When she’s stressed out, she microdoses mushrooms to help her relax. “They really give you a sense of peace,” she says. “You feel so much better.” Her first time using mushrooms was during a difficult divorce, while her kids were young. “I wanted to get out of the house and be a good mom.”

But while many people are turning to achat champignon magique as a way to ease stress, experts warn that it’s not without risk. While the mushroom itself contains very little of the psychoactive chemical psilocybin, it does activate a neurotransmitter called 5-HT2A, which affects serotonin receptors in the brain and can cause altered states of consciousness.

Tiny Triumphs: Exploring the World of Magic Mushroom Microdosing for Mindful Living

In small observational studies, psilocybin has been shown to improve mood and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. Those studies also showed that people who used mushrooms on a regular basis reported smaller but more pronounced decreases in stress, depression and anxiety compared to those who did not use the mushrooms.

But despite the growing interest in the practice, scientific research on the subject remains sparse. A few researchers are working on the problem, including a UCSF psychiatrist named Alex Woolley who is running one of the first clinical trials to test the effects of naturally-derived botanical psilocin on healthy people outside of a lab setting. He plans to use larger “macro” doses of mushrooms along with talk therapy. But he is also planning to pair the mushrooms with other putatively therapeutic fungi, like lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus; HE) which promotes neurogenesis and stimulates nerve growth. Some people who microdose mushroom report combining them with niacin, which works as a flushing agent and pushes the fungus and psilocybin through the brain and blood barrier more quickly – a process known as stacking.