Can Psilocybin Mushrooms Cause Psychosis

Psilocybin mushrooms are often talked about as if their effects on the mind are always temporary and always safe. People describe visions, a changed sense of time, and a feeling of seeing the world in a new way, and then they describe coming back to normal a few hours later. For many people that is what happens. But for some people, something much more serious happens. Their grip on reality loosens and does not come back quickly. They hear voices that are not there. They believe things that are not true, and no amount of reassurance changes their mind. They become frightened, confused, and unable to tell what is real and what is not. This is psychosis, and psilocybin mushrooms can trigger it.

This article explains, in plain words, what psychosis is, how psilocybin affects the brain, why some people are at far greater risk than others, what an episode can look like, how long it can last, and what happens afterwards. It also explains what families can do when someone they love is in the middle of an episode, and why early help matters so much. This is general information only. It is not personal medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. If you or someone near you is losing touch with reality, or is in distress, seek urgent medical help. Do not wait to see if it passes on its own.

What Psychosis Means in Plain Words

Psychosis is not a single illness. It is a word that describes a state in which a person loses contact with reality. The two most common features are hallucinations and delusions. A hallucination is a perception that feels completely real but has no basis in the outside world: hearing a voice when no one is speaking, seeing something that is not there, or feeling as if someone is touching you when no one is. A delusion is a fixed belief that is not true, and that the person holds on to even when there is clear evidence against it. A person might believe that strangers on the street are following them, that their food has been poisoned, or that they have special powers or a special mission.

Psychosis also affects thinking and behaviour in other ways. Thoughts can become jumbled, so that speech is hard to follow and sentences do not connect in the usual way. Emotions can become flat, so that a person who is usually warm and expressive seems distant and empty. Or emotions can become intense and change quickly, from fear to anger to tears, without a clear reason. A person in psychosis may stop looking after themselves, may stop eating or sleeping properly, and may withdraw from the people they love. They may behave in ways that seem strange or frightening to others, but from inside the experience, their fears feel completely reasonable. That is what makes psychosis so difficult: the person does not know that their mind is misleading them.

It is important to understand that psychosis is an illness, not a choice, and not a sign of weakness. A person does not choose to hear voices or to believe things that are not true. Their brain is processing information in a distorted way, and they are living with the consequences. Blaming a person for psychosis, or telling them to simply snap out of it, does not help, and it can make them feel more alone and more frightened. What helps is calm, patient support, and professional medical care, given as early as possible.

What Psilocybin Does to the Brain

Psilocybin mushrooms contain a chemical called psilocybin, which the body turns into psilocin after they are eaten. Psilocin acts on the brain’s serotonin system, which is one of the main systems that controls mood, perception and the way the brain organises information. Serotonin helps the brain to filter what it takes in: to decide what is important, what can be ignored, and how different pieces of information fit together. When psilocin disturbs this system, the filter loosens. Sounds, colours and thoughts that would normally be kept in the background come forward. The boundaries between one idea and another become weaker. Time can feel stretched or compressed. The sense of self can feel thin or strange.

In a person whose brain is otherwise healthy, this loosening is usually temporary. The brain’s filter tightens again as the chemical leaves the body, and the person returns to their normal way of thinking, usually within hours. But in a person whose brain is already vulnerable, the loosening can go further, and it can last longer. The brain may not be able to restore its normal filter, and the distorted way of thinking can continue after the chemical has gone. This is the point at which a drug effect becomes a psychotic episode. The difference is not always clear in the moment, and that is part of the danger: a person and the people around them may not realise that the line has been crossed until the episode is well under way.

The brain also reacts to psilocybin through stress. A frightening or confusing experience can raise stress hormones, disturb sleep, and leave the brain exhausted. Sleep loss alone can make psychosis more likely in a vulnerable person, and psilocybin can cause a night or more of broken sleep. The combination of a disturbed serotonin system, high stress and poor sleep creates conditions in which psychosis can take hold. It is not a single cause, but a set of pressures acting on a brain that is already at risk.

Can It Trigger Psychosis?

The short answer is yes. Health agencies and research reports are clear that psilocybin mushrooms can trigger psychosis, and that the risk is real, even if it does not happen to everyone. The risk is highest for people who already have a mental health condition that involves psychosis, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, and for people who have a close family member with such a condition. For these people, psilocybin can bring on an episode that might not have happened otherwise, or it can bring one on earlier and more severely than it would have come on its own. Some people have their first episode of psychosis after taking psilocybin mushrooms, and they go on to develop a long-term mental illness that needs ongoing care.

