If you’ve been a regular reader of the Quality Spores blog for any length of time, you know that one of the major topics we cover are the benefits of mushroom therapy. It seems like every other week a new study comes out that confirms what humanity has arguably known for years: mushrooms can, for certain people and under the right circumstances, provide great benefit in potentially treating a variety of disorders, mostly of the mental variety.

Mushrooms for Mental Health Benefits

We’ve seen mushrooms of various mushroom strains being used for mental health benefits such as reducing mental anxiety and depression, using mushrooms for depression or to ease depression symptoms, and using mushrooms for mental health and smoking cessation therapies.

Evidence has suggested that mushrooms may help patients with depression, anxiety, PTSD, emotional wellness, smoking addiction, and obesity therapy.

This continually-building preponderance of evidence is likely why just earlier this year, Oregon was the first state to legalize mushrooms for therapeutic purposes. One still can’t buy, sell, or grow mushrooms legally, but in the state of Oregon patients can see licensed therapists who can provide them with mushroom-assisted therapy or special-assisted therapy. This, as mushroom advocates will agree, is a huge step in the right direction for using, selling, and buying spore syringes.

As other jurisdictions continue to decriminalize mushrooms and others explore the possibility of legalizing the compound’s use for therapeutic purposes, we expect that more and more evidence will continue to pile up in favor of mushrooms and its role in mental health for those who need it the most once you know how to identify mushrooms varieties or species that are best for your particular mental health therapy need.

Mushrooms for General Emotional Wellness and Wellbeing

But what about using mushrooms to maintain general emotional wellness? That’s becoming very popular too, at least in jurisdictions where mushrooms are legal. A bevy of mushroom-positive news reports have come out in just the last year alone, with everyone from Mike Tyson, Chelsea Handler, and other celebrities who use mushrooms bravely stepping forward to tell their personal stories, to overworked moms who microdose to relieve day-to-day anxiety, to tech tycoons who swear by mushrooms as the source of their success.

In today’s article, we’ll explore how mushrooms are being used by people, where legal in mushroom laws by state, to improve their overall sense of well-being and emotional stability. We’ll also find out how they’re doing it and look at a couple of new studies that just came out within the past month further confirming all of these findings as being scientifically proven. It’s a good time to be a mushroom advocate!

How People Are Using Mushrooms to Maintain General Emotional Wellness

cubensis for treating depression

There are many different ways that people take mushrooms to promote general emotional wellness, and we’ll discuss the two most popular ones in greater detail later on in this post—briefly, people tend to either microdose, or have a standard dosage (3 – 4 grams, or occasionally more if the person is very experienced) at longer intervals, perhaps once every few months or even just once per year.

In a way, the more important question to ask is why are so many people these days using mushrooms for mental wellness?

This, as we’re sure many of you can remember, was most certainly not the case ten years ago regarding use for mental health benefits, or even five years ago. Our theory is twofold: first, the proliferation of scientific studies which are at the forefront of a rapidly changing legal framework concerning specials, which generates plenty of media coverage, thus enabling a greater number of people to learn about mushrooms and other potentially beneficial compounds (which may previously have fallen under the status of a societal taboo).

Second, the unending work of mushroom advocates all over the country. Advocates in Denver—the first city in the United States to decriminalize special mushrooms or mushrooms – were the first successful group, but they weren’t and aren’t the only collective of open-minded people to promote loosening mushroom legislation. Far from it: there are decriminalization and legalization efforts being lead all around the country, in California, Connecticut, Texas, Hawaii, and most other states. We’ve covered many of there stories here on the Quality Spores blog.

Different Approaches to Maintaining Emotional Wellness With Mushrooms: The Annual Trip vs. Microdosing

mushrooms anxiety treatment

While anyone considering taking mushrooms should only do so in a jurisdiction where mushrooms are legal and under the supervision of their licensed therapist, there are generally two approaches people take in an effort to preserve emotional and mental well-being.

The Mushroom Trip Experience – Good or Bad

The first is the occasional treatment (or “trip”), where you always want to avoid a bad mushroom trip. Some people experience benefits from taking mushrooms only once per year, or as frequently as once every three months. The body builds a mushroom tolerance very, very quickly—even the fastest recommended frequency of doses is at least a week long. Sometimes people travel for these experiences, and there’s even now a burgeoning “special vacation” industry.

The other approach is microdosing, which we wrote about in our comprehensive article about the best mushrooms to microdose or in finding the best amushroom strain for microdosing – which may be a good solution. Microdosing mushrooms involves taking a very small amount —the dosage is so small that it’s not psychoactive, but the underlying benefits of mushrooms can still be enjoyed.

So, are mushrooms really effective at helping patients with clinical depression, anxiety, or PTSD? According to studies and reports by multiple respected organizations, including Johns Hopkins, the answer appears to be a resounding yes.

The Fastest-Growing Hobby of Amateur Microscopists: Studying Mushroom Spores at Home

We hope that you’ve found today’s post informative. One lingering question may remain for many of you, however. If mushrooms are so beneficial to so many people, why aren’t they legal yet?

It’s a good question. The answer is, unfortunately, that the legal process is a very slow one. However, breakthroughs are being made all the time—we cover them regularly here on the Quality Spores blog, so be sure to check back in regularly.

While mushrooms aren’t legal, the spores of mushrooms are (in most states). The spores, in nature, would mature into so-called mushrooms, but their primary use is for study under the microscope. If you’d like to get started in what’s quickly becoming one of the most popular new hobbies, check out our free eBook.