How To Take Psilocybin Mushrooms Safely?
Have you ever felt nauseous after taking magic mushrooms? There can be quite a few reasons for that. Sometimes this unpleasant sensation is caused by an unprepared state of mind, while at other times, the food you consumed before can be the main source of stomach trouble.
Thankfully, there are ways to alleviate the feeling of nausea during the trip or even prevent it beforehand. Proper meditation, extended chewing, or even lemon tekking can help you avoid nausea, while ginger, temperature regulation, and relaxation techniques will help you alleviate it if it occurs. In this article, we look into these methods in more detail—read on to find out more!
Key Takeaways
- Psychedelic Nausea: Magic mushrooms and other psychedelics can induce nausea, often linked to serotonin receptors in the gut or sensory overload during a trip.
- Preparation is Key: Preparing both mentally and physically before ingesting psychedelics, including managing anxiety, staying hydrated, and having a light meal, can reduce the chances of nausea.
- Mushroom Tea & Lemon Tekking: Consuming psilocybin mushrooms in the form of tea or using the lemon tekking method may alleviate digestive stress and reduce nausea by easing the conversion of psilocybin to psilocin.
- Managing Nausea During a Trip: Techniques such as consuming ginger, regulating temperature, relaxation & breath exercises, and avoiding triggering stimuli can help alleviate nausea if it occurs during the psychedelic experience.
- Seek Support: For a safer and more therapeutic experience, consider consulting with trained facilitators who can guide the preparation, journey, and integration stages of psychedelic use.
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Magic Mushrooms: 4 Tips For Avoiding Nausea
1. Prepare Your Mind and Body
Preparation is the single most important factor which holds the power to dictate the quality of your psychedelic experience.
Preparing your mind and body before the trip can significantly reduce the chances of experiencing nausea in ways that you may have not considered.
First, your state of mind directly affects your body, and it is likely no surprise to you that having pre-trip anxiety can impact the entire duration of your experience.
Ensuring you are in a positive and relaxed state of mind mitigates stress and anxiety which can exacerbate physical discomfort, digestive symptoms, and nausea. How to do that? By feeling adequately prepared through:
- engaging in calming activities, such as meditation or yoga,
- deep breath exercises,
- nourishing your body with fluids or nutritious foods; in this case, opt for foods rich in chitinase as they can help break down chitins—enzymes responsible for nausea; such foods include:
- bananas,
- avocados,
- chestnuts,
- kiwi fruits,
- papayas,
- tomatoes,
- corn.
Additionally, having a light meal prior to dosing can help support the system without burdening it or slowing it down. Eating a large meal or eating nothing at all can contribute to a nauseous feeling, although each person is different.
It’s important to listen to your body and not skip meals if you have specific dietary needs or health conditions. Find a balance that works for you, ensuring you have some sustenance while avoiding heavy or greasy foods that may contribute to nausea.
Lastly, choosing the right substance and dosage is worth mentioning as well, because taking too much or taking a substance that doesn’t agree with your unique body can greatly increase the risk for nausea and digestive issues.
2. Mushroom Tea
When it comes to psychedelic mushrooms, bypassing some of the “breakdown” process prior to ingestion can help alleviate some of the burden on our digestive system.
For instance, some people choose to dry the mushrooms and turn them into a powder in advance. Once it’s time to take a dose, adding the powder to warm water in the form of a tea is much gentler than simply ingesting mushrooms on a sandwich for instance.
Adding this simple additional step to preparing your psychedelic does some of the heavy lifting for your digestive system and can, in turn, reduce the chances of becoming nauseous.
3. Extended Chewing (Mastication)
Let’s say you don’t have enough time to dry out the mushrooms and turn them into a powder. Another option commonly used by psychonauts is simply chewing the mushrooms for a longer period of time.
Again, this begins the digestive process much earlier than if you were to simply ingest them immediately, because the additional grinding and exposure to saliva helps break down the components that may lead to nausea.
Our bodies are so incredible. We should really be doing this with all of our food, now that I think of it!
4. Lemon Tekking
Lemon tekking is a popular method used to prepare magic mushrooms for consumption, known for its potential to enhance the effects of psilocybin and reduce the likelihood of experiencing nausea.
By soaking the mushrooms in lemon juice or citric acid, this technique aims to facilitate the conversion of psilocybin into psilocin, the compound responsible for the psychedelic experience.
After the soaking period, the lemon tek mixture can be consumed. Some individuals prefer to strain the mushroom particles from the liquid before ingestion, while others consume the entire mixture.
Lemon tekking is believed to help reduce nausea by facilitating a more efficient conversion of psilocybin into psilocin before ingestion, potentially leading to a smoother and more enjoyable psychedelic experience.
You can read more about lemon tekking in our article about the top ways to consume therapeutic magic mushrooms.
