Can You Overdose On Magic Mushrooms?
As with any mind-altering substance, concerns about safety and potential overdose are common when it comes to magic mushrooms. Understanding the risks and limitations of their consumption is crucial for the responsible use of magic mushrooms.
How do Shrooms Affect the Body?
Shrooms, also known as psychedelic mushrooms, are hallucinogenic drugs that can have an effect on the body and mind. The primary active ingredients in shrooms are psilocybin and psilocin, both of which are believed to act upon the brain’s neural pathways.
These paths communicate with the neurotransmitter serotonin, which helps control moods, perceptions, abstract thinking, and thought analysis. When a person takes shrooms, it is believed that they affect the brain’s prefrontal cortex–the part responsible for emotional response as well as higher thought processes.
What are the Side Effects of Taking Psilocybin Mushrooms?
When it comes to the side effects of taking psilocybin mushrooms, there are both short and long-term consequences that occur. Physically, individuals can feel anxious, and nauseous, dilated pupils, and dizzy spells.
Mental effects include hallucinations, changes in perception including a distorted sense of time and space, euphoria, or an altered sense of reality. Emotionally, the user may feel relaxed or excited but also confused, paranoid, or even distressed.
Short-Term Side Effects
Short-term side effects of hallucinogens, such as those caused by taking LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, or DMT, are generally experienced within minutes of the drug being ingested. Most commonly, these effects of mushrooms will take the form of intense hallucinations and an altered perception of reality. A heightened sense of awareness and a distortion of time can also be experienced, along with increased heart rate and nausea.
Long-Term Side Effects
When it comes to the long-term effects of psilocybin mushrooms, there are two that have been reported. The first is known as persistent psychosis, which is a mental health disorder where a person’s symptoms may last for weeks or even months, varying in intensity and persisting even after the usage of the mushroom has stopped.
This condition can cause significant disruption to everyday life, including difficulty concentrating and managing stress, changes in mood, disorientation, and confusion, vivid hallucinations, and more.
The second long-term side-effect of using magic mushrooms is called Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD). It manifests itself in various ways such as visual disturbances including trailing or static images around objects, altered perception of color or shape, intolerance to bright light levels, and other perceptual changes. Symptoms can range from mild to severe and can last for months or years and interfere with day-to-day activities.
Can Shrooms Lead to Experiencing a “Bad Trip?”
Shrooms are an increasingly popular hallucinogenic substance, but it is essential to be aware that this substance has the potential to lead to negative side effects experience. Generally referred to as a “bad trip,” some people can be left feeling extremely anxious, depressed, and fearful while under the influence of shrooms.
A bad trip is intense and not always pleasant. It typically involves extreme feelings of confusion and distress, along with changes in perception regarding surrounding objects, people, and sounds. Unpleasant hallucinations can also occur during a mushroom trip such as distorted vision or hearing voices that aren’t actually present.
It is even possible for someone having a bad trip on shrooms to have difficulty breathing or anxiety attacks due to paranoia or panic attack.
Magic Mushrooms and the Signs of Overdose
Psychedelic shrooms, also known as magic mushrooms, have risen in popularity over the past few years due to their purported mind-altering and spiritual effects. The question of whether or not you can overdose on shrooms is a common one; however, the answer isn’t as simple as one may think.
Technically, it is possible to overdose on this particular substance, but because it has a low toxicity level, lethal consequences are quite rare. This fact combined with the fact that shrooms don’t come pre-measured makes people more prone to ingesting too many toxic mushrooms if they are unaware of what they contain.
If someone does happen to take too much in regards to psychedelic shroom dosage, then they might experience a shroom overdose. Symptoms of such an event include increased heart rate, restlessness, and anxiety which could last hours at a time.
Other physical effects can include vomiting, nausea, excessive sweating, and even delirium in serious cases. In extreme cases of psilocybin mushroom drug overdoses hallucinations can become so intense that the individual experiences psychosis-like states and feels disconnected from reality altogether.
How Many Shrooms are Too Many?
Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as ‘shrooms’, are organic fungi found in a variety of places across the globe. Being formed within natural habitats, they are not typically sold in measured doses and therefore can be very difficult to assess potency.
One of the leading forms through which psychedelic drugs are consumed is Psilocybe cubensis, a strain known for its particularly high levels of psychological effects.
When purchased this form usually comes with 3.5 grams as the standard size; any higher than this could however be deemed dangerous and could lead to an overdose situation.
Can you Overdose on Mushrooms? (FAQ)
Consumption of psilocybin has been linked to a variety of potential benefits, including anti-depressant effects. A 2016 study showed that individuals who took psilocybin had significantly fewer depressive symptoms than those who were given a placebo and reported higher levels of positive emotions.
How long does a trip on psychedelic mushrooms last, on average?
Psilocybin is a psychoactive compound derived from various species of mushrooms. It produces hallucinogenic effects of psilocybin like intense visual, auditory, and sensory perception changes. When taken, a “trip” caused by this substance typically lasts between 1 to 6 hours.
While the drug’s psychedelic effects tend to peak within 20 minutes, they slowly begin to fade after 2 hours. The length and intensity of the trip can vary depending on the individual’s size and weight along with how much mushroom was taken.
At high doses, psilocybin will remain in your system for longer than two hours, as its half-life is 11 hours. This means that it takes around 11 hours for your body to rid itself of half of what you ingested. Depending on the dosage and individual tolerance, the experience could last even longer, up to 8 or even 10 hours at higher doses.
If you’re looking for an extended experience with psychedelic mushrooms, make sure to take smaller doses over time rather than increasing your dosage of mushrooms all at once.
What causes a bad “trip” when taking psychedelic mushrooms?
Psychedelic mushrooms containing psilocybin have become increasingly popular in recent years, however, there are significant risks involved with taking them. One of the main causes of a bad “trip” or negative experience when taking psychedelic mushrooms is if the individual has any pre-existing mental health conditions.
It has been observed that psilocybin can exacerbate the withdrawal symptoms of mental disorders, leading to an unpleasant experience. Therefore people with a history of mental health issues should not take psychedelic mushrooms at all.
Can a magic mushroom “overdose” result in death?
Despite their growing popularity, it can be dangerous to ingest these psychedelic substances. While there have been no reported deaths due to a magic mushroom overdose alone, there have been cases of individuals who experienced severe reactions or accidents after taking the drug.
The lethal common dose (LD50) of psilocybin to cause toxicity is 16 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Therefore, a person weighing 100 pounds would need to consume 800 mg of psilocybin or greater than 6 mg of psilocin in order to experience dizziness, nausea, and vomiting caused by a toxic reaction.
Are Shrooms Addictive?
Much like with cannabis, shrooms’ classification as a Schedule I substance was based more on fearmongering than scientific evidence. In fact, research into the potential therapeutic benefits of mushrooms shows that they are not an addictive substance in the way alcohol, opioids, and amphetamines can be; taking shrooms does not lead to physical dependency.
If you are considering using psilocybin mushrooms but are unsure how to choose the right strain, visit ThinkMushrooms.ca.
