Is Microdosing Making Us Numb?

Microdosing has become the wellness world’s quiet obsession - praised for enhancing focus, softening anxiety, and offering a subtle sense of elevation without the intensity of a full psychedelic trip. It’s gentle, it’s non-disruptive, and in many circles, it’s practically become a lifestyle.

But I find myself coming back to the same question:

Are we actually feeling more, or are we just numbing ourselves in more refined ways?

I talk to my clients about this often—the importance of building a grounded, stable foundation before turning to any kind of substance. If you don’t know how to sit with your emotions, hear your own intuition, or regulate your nervous system without enhancements, even something subtle like a microdose can easily become a crutch. You end up outsourcing your clarity, your creativity, your peace.

This is why I’ve always been drawn to Core Shamanism. In this lineage, no substances are used. Just rhythm, breath, intention and the drum. And honestly, some of the most profound journeys I’ve seen—real visions, real healing—have come from completely sober states. No plants, no shortcuts. Just deep presence.

I personally prefer—and so do many of my clients—to journey sober.

You have more control. You can come in and out of the journey quickly. You stay more grounded in your body. Integration becomes easier. You're less likely to get overwhelmed or dissociated, and the insights often land in a way that’s clearer and easier to work with in daily life.

At a recent event, someone shared quite strongly that “you can’t do any real inner work without taking a substance.” They felt that unless you were cracked wide open—shattered, even—you couldn’t access true growth. I get where that comes from. Psychedelics can be powerful disrupters of the ego. They can drop the mask, shake loose stuck patterns and push you past your defenses.

But they can also leave you raw, fragmented, and dependent on intensity as a marker for progress.

There’s something to be said for slow growth. For integration. For learning how to open gently - on your own terms.

My shaman once said to me,

“When you choose to take any kind of plant medicine, you have to remember—it has a spirit. So it’s not just your journey anymore. You’re journeying with the spirit of the plant. If you want to sit, and the spirit wants to dance, you can’t sit. You’re along for the ride, whether you like it or not.”

That always stayed with me.

It reminded me that these tools aren’t neutral. They come with energy, with direction, with intelligence. And while they can be deeply healing when used with reverence, they’re not meant to replace your inner work. They’re not meant to patch over what you’re unwilling to feel.

Some people numb with alcohol. Others numb with green juice and psilocybin capsules.

The question isn’t whether something is good or bad - it’s why we’re using it.

Is it bringing us into deeper connection with ourselves and others?

Or just helping us feel slightly less uncomfortable?

The real medicine is always presence. The rest is just support — when you’re ready, and when the spirit says yes.