If you are someone who likes to have their senses stimulated, you might have heard of mushrooms. Magic mushrooms can play around with your senses as they contain psilocybin, which has an impact on the brain’s serotonin receptors. Increasing the serotonin levels brings about different changes in our perception. Even though they don’t play a major role in altering senses directly, they play a critical role in modifying our brain to external stimuli and producing more complex emotional reactions. Nowadays, there are even delivery services to ensure the magic mushrooms in Newfoundland, Quebec, or Ontario are delivered right to your doorstep. If you are thinking of trying them out, here is how they play with your senses.
Sight
Most people tend to think that hallucinations are common for mushroom users; this, however, is not necessarily true. Most of the things your eyes see whenever you are on mushrooms are but representations of what already exists in real life. The psilocybin, in particular, is what alters how you perceive the real things that already exist in your surroundings, and it’s your mind playing tricks on you.
Among the other things you might notice are colours appearing more vivid and seeing intricate details on plain surfaces or different shapes whenever your eyes are open or even when closed. The most important thing to realize is that psilocybin does not affect our eyes, but rather, it temporarily changes how your prefrontal cortex interprets the information that comes from your retinas.
Hearing
There are also enhancements to our hearing, and if you use mushrooms while you are outdoors in nature, you might become more attuned to nature’s surroundings. You will hear the birds more clearly, the wind blowing against the ground and leaves or the flowing of water. However, this isn’t relevant to how your brain works but how you process sounds and react to them emotionally. While under mushrooms, listening to your favourite music might have you noticing sounds you missed before and even connecting to the song in ways you haven’t before.
Taste
On this one, it is not uncommon to hear people saying that they feel their saliva tasting like molten sugar or syrup. Others have reported having a metallic taste in their mouth; thus, there isn’t a specific way to go about it. Instead, it depends on the individual, and when intensified, you might find yourself more likely to have the desire to eat more because your taste in food and drink isn’t what it used to be. However, you could also find yourself with little to no appetite, maybe because of the disgust you now may have for food.
Touch
Feeling the texture of the fabric might be a commonly known symptom of how mushrooms affect the sense of touch. This is because of the newly aroused sense of connectedness and heightened perception that has you intrigued or craving fuzzy surfaces like your pet, wood, or different fabrics. It is not because your sense of touch has changed but how your brain processes the stimuli. This field has not been fully explored yet, but researchers believe that psilocybin plays a key role in decreasing the brain wave response known as mismatch negativity, resulting in the feeling of either extreme unification or detachment from your body.
Smell
Effects on our sense of smell are not common, but it also does happen, and you will notice how smells become richer and stronger. This can either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the type of smell and what the mushroom user thinks of it. The smell of nice things like bread or freshly cut grass can make the user feel euphoric. However, terrible smells like dampness could lead to discomfort to the point where it results in vomiting or nausea.
The Takeaway
Mushrooms can give you a euphoric experience due to the way they affect your senses. Other factors that determine how mushrooms affect your senses include the dosage you take, individual disposition and the strain of the mushroom. People tend to try out different things to see what works for them.