Microdosing magic mushrooms in my 40s made me a better mother, says MOLLY GUNN – and here’s how to tell which of the school mums are adding it to their morning coffees…
The first time I tried magic mushrooms was when I was 23, in the early 2000s. It was a time when it was legally available to buy and my flatmates bought some from Brick Lane in London.
I took a few small beer-washed mushrooms, but… instead of happily drunk, I felt groggy and my girlfriend’s face turned bright green.
I can still remember him like a cartoon character. So I went to lie down and never tried the mushrooms again; I treated them as ‘been there, done that’ life experiences.
Until 2019, when I was 41 years old and a mother of three children. It was a sunny bank holiday and I was offered a drop of mushroom oil at the barbecue at a fabulous pool party hosted by a neighbor in Somerset.
The ‘oil’ was a mushroom tincture, a brown liquid in a small brown glass bottle, that a friend had bought from a shaman in Glastonbury.
The sun was shining, morale was high, the organic pool was cool, and my middle-age fellow school board parents drinking drops in front of me looked like the embodiment of pleasure. I wanted what they had and I said, ‘Why not?’ I said.
My friend told me to remove the back of my hand and put a tiny brown dot of ‘mushroom oil’ on it using a pipette from a glass bottle.
She told me to lick it, and it tasted so bitter and earthy that I immediately washed it down with wine. This time no one’s face turned green.
Molly Gunn (pictured) thought she would never try ‘magic’ mushrooms again after a bad experience when she was 23; but then her parent friends at school introduced her to ‘mushroom oil’ in 2019.
On the contrary, as the afternoon progressed, everyone took on a hazy glow. I kept laughing a little harder than usual and felt a slight buzz. This was a beautiful experience!
It’s something I found myself repeating over and over again during the summer of 2019. It was a gorgeous summer, colored with mushroom glow. Most of the time the experience was light, gorgeous and warm.
Only once did I take too many drops – at a mini festival – and my husband had to look after me like I was the fourth child.
Yes, my children were also at the festival. As the amusement park around me grew threatening, I clung to my husband like a koala and sat quietly on the way home.
I know my limits now, but people often say that mushrooming is all about ‘preparation and setting’.
The set is who you are with, the setting is your location. To truly enjoy them, it is necessary to take them correctly.
My preference was to make a drop mushroom at home or at a close friends house. I’ve taken a drop of mushroom oil many times when my kids are around, and I’ve even taken a drop before sitting down to watch TV.
This may sound crazy to those who have never dealt with mushrooms (because mushrooms are a Class A illegal drug), but I can say that I am a caring, hands-on mother to my three children, ages 15, 12 and eight.
Molly believes microdosing mushrooms helps her feel more attuned to her children’s needs
My children are all happy and successful, and yes, they know their mother’s past habits. I’m not the only one, in London, Bristol and even the US, where there’s a community called Mushroom Mums, there’s a trend for middle-aged parents to dabble in mushrooms.
Although gin is called ‘Mother’s Bane’, it turns out that mushrooms are much less potent than alcohol when taken in moderation.
In fact, I preferred cork to drinking wine during the week, because a drop of cork oil makes a nice splash, but is much healthier and better for the liver!
That’s why I often kept a bottle on hand during the summer months so I could microdose instead of consuming alcohol. (Personally, I’m surprised that alcohol is still legal, but that’s a topic for another time).
Microdosing means taking a small amount, and if you take a drop every few days, it can bring a sense of calm and happiness.
I have definitely noticed that I worry less and am more attuned to the beauty of nature and the world.
I found myself walking smiling as I gazed at treetops rustling in the wind or a bee buzzing around a flower.
I felt attuned to my children’s moods and often found myself staring at the beautiful creatures I had birthed.
This may sound very hippy, and maybe it’s because of the Somerset ley-lines, but a drop of mushrooms helped me slow down and enjoy life, rather than rushing and being busy all the time. For this mother of three, that’s worth its weight in gold.