It is also important to say that psychosis can happen to a person with no known history of mental illness and no family history. It is less likely, but it is not impossible. A person can have a vulnerability they do not know about, because it has never been tested before. The first time they take a substance that disturbs the brain’s filtering system, that vulnerability can show itself. There is no test that can tell a person in advance whether they are safe. A person who has taken psilocybin mushrooms before without a serious problem is not guaranteed to be safe the next time, because the strength of the mushrooms varies, and because stress, tiredness and other substances can change how the brain reacts.

The risk is also increased by how much is taken and by the setting. A larger amount disturbs the brain more strongly. A frightening or chaotic setting, with loud noise, unfamiliar people or a sense of danger, can increase fear and confusion, and can make a bad reaction worse. Mixing psilocybin mushrooms with alcohol, cannabis or other drugs adds further strain to the brain and makes the outcome harder to predict. None of these factors can be controlled reliably in advance, which is why the honest answer is not that psychosis is certain, but that it is a real and serious possibility that cannot be ruled out for any person.

What an Episode Can Look Like

An episode of psychosis does not always start suddenly. Sometimes it builds up over hours. A person may first become unusually quiet, or unusually talkative. They may seem distracted, as if they are listening to something no one else can hear. They may become suspicious of people they normally trust, or they may ask strange questions about whether someone is watching them. Their speech may become harder to follow, jumping from one topic to another without a clear link. Sleep may become impossible, and they may stay awake through the night, pacing or talking to themselves.

As the episode develops, the hallucinations and false beliefs can become stronger. A person may hear voices that comment on what they are doing, or that tell them they are in danger. They may believe that the television or the radio is sending them messages, or that people on the street are part of a plot against them. They may feel that their thoughts are being read, or that their thoughts are being put into their head by someone else. These beliefs feel completely real to the person, and arguing against them usually does not help. It can make the person more frightened, because from their point of view, the people who disagree with them are either lying or part of the plot.

Behaviour can change in ways that are frightening for families. A person may refuse to eat or drink, because they believe the food is poisoned. They may try to leave the house in the middle of the night, because they believe they are not safe. They may become aggressive, not out of cruelty, but out of fear, because they believe they are defending themselves. They may also become very still and withdrawn, staring at a wall and not answering when spoken to. Both extremes are signs of the same problem: the brain is no longer processing the world in a reliable way, and the person cannot find their way back to normal thinking on their own.

Hallucinations and False Beliefs

Hallucinations caused by psilocybin mushrooms are often described as part of the experience: colours become brighter, patterns move, sounds seem richer. But the hallucinations of psychosis are different in an important way. In a normal drug experience, most people know, at least partly, that what they are seeing is caused by the drug, and they expect it to end. In psychosis, that awareness is lost. The person believes that what they hear and see is real, and that it will not end. A voice is not an interesting effect. It is a real person speaking to them, with a real message. A shadow is not a trick of the light. It is a real person hiding in the room. This loss of awareness is what makes psychosis so frightening and so hard to live through.

False beliefs in psychosis can take many forms, but they often share a theme of threat or special importance. A person may believe that they are being followed by the police, or by a secret organisation. They may believe that their family has been replaced by impostors. They may believe that they have been chosen for a special mission, or that they have powers that no one else has. These beliefs are not the result of careful thought. They are the result of a brain that is connecting pieces of information in the wrong way, and then treating the wrong connection as certain. The more the person thinks about the belief, the more real it feels, because the brain keeps finding evidence that seems to support it, and keeps ignoring evidence that does not.

It is worth understanding that hallucinations and false beliefs do not always go away when the drug wears off. For some people they fade within a day or two, and the person is left shaken but able to think clearly again. For others they continue for weeks, and for a few they become the start of a long-term illness. The longer an episode lasts, the harder it can be to treat, and the more damage it can do to a person’s work, relationships and trust in their own mind. That is why it is so important not to assume that everything will be fine once the drug has left the body. If the false beliefs are still there the next day, the person needs medical help, not reassurance that it will pass.

Who Is Most at Risk

The people at greatest risk are those who already live with a psychotic illness, or who have had an episode of psychosis before. For them, psilocybin mushrooms are not a new risk but a known trigger. Their brain has already shown that it can lose its grip on reality, and a substance that disturbs the brain’s filtering system can bring that state back, sometimes more severely than before. Health professionals advise people in this group not to take psilocybin mushrooms at all, because the chance of harm is high and the harm can be lasting. This advice is not about judgement. It is about the way these brains work, and about the evidence that has been gathered over many years.

