Father John Misty Talks Microdosing on LSD For Depression, Anxiety

Father John Misty has joined a growing trend for dealing with depression and anxiety: microdosing on LSD. The former Fleet Foxes drummer opened up about his daily habit to Rolling Stone magazine in a new interview.

The indie musician, born Josh Michael Tillman, recently appeared as the musical guest on the March 4th episode of Saturday Night Live. When asked if he dropped acid before the performance, Misty replied, "Mm-hmm. It's just kind of like being a stoner. I'm not on a psychedelic journey all the time."

The singer goes on to address the ramifications of using acid. "The real danger was in the first time you take it. It can exacerbate pre-existing [conditions], like schizophrenia," Misty says. "I'm not ready to give it up. I think living is just a risk. In the next few years, we're going to start seeing the long-term effects of cell phones."

Misty says that the acid helps him with his depression and anxiety. He admits that therapists have recommended that he take medication to treat his conditions but this would require Misty to stop drinking, a vice he is "not ready to give up." Misty also revealed that he had taken acid three hours prior to being interviewed by Rolling Stone.

Last year, Misty talked to Rolling Stone about his experience taking a hero's dose of LSD and attending a Taylor Swift concert in Melbourne, Australia.

"I got my tour manager to get me some acid: 'This is written in the stars. I'm supposed to go take acid at this Taylor Swift concert.' I experienced the show like an eight-year-old girl—as much as that's possible for a 35-year-old man. It was holy. It was psychedelic. She fully impregnated my dilated soul with her ideology. I remember laughing uncontrollably. I remember going outside for a smoke and thinking, I need to get back in there."

Microdosing is the act of taking a very small amount of LSD or psilocybin mushrooms on a consistent schedule to improve mental health or access creativity—and it isn't exactly a new thing. The inventor of LSD, Albert Hofmann reportedly microdosed for the last 20 years of his life, according to the Huffington Post.

There is not a lot of evidence to suggest that the LSD or mushrooms can relieve mental illness, though it is becoming an underground sensation, according to the pioneering research of Dr. James Fadiman. The 76-year-old author of The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide, is accumulating his own research into the upsides of microdosing for those with mental illness and those who do it to access their creativity. The doctor has collected hundreds of testimonials from a self-reported study and many of the results have been positive.

"A number of people, by the time they’ve finished a month, say, 'I’m sleeping better, I’m eating more healthy food, I’ve returned to yoga and I’m doing meditation,'" he told HuffPost. "They’ve improved their relationship to their body―or their body has improved their relationship to them."