Book SummaryHow to Change Your Mind, by Michael Pollan

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of How to Change Your Mind

Did magic mushrooms contribute to making us human? In How to Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan explores the potential of psychedelics for mental health treatment and discusses the cultural and social implications of these substances. He traces their history, from their use by indigenous cultures for spiritual and healing purposes to their prohibition by the US government in 1970. Pollan focuses most of his attention on two specific psychedelics—LSD and psilocybin, also known as “acid” and “magic mushrooms,” since these two substances have had the biggest impact on modern Western culture.

After exploring the complex and troubled history of these substances, Pollan examines the recent resurgence of scientific interest in psychedelics, as researchers have begun to explore their potential to treat depression, addiction, and other mental health issues. He also delves into the complex legal and cultural issues surrounding psychedelics and considers what their re-emergence might mean for our society as a whole.

Michael Pollan is an author, journalist, and professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. He is best known for his books The Omnivore’s Dilemma and _[In Defense of...

How to Change Your Mind Summary Part 1: The History of Psychedelics

First, we’ll begin with a definition and brief history of psychedelics. The word “psychedelic” means “mind manifesting.” Coined in 1957, it’s a relatively recent term, but humans' relationship with these substances is hardly new. Psychedelics are sometimes referred to by anthropologists as entheogens, which is derived from the Greek “god within,” and they are also commonly called “hallucinogens.” Pollan explains that anthropologists and other scholars generally shun the latter term, however, because of its implication that the experiences caused by these substances are not real.

What Are Psychedelics and How Are They Used?

The term “psychedelics” is typically used to refer to chemicals or plants that have psychoactive (mind-altering) properties when ingested by humans. These substances can create profound changes in perception, thought patterns, and mood. Examples include psilocybin (found in “magic mushrooms”), LSD, DMT, ayahuasca, mescaline, and many others—some of which are synthetic while others occur naturally.

Although [psychedelics are generally safer than most other types of...

How to Change Your Mind Summary Part 2: The Science of Psychedelics

Let’s turn now to a discussion of what recent research has found about how psychedelics work, both in terms of the subjective psychological experiences they trigger and their physiological effects on the brain.

There is now mounting scientific evidence that psychedelics have the potential to treat mental health problems that can be otherwise treatment-resistant. Pollan tells us that two recent studies have shown an 80% success rate in the alleviation of anxiety and depression among cancer patients. Similar results have been achieved with studies using psychedelics to treat addiction. These kinds of success rates, he says, are unprecedented with any other form of treatment. But how do they work?

Unlike other pharmaceutical treatments, Pollan explains that with psychedelics it may not necessarily be the chemical reaction in the brain that’s therapeutic but the experience resulting from it. And that experience isn’t centered on the “visions” the subject has, but on the revelations they have from those visions. In this section, we’ll look at how psychedelic experiences are described, as well as what researchers have learned about what’s going on in subjects’ brains to...

How to Change Your Mind Summary Part 3: The Social and Cultural Implications of Psychedelics

Pollan explains that, in addition to individual mental health uses, psychedelics have important social and cultural implications for human society—in the past, present, and future. Psychedelics may have contributed to our cognitive and spiritual evolution and have the potential to better our world. In this section, we’ll discuss the ways that psychedelics could have helped early hominids to evolve into the self-aware homo sapiens we are today, as well as how these substances could help get us out of some of our modern messes.

(Shortform note: The oldest known evidence of humans using psychedelic mushrooms comes from a cave painting at Tassili N’Ajjer in Algeria, dating from around 7,000 to 9,000 years ago. Known as the Tassili Mushroom Figure, this artwork depicts what scholars believe to be a shaman dancing with hands full of mushrooms. This indicates the use of these mushrooms for ceremonial purposes, providing further evidence that they were likely a psychoactive variety.)

The Stoned Ape...

Shortform Exercise: Examine Your Assumptions About Psychedelics

One of the biggest challenges with reviving the use of psychedelics is the stigma that remains in the popular imagination as a product of the 1960s counterculture.

Before reading this guide, what stereotypes did you associate with psychedelics? Are they different for magic mushrooms as opposed to LSD? If so, how?