The next group at risk is people with a close family member who has schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or another psychotic illness. Mental illness runs in families, not because families cause it, but because the vulnerability to it can be passed down. A person whose parent or sibling has such an illness may carry the same vulnerability, even if they have never been ill themselves. They may have lived a normal life for years, and they may believe that they are safe because they have never had symptoms. But the vulnerability is still there, and a strong disturbance to the brain can bring it out. This is one of the saddest stories in this field: a young person who did not know they were at risk takes a substance, has a psychotic episode, and discovers the family vulnerability in the worst possible way.

Young people are also at greater risk, because their brains are still developing. The brain continues to mature into the mid-twenties, and the parts that control judgement, planning and the filtering of information are among the last to finish developing. A young brain is more sensitive to disturbance, and an episode of psychosis in a young person can interfere with education, work and relationships at a time when those things are being built. People who are already under stress, who are sleep-deprived, or who are going through a difficult time in their life are also more vulnerable, because stress and tiredness weaken the brain’s ability to keep its grip on reality. Adding psilocybin to that mix increases the risk further.

How Long an Episode Can Last

There is no fixed length for a psychotic episode triggered by psilocybin mushrooms, and that uncertainty is part of what makes it so frightening. For some people, the worst of it lasts for a few hours, and then the mind clears, although they may feel shaken, confused and exhausted for a day or two afterwards. For others, the episode continues for days, even though the drug has long since left the body. The person may still hear voices, or still believe things that are not true, long after the other effects have faded. For a smaller number, the episode lasts for weeks or months, and becomes a long-term mental illness that needs ongoing treatment.

The length of an episode depends on many things: the person’s underlying vulnerability, how much they took, whether they have had an episode before, and whether they get help quickly. Getting help early matters a great deal. When a person is seen by a health professional soon after the episode starts, treatment can begin sooner, and the episode is more likely to be shorter and less damaging. When help is delayed, because the person is alone, or because the people around them do not know what is happening, or because they are afraid to seek help, the episode can become more entrenched. The false beliefs can become stronger, the person can become more frightened, and the brain can become more used to the distorted way of thinking.

It is a mistake to assume that an episode will end on its own if you wait long enough. Sometimes it does, but sometimes it does not, and there is no way to know in advance which it will be. If a person is still showing signs of psychosis the day after taking psilocybin mushrooms, that is not a normal drug effect. It is a sign that medical help is needed. If the signs are still there after a few days, the need is urgent. The longer the delay, the harder the recovery can be, and the greater the risk that the person will lose their job, their studies, or the trust of the people around them.

What Happens After the Episode Ends

When an episode ends, the person does not simply return to how they were before. They are often exhausted, confused and frightened by what they have been through. They may remember the voices and the false beliefs clearly, and they may feel ashamed or embarrassed about what they said and did. They may worry that the people around them will think differently of them now. They may also feel a deep mistrust of their own mind. If their brain misled them once, how can they be sure it will not do so again? That question can stay with a person for a long time, and it can make them anxious about ordinary thoughts and feelings.

The practical consequences can also be serious. A person may have missed work or study, or may have said things to family and friends that damaged relationships. They may have spent money, or made decisions during the episode that they now regret. Rebuilding trust takes time, and it takes patience from everyone involved. The person needs to know that they are not being blamed for what happened, and that the people around them understand that the episode was an illness, not a choice. At the same time, families need support too, because living through someone else’s psychosis is frightening and exhausting, and it can leave its own scars.

For some people, the episode is a one-time event, and with proper care they recover fully and do not have another. For others, it is the start of a longer journey with mental illness. They may need medicine, talking therapy and ongoing support to stay well. They may need to avoid substances that can trigger another episode, including alcohol and cannabis as well as psilocybin. They may need to learn to recognise the early warning signs, such as poor sleep, increased suspicion or strange thoughts, so that they can get help before a full episode develops. Recovery is possible, but it is not always quick, and it is not always complete. The honest truth is that a single episode can change the course of a person’s life, and that change deserves to be taken seriously.

