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Is it right to abort a bad trip?

falsifiedhypothesi

falsifiedhypothesi

Bluelight Crew
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Feb 22, 2014
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. So for the first time in my life I feel I'm ready for psychedelics. I've always been curious but as a severely depressed teenager I knew they would shred my mind if I ever played with their great power. I'm familiar with how terrible a psychedelic experience can be, I've had too many panic attacks on weed to even try to count. Those bad experiences with weed put me in a terrible mental place for a long time but even though it put me through so much pain I feel I came out stronger then I would have been.

Now me and about 7 other people will be taking mushrooms, 3.5 grams each, in a week and I offered to bring a safety blanket of sorts. I have alprozolam on hand just incase someone's experience gets too uncomfortable to bear. Im doing this because of my previous experience with how badly psychs can fuck up your mind, I wouldn't wish that upon anyone.

Still I'm having second thoughts about aborting these bad trips, if they arise at all and I hope they don't. Do bad trips serve a good purpose? I've heard of people being grateful for them because it inspired them to make a change for the better, and I've heard horror stories of people being seriously mentally scarred.

If I could go back and stop my bad experiences from happening I would because I don't feel like I've gained that much, I admit I do feel like it made me slightly stronger but at the cost of 3 years living in agony.
 
Bad trips can perhaps serve a purpose but I think people should always have the option whether they want to continue or not. Granted, in the midst of a terrifying psychedelic experience most people will choose to jump ship rather than try to ride it out, but I think a little regret later is an acceptable cost for potentially averting something that could scar you psychologically for ever, or at least a very long time.

If you have access to benzos or any other aborting-agent I think it is just basic harm reduction to have them around. I never used to trip with this stuff around when I was younger, and at the time I probably also subscribed to the idea that it's better to just try to work through difficult experiences, but retrospectively I think this was moreso trying to justify tripping without adequate safety precautions in place and now that I have access to various chemical safety nets I don't think I would ever trip without them.

Also, I think it depends on a few things, firstly, what is the purpose of the trip? If the purpose is to hallucinate and have a fun time, then by the time it starts getting actually scary I think it is acceptable to bail because obviously things are not going the way that you intended. If, on the other hand, the purpose of the trip is to deal with some difficult and deep seated emotional problems, or something like that, then you should expect it to be hard at points so you could try to ride it out a little more... but you should have decided this beforehand so you can be clear about what you're going to do, by the time you're intoxicated it's too late to make rational decisions about things because your judgement about what's best for you is going to be impaired.

Finally, I think there is a difference between a "difficult experience" and an actually traumatic, hellishly "Bad" trip. I have had a few of the former, but given that I do not have PTSD I have thankfully never experienced the latter. The difficult experiences I have had, maybe some of them in the moment I would have aborted and regretted it later, but from what I have read of other people's truly bad trips, I would never feel bad about aborting one of those.

Actually I just remembered I did abort a trip fairly recently for the first time ever. I had spent the week doing probably too many drugs, and on the day was a little upset about needing to go back to work soon, plus a few other unresolved life stresses, I think I had also dosed some 3-MeO-PCP, and some Noopept, with the intention of potentiating the psychedelic I was about to take. I then weighed out I think about 70mg of 4-AcO-DMT and snorted it, I think I was trying to compensate for some tolerance as I had tripped on this recently as well, but misjudged or miscalculated. Anyway within half an hour I knew I had made a mistake, hallucinations were just covering my field of vision, and I could feel my mindstate veering from confusion to actual fear. I had no reason to be tripping that day, I had just dosed to get fucked up, so I quickly munched a bunch of Xanax to undo my mistake. I don't feel the slightest bit bad about aborting that trip because it began as an unthinking error of judgement and who knows where it would have taken me.
 
From anecdotal evidence, trying psychedelics when you are in a bad place in your life or are predisposed to mental disorders can increase the chances of a "bad trip". If one's brain has an imbalance of chemicals such as serotonin or endorphin, it is possible for a psychedelic experience to cause a condition like depression to worsen. However, all drugs and especially psychedelics affect everyone differently, and conditions like psychosis and serotonin syndrome are somewhat uncommon. I agree and think you are correct in stating that psychedelics have "great power", but I should advise you that the difference between the effects of marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms is significant. If you are prone to anxiety or panic attacks while under the influence of cannabis, I would strongly reconsider your intended mushroom dose to a lower one.

