Tryptamines Bad shrooms trip?

[Jacob42]

Had never tried shrooms nor any psych before. Dealt with diagnosed moderate depression/suicidal thoughts for a year prior to this experience. Tried tons of medications, nothing worked. Since been off of most meds and symptoms got better over time, only mild depression now. Out of boredom and the specific want to introspect on my life, I took 4 g of shrooms hoping for a good experience. I did lots of research beforehand and read that bad trips are very uncommon and when they occur it’s usually due to bad crowd/environment. Did them alone in room, felt secure. Also felt positive going into the experience. Didn’t feel anything for a while, then I got pretty dizzy/drunk feeling. Out of nowhere I kept getting these irrational suicidal and negative thoughts thinking I’m a huge failure and remembering bad events about myself but blowing them way out of proportion to the point of crying/wanting to commit suicide but being too inebriated to move. Kept trying to stop these trains of thoughts by moving to different room, trying to change the topic in my head, but I couldn’t focus and every time I tried to introspect and have deep thoughts with myself I was just overwhelmed with negative thoughts and wasn’t able to control my thoughts nor explore my brain. Trip ended several hrs later with me feeling more or less the same as I had before, not depressed anymore but also no afterglow or anything positive, relatively neutral. Should I expect to have a similar experience in the future? Maybe I should try a different psych to get what I’m looking for or will the next time I take them not be bad like this one was? How can I avoid such a bad trip next time? Really trying to enjoy psychs and unlock their true potential but this was a bad first impression I’m getting from them as much as I want to love them.

 

[Buzz Lightbeer]

Try a lower dose for sure next time, 4g can be a lot. (try 1-2g or something, maybe even less)
Don't set your specific intentions too high as well, I'd go into it with the intention to just have a good time, don't stress on how you should be feeling during or after, or unnecessarily focus on big life issues you were set on exploring beforehand. Shrooms will always be somewhat chaotic, hard to control and sometimes painfully introspective, it's just how they are... If you're really worried that would happen again, I'd just avoid shrooms in particular for now. They can be fantastic though.

You can try other psychedelics as well, they're all different, I don't want to push you to find other drugs, but if you're set on tripping, drugs like 2C-B or even mescaline (but that brings other difficulties, like vomiting from the cactus) are less intense and challenging mentally.

All that said, tripping with those particular problems likely isn't the safest thing so for sure always start low and gradually build up if you feel that's necessary the more you read about them, the better (erowid.org/experiences has a plethora of reports to off), you're always welcome to come ask here about anything either way.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

I did lots of research beforehand and read that bad trips are very uncommon and when they occur it’s usually due to bad crowd/environment.

Not as uncommon as you might think, especially for less experienced psychonauts. Mushrooms also kinda break the rule and are well known to produce bad/uncomfortable/challenging trips.

Out of nowhere I kept getting these irrational suicidal and negative thoughts thinking I’m a huge failure and remembering bad events about myself but blowing them way out of proportion to the point of crying/wanting to commit suicide but being too inebriated to move. Kept trying to stop these trains of thoughts by moving to different room, trying to change the topic in my head, but I couldn’t focus and every time I tried to introspect and have deep thoughts with myself I was just overwhelmed with negative thoughts and wasn’t able to control my thoughts nor explore my brain.

Negative thought loops, dissociation and mania. Bad luck that was your whole trip . Mushrooms particularly are extremely introspective and can cause this to happen.

You actually handled it quite well by moving to different rooms and trying to alter the trip/emotions. That's really all you can do if you're alone. Calming/comfort music also helps me in such scenarios, or taking a shower, or some other comfort activity.

but also no afterglow or anything positive, relatively neutral.

Yeah afterglows only really happen with good trips. The good thing is when you came down you're OK mentally. Sometimes with these types of trips you describe it messes people up in the head for a long time. You came out unscathed.

Should I expect to have a similar experience in the future?

No. Expect the unexpected from psychedelics. Every trip is different.

I would not take this as a sign that you aren't compatible with psychedelics, but as a warning as to what they can do. Especially mushrooms.

I love all psychedelics... except mushrooms. I love them a little less, and use them a little less, because of exactly what happened to you.

Maybe I should try a different psych to get what I’m looking for or will the next time I take them not be bad like this one was?

Yeah. I would recommend LSD. It has better visuals, more euphoria, and is less prone to create thought loops or introspection (it does, but less).

Gotta be careful with LSD though because it lasts almost twice as long as mushrooms. Keep the dose low. AND REAGENT TEST YOUR TABS!! TRUST BUT VERIFY, TRUST BY VERIFY!!!

4g of mushrooms is a high dose, especially for a first timer. I would have recommended 2-3g.

How can I avoid such a bad trip next time? Really trying to enjoy psychs and unlock their true potential but this was a bad first impression I’m getting from them as much as I want to love them.

You really can't avoid them. They occur less and less as you become more experienced, but you can't completely avoid them. You took the proper precautions, however you need to learn how to handle these types of trips.

Definitely don't let a bad trip scare you away from psychedelics. If anything the worst is over and now you can experience them with less anxiety about having a bad trip.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Bad trips often occur because of your inner feelings rather than your external environment - as you have discovered.

Your environment is easily controlled, but your state of mind isn't. Defininitely try a much lower dose next time and work your self up...

 

[Jabberwocky]

Lower Dose, have benzos on hand, and if you are experiencing mental distress or depression, it’s probably best to work that out before trying psychedelics. I haven’t partaked for that reason

 

[DrumTripper]

But you made it through to the other side of the experience and that is a huge part of the reward for challenging/bad trips. It’s like “ok, I‘ve passed that level” and can now be a bit stronger in upcoming levels.
I think we all get these types of trips from time to time, depending on life’s current events.
I agree with above posters - 1 gram is enough, 2 should be a sweet spot until one works up to a few experiences.
Welcome to BL, btw!

 

[Jabberwocky]

But you made it through to the other side of the experience and that is a huge part of the reward for challenging/bad trips. It’s like “ok, I‘ve passed that level” and can now be a bit stronger in upcoming levels.
I think we all get these types of trips from time to time, depending on life’s current events.
I agree with above posters - 1 gram is enough, 2 should be a sweet spot until one works up to a few experiences.
Welcome to BL, btw!

Idk man. I may have made it to the other side but I don’t think I’ll ever eat another half ounce of them again

 

[DrumTripper]

But I bet it ’twas brillig!
Farthest I’ve gone is 5 g of cyans, but that was complete disolvage. Half ounce would be too much for me for sure!
There’s a shaman type speaker on the net who talks about dosing 25-30 g dried cubensis - that’s some serious I don’t know what.
Would take a while to work up to that level and be able to hold it together (or actually, let it all go).

 

[Snafu in the Void]

There’s a shaman type speaker on the net who talks about dosing 25-30 g dried cubensis - that’s some serious I don’t know what.
Would take a while to work up to that level and be able to hold it together (or actually, let it all go).

I can't IMAGINE what 30g is for someone with no tolerance, that sounds insane and potentially dangerous. Sounds like dosing someone with 1mg of LSD. I've also seen some dude going around to psychedelic conventions talking about 30g trips and speaking to people.

I mean more power to you if you want to take 30g but people should know what they're getting into lol

I ate 16g once but I had some tolerance

 

[Ismene2]

As fubar says its not the drug its your inner feelings bossing the trip - if i ever start going negative i simply say firmly to myself "i refuse to feel like this - stop it or im taking my fucking ball home".

Or say the bruce forsyth line "im the leader of the pack which makes me such a happy chap, here they are theyre so appealing, ok mushrooms do your dealing!"