The Lasting Effects on Thinking and Trust

Even after the most obvious signs of psychosis have gone, some people find that their thinking is not quite the same. They may find it harder to concentrate, or harder to remember things. They may find that they are more easily confused, or that they take longer to make decisions. These changes are not always dramatic, but they can affect work and study, and they can make a person feel less confident in themselves. For a young person who is trying to build a career or finish their education, even a small change in concentration can have a large effect on their life.

Trust is another lasting effect, and it is often the hardest to repair. A person who has believed that their family was plotting against them, or that strangers were following them, may find it hard to trust those people again, even when they know, in a calm moment, that the beliefs were not true. The fear leaves a mark. Families can also find it hard to trust that the person is well again. They may watch for signs of another episode, and they may worry every time the person seems tired or quiet. This watchfulness comes from love, but it can feel like suspicion, and it can strain relationships that were already damaged by the episode.

There is also the effect on the person’s sense of self. Before the episode, they trusted their own mind. They believed that what they saw and heard was real, and that their judgements were sound. After psychosis, that trust is shaken. They may doubt their own perceptions, and they may worry that they are becoming ill again when they have an ordinary strange thought or a bad dream. This doubt can be exhausting, and it can make a person anxious about normal experiences. With time and support, most people learn to trust their mind again, but the process is slow, and it is helped greatly by honest information, by professional support, and by the patience of the people around them.

What Families Can Do

Families are often the first to notice that something is wrong, and they are often the people who have to decide what to do. The first thing is to stay calm. A person in psychosis is already frightened, and panic from the people around them can make the fear worse. Speaking in a calm, clear voice, using short sentences, and avoiding arguments about what is real and what is not can help. It is better to say, I can see that you are frightened, and I am here to help, than to say, That is not true, and you are imagining it. The first statement acknowledges the person’s feelings. The second dismisses them, and it can make the person feel more alone.

Safety is the next concern. If the person is a danger to themselves or to others, or if they are trying to leave the house in a distressed state, they need urgent help. Calling emergency services is the right thing to do, even if it feels difficult. Health professionals are trained to deal with psychosis, and they can provide the care that a family cannot provide on its own. It is also important to make sure the person is not left alone, and that they do not take more of any substance. If there are medicines in the house, they should be kept out of reach, and if the person is refusing food and water, that should be told to the health professional.

After the immediate crisis, families can help by learning about psychosis, by encouraging the person to keep their appointments with health professionals, and by being patient during the recovery. Recovery is not a straight line. There will be good days and bad days, and the person may need reassurance many times. Families also need to look after themselves. Watching someone you love go through psychosis is painful, and it is normal to feel frightened, angry or exhausted. Talking to a health professional, or to a support group for families, can help. A family that is supported is better able to support the person who is ill, and that is good for everyone.

My Take:

I will be honest with you about what I feel when I read about psilocybin mushrooms and psychosis, because this is the part of the story that frightens me most, and I think it should frighten anyone who takes these mushrooms lightly. The stomach effects I wrote about in the other article are painful, but they usually pass. Psychosis is different. It can change a person’s life. It can change how they think, how they trust, and how they live, for months or for years, and sometimes for the rest of their life. I do not think that risk is talked about enough, and I do not think it is taken seriously enough by the people who describe psilocybin mushrooms as safe and natural.

What troubles me most is the way the risk is hidden behind a cheerful story. People talk about insight, about healing, about seeing the world in a new way. They do not talk about the person who hears voices that will not stop, or the young man who becomes convinced that his family is plotting against him, or the student who loses a year of study because her mind will not settle. Those stories exist, but they are not shared as widely, because they are frightening and because they do not fit the story that these mushrooms are harmless. I think that is a failure of honesty. A person who is considering taking psilocybin mushrooms deserves to hear the whole truth, including the frightening parts, so that they can make a real choice, not a choice based on only half the information.

I think about the families most of all, because they are the ones who live with the consequences when an episode happens. A parent who watches their child become convinced that they are being followed, a partner who is accused of poisoning the food, a sibling who does not know whether to argue or to agree: these are painful, confusing experiences, and they leave their own wounds. Families often do not know what to do, and they often blame themselves, wondering whether they missed a warning sign or whether they should have done something differently. I want to say clearly that families are not to blame for psychosis. It is an illness, and it is triggered by a substance that affects a vulnerable brain. The family’s job is not to have prevented it. Their job is to help now, with calm, patience and professional support, and that is a hard job that deserves respect.

