Suburban Cape Town dad Guy takes “magic mushrooms” every few days and says it has changed his life.
The businessman is among a growing number of South Africans who have embraced the global microdosing trend — taking small amounts of psychedelic substances on a regular basis to promote mental health.
The concept is simple: tiny, almost imperceptible amounts of substances such as psilocybin or LSD are ingested in a controlled, regimented manner. Advocates argue that these minuscule doses can boost productivity, unleash creativity, and even alleviate conditions such as depression, anxiety and burnout without the trippy fanfare of a full psychedelic experience.
Guy, who asked that his surname not be published, lives with his wife and two small children. He takes 0.2g every fourth day.
He says his life fell apart a few years ago when he suffered depression, was struggling with alcohol, his relationship and family life, he had lost a child and was battling at work. In October 2020 he sought out a shaman to take him on a guided mind journey. Along with a helper, she sat with him as he lay on his back for about six hours after taking a 7g macro dose of mushrooms.
“I was catapulted into the starkness of the world and I could see the superficialness of life as I became separate from my body. It was a deep and intense process that cut out all distractions and limitations and trauma and in a way it was deeply terrifying,” he told the Sunday Times.
Microdosing is basically a permission slip for a mind-resetting programme to create neural plasticity. But the mind is not to be messed with lightly
— Charles Weyer, wellness and performance coach
He experienced a profound and immediate change, pulled his life back together and saw significant improvements in every area of his life.
“But after about six months I lost my discipline. I stopped exercising, meditating and journaling. I started getting drunk with mates again, business wasn’t good and I was back on antidepressants.”
In 2021 he did some deep research into microdosing and found a formula that works for him, started growing his own mushrooms and now microdoses to maintain his balance.
“I can’t profess to be a hippy vegan, but I am more mindful. I listen properly and I am purpose driven,” he said, describing his brain as rewired and his world as brighter.
But the practice is not without its critics and challenges. The legality of psychedelic substances remains a grey area, with possession and use still largely prohibited, pushing the microdosing community underground.
Also, the lack of formal research within South Africa on microdosing’s long-term effects adds a layer of uncertainty to its safety and efficacy. Experts agree that psychedelics are not addictive, but they can cause harm by triggering psychotic episodes in people with mental health issues, cause bad reactions when taken in an uncontrolled manner by people already on medication or — when taken in large doses — cause a person to feel overwhelmed, paranoid, panicked or anxious.
Dr Sinethemba Makanya, a lecturer in medical humanities in the department of family medicine at Wits University, is an inyanga and is familiar with the psychospiritual practices of sangomas.
She said that while there is no specific name for psychedelics in traditional medicine, they are referred to as dream medicine and are used in initiation ceremonies. Healers use the substances to help them communicate with their ancestors for guidance.
According to Makanya, the way Western culture uses psychedelics matches traditional African “dream medicine” practice.
“They may be different energies for different reasons, but it leads to the same place and is a turn away from big pharma,” she said.
Makanya used to microdose to calm her anxiety and found that it worked better than prescription pharmaceuticals, with none of the side effects.
Because of the legal issues surrounding psychedelics, there has been very little funding for research. But this has started changing in recent years.
In 2019, a $17m (about R300m) donation from a consortium of US philanthropists launched the first institution of its kind, the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, at Johns Hopkins University. And last November former Tesla director Antonio Gracias made a $16m donation to Harvard University for an “interdisciplinary study of psychedelics in society and culture”.
In South Africa the microdosing movement is growing and thriving, according to wellness and performance coach Charles Weyer, who is licensed in ethno-medicine and offers both microdosing and macrodosing sessions to individuals or groups. He warns that psychedelic substances can have a profound effect on the mind and should be taken safely and under supervision.
“Microdosing is basically a permission slip for a mind-resetting programme to create neural plasticity. It’s taking a sub-perceptual dose of a substance — we use medicinal mushrooms — which creates new neurons and pathways,” Weyer said. “But the mind is not to be messed with lightly.”
The former champion MMA fighter said he had moved to psychedelics because his life was “a miserable mess”.
“I was admired, a bit famous and I had money, but I was not happy at all. It was then that I realised that who you are has very little to do with the outside picture and the story you portray — it’s about your mind and how you programme it,” he said.
He went on a personal development quest and trained in shamanism and working with psychedelics.
My life was a mess, but when I took mushrooms my mind cleared. I realised my problem was not alcohol but rather emotional issues
— Isaac Chilemba
“There are sangoma laws in this country that protect herbal healers, so nothing I do is illegal. However, my niche is more the corporate space.”
Weyer offers online courses, private work, one-off journeys involving macrodosing, team coaching and various other programmes, not all of which use psychedelics.
He views psilocybin as only a support mechanism. “You still must put in the work. It’s like training at the gym with a health goal in mind rather than taking a pill to suddenly be strong.”
Boxer-turned-personal-trainer Isaac Chilemba, 37, believes strongly in the benefits of taking mushrooms. He heard of them during a brief stint at Alcoholics Anonymous in 2014 after he attempted suicide.
“My life was a mess, but when I took mushrooms my mind cleared. I realised my problem was not alcohol but rather emotional issues,” he said.
He uses mushrooms every few months when he wants to relax, work on good ideas or make a big decision. He says he has never hallucinated on psychedelics.
“The mushroom slows my mind down. Time passes and I get calm. Everything goes clear. In that state I make decisions or I write things down,” Chilemba said. “The ideas I have had were brilliant and the things I have written are far beyond anything I could have done in my normal mind.”
Ronan Aries, a coach trained in the use of psychedelics for healing, says while there are tremendous benefits to microdosing, there are also potential downsides.
“It differs for each individual. For some it may not work at all, or it could possibly accentuate the very problems the person is trying to quell. For example if they are taking it for anxiety, it could end up putting them into a heightened state of anxiety,” he said.
A person could also end up microdosing too frequently, build up a tolerance and then need bigger doses for the same effect.
“It also can end up substituting as another vice. So if someone starts microdosing to try and stop drinking or smoking, it could just become the new crutch.”
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