Short Term and Long Term Side Effects of Magic Mushrooms

Magic mushrooms side effects can effect your brain and body in the long and short term. This can happen even from taking only a single dose.

Magic mushrooms are popular with many different names to include Shrooms, Psychedelic mushrooms and Psilocybin mushrooms. They are also commonly thought of as just another form of drug.

Actually, they have some amazing health benefits to include treating depression, anxiety, PTSD and curing addiction in only one dose.  Here is an article we wrote to learn more about their health benefits:

Psilocybin mushrooms are technically considered a controlled substance in many countries. In the USA the federal government has them classified as number 1 drug meaning it doesn’t have any medicinal purposes. Besides, it has high potential for abuse. We know this is 100% inaccurate based on all the clinical studies you can read I linked to above.

If you are worried about a drug test most standard drug tests don’t even test for it. And if they do it normally only stays in your system for up to 24 hours. In some cases this could last to 3 days for people regularly using or abusing it according to Columbia University.

There are some specialized drug testing companies like Quest Diagnostics and NMS Labs that offer specialized test for psilocybin.

Now let’s see what the side effects are on our brain and body with short and long term use…

Side Effects of Magic Mushrooms on Health

Most side effect from taking magic mushrooms that have been reported are very spiritual experiences and are positive in nature.

They consist of people being able to see the true liquid state of the world and of all things around them.  This can be scary to some but the idea is to give your self into it and let your self experience it and to trust it.

Most people that try to fight the experience or control it end up resulting in whats referred to as a ‘bad trip’.  During these ‘bad trips’ is when most people will report negative side effects.

Short-Term Effects of Magic Mushrooms

The short term effects can be different for everyone but we will discuss some common ones that most people will experience if you take between 1 to 7 grams of dried psilocybe cubensis.

The important thing to notice with these side effects is they are short term while you are in your trip and most of them result in a good outcome when you come down after 6 hours or less later.

Most Likely to occur [7]:

1. Heightened senses
2. Inability to determine what’s real
3. Feeling connected with the environment
4. Increased heart rate
5. Temporarily hallucinating
6. Euphoria
7. Peacefulness
8. Spiritual awakening
9. Derealization:  Feeling the your surrounds are not real
10. Depersonalization: Being in a dream like state where you are disengaged from your surroundings
11. Alterations to sense:  Seeing sound and hearing colors
12. Disorientation
13. Muscle relaxation
14. Trouble focusing
15. Dilated pupils
16. Distorted thinking

Some people can experience nausea too when taking the mushrooms but you should try not to throw it up as you will waste the experience (If you have taken more than the recommended dosage of 7 grams them you should allow your self to throw up).

Short Term Bad Effects of Magic Mushrooms

Less likely to occur but may if you have a bad trip or take more than 7 grams (not recommended) [7]:

1. Restlessness
2. Thinking problems
3. Tension
4. Anxiety
5. Paranoia
6. Depression
7. Panic
8. Cramps
9. Vomiting
10. Diarrhea
11. Dry mouth
12. Sweating
13. Chills
14. Numbness
15. Quickly changing emotions
16. Dizziness
17. Drowsiness
18. Muscle weakness
19. Lack of coordination
20. Unusual body sensations
21. Nausea
22. Paranoia
23. Confusion
24. Frightening hallucinations
25. Yawning
26. Temporary loss of muscle control and muscle strength (only if you take more than 7 grams which is not recommended anyway) [5].

In general I think we could agree that these symptoms are nothing too horrible.  I mean no where in there did I say pooping blood, heart attach or death…just saying because almost every prescription drug you take has much more horrible side effects then these.

Not to mention that other than the hallucinations almost every prescription drug would have many of these same symptoms.

**Beware that you may or may not experience many of these symptoms as it effects everyone differently.**

Long-Term Effects of Magic Mushrooms

When it comes to the long term effects of shrooms there are not any credible studies out there to prove any real negative side effects.

Most long term effect consist of positive things such as:

1. Permanently quitting addictions such as smoking or opioid addictions [3].
2. Increase in sense of well-being and life satisfaction [5].
3. New sense of love and connection with every living thing around them [4].
4. Heightened mental state and improved ways of thinking [5].
5. Being able to think back on their experience and regain many of the positive effects as if they took another dose [5].
6. Improved symptoms of depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) years after a single dose [6].