The question of who is at risk is one that stays with me, because it is so unfair. A person can do everything right, can be careful, can take a small amount in a calm setting, and still have an episode, because they carry a vulnerability they did not know about. A person whose parent has schizophrenia may not know that they are at risk, because the family never talked about it, or because the parent’s illness was hidden. A young person whose brain is still developing may not know that their brain is more sensitive than an older person’s. There is no fair warning system here. The risk does not announce itself in advance. It waits, and then it appears, and by then it is too late to undo it. That unfairness is part of why I take this so seriously. A risk that cannot be predicted is a risk that should be treated with great caution.

I also think about the word natural, because it is used so often to make psilocybin mushrooms sound safe, and I think it is misleading. A mushroom that grows in the ground is natural, but so is a poisonous plant, and so is a storm. Natural does not mean harmless. The brain is a delicate organ, and a natural chemical can disturb it just as badly as a chemical made in a laboratory. I wish people would stop using natural as a synonym for safe, because it gives people a false sense of security, and that false security can lead them to take a risk they would not take if they understood the truth. The truth is that psilocybin is a powerful chemical that changes how the brain works, and powerful chemicals carry real risks, whatever their origin.

There is a part of me that understands why people are drawn to psilocybin mushrooms. Life is hard, and people look for meaning, for relief from pain, for a new way of seeing their problems. I do not judge that longing. I judge the way the risks are hidden from the people who feel it. A person who is struggling with their mental health is already vulnerable, and they are the very person who is most at risk from a substance that can trigger psychosis. Telling such a person that psilocybin mushrooms will heal them, without telling them that the same mushrooms could make their condition much worse, is not kindness. It is the opposite. It is putting a vulnerable person in danger, and doing so with a promise that cannot be kept.

I think about recovery, too, because it is not a simple story of getting better and moving on. A person who has had a psychotic episode may recover, but they may also live with a fear that it will happen again. They may doubt their own thoughts. They may find it hard to trust the people they love. They may lose time at work or at study that they cannot get back. These are real losses, and they deserve to be counted as part of the harm. When people say that psychosis is a rare side effect, I think they are counting only the episodes themselves, and not the months of recovery, the damaged relationships, and the lost confidence that follow. The harm is wider than the episode, and it lasts longer than the episode, and I think that should be part of the conversation.

When I think about what I would say to a person who is considering taking psilocybin mushrooms, I would start with this: if you have a personal or family history of mental illness, do not take them. The risk is too high, and the harm can be too lasting. If you are young, if you are under stress, if you are not sleeping well, the risk is higher for you too, and you should think very carefully before taking that chance. And if you do not know your family history, or you do not know whether you carry a vulnerability, you should know that no one can tell you that you are safe, because no one can know. That is not a comfortable message, but it is an honest one, and I think honesty is what people deserve when the stakes are this high.

I also want to say something to the people who love someone who has had a psychotic episode. Your patience matters more than you know. The person you love is frightened, and they are living with a mind they cannot fully trust. They need to know that you are not going to leave them, and that you do not blame them for what happened. They need calm, clear support, and they need you to help them get professional care, even when they resist it. And you need support too. Watching someone go through psychosis is hard, and it is normal to feel exhausted and afraid. Asking for help for yourself is not selfish. It is part of looking after the person you love, because a family that is supported is better able to support the person who is ill.

Finally, I want to be clear about what I believe. I believe that psychosis is an illness, not a weakness, and that the people who experience it deserve compassion, not judgement. I believe that the risk of psychosis from psilocybin mushrooms is real, that it is highest for the people who are already most vulnerable, and that it cannot be predicted reliably for any person. I believe that the only safe choice for a person at risk is not to take these mushrooms, and that the only honest advice for anyone else is to understand the risk fully before they decide. I do not say this to frighten people for the sake of frightening them. I say it because the truth matters, and because a person who knows the truth can make a better choice than a person who has only heard half the story. The mind is precious, and it deserves to be protected with the same care we give to any other part of the body.

I also think about the people who have already had an episode and are trying to rebuild their lives. Recovery is not only about medicine and appointments. It is about learning to trust your own mind again, which is a slow and frightening process. A person may lie awake wondering whether a strange thought is a warning sign, or whether a bad dream means the illness is returning. They may avoid places or people that remind them of the episode. They may feel that their life has been divided into before and after, and that the after is smaller and less certain. I think we should acknowledge that loss, and not pretend that recovery means everything goes back to exactly how it was. For some people it does, and that is wonderful. For others, recovery means learning to live well with a new caution, and that is a real achievement that deserves respect.

