My sister is schizophrenic, should I take psychedelics?

[Metaman]

I'm a 20 year old university student with a fairly stable life.

Loving girlfriend, Healthy diet, Gym 5x per week, passionate about my studies and know what I want to do.

I first started delving into psychedelics a couple months ago. (I microdosed magic mushrooms a few times, nothing major).

Last night I took my first proper dose of mushrooms, (Absolutely amazing, blew my mind and changed some of my behaviours, I won't go into details lol).

I want advice regarding how I should take my mushrooms (If any at all). Given my sibling has and is suffering with schizophrenia (it comes and goes).

Should I space out my sessions between a couple months? (What I planned on doing).

Should I wait until I'm 25 and my brain has fully developed before taking this stuff? Or should I not touch it at all due to the risks of developing neurodivergent conditions (schizophrenia, bipolar etc)?

 

I honestly want to keep taking this stuff for self-development reasons because last night I realised a lot of truths I was avoiding and have subsequently changed my behaviour and intentions in positive ways after the session. Appreciate any replies! 

Edited Wednesday at 12:01 PM by Metaman

[Twega]

No one can confidently reassure you that it's fine for you to take it, given that you may be genetically susceptible to developing schizophrenia (even without taking anything). But, most definitely, taking psychedelics can potentially trigger it. Since schizophrenia usually develops early in your 20's.

 

My advice would be to not take any substance, even alcohol or stimulants can potentially be a trigger. Until you're at least 30, not even 25.

 

It really sucks, I know. This isn't because im anti-drugs, im not. But the potential risk is very very serious. So I want you to be safe.

 

Hopefully and most likely, you will find out that you weren't susceptible to developing schizophrenia, and you never will. Just because your sister has it doesn't guarantee you will, because while Schizophrenia has a strong genetic component, it is not caused by a single gene. Instead, it is a highly polygenic disorder: large genome-wide association studies have identified hundreds of genetic loci that each contribute a small amount to risk 

 

That's why there's no one that can reassure that you will or won't develop it with confidence. So its best to be safe and wait a decade. The risk while low, its consequence are severe. Be safe, and wait.

[Leo Gura]

Keep your doses low, don't take often, and monitor yourself for signs of mental destablization after trips. If your mind starts to destabilzie or your baseline state of consciousness starts to become weird, discontinue use.

[Thought Art]

I wouldn’t 

[Metaman]

51 minutes ago, Twega said:

No one can confidently reassure you that it's fine for you to take it, given that you may be genetically susceptible to developing schizophrenia (even without taking anything). But, most definitely, taking psychedelics can potentially trigger it. Since schizophrenia usually develops early in your 20's.

 

My advice would be to not take any substance, even alcohol or stimulants can potentially be a trigger. Until you're at least 30, not even 25.

 

It really sucks, I know. This isn't because im anti-drugs, im not. But the potential risk is very very serious. So I want you to be safe.

 

Hopefully and most likely, you will find out that you weren't susceptible to developing schizophrenia, and you never will. Just because your sister has it doesn't guarantee you will, because while Schizophrenia has a strong genetic component, it is not caused by a single gene. Instead, it is a highly polygenic disorder: large genome-wide association studies have identified hundreds of genetic loci that each contribute a small amount to risk 

 

That's why there's no one that can reassure that you will or won't develop it with confidence. So its best to be safe and wait a decade. The risk while low, its consequence are severe. Be safe, and wait.

Appreciate the advice, I have been clean off alcohol for 2.5 years now after trying it out in my high school days. I haven't done anything except the psychedelics recently. While certainly annoying being unable to take it, probably for the best.

 

If I do end up taking it in the future I will certainly stick with low doses While spacing out sessions. It probably wasn't very wise to jump from micro to full doses of shrooms at once. 

Thank you for the reply. 

[Metaman]

32 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Keep your doses low, don't take often, and monitor yourself for signs of mental destablization after trips. If your mind starts to destabilzie or your baseline state of consciousness starts to become weird, discontinue use.

I'll take this route after waiting a few years for my brain to fully develop. May even be more beneficial once I mature more.

Thanks for the reply. 

[Twega]

3 minutes ago, Metaman said:

Appreciate the advice, I have been clean off alcohol for 2.5 years now after trying it out in my high school days. I haven't done anything except the psychedelics recently. While certainly annoying being unable to take it, probably for the best.

 

If I do end up taking it in the future I will certainly stick with low doses While spacing out sessions. It probably wasn't very wise to jump from micro to full doses of shrooms at once. 

Thank you for the reply. 

Yeah, and if you will take it, as Leo said, monitor yourself closely for signs, stick to low doses, and space them out.

 

But best to wait, since you're still very young

Edited Wednesday at 03:57 PM by Twega

[Salvijus]

Find another hobby. 

[Breathe]

I wouldn't fuck with it dude.

It ruined my high school girlfriend's life. She was healthy and intelligent just like you.

[Yimpa]

Your question is perplexing me, as you already did take psychedelics. Did taking it reveal that your sister has schizophrenia, or did you already know that prior to tripping? 

[Flowerfaeiry]

Fuck around and find out  just kidding

[ExploringReality]

When you trip around your sister, you may become hyper sensitive to feelings and energy. Stay calm and don't feed into the psychology of the transference.

[Metaman]

On 24/04/2025 at 9:02 AM, Yimpa said:

Your question is perplexing me, as you already did take psychedelics. Did taking it reveal that your sister has schizophrenia, or did you already know that prior to tripping? 

Already knew prior to the trip. 
 

I took a risk and wanted to see what a trip is like. (After micro dosing at first to see if I react adversely).

got great self-development benefits from the trip. But Ofcourse I wanted advice regarding if I should keep doing it, or how long I should space trips to minimise my risk. 
 

decided I’m stopping for now. Until I’m older and more mature. 

[Schizophonia]

There is no link between schizophrenia and psychedelics.

I've even heard of people reversing symptoms of psychosis with microdoses of LSD.

Just because a drug makes you trip doesn't mean it'll make you psychotic; schizophrenia is linked to low metabolism in certain regions of the brain.

In fact, it's essentially more like delirium, like dementia, than a psychedelic trip.

Edited yesterday at 06:42 PM by Schizophonia

[Breathe]

1 hour ago, Schizophonia said:

There is no link between schizophrenia and psychedelics.

I've even heard of people reversing symptoms of psychosis with microdoses of LSD.

Just because a drug makes you trip doesn't mean it'll make you psychotic; schizophrenia is linked to low metabolism in certain regions of the brain.

In fact, it's essentially more like delirium, like dementia, than a psychedelic trip.

That's a pretty bold statement. Do you have any sources?

[Breathe]

I've had psychosis from mushrooms. DMT is another one that isn't good for me. LSD all day no biggie.

[Schizophonia]

43 minutes ago, Breathe said:

That's a pretty bold statement. Do you have any sources?

I read a study several years ago.
I'm open to contradictions. 👍

 

[Breathe]

Yeah me too. I had a therapist friend that would not do psychs because psychosis ran in her family. I've experienced it for a couple of days after a lot of mushrooms. And my GF was fucked for life. Haven't done much research myself on it though.

Edited 19 hours ago by Breathe

[Yimpa]

Imagine taking me, I'm a psychedelic