Many people turn to nature for peace and wellness, such as going on hikes, spending time by bodies of water, or sitting in gardens. Others turn directly to nature’s products for a mind-altering experience, with psilocybin mushrooms being their top choice. Taking shrooms is often a different experience, causing rapid anxiety in first-timers when the effects start to unfold in their body. They may also feel surprised by taking more than intended or feeling dissatisfied with the effects and thus ingesting more, leading to an incredibly unpleasant experience.
There are many tales about shroom trips gone wrong often because users failed to consider how long shrooms take to kick in and take effect. It’s also important to know how shrooms work, their side effects, and what long-term use and abuse can lead to. Here’s what you need to know about shrooms:
Does the Amount Taken Affect How Long It Takes to Kick In?
The amount you take usually does not affect how long shrooms take to unfold. Whether you’re taking a microdose or more, it will kick in at the same time and will last you four to six hours. For this reason, it’s crucial to start with a low dose and go slow, especially if you’re taking it for the first time. Everyone processes shrooms differently, so even if you believe it hasn’t kicked in yet, it’s best to wait until about an hour. Don’t take a full dose based on your friend’s experience, as there is no telling that you’ll have the same trip they had.
Like other substances, you can build a tolerance to shrooms the more you take them. Over time, you’ll need to increase the dose for you to enjoy an intense experience, although the time it requires to take effect will not change whether you’re an experienced tripper or a first-timer. The distinction lies in an experienced tripper’s ability to detect the effects right away, allowing them to notice them sooner than a newbie. If it’s your first time taking shrooms or you haven’t taken them in a while, it’s best to start with a microdose.
How Long Does the High Last?
Shrooms take around 30 minutes to take effect if you eat them whole. However, the time it takes varies greatly, as you can start feeling the effects as quickly as ten minutes or as long as an hour. The effects intensify for two hours, causing you to peak three to four hours after taking it, and you start coming down four to six hours later. Many factors affect this: your body composition, how well you slept, what you ate and drank, and even the place you’re in when taking shrooms. For example, if you’re taking shrooms by yourself or with a friend in a quiet area, you’ll notice the effects unraveling faster since you’re more aware of what you’re feeling. Conversely, it will take longer for you to observe the effects if you take it at a party or festival since your environment is highly stimulating.
Sometimes, when shrooms kick in, the effects are so subtle that it takes a while to notice. You become mildly aware of a particular sensation in your body, or something in your vision starts to distort. If it’s your first time tripping, then you won’t notice its effects until something undoubtedly hallucinatory occurs. Feeling any anxiety or fear about shrooms’ effects will give you a bad trip and interfere with it kicking in, so it’s essential to be calm. How you consume shrooms also affects how long it takes to kick in; eating them whole will take longer than soaking them in hot water.
What Are Shrooms (Magic Mushrooms)?
Also known as magic mushrooms or shrooms, these mushrooms contain psilocybin, a naturally occurring hallucinogenic and psychoactive compound. They are usually found in the wild but have also been cultivated for their psychedelic effects. It’s important to note that many poisonous mushrooms resemble magic mushrooms, so it’s best not to pick them out in the wild. Some magic mushrooms are more potent than others; for example, the fly agaric mushroom is much more powerful than the liberty cap mushroom.
Some people assume that shrooms taste like culinary mushrooms, but that isn’t the case. They have an incredibly rubbery texture, making them chewy. They also have a pungent, earthy taste, so many people like diluting the flavor by putting them in tea or cooking them.
Shrooms are one of the most popular psychedelics and are classified as a Schedule I drug, which means that it has a high potential for abuse. As of writing, there are no accepted medical uses of shrooms in treatment settings.
What Are the Effects of Shrooms?
Shrooms have a host of physical and mental effects, although it also has long-term side effects that can alter someone’s personality. Extensively abusing shrooms has also led to organ damage and death.
When people begin to notice the effects of shrooms, it means that the amount of psilocybin in their blood has risen. Common physical effects include nausea, yawning, headaches, drowsiness, muscle weakness, dilated pupils, a feeling of heaviness, and increased heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature. Some people experience stomach discomfort, headaches, rapid breathing, and vomiting. On the other side, mental effects include nervousness, panic, euphoria, paranoia, psychosis, visual or auditory hallucinations, and a distorted sense of time, reality, and place.
When someone has a bad trip, they often experience unpleasant hallucinations, paranoia, anxiety, and fear. Meanwhile, an overdose on shrooms results in agitation, panic, paranoia, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle weakness, seizures, psychosis, or even a coma.
Can Drug Tests Detect Shrooms?
Given the many types of drug tests available, there isn’t any definitive answer. Still, most routine drug tests like urine tests cannot detect shrooms since most people’s bodies process and eliminate shrooms from their systems within 24 hours. However, trace amounts may remain for a week. Shrooms usually don’t show up on blood and saliva tests since the body metabolizes them too quickly. If the test was done a few hours after consumption, then it is likely to detect shrooms. Conversely, hair follicle tests can identify shrooms for up to 90 tests, although this test is costly, making it uncommon.
Since the body processes shrooms quickly, most people don’t need to accelerate it for a drug test. However, drinking plenty of water helps your body metabolize it faster, but it doesn’t dilute it significantly to affect the outcome of a drug test. Still, multiple variables make it difficult to determine how long it will stay in your system, so if you’re worried about a drug test, it’s best to avoid the substance altogether.
Conclusion
Shrooms are one of the most popular psychedelics due to the hallucinations it produces, distorting a person’s surroundings and making them feel like they’re on a different dimension. However, taking too much right away will often result in negative effects, causing paranoia, unpredictability, and anxiety that will greatly upset the user. By arming yourself with enough knowledge about shrooms, you’ll understand the risks of taking them and the resources available to you should you need help.
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