Dr Zac Turner on magic mushrooms and microdosing

This drug trend is being cited as a way to be more efficient and increase creativity – but Dr Zac Turner has some home truths about it.

Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week Dr Zac talks about microdosing.

Question:Hi Dr Zac, I’m a fairly heavy user of magic mushrooms and I’m beginning to feel worried about my mental health. I got into it because it was fun and risky, but now tend to prefer spending my Sunday afternoons outside in my own trippy world.

I’m hesitant to believe they will make me mentally unwell, all I see on my newsfeed are reports about studies which show magic mushrooms can be useful in treating depression, anxiety and PTSD. How can it be bad for me, when it used to help others?

I’m thinking about microdosing, as I’ve read on the internet it increases mood, concentration and creativity. Is my heavy use of psychedelics now going to cause me to be crazy when I’m older? – Anon, Byron Bay

Answer: Have you ever seen the show Mythbusters? I love it because they take every assumption we have about the world and turn it inside out to understand its merit. Let’s pretend we are on the show Mythbusters now, and pick apart your question.

Firstly, it goes without saying, these studies you are reading about are fascinating but they are undertaken in controlled circumstances.

I assume you are purchasing these drugs illegally on the street, which means you can have no clear idea of the dosage you are taking. These studies have everything pinpointed down to the exact science. So I do not recommend you compare your recreational drug use to scientific studies.

Psilocybe cubensis, a species of psychedelic mushroom, commonly called shrooms, magic mushrooms, golden tops, cubes, or gold caps.

If we are to treat psychedelics, such as magic mushrooms, as medicine we need to respect them as medicine. You wouldn’t take medication you weren’t prescribed, would you?

Psychedelics are known to trigger a rise in levels of cortisol in your body which is a biological stressor. High cortisol levels in your body increase the risk of many health problems including anxiety, depression, digestive problems, muscle tension and pain, sleeping problems and concentration impairment to name a few. You may feel fine and dandy, but there’s the high possibility your body doesn’t.

It’s been said over and over again but drugs do not directly cause mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or anxiety. Drug misuse, however, which is consistently taking a substance to feel effects has been shown to increase the risk of mental illness.

I recommend you stop regularly taking magic mushrooms, and spend your Sunday afternoons sober! Instead of dosing up on drugs before you go outside, drink a glass of water and take ten deep breaths.

Drugs don’t cause mental health illnesses but they can exacerbate them. Picture: iStock

Now, this wouldn’t be MythBusters without looking into the studies you are referencing. The psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms is psilocybin, which shares common effects with serotonin. That’s the chemical inside your brain which plays an important role in mood regulation.

People diagnosed with depression or anxiety have low or imbalanced levels of serotonin. Researchers have begun experimenting with psilocybin to determine if it can help restore the balance of serotonin in their bodies. The way the research is going, I can put safe money on it becoming an accepted mental health treatment therapy.

I’m afraid to tell you that research has shown the effects of microdosing are typically placebo. Studies have shown microdosing to be linked to heart damage over time. I do not recommend you attempt to do this.

Positive practices such as exercise and yoga can help to alleviate mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression.

It’s been found that people in studies who microdose and those who do yoga have similar benefits – decreased mental health issues and a higher sense of openness. If it’s so important to you to have these benefits, ditch the drugs and try your hand at yoga!

I think it’s fair to say myth busted! Do not try to medicate yourself with drugs. Go to your local GP, set out a mental health plan and do you best to stay sober!

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Dr Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He is both a medical practitioner and a co-owner of telehealth service, Concierge Doctors. He was also a registered nurse and is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist along with being a PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering.