Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

agaperion t1_jdku19l wrote

There's no simple answer because "bad trip" refers to a category, not a specific phenomenon. Some bad trips are a result of circular thought patterns. You'll hear people say things like "I got stuck in a loop". Other bad trips are a result of fighting against intrusive thoughts. Usually, they're memories of or residuals from unresolved trauma that the person refuses to confront and integrate. Still other bad trips are caused by fear and anxiety. Maybe the person's not in a safe, comfortable environment and they enter a sort of "fight or flight" mode in which they begin to hallucinate manifestations of their fears. This is why people advocate the principle of Set & Setting as a tool for avoiding bad trips.

Generally speaking, a bad trip is an experience primarily characterized by unpleasant emotions. Interestingly, even though there's not a single cause, there is a single solution: Let go of fear and accept the experience. It's mental, it's temporary, and it's part of you but it's not you. You are not your thoughts, emotions, and experiences. They are an object of your consciousness, they are a reflection of your mind, and they are trying to show you something about yourself. Sit, breathe, listen, observe, and let it flow over and past you.

252

dx-azrael-xb t1_jdlqah7 wrote

I'm guessing it's a coincidence but this made me think of Dune :)

>I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

30

Silent-Revolution105 t1_jdo4twc wrote

our "protocol" in the 60s-70s was a simple mantra - "It's just the drug - roll with it"

2

anewconvert t1_jdqn1zn wrote

This was my go to in the early 2000’s. That and a reality anchor, something that I knew was real before we ate the mushrooms. If I got too far out I’d find Mike and repeat “Mike is real, everything else is just the drugs….” I’d come back to reality a bit, cool off, then start climbing the rollercoaster hill again

1

huskers2468 t1_jdl183y wrote

Memory reset and thought loops are what led me to stop for now. Mine were never horrific, just the same 30 seconds on repeat. It was more annoying than anything.

Trying to figure out why my vision is weird

Slowing down visuals

Asking myself or my wife a question I was confused on

Realizing I am tripping

Finally coming back mentally to enjoy the trip

-memory reset-

Trying to figure out why my vision is weird ...

20

vegandread t1_jdlaosb wrote

That’s exactly why I always preferred LSD to mushrooms. I get in these loops that cause anxiety and I’m not able to just settle. With LSD the intense moments ebb and flow, shrooms for me are just 100mph the whole time and I don’t find them enjoyable.

Except for microdosing. I really enjoyed that when I did some experimenting with it.

7

Basimi t1_jdl4u1c wrote

Yeah that's pretty much what I remember from mine. That and if I got up and stood i would start dying

1

bguzewicz t1_jdliakj wrote

I remember the first mushroom trip I took, my friends and I were sitting around a campfire, and when we started to come up we got caught in a loop just laughing like maniacs. I don't remember what we found funny, but I do remember feeling like I couldn't stop laughing, that I'd be stuck laughing forever. Actually a really unpleasant experience. Then I remember my one friend saying "this isn't good... this isn't good... did I die?" And that sent me on a horrifying experience where I had to confront my own mortality while tripping balls. But you're absolutely right. Once I accepted the experience, the trip took a complete 180. I eventually thought to myself "ok, so you're dead. But something or someone is still here, having this thought. So relax." Letting go and accepting the experience saved me. I just felt so full of love and connectedness for the remainder of the trip. It was the best and worst experience of my life.

12

bluehihai t1_jdlhj90 wrote

That last para looks like taken straight from an episode of guided mindfulness meditation.

6

Trilly2000 OP t1_jdlwzhc wrote

So it’s caused by the user, not the mushrooms? As in, a bad batch?

3

Smyley12345 t1_jdly27v wrote

That is definitely the case. A bad trip is not about a spoiled or tainted mushroom, it's about the user's readiness to accept the experience.

11

SasquatchTamales t1_jdlzq6d wrote

Every bad trip is ultimately psychological; there can be outside stimulus that creates stressors that can trigger a bad trip but in the end its on you and your ability to modulate your mindset throughout the trip. The key to having a good trip is planning it with the right setting, company, and current mood going into the trip. If any of these aren't lining up, I'd suggest its best to wait until you feel you've found the right moment where all of these are good.

9

agaperion t1_jdmgmbi wrote

"Bad batch" means one ate mushrooms that aren't psilocybe. I've done that before. When I was a teenager, we gathered our own mushrooms from a cow pasture near my high school and I once made the mistake of picking a few of the wrong species. But they're not going to cause a bad trip, per se. They'll cause physical discomfort and vomiting, and that can in turn cause a bad trip as a result of the emotional distress. But it's not a physiological phenomenon in the sense of being directly neurochemically induced. It's not like the psilocybin "goes bad" and causes a bad trip the way food goes bad and causes vomiting.

In other words, the psychological phenomenon of the bad trip occurs as a mirror image of the physiological phenomenon of the food poisoning. And since vomiting is a common occurrence at the beginning of trips, it's useful to learn to accept that "purging phase" without panicking and spiraling into a bad trip from the fear of potential food poisoning. Just trust your body to be able to process what you've put in it and you'll come out the other side all the stronger. It's important to learn the basics of the science involved with tripping. For example, the physiology of food poisoning and what one's body does to deal with it. Knowledge is power and it will help you overcome fear borne of the unknown. If you go to the hospital, they're just going to pump your stomach and rehydrate you intravenously. It's scarcely different from what you're already naturally going to want to do instinctually, which is vomit and drink lots of water.

And ultimately, if you are actually poisoned, there's not much anybody can do for you. Accept the L and die with grace on the forest floor. It's better than dying in a hospital bed surrounded by cops and moms. At least, that's my personal opinion.

0

Johnyryal3 t1_jdn64ir wrote

Dang bro, you could talk anyone out of a bad trip.

3

Aleitei t1_jdncv0x wrote

As someone who has experienced a bad trip, you absolutely nailed this response. The truth is, it can be caused by internal or external factors, and those factors could be minor or major.

3

PeteyPark t1_jdm6kyj wrote

And to add to that last part. That’s where people seem to reap the most rewards from their trip. Accepting what your going through tends to let you reflect and make certain realizations you hadn’t noticed before

2

Podcaster t1_jdmb533 wrote

I’m inclined to agree with the majority of this except the idea that there’s a single solution. It’s not simply about letting go of fear and accepting the experience. There’s all sorts of other factors that can affect a trip beyond fear. The vibes of people and places in general can bring ones mind in to the negative without fear being included.

2

Jewbay t1_jdnw187 wrote

A lot of people warn me about getting stuck in a trip? Is that actually possible?

2

agaperion t1_jdo80oh wrote

To my knowledge, it's the sort of rare thing a very small percentage of people with preexisting neurological conditions would have to worry about (e.g. heritable schizophrenia risks). Generally speaking, that "neverending trip" stuff is fear-mongering anti-drug propaganda from the days when the War On Drugs first started and programs like DARE were used to try and scare kids away from experimentation. But don't take my word for it; Spend a bit of time learning about psychedelic compounds and how they interact with the brain. It's pretty interesting stuff, actually.

2

Schuhey117 t1_jdlvov1 wrote

I had a bad trip that started as getting stuck in a thought loop, but that wasn’t so bad. It devolved into paranoia, and temporary loss of language interpretation - I could barely articulate simple thoughts, and could barely understand simple english. I also lost the ability to forward plan and forgot what my daily routine was. To top it off, I had excessive paranoia and the other effects made me very scared. Simply put, it was terrifying. I thought my life was over.

Edit: a word.

1