Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion: An Informative, Easy-to-Use Guide to Understanding Magic Mushrooms-From Tips and Trips to Microdosing and Psychedelic Therapy

by Michelle Janikian

Overview

Learn. Prepare. Trip. Transform! Discover the transformational power of psilocybin mushroom with this all-encompassing guide to harnessing magic mushrooms safely and effectively.

With so much misinformation surrounding magic mushrooms out there, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. This is where Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion comes in to help. In this book, you’ll find a comprehensive yet friendly guide to everything there is to know about magic mushrooms.

Learn how to plan safe, effective trips with easy-to-follow step-by-step advice. Discover how to train a guide to take care of those on psychedelic voyages, as well as how to access the transformative nature of these experiences. Even learn how microdosing can improve your mood, cognitive functioning, creativity, physical stamina, and more.

With the most up-to-date research, Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion will put magic mushrooms into perspective, dispel myths and urban legends, and open your mind to the benefits of psychedelic tripping.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612439471
Publisher:	Ulysses Press
Publication date:	11/19/2019
Series:	Guides to Psychedelics & More
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	295,718
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Michelle Janikian is a journalist focused on drug policy, trends, and education. Coming from the legal cannabis industry where she’s helped to shift the plant’s image from “destroyer of youth” to legitimate medicine and acceptable pastime, her interests naturally led her to the healing powers of psychedelics. She writes a column for Playboy about psychedelics and cannabis, was a staff writer for the cannabis publication Herb, and has also contributed to High Times, Rolling Stone and Teen Vogue .

Fed up with the overprescription of psychiatric drugs in the US and in her own life, she began investigating the medicinal value of outlawed and stigmatized plants and substances, like cannabis, psilocybin, and MDMA. Born in New York City and raised in New Jersey, she’s lost too many close friends to depression and the opioid epidemic not to share these stories with the world.

Michelle studied writing and psychology at Sarah Lawrence College before traveling extensively in Latin America and eventually settling down in southern Mexico. Find out more on her website: michellejanikian.com.

Table of Contents

Preface 1

Part 1 What Is Psilocybin and How Does It Work? 7

Chapter 1 What Is Psilocybin and Why Use Mushrooms? 8

What Is Psilocybin? 8

Why Do People Use Mushrooms? 13

Is Psilocybin Safe? 16

Chapter 2 Indigenous Ceremonial Mushroom Use 18

Chapter 3 Psychedelic Therapy 28

A Very Brief History of Psilocybin's Role in Psychedelic Research 28

What Is Psychedelic Therapy? 30

The Psychedelic Renaissance: Current and Future Studies 34

Chapter 4 How Psilocybin Works 41

The Brain on Psilocybin 50

Part 2 How to Trip Safely and Effectively 57

Chapter 5 How to Prepare Your Set and Setting 58

What Is Set and Setting? 58

How to Choose the Right Setting 59

How to Create the Right Set 61

Setting Preparation Tips 63

Mindset Preparation Suggestions 78

Chapter 6 Guided Trips 86

Retreats 86

Guide, Shaman, or Trip Sitter? 89

Clinical Trials 93

Chapter 7 Finding the Correct Dose 95

First Time or Low Dose 97

More Experienced or Moderate Dose? 99

High or "Heroic" Dose 101

Chapter 8 What to Expect 102

What Does Tripping on Mushrooms Feel Like? 102

Chapter 9 How to Navigate the Space 111

Chapter 10 Challenging Trips and Introduction to the Shadow 119

Introduction to the Shadow 122

Ways to Avoid Bad Trips 126

Ways to Deal with Challenging Trips 127

Chapter 11 Integration 131

Integration Techniques 136

Journaling and Other Forms of Self-Express ion and Reflection 136

Community 138

Integration Therapy and Coaching 139

Mindfulness and Meditation 143

Yoga, Embodiment, and Other Bodywork Techniques 144

Inspiring Awe 145

Continue Reading and Researching 146

What a Post-Psychedelic Experience Can Look Like 147

Chapter 12 Holding Space: How to Trip Sit 149

How to Prepare to Trip Sit 150

Trip Day: Trip-Sitting Essentials 153

How to Help Someone Through a Challenging Trip 155

Chapter 13 Microdosing Mushrooms 160

What Is a Microdose? 161

Why Do People Microdose? 161

How to Microdose 166

The Fadiman Protocol 168

Possible Negative Side Effects, or Drug Interactions 169

Chapter 14 The Potential Risks of Psilocybin 172

Who's Disqualified from Participating in Clinical Trials and Why? 173

Hypertension and Other Underlying Heart Conditions 175

Psychotic Spectrum Disorders 176

Bipolar Disorder 177

Other Mental Health Concerns 178

Epilepsy and History of Seizures 179

Possible Drug Interactions 180

Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) 188

Healthy Frequency of Use: How Often Is Too Often to Trip? 189

Conclusion 192

Further Reading, Viewing, and Listening 194

Online Resources 194

Books 197

Viewing 198

Listening 199

Bibliography 200

Index 215

Acknowledgments 222

About the Author 224