People often ask me whether they should microdose psilocybin or LSD.
The truth is that there isn't a universally "better" medicine. There are simply different medicines that seem to teach in different ways.
While people also microdose substances such as mescaline (San Pedro or peyote), iboga, amanita muscaria, cannabis, and even low doses of ketamine in certain clinical settings, my own experience and training has been centered primarily around psilocybin and LSD. Those are the medicines I feel comfortable speaking about, so that's where we'll spend our time.
Like all medicines, they're invitations into relationship rather than quick fixes.
And perhaps that's one of the most important things Indigenous traditions around the world have been teaching for thousands of years.
Medicine isn't something we consume.
Medicine is something we enter into relationship with.
Whether that relationship is with a mushroom, a plant, a river, the land beneath our feet, or our own inner world, healing begins when we remember we're part of something much larger than ourselves.
That perspective feels especially important in a culture that often asks, "What can this medicine do for me?"
A more helpful question might be:
How is this medicine inviting me to relate differently to myself, to others, and to the living world around me?
A quick note on the science
Research into microdosing is still in its early stages.
Some placebo-controlled studies have found little difference between microdosing and placebo on measures like creativity or mood, while others have reported improvements in wellbeing, depression, anxiety, cognitive flexibility, and emotional regulation. Researchers are still trying to understand why findings vary so much.
Some possibilities include:
differences in dose
differences in intention and expectations
individual biology
whether someone is also engaging in therapy or integration practices
the environment and lifestyle surrounding the microdosing experience
One thing that continues to emerge across both research and clinical experience is that microdosing isn't simply about taking a substance.
It's about what you do alongside it.
Practices like time in nature, sleep, nutrition, movement, journaling, meditation, meaningful conversation, and psychotherapy appear to influence outcomes just as much as the medicine itself.
Psilocybin: The Medicine of Feeling
If I had to summarize psilocybin in one sentence, it would be this:
Psilocybin tends to soften us toward ourselves.
Many people notice that difficult emotions become a little easier to feel instead of avoid.
Rather than pushing us forward, psilocybin often invites us inward.
People frequently describe:
greater emotional awareness
increased self-compassion
feeling more connected to nature
greater openness and curiosity
a softening of anxiety or rigid thinking
deeper access to grief, joy, or wonder
From a neuroscience perspective, psilocybin temporarily reduces activity in the brain's Default Mode Network, a network involved in self-referential thinking and habitual patterns. Researchers believe this may help explain why people sometimes experience more cognitive flexibility and less rumination.
Many Indigenous cultures have long understood mushrooms not simply as chemicals but as living teachers. While each Nation has its own traditions, a common thread across many Indigenous knowledge systems is that healing happens through relationship—with community, ancestors, the land, and the more-than-human world.
That understanding resonates deeply with how many people experience psilocybin today.
Not as an escape from life.
But as an invitation back into relationship with it.
LSD: The Medicine of Perspective
LSD often feels quite different.
Rather than encouraging emotional depth, many people experience greater clarity, focus, curiosity, and cognitive flexibility.
Some describe it as gently widening the lens through which they see the world.
People often report:
sustained focus
increased creativity
greater energy
enhanced pattern recognition
motivation
feeling mentally "unstuck"
Unlike psilocybin, LSD is not a naturally occurring organism. It was first synthesized in 1938 from compounds found in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye.
Although it isn't a traditional Indigenous medicine, many people have found it to be a meaningful catalyst for insight and creativity when used carefully and intentionally.
Some individuals—including artists, entrepreneurs, researchers, and people working on complex problems—find LSD microdosing fits more naturally into their daily lives.
Others discover it feels a little too stimulating or mentally activating.
Again, there isn't a right answer.
Only your answer.
So... Which One Should You Choose?
Of course, every person is different.
But generally speaking:
You might resonate more with psilocybin if you are...
moving through grief
healing trauma alongside professional support
hoping to reconnect with your emotions
feeling disconnected from yourself or nature
wanting to cultivate self-compassion
You might resonate more with LSD if you are...
navigating creative blocks
looking for greater focus or mental flexibility
wanting support with problem-solving
feeling cognitively "stuck"
seeking a little more momentum
These aren't rules.
They're simply patterns I've observed in my own practice and that have been echoed by many others.
The Medicine Is Only One Part of the Equation
One of the biggest misconceptions about microdosing is that healing comes from the capsule.
In my experience, the medicine often creates a window of possibility.
What we choose to do with that window matters just as much.
This is why I encourage clients to spend time outside, notice seasonal rhythms, journal, move their bodies, have difficult conversations, rest when they're tired, and build practices that help them stay connected to themselves.
The medicine may open the door.
But we still have to walk through it.
A Final Thought
If there's one thing both Indigenous wisdom and modern neuroscience seem to agree on, it's that we are shaped by relationship.
Relationship changes our brains.
Relationship changes our nervous systems.
Relationship changes our lives.
Whether you choose psilocybin, LSD, or decide that now isn't the right time for either, my hope is that your journey isn't guided by the question,
"Which medicine is strongest?"
but rather,
"Which relationship is calling me to deepen?"
Because in the end, that relationship may be the real medicine.