Other Side Effects

Here are some other side effects that get mentioned quite a bit with an explanation to make sense of it:

1. Studies have shown that they can permanently alter your brain however that could be a good thing [1].
2. Some websites report magic mushrooms being linked to inducing psychosis however recent studies done in controlled environments show they are not associated [2].
3. Dr. Weinstein (Chief medical officer of American Addiction Centers) reports that psychosis can be brought on by psilocybin which puts individuals with a family history of schizophrenia or other pyschotic disorders are risk of experiencing a psychotic episode.

I would like to take the time to clear up the Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) myth.  Many sites report that psilocybin can cause HPPD but they are all hypothetical because the people that have experienced HPPD abused other drugs along with psicloybin.

Bill Richards who is a psychologist at Johns Hopkins has led hundreds of psychedelic-assisted therapy sessions with psilocybin since the 1970s.  He states the following:

“I personally have encountered no reports of HPPD,” Richards added. “Of course this is with pure psilocybin (synthesized) in reasonable dosage without any other substances in medically screened volunteers.”

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Prescription Drugs vs Magic Mushrooms

Through many studies it has been shown that magic mushrooms are a very powerful substance that can have a major impact on depression, anxiety, PTSD, overall quality of life and provide such a life change experience that you will have a whole new outlook on life in general.  You will have a new sense of love for yourself and everyone/everything around you.

In another sense it makes you a better leader as well because it eliminates your fear of dying while making you a more caring and nice person.  These are very good leadership qualities to have.

When it comes to prescription drugs, I think Joe Rogan says it best in a podcast he had with Paul Stamets:

Joe Rogan talks about how magic mushrooms give you the potential to heal while all the other prescription drugs numb you out and are basically escape drugs.  That’s why in only one dose so many people have reported being cured from their mental health illness related issues.  It’s because it allows them to heal instead of just escaping.

The problem with escape drugs is eventually you have to come back to reality and face the pain again.  With magic mushrooms you are forced to take a hard look at reality in a way you have never seen it before and that how you begin to be healed.  It eliminates the need to escape.

Side effects of prescription drugs compared to magic mushrooms:

Antidepressant Prescription Drugs Side Effects [8]

1. Increased appetite
2. Weight gain
3. Fatigue/drowsiness
4. Dry mouth
5. Blurred vision
6. Insomnia
7. Dizziness
8. Indigestion/stomach aches
9. Diarrhea/constipation
10. Addictive

Magic mushroom Side Effects

You can look above to see all the magic mushroom side effects but when comparing them to common prescription drugs to treat depression here is how they compare:

1. Don’t cause weight gain
2. Don’t cause insomnia
3. Doesn’t cause dizziness
4. They are NOT addictive and therefore does NOT have a potential for substance abuse

One cool thing is they are actually anti-addictive by nature.  This means you won’t feel the need to take them more than one time.  Actually, the next day after you consume the mushrooms if you look at them you will thinking to yourself, “no way man…I am not touching those things again for a long, long time”.  This is because of how powerful they are.

The main thing to keep in mind is there is no reason to do more than 7 grams and always make sure you are in a safe environment prior to consuming them.

Some people have reported to have bad ‘trips’ and this is normally because they did not put themselves into a safe place prior to consuming the mushrooms.  Another reason is because they try to control the experience instead of giving themselves into it.

They key is free your mind of everything prior to eating them and let the mushrooms take you where you need to go.  DO NOT try to stop the mushrooms from taking your somewhere (in your mind) or try to control it in any way…Remember that the mushrooms are here to help and you need to trust them.

Wrapping Up

Magic mushrooms have some really amazing health benefits to include being a treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD and even curing addiction in only one dose.

While there are some side effects of magic mushrooms they really aren’t ‘side’ effects as much as they are the ‘actual’ effects of the mushroom.  What I mean is the whole purpose of taking these mushrooms is to alter your reality and reveal to you a whole new world that you weren’t aware of before.

The good news is these mushroom are NOT addictive and they really don’t have any known negative side effects on our brain or bodies and the only reported long term side effects are that the positive experiences lives with the person for the rest of their lives.

From here I recommend you check out our articles on the different types of mushrooms and the correct dosage amount to take as well as the importance of having the correct setting so you don’t experience any negative side effects that you aren’t ready for:

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References

1. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsif.2014.0873?sid=8fe2f117-871a-45ac-bbfa-950f82c45250&
2. https://oceanbreezerecovery.org/blog/permanent-trips/
3. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/stories/mushrooms_quit_smoking.html
4. https://www.dosedmovie.com/
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ6Ym719urg
6. https://curativemushrooms.com/mushrooms-for-depression-anxiety
7. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/308850#risks

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Legal Disclaimer:

Psilocybin remains illegal under federal law in the United States.  We do not advocate for, endorse, or intend for this report to be used to violate federal law.