There is also the question of what happens to a person’s work and study, which I think is often forgotten. An episode of psychosis can cost a person weeks or months. They may lose a job, or fail an exam, or drop out of a course, not because they are lazy or incapable, but because their brain would not let them think clearly. Getting back to work after that is hard. Employers may not understand. Fellow students may not know what happened. The person may feel that they have fallen behind, and that catching up is impossible. I think it matters to say that this is not the person’s fault, and that the time lost to illness is not time wasted. It is time spent surviving something very difficult, and surviving is not nothing. It is a great deal, and it should be counted as such.

The last thing I want to say is about hope, because I do not want this article to leave a person feeling that there is none. Psychosis is frightening, and it can be life-changing, but it is not the end of a life. Many people recover, with the right treatment and the right support, and go on to live full and meaningful lives. They work, they have families, they build new routines, and they learn to recognise the warning signs so that they can get help early if they need it. That hope is real, but it depends on getting help quickly, on taking treatment seriously, and on having people around who understand. I would rather a person heard the honest risk before they took psilocybin mushrooms, and never needed that hope, than heard it afterwards, when the hope is all they have left. Prevention is better than recovery, and honest information is the best prevention we have.

One more point I want to make is about the silence around this subject. People who have had a psychotic episode often do not talk about it, because they are afraid of being judged, or because they do not want to worry their families. That silence means that other people do not hear their stories, and so the risk stays hidden. I think breaking that silence, carefully and with respect for the people involved, would help a great deal. If more people understood what psychosis actually feels like, and how long recovery can take, they would think twice before taking a substance that can cause it. Honest stories, told by people who have lived through it, are worth more than any warning label, because they make the risk real in a way that statistics never can.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does Psilocybin Mushrooms psychosis last?

There is no fixed length. For some people the worst of it lasts a few hours and then the mind clears, although they may feel shaken for a day or two. For others it continues for days after the drug has left the body. For a smaller number it lasts for weeks or months and becomes a long-term mental illness that needs ongoing treatment. If signs of psychosis are still present the day after taking psilocybin mushrooms, that is not a normal drug effect, and medical help should be sought without delay.

Can Psilocybin Mushrooms cause psychosis?

Yes. Health agencies and research reports are clear that psilocybin mushrooms can trigger psychosis. The risk is highest for people with a personal or family history of psychotic illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but it can also happen to people with no known history. A person can carry a vulnerability they do not know about, and there is no test that can tell them in advance that they are safe. A larger amount, a frightening setting, poor sleep and mixing with other substances all increase the risk.

Can Psilocybin Mushrooms psychosis be treated?

Yes, psychosis can be treated, and getting help early makes a real difference. Treatment usually involves care from a mental health professional, and it may include medicine, talking therapy and support for the person and their family. The exact treatment depends on the person’s situation, and a health professional will decide what is right. If a person is in the middle of an episode, or is still showing signs of psychosis a day after taking psilocybin mushrooms, they should seek urgent medical help rather than waiting to see if it passes.

What is psychosis after Psilocybin Mushrooms?

Psychosis after psilocybin mushrooms is a state in which a person loses contact with reality after taking the mushrooms. The most common features are hallucinations, such as hearing voices that are not there, and delusions, which are fixed false beliefs, such as believing that strangers are following them or that their food has been poisoned. Thinking can become jumbled, emotions can become flat or change quickly, and the person may stop looking after themselves. Unlike the normal effects of the drug, psychosis does not always end when the drug leaves the body.

Who is at risk of Psilocybin Mushrooms psychosis?

The highest risk is for people who have a psychotic illness, or who have had an episode of psychosis before, and for people with a close family member who has schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or another psychotic illness. Young people are also at greater risk, because their brains are still developing. People who are under stress, who are sleep-deprived, or who are going through a difficult time are more vulnerable. Taking a larger amount, or mixing psilocybin mushrooms with alcohol or other drugs, increases the risk further.

What should families do during Psilocybin Mushrooms psychosis?

Families should stay calm, speak in a clear and gentle voice, and avoid arguing about what is real and what is not. It helps to say that you can see the person is frightened and that you are there to help, rather than telling them they are imagining things. Make sure the person is safe and not left alone, and do not let them take more of any substance. If they are a danger to themselves or others, or if they are very distressed, call emergency services or seek urgent medical help. After the crisis, encourage them to keep their appointments with health professionals, and seek support for the family as well.