Ltd Ed 'Solve et Elucido' Art Giclee
This reverberating psychedelic giclee print is a gift for a
$500 donation to Erowid. 12" x 12", stretched on canvas, the
image wraps around the sides of the 1" thick piece. Signed
by artist Vibrata, and Erowid founders Earth & Fire.
Microdosing for Anxiety and Depression
LSD
Citation:   Tetrisdroid. "Microdosing for Anxiety and Depression: An Experience with LSD (exp108178)". Erowid.org. May 23, 2018. erowid.org/exp/108178

 
DOSE:
0.25 hits sublingual LSD (blotter / tab)
BODY WEIGHT: 18 st
I have battled with depression and anxiety disorders for most of my adult life, I have tried all manner of antidepressants and anxiety medication. To no avail. For the purposes of this report, it would also be prudent to mention that I mostly self medicate with illicit drugs. The variety and amounts of which are too lengthy to include here.

I have what I consider to be a moderate to above average experience level with the drugs I have used. With the exception of LSD. This drug in particular has always scared me somewhat. I have used DMT on one occasion, and other hallucinogens on several occasions - mushrooms, 2CB, nbomes etc.

This report is an account of my first use of LSD. The specific intent was to investigate the benefits (if there are any) of microdosing, in order to help alleviate the symptoms of my depression and anxiety disorders. I read lots of info on this technique, and discovered it quite by accident while researching blotter designs online.

After some research, I learned that 10-30µg of LSD is considered to be a low or 'threshold' dose. As I am a rather large chap (18+ st), I decided that the 30µg would be suitable.

x7 120µg LSD blotter tabs were obtained from a reliable and reputable source.
My intention was to cut each tab into 4 equal pieces (30µg each) and take one of the pieces each morning for a week.

Day one:

8:00am
I woke up and went through my normal morning routine. A friend had assured me that a dose of just 30µg would probably have some effect on my mindset, but it would not cause any hallucinations. This eased my concerns somewhat as I had planned to undertake this microdosing experiment without anyone's knowledge. I intended to go to work, and do everything I normally would.

8:45am
I put one of the quarter tabs under my tongue. I left it there for 15mins or so until it had gone sort of mushy, then I swallowed it. I then drove to work and arrived about 30mins later.

9:45am
At this point, I started noticing some effects. Hardly perceptible, and very possibly a placebo effect, but nevertheless I felt something. I felt a bit light headed, and the office lights seemed brighter than usual.

11:00am
I go on my break. Lights still seem brighter than usual. But nothing else of any real importance. No mood change or anything like that. Just the slight sensation that a drug was in my system, doing something hardly perceptible.

3:00pm
I finish for the day and drive home. I noticed that the light effect seems to have gone by this point. I feel the same as I would have on any other day. Which for the record, is pretty miserable and frustrated.

Day Two:

8:45
I microdose for the 2nd time. At this point it occurs to me that I have no real way of knowing exactly what dosage I am taking
it occurs to me that I have no real way of knowing exactly what dosage I am taking
. The LSD was procured from a reliable source, but I simply have no way to know if the tabs contain the dosage they are purported to contain. I rationalise this by telling myself that if I had taken more than the threshold dosage the day before, I certainly would have known about it an hour or so later.

10:00am
Today is a staff meeting. Which involves weekly reports to the manager, to discuss figures, targets, budget concerns etc. All spoken about in a group setting. This is normally hell for me. This is exactly the kind of thing that makes me anxious. Today however, I feel much more relaxed. No zaps in my chest, or sweaty hands, or anything like that. I did have some trouble organising my thoughts however in preparation for my presentation, something that is not usually a problem. It's very difficult to describe. I felt fuzzy and confused, but at the same time I didn't care. The fluorescent office lights looked bright again today.

Day Three:

Usually after three days of work, I am ready to reach for my little box of drugs, to maybe skin up, or take a little MDMA to take the edge off. Today though, strangely, I felt no need for this. I took my little 30µg tab again in the morning, and by the time the end of the working day came around, I felt much less stressed than I would at this time in the week.

I continued microdosing for a further 4 days.

My findings:

In the week that I used a threshold dose of LSD every day, I used no other drugs. Which is highly unusual for me. I'm not saying this very short experiment has cured me of my depression and anxiety, far from it. But it has given me food for thought.
I'm not saying this very short experiment has cured me of my depression and anxiety, far from it. But it has given me food for thought.
It has made me wonder if the LSD was doing anything, or if I wanted it to work so much that I was experiencing nothing more than a strong placebo effect. I definitely experienced some very minor visual changes, lights were definitely brighter. That was not an imagined effect. I did learn however that I could go a full 7 days without turning to other drugs as a way of self medicating.

The LSD microdosing experiment gave me hope. Which is something I will hold onto.

Was it the LSD itself that made me realise I don't need to use other drugs as a crutch, or was it the fact that I wasn't taking anything else for a whole week that allowed my body to return to some form of normal functionality? Did I just unintentionally give myself a detox under the guise of LSD microdosing?

Exp Year: 2014ExpID: 108178
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: 35
Published: May 23, 2018Views: 9,921
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
LSD (2) : Depression (15), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Medical Use (47), Various (28)

COPYRIGHTS: All reports copyright Erowid.
No AI Training use allowed without written permission.
TERMS OF USE: By accessing this page, you agree not to download, analyze, distill, reuse, digest, or feed into any AI-type system the report data without first contacting Erowid Center and receiving written permission.

Experience Reports are the writings and opinions of the authors who submit them. Some of the activities described are dangerous and/or illegal and none are recommended by Erowid Center.


Experience Vaults Index Full List of Substances Search Submit Report User Settings About Main Psychoactive Vaults