it was very difficult for companies to secure the ability to research psilocybin, but all that has changed over the last few years. Overall, the stance relevant authorities take towards psilocybin has changed dramatically as evidence indicating the profound usefulness and practically nonexistent dangers of this substance has come to light.
Where can you buy psilocybin?
If you live in an area where psilocybin has been legalized or decriminalized, you may be able to purchase this psychedelic directly from retailers or take part in psilocybin therapy or research programs. Otherwise, the best way to purchase psilocybin is to avail yourself of the wonders of modern NFT commerce.
Can you buy psilocybin online?
Yes, it is now possible to buy psilocybin online thanks to the blockchain revolution. Bypassing traditional channels of eCommerce to offer much-desired substances directly to consumers, online psilocybin merchants ship this substance to all 50 states with complete anonymity. Purchase psilocybin online today to discover its benefits for yourself.
What is the best type of psilocybin for seniors to use?
Out of the various types of psilocybin products that are now available online, senior citizens will most likely prefer orally ingestible products like capsules and gummies. For a more intense and immediate experience, try vaping psilocybin in the form of a disposable vape cartridge. Just remember to keep your dosage low if you’d prefer to try microdosing over macrodosing.
Psilocybin for seniors: The bottom line
By all appearances, the psilocybin revolution is only beginning. If you feel left behind due to the fact that psilocybin is only becoming widely accepted at this stage in your life, you shouldn’t. While it’s unfortunate that the world is only waking up to the potential benefits of this potent psychedelic now, it’s not too late for you to revolutionize your life using the power of psilocybin. Whether you’re suffering from depression, dementia, or even chronic pain, there appears to be plenty that psilocybin can do to enhance your quality of life and make your last years fuller and more enjoyable.
