Liberty caps 0.5g semi dried - soaked in boiled water for 20 mins and then strained into mug and honey, lemon and ginger added.
I’m in my late 40s. Between 17 and 25 I used to do mushrooms (liberty caps) once or twice a year during the season in the UK (plus any other drug going). Me and my friends never thought about dosage - we just gathered as many mushrooms as we could and made a big batch of tea that we shared. Always full on 6/7 hour trips.
Anyway, I moved to a city and mushroom picking wasn’t as convenient, got older etc. May have had some truffles at some point but nothing significant.
Around 3 or 4 ears ago I suffered a period of anxiety and depression and was prescribed sertraline - 50mg then 100mg. I’d read various reports about the healing benefits of mushrooms and that tied in with my own previous experience. Me and my friends always said that it felt like your brain had been cleansed following a mushroom trip.
I was finding that while sertraline “worked” on some level, it wasn’t really a cure and there were some drawbacks and side effects. So I decided to come off the meds and give mushrooms a try.
I did a slow taper off Sertraline over 4 months. When I stopped completely I had bad withdrawal - brain zaps, insomnia, itching etc
Been off Sertraline for around 2 weeks. I’ve been making visits to various local fields that looked promising for liberty caps - some seemingly ideal candidates with zero success. My persistence paid off and I found a local field where I was able to pick about 30/40. Thanks to Shroomers posters for habitat and ID hints and tips!
Took them home to dry. My kids and partner were away for a night soon after. So I decided to dip my toe in.
Measure out 0.5 grams. I don’t think the mushrooms were fully dry. Soaked in off boiled water for 20 mins. Strained into mug and added lemon, ginger and honey. Tasted much better than the rank mushroom tea we used to drink.
Sipped tea over 20 mins. Watched an episode of Curb yr Enthusiasm. Started to feel physical effects in 10 or so mins, found curb v funny, some visuals, the actors mouths looked like puppets mouths. Then a bit of haziness, walls started breathing.
Moved upstairs to bedroom, dimmed lights and put some music on headphones. I’d made a trippy playlist earlier. Some mild synesthesia with eyes closed. Alice Coltrane - journey to satchidanada sounded amazing.
Some personal insights and thoughts about relationships. Drifted off to sleep after 2/3 hours with some vivid dreams. Woke up feeling fresh the next day.
This was a mild trip. And a really enjoyable reintroduction to mushrooms. A good starting point. Definitely reduced Sertraline withdrawal symptoms in following days. I will gather some more liberty caps and look to do a higher dose next time I have a free house.
Early impression is that this was an enjoyable experience with some mild therapeutic effects.
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