microdosing
/ˈmaɪkroʊdoʊzɪŋ/
CommonTaking a very small dose of a psychedelic substance, below the threshold of a full trip, for productivity or mental health benefits.
Clinical evidence is mixed. The practice sits in a legal gray zone in most places. The term is also used loosely for any very small dose of any substance.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | been microdosing for 6 weeks. creativity is up, anxiety is down. idk if it's placebo but i'll take it. | The speaker reports positive effects but acknowledges uncertainty about the cause. | reddit, 2024 |
| 02 | half of san francisco is microdosing and pretending it's a wellness routine | Poking fun at how normalized psychedelic use has become in tech culture. | x, 2023 |
| 03 | started microdosing to deal with burnout. two months in and actually want to go to work again. | The speaker credits microdosing with recovering motivation after burnout. | reddit, 2024 |
| 04 | the microdosing research is actually interesting but the wellness influencer version of it is embarrassing | Clinical research is legitimate; how it's marketed in wellness culture is not. | x, 2024 |
Use it when
- Describing the practice of taking sub-perceptual psychedelic doses.
- Discussing the trend of psychedelics in productivity and wellness culture.
- Referring loosely to taking a very small amount of anything intentionally.
Do not use it when
- You mean a full psychedelic experience.
- You mean taking a small dose of a supplement for testing purposes.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
The modern microdosing movement was largely shaped by James Fadiman's 2011 book 'The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide', which formalized protocols. Spread into Silicon Valley and mainstream wellness culture through the mid-2010s.
- First seen
- 2011
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/microdosingUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0