Unlocking the self: Can microdosing psychedelics make one feel more authentic?
Nordisk alkohol- & narkotikatidskrift : NAT April 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1177/14550725231175353 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractOn days when people take a very small, non-hallucinogenic dose of a psychedelic (microdose), and on the following day, they report feeling more authentic—more true to themselves in the moment. Over one month, 18 microdosers in the Netherlands provided 192 daily self-reports. On microdosing days, both the number of activities people engaged in and their satisfaction with those activities increased; on the next day, only the number of activities remained higher. Greater activity number and satisfaction were each linked to higher state authenticity. The authors suggest that authentic feeling and behavior may help explain the improved health and well-being previously linked to microdosing.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 18 |
| Population | Microdosers in the Netherlands |
| Intervention | Microdosing |
| Duration | 1 month |
| Topics | Microdosing |
| Keywords | Authenticity Experience sampling methods Psychedelics |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key finding | State authenticity was significantly higher on microdosing days and the following day, and both the number of daily activities and satisfaction with them were positively related to state authenticity. |
Abstract
Background and aim: In the present study, we focus on the relationship between state authenticity - the experience of being true to oneself in a particular moment - and microdosing - a practice that implies repeatedly ingesting very small doses of psychedelics that do not reach the threshold for perceptual alterations. We propose that microdosing could increase state authenticity through influencing people's mood and the number and satisfaction with daily activities. Methods: We used self-assessments of state authenticity collected from 18 microdosers in the Netherlands across the period of 1 month for a total of 192 observations. Results: We found that on the microdosing day and the day thereafter, state authenticity was significantly higher. Furthermore, the number of activities and the satisfaction with them were higher on the day when participants microdosed, while the following day only the number of activities was higher. Both the number or activities and the satisfaction with them were positively related to state authenticity. Conclusion: We propose that feeling and behaving authentically could have a central role in explaining the positive effects of microdosing on health and wellbeing that are reported by current research.