Featured Image Credit: Joe Scott/YouTube
If there's a scientific trend out there that the experts aren't sure about, you can bet the YouTube community will try it for themselves. Not everyone will be jumping on Bryan Johnson's bandwagon by injecting themselves with their own son's blood, we'd also recommend you don't take after the guy who purposefully tried to get himself addicted to vaping.
Still, some YouTubers are genuinely putting in the hard work to see if some controversial trends can benefit the wider community.
YouTuber Joe Scott tried 'microdosing' for 30 days and was surprised by what happened to his mind.
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The idea of microdosing is that you take small amounts of psychedelics or hallucinogens in an attempt to improve your mental health. It's grown from being a taboo that's conducted behind closed doors to people being more open about their microdosing. Some are even known to have LSD with their breakfast.
Scott was keen to see what the fuss about microdosing was, saying that many swear it can enhance their focus, improve creativity, and increase their mood. Discussing his reasoning for embarking on this experiment, Scott explained: "Microdosing is a topic that I've been interested in for a really long time.
"The idea of using psychedelics in one way or another for therapeutic purposes, there seems to be a lot of opportunity there.
I think if something can be useful for people, especially in terms of mental health in today's day and age, I think we should be embracing it but I'm also skeptical."
Like the YouTuber who was shocked by the benefits he felt by upping his water intake for 30 days or the one who went vegan for a month, Scott set himself some clear parameters on what he was going to do.
Finding some 'very low dose' psilocybin pills, he was going to try them for a month and report on his findings.
The first day had Scott feeling a little 'swimmy', saying: "It was kind of like when you take some strong cold medicine, and it kicks in, you kind of get that kind of wavy sensation."
You're advised to space out microdosing every three days so your body doesn't build up a tolerance to it, meaning Scott consumed 10 doses across the entire period.
Research from 2020 claims that psilocybin affects a part of your brain known as the claustrum - a thin layer of grey matter in the brain that regulates attention but is also apparently where our sense of self sits.
Although focusing on psilocybin, Scott reiterated other popular microdoses include LSD, MDMA, DMT, and Salvinorin A, each offering up varying results depending on the person.
After a week, he said he was 'feeling' more emotions, adding: "I'm a little bit more huggy with my wife, I read things I feel more inclined to speak out about things, I think I've engaged a little bit more on on social media."
As microdosing is technically illegal, Scott was worried about the potential consequences for him and others, although he had some interesting final thoughts. After the full 30 days, Scott said that even though microdosing didn't help his focus, it heightened his emotions: "It pumped a little warm blood into my cold, dead, heart. I think I felt a little bit more joy than I normally would a bit more contentment bit more accepting of things."
In the end, the educational YouTuber agreed he couldn't recommend microdosing because he didn't see enough benefits, while the whole illegal aspect put him off. Ultimately, he concluded, "I have to say, don't do it don't do drugs, kids."
