In my master’s thesis, I explore the practice of microdosing psychedelics among emerging adults, who use this approach as a form of self-help to alleviate their psychosocial distress. The theoretical part of the research first introduces key theoretical frameworks to better understand the topic. Initially, I discuss young adults transitioning into adulthood in modern society, focusing on societal changes, such as individualization, that have influenced contemporary understandings of biographies and life courses. Within this social context, I conceptualize mental health and mental health disorders among youth and present both social and individual factors for managing these challenges. I also examine the phenomenon of medicalization and explain how this paradigm relates to the use of substances, both legal and illegal. Special attention is given to the illicit use of drugs among young people, which includes the practice of microdosing. To provide a deeper understanding of this concept, I explore psychoactive substances, with a particular emphasis on psychedelics, and their use as coping strategies by young people to alleviate distress, while highlighting both the protective and risk factors, associated with substance use. The section concludes with a review of existing studies on psychedelic microdosing, offering insights into the current body of knowledge on the topic.
The aim of the empirical section is to gain a deeper understanding of how emerging adults experience their distress and their need for help. It also seeks to explore how participants describe microdosing psychedelics, including its characteristics, motivations, and effects, as a form of self-help in addressing their challenges, and how they describe their experiences with this practice. This section presents qualitative findings obtained from eight participants, aged 20 to 29, through semi-structured interviews. The data reveal that young adults in this transitional period associate their distress with the modern societal context and normative age-related pressures, which create uncertainty about their future. In response, they adopt various coping strategies, ranging from constructive to unconstructive approaches, including drug use, while emphasizing the importance of social support. Microdosing is perceived as a highly individualized practice with varying protocols and schedules. Participants most commonly use sub-perceptual doses of the psychedelics LSD and psilocybin mushrooms, noting differences in their effects. They cite multiple motivations for engaging in this practice, primarily emphasizing its role in alleviating personal distress in daily life. Most interviewees report positive experiences, viewing microdosing as a significant form of support in their lives, though they also acknowledge its limitations. For the majority, microdosing provides beneficial effects across psychological, social, cognitive, personal, physical, and spiritual domains. However, they also note negative effects, primarily related to unintentional overdosing of microdoses.
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