'I had depression and my marriage was almost destroyed. Then I started taking LSD.'

Author Ayelet Waldman says a month-long “microdosing” experiment with LSD helped her out of a deep depression and made her “happy” again.

Ahead of the experiment, the Californian mother of four was so low that she felt her marriage was being destroyed and she found herself searching ‘the effects of suicide on children’ online.

She had tried a host of traditional treatments, therapies and prescription medications.

But after the 52-year-old started to regularly take “one 10th of a typical dose” of the psychedelic drug every two days she started to feel “normal” again.

The former attorney documented her experiences in her new book A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage and My Life.

"I’m not giddy or frantic or zoned out with bliss," she writes.

"I feel no transcendent sense of oneness with the universe or with the divine. On the contrary, I feel normal, well except for one thing - I’m content and relaxed. I’m busy but not stressed. That might be normal for some people but it isn’t for me."

Waldman wasn't looking for a trip when she got a small bottle of diluted LSD from a friend of a friend.

Some believe taking small amounts of LSD, known as "microdosing", can enhances brain functionality, happiness and productivity.

However, doctors are warning that the evidence so far is anecdotal.

'I didn't hallucinate.'

The Californian said the amount of LSD she took was "a quantity low enough to illicit no adverse side effects" but high enough for "a measurable cellular response".

"The most important thing was that it kind of jump-started me out of a pretty significant depression," she told The Atlantic.

Some 90 minutes after taking the dose she said "the fog" of her depression had lifted.

The writer, who admits she was concerned about LSD psychosis, says she didn't hallucinate on the drug but became more "mindful".

"The only thing that I noticed was it was easier for me to see the beauty in my natural world," she said.

"I live in Northern California, it's ridiculously beautiful. You walk out my door and there's jasmine everywhere, the smell is overwhelming.

"And 99.999 percent of the time, I don't even notice. When I was microdosing I would stop and say, 'wow, that is a beautiful redwood tree'."

The former attorney says she is "constitutionally incapable of buying illegal drugs".

"I've just never bought any illegal drugs. Anything I've ever taken has just been given to me," she said.

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Waldman says the drugs have not lasted in her system but her depression has subsided.

"I have not cycled into as low as a mood since I don't attribute that as much to LSD as to the insight brought about by that one-month experiment.

"Even when my mood has dropped since then, I've had a much clearer image in my mind of what not being depressed is like," she added.

The author said if the drug were legal, she would continue doing it.

If you’re suffering from depression or anxiety and need help, or just someone to chat to, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or BeyondBlue on 1300 22 4636.