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4 Tips for Managing Nausea During the Trip
If nausea does arise during your psychedelic experience, there are techniques you can employ to help alleviate it:
1. Ginger
This plant ally has been utilized and well-known for its anti-nausea properties for centuries. Ginger can help soothe and settle the stomach and has other health benefits as well.
Thanks to the natural component gingerol, the root works by “increasing the gastric tone and motility” and can alleviate stomach pain, gastric upset, indigestion, and nausea (Lete and Allue, 2016).
You can try ginger in various forms—such as ginger tea, ginger candies, or ginger capsules. If you are a true ginger-lover, you can even just chew up little pieces of raw ginger that have the peel removed.
2. Temperature Regulation
It’s not at all uncommon for journeyers to experience extreme fluctuations in body temperature during a ceremony.
Not only can feeling excessively hot or cold lead to additional stress, distraction, and discomfort, but it can also contribute to feelings of nausea and dizziness.
Whether it’s adjusting the thermostat, using blankets or fans, or applying an ice pack or hot water bottle, temperature regulation can help mitigate unwanted symptoms like digestive discomfort.
3. Relaxation Techniques
Feeling anxious, paranoid, hypervigilant, or stressed can actually manifest in physical symptoms of discomfort. If you haven’t had a panic attack (count your lucky stars), then you may not be familiar with just how much nausea and anxious energy are correlated.
Some of the best ways to stay calm are:
- deep breathing—slow, steady inhales and exhales that calm the nervous system and reduce stress,
- meditation—focusing the mind (on breath, sound, or simply awareness) to cultivate presence and mental clarity,
- positive visualization—mentally picturing uplifting or desired outcomes to shift mood and reinforce motivation,
- practicing surrender and acceptance—letting go of control, resisting less, and embracing situations as they are to reduce inner tension,
- deep belly breathwork—breathing deeply into the abdomen (not just the chest), which engages the diaphragm and increases relaxation,
- breathing into the diaphragm—similar to belly breathing, emphasizing expansion of the diaphragm to promote fuller oxygen exchange and calmness.
4. Avoiding Triggering Stimuli
Certain stimulation during a trip can actually increase feelings of nausea, because during an altered state, your senses are likely heightened to such a degree that a mere smell could either teleport you to heaven or immerse you in great discomfort.
If your trip takes place in a controlled environment, it is much easier to control potential exposure to triggering stimuli, but keep in mind that strong and pungent odors and certain visual patterns can also induce feelings of nausea.
Also, it might be best to lie back or relax in a posture that is stable. While moving can actually be a powerful tool for moving uncomfortable energy and sensations, if you have the spins, you may want to stay still until it has passed.
Why So Sick? Why Psychedelics Can Make You Feel Nauseated
Scientific Reasons
The exact mechanisms that cause nausea from psychedelics are not yet fully understood. One theory suggests that these drugs interact with serotonin receptors in the gut, leading to changes in digestive processes and the sensation of nausea.
Another theory suggests that nausea may be triggered by the overall sensory overload experienced during a psychedelic trip, such as increased somatic awareness, heightened perception, and feelings of sudden movement.
According to a 2016 review, “Stimuli giving rise to nausea and vomiting originate from visceral, vestibular, and chemoreceptor trigger zone inputs which are mediated by serotonin/dopamine, histamine/acetylcholine and serotonin/dopamine, respectively” (Singh et al.).
Practical Reasons
Many people believe that, in the case of magic mushrooms, the polysaccharide known as chitin is responsible, because it is indigestible and can trigger allergic-like and inflammatory reactions.
While chitin is typically broken down during the cooking process, many people avoid cooking psilocybin mushrooms as it can break down the psychoactive components.
Most likely, nausea arises as a combination of multiple factors, but the fact that psychedelics frequently induce these feelings makes sense due to their strong effects on serotonin receptors and hormonal pathways in the body.
While the exact cause remains uncertain, it is important to address and minimize the occurrence of nausea during a psychedelic experience, because we want a more pleasant and focused journey.
Speak With Our Psychedelic Concierges & Take The First Step
We at Psychedelic Passage aim to provide supportive services and resources for those seeking intentional psychedelic experiences and hope to have a safe, therapeutic experience. Our facilitators will guide you throughout your journey, making sure that it is as pleasurable and insightful as possible. They will help you mitigate the risk of feeling nauseous and provide you with guidance if such symptoms occur.
Book a consultation with us to get connected with our network of facilitators and begin your psychedelic journey with adequate support during not only the ceremony itself but also during the preparation and integration stages of the process, and avoid nausea, as well as other potential side-effects or a bad trip.
If you want to research more before your first psychedelic trip, look into our resources page, which has free articles and information on a wide array of psychedelic-related topics, ranging from psychedelic research to helpful how-tos and tips.
We hope this article alleviates some undesirable symptoms and helps you have a more positive, safe, and transformative journey!
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