Two hours into Alba’s psilocybin truffle session, the colors and patterns around the cabin have become vivid. She feels inwardly focused on her intention of self-compassion.
“I think I’m ready for the second dose,” she tells her coach, Lotte. Lotte confirms that Alba is comfortable.
Alba drinks the magic mushroom tea, trusting that it will deepen her work. But soon the visual distortions become extremely intense. The room begins to spin as Alba grabs the couch.
“Lotte, everything is moving so fast! I feel overwhelmed,” Alba says with panicked breaths. She feels the truffles taking over her.
“Try to breathe through the fear,” Lotte says calmly. “This reaction is temporary. Let go of controlling the experience.”
Alba concentrates on her breathing, but finds it difficult to let go. The second dose has catapulted the trip to an unpredictable intensity. She wishes she had just stayed with the intensity of the first dose.
Lotte lovingly guides Alba through her panic. Together, they help Alba learn from the challenging moments and embrace the journey.
Two hours earlier – Start of journey
Alba sits down on the soft couch in Lotte’s cozy cabin, ready to begin her first guided psilocybin truffle session. She plans to face her negative self-criticism with self-compassion.
Lotte prepared two doses – a medium cup of 10 grams and a boost of 5 grams. She suggests that Alba start with the 10 grams to get a feel for the effects before taking the remaining 5 grams. Alba thinks this is wise for her first guided trip.
After some grounding meditation, Alba grabs the 10 grams of tea and drinks it. The earthy taste upsets her stomach a bit, but Lotte reassures her. They chat lightly, do a guided meditation and put on music, while Alba waits for the effect to kick in.
About two hours later, Alba notices that the walls of the cabin are beginning to undulate softly. “How do you feel?” asks Lotte.
“It’s so beautiful,” says Alba, enchanted by the colors. She feels comfortable and ready to dive deeper. After consulting with Lotte, she takes the second cup, eager to continue the journey.
Thirty minutes after the second cup – Full lift-off
As the second dose takes effect, Alba finds herself in vivid visuals and a dreamlike state of mind. She feels overwhelmed and curious, feeling that this expanded state will allow deeper exploration.
“It’s so intense now!” shouts Alba to Lotte. “But I think I needed this intensity to look inward.”
Lotte nods, maintaining a calm, grounded presence that Alba can relate to. “Let the experience take you where you need to be,” she says. “I’m right here with you.”
Alba realizes that the moderate initial dose gave her body time to become comfortable before the effects intensified. She also has several extra hours to travel internally compared to taking just one dose.
The extra dose catapulted Alba into rich psychedelic territory. She carefully uses the extra time and perspective to face her critical inner voices. Alba shows compassion for these parts of herself rather than oppression.
Although the intensity feels frightening at times, Alba trusts that this deep dive will eventually bring more healing and self-discovery. She continues to surrender to the expansion of consciousness that the second dose has granted.
Another thirty minutes later – the flip side
An hour into the second dose, however, Alba begins to feel extremely overwhelmed. The visual distortions become so strong that she cannot keep her eyes open. Nausea engulfs her in waves.
“It’s too much,” she moans. “Make it stop!” Alba grips Lotte’s hand tightly, feeling uprooted and terrified.
Lotte speaks calmly and helps Alba through the panic. She explains that re-dosing psilocybin is unpredictable – the second dose can affect someone exponentially more than expected.
“Let’s try changing the music and doing the guided breathing exercise we’ve been practicing,” Lotte suggests. “I’m here with you, just breathe.”
With Lotte’s support, Alba’s distress gradually decreases. But she realized she had underestimated how unpredictably the extra dose could amplify the effects. The intensity had caught her off guard.
Lotte explains that beginners often start with one full dose to avoid this unpredictability. Although an additional dose extends the session, the exponentially stronger effects make the experience less manageable.
Alba notes that for future sessions, she will likely start with the full desired amount rather than adding an initial half dose. The unpredictability poses unnecessary risks.
While re-dosing psychedelics such as psilocybin truffles during a session can offer certain benefits, there are also significant, unpredictable risks to remember.
Potential benefits of re-dosing are:
- Gives more time to explore the psychedelic landscape
- Doesn’t have to start with a large dose right away
- Provides a “boost” to intensify the effects
However, re-dosing also carries risks, such as:
- The increased dose may be exponentially stronger than expected
- Unpredictable intensification of psychedelic effects
- Increased risk of anxiety, confusion or bad trips
Starting with one full dose is generally recommended over re-dosing a smaller amount for first-timers or occasional users. The intensified unpredictability of a second dose makes the experience much more difficult to manage.
Good support during each additional dose is also critical in case responses become challenging. Although extending the duration of a session is attractive, re-dosing requires caution given the enhanced psychological effects.
One final note about re-dosing magic mushroom tea: Do not re-dose with the same cup you used for the first dose. The truffles (or magic mushrooms) that were in the tea (and are still in the cup) may not have “released” all the psilocybin, and instead of adding an additional 5 grams, add the equivalent of, say, 10 grams (i.e., equal to or more than you had in the first dose). Also, psilocybin content varies greatly between batches, so (as a guideline) mix as much together as possible to get the (psilocybin content) as consistent as possible.
[this story is a combination of experiences of our coaching clients, told through the eyes of Alba, one of the characters who explains psychedelics through stories].
