Microdosing for Nervous System Recovery

At this moment, it’s estimated that nearly 4% of the world's population has an autoimmune condition.

In the U.S, it’s estimated that between 24 to 50 million people are suffering, with women accounting for over 80% of those diagnoses. The UK shows similar results with around 10% of the population estimated to be weathering through their chronic conditions.

Most of them have been told the same thing by their doctors: manage your symptoms, take your meds, don't expect to ever fully “get better”. We think that's only half the story.

In November, we brought together functional health and mental health experts Rome Shadanloo and Brendan Vermeire for an honest, science-informed conversation about microdosing and autoimmune healing.

Whether you're navigating your nervous system healing, struggling with an autoimmune condition, or you’re a practitioner supporting someone who is, here’s the most impactful takeaways to carry with you moving forward.👇

🧠 What The Science Says (And What It Doesn't… Yet)

Brendan brought the necessary rigor to this conversation, and we're grateful for it.

Currently, we don't have randomized controlled trials for psilocybin and autoimmunity. However, we do know the biological reasons why it might work:

🔬 Psilocybin appears to have immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory effects
 🧬 It does this by modulating the gut-brain axis and microbiome composition, promoting neuroplasticity and neurotrophic activity.

As Brendan put it:

"Psychedelics don't put anything in you. They just reveal the truth that's already there, kind of epigenetically, if you will."

Microdosing isn't forcing a chemical outcome, it's opening a window. What you do in that window is where the real healing begins.

💭 The Healing Power of Being Believed

For many people with autoimmune conditions, the hardest part is often being misunderstood or even facing doubt from the members of society who are supposed to support them.

Seeking out people who believe your story is an incredibly important step in your healing journey.

Acknowledging your pain is the first step to integrating it and having someone listen to your story earnestly might be an antidote for some of the deepest wounds. 

As our co-founder Paul F. Austin noted during the conversation: 

"A lot of folks see an autoimmune diagnosis as locked in. No hope. And yet what we're seeing with psychedelic medicine is that people are actually healing."

⚡️ The Body Keeps The Score, Sometimes As Inflammation

Autoimmune conditions don't exist in a vacuum, they're incredibly isolating. That isolation creates a feedback loop: the sicker you feel, the harder it is to reach out, and the more alone you are, the harder it is to heal.

"Part of the reason people get sick is that they don't feel safe enough to process emotions in real time within their own body." - Rome

Unprocessed emotional experiences don’t just disappear, they often settle into the body as chronic inflammation and immune dysfunction.

🌳 Your Foundation Matters More Than The Protocol

Tempted to use microdosing as a shortcut? Brendan would tell you that tends to backfire.

"What you eat matters, how you live your life, exposure to environmental toxins, adverse childhood experiences, inflammation at a young age- it all matters."

Brendan’s work includes supporting clients and health practitioners navigating complex chronic health challenges, including mold exposure, which underscores how deeply environment shapes immune health.

The takeaway: don't overwhelm yourself trying to change everything at once. Incremental shifts in nutrition, mindset, movement, and environment let your body adapt. Let microdosing guide the process, don't use it as a blunt instrument.

Microdosing is a catalyst for change, not a cure all.

🕰️ Your Nervous System May Still Be Living in the Past

Unfortunately for most of us, our nervous system may struggle with its sense of time.

If your body learned at some point that the world wasn't safe, whether through trauma, chronic stress, or a toxic environment, it will keep responding as if that's still true until it's fully integrated.

The physical threat might be gone however, the immune system just doesn't get the memo. It will keep on fighting to protect you. How… sweet?

The question worth sitting with: what is your body still protecting you from?

😬 "It's not working!"

Rome hears this typically when people are first starting their journey. Often, a client of hers will insist that the microdosing protocol isn't “doing anything” meanwhile intense emotions like rage, grief, or fear are rising to the surface.

That is the medicine working.

The body stores trauma for years, sometimes decades. Microdosing has a way of slowly but surely bringing it forward to be processed. Pushing those emotions away will stall the very healing you're after. As Rome describes it: 

"When you're microdosing, it's like having a doctor inside of you, subtly steering you away from the foods, people, and patterns that aren't serving you."

Trust the process, even when healing doesn't look how you think it “should”.

❤️ The Real Medicine is Community

"The medicine of psilocybin leads you to the real medicine- community, and the wisdom of what your body needs." - Rome

Cultures that have worked with mushrooms for thousands of years understood something our clinical trials are still catching up to: this is a relational medicine. It works through your connections. It shows you who and what is worth staying close to.

One Last Thing…

None of this works without honesty, especially with self. If you're carrying unprocessed grief, avoiding hard truths, or pushing through instead of feeling through- the protocol only goes so far. The medicine meets you where you are.

The more honest you show up, the more it has to work with.

Rome said it best: "The best thing for a nervous system can be a human being. And the worst thing for a nervous system can be a human being."

Real healing rather than just symptom management, may be possible for far more people than conventional medicine currently acknowledges. 

🎥 Watch the Full Webinar Replay

We've only scratched the surface here. The full conversation is available:

💬 Has microdosing impacted your health?

We want to hear from you. Reply to this email and share your story, autoimmune or otherwise. These are the voices that move this movement forward.

🍄 Join our Giving Circle

If you’ve benefited from microdosing, or believe in a future where people can legally and safely access it, we invite you to become a monthly supporter.

Our Giving Circle makes it easy to support microdosing legalization through small, consistent contributions. Giving Circle has partnered with impactful nonprofits like Selena Gomez’s Rare Impact Fund, and we’re grateful for their support as we grow the microdosing movement.

- With love from team Microdosing Collective 🍄

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DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered a replacement for professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes. The Microdosing Collective does not promote the use of any illegal substance. Please be aware that the use, possession, and distribution of psychedelic substances are illegal in many countries and could lead to legal consequences.