While 3.5 grams of psilocybin mushrooms is not physically harmful, I would advise against that high of a dose for a novice. My first time using mushrooms, I consumed (under guidance of an experienced close friend) 2 grams of dried material and had a very positive and and uplifting experience. It is physically safe to mix mushrooms with benzodiazepines, and I have heard of some people taking them to reduce anxiety during a trip. While this is a solution, I don't think its the most effective. Providing a positve set and setting and a trip sitter are the best ways to reduce a chance of a panic attack in the first place. If someone does go into a state of panic while on mushrooms, have the trip sitter (if there is one), or someone close to the individual, to talk to the panicked user and assure them that they will survive and what they are experiencing is merely the result of a psychoactive substance.

The question on bad trips is more of a philosophical topic, so I apologize if I digress. Depending on who you ask, you will receive different answers on whether or not "bad trips serve a good purpose". Someone who uses psilocybin mushrooms for recreation and entertainment will tell you that bad trips are, well... bad. If pleasure and comfort is what you are looking for, feel free to take benzos to calm down. If you ask a user whom is seeking a sort of spiritual guidance or to solve problems in their personal lives, they will tell you that bad trips, while terrifying, can teach one important lessons about one's self. In this case, push through the adversity and try to understand what negative aspect of your being is being brought to light, and take it as a sort of constructive criticism. Consider why you are taking mushrooms, and if a bad trip arises, deal with it accordingly.

I had my first mushroom experience when I was in a bad place in my life. I had some personal problems going into the trip that I was hoping to resolve, and after the trip, for the first time in a while, (while not under the influence) I felt like everything was going to be okay. During my trip, I was shown a traumatic event in my life that happened many years ago and I have tried to suppress and ignore since. I came to the realization that I felt very strongly about the event in the first place, and that I needed to solve and confront my problems head on. It was one of the most profound times of my life, and it allowed me to be more open to others. If you are trying to figure out a solution to an issue that you cant acknowledge in everyday life, perhaps psilocybin can show you like it did in my experience. Although be warned, you might not like what you see.
 
Clocktower, I definitely disagree with your statement regarding bad trips. Now, I've only tripped one time. It was LSD about two and a half years ago and it was by far the most traumatic experience of my life. Indescribably terrifying, something nobody else will ever be able to understand because I could never properly put it into words.

I wouldn't say LSD changed me per say but it was a "catalyst" for my change. It broke down a lot of the paradigms that I held to, and uncoupled the wiring that society had tried so hard to hold me to. I do agree it is a pretty amazing thing, the way it can change you. Since I've only used it once, I can't say much about the long term effects of LSD use, but all I can say about it is, it works differently for everyone. And yes I'm aware that the topic of this thread is centered around Psilocybin, but more so bad trips. There are so many factors that go into whether trips would result in a catalyst for change or regression, since everyone has different memories, perspectives, and values. The only reason why I will never touch it again is basically because of the topic of this conversation. I did have an insanely bad trip as my first experience, and that scarred me for a long time.

Fast forwarded to now, I'm doing pretty well now and I've gotten over a large part of my traumatic experience. But even though I had a bad trip, I still got a lot of positives out of the trip. I've come to become more introspective, self aware, and open minded. And if I could take it all back, I wouldn't. At the same time, it was such a terrifying experience, almost indescribably bad - that I will probably never touch acid again, in fears of reliving something like that again. I've learned so much about myself and the world in the past 2 years that I'm almost a changed person. And that kind of open-minded thinking that changed me would never have happened if it was not for LSD. However, despite this - I still would warn people about tripping, especially if you are a high probability of mental illness. It's something you will regret for the rest of your life if you do lose your sanity - and then having to realize that you could have prevented it all this time. Psychedelics should not be taken lightly, it must be respected. But looking back, the bad trip turned out to be something good in the long run. It was difficult in the short term with PTSD symptoms, but over time I healed. Overall I don't regret having that experience.
 
There is nothing to be gained from a traumatic, psychosis-producing, run-down-the-street-naked-and-get-arrested sort of bad trip. But from a trip that is difficult and terrifying and takes time to recover from? Absolutely there can be value in that. Some of my best trips have been these sorts of trips. Not that I felt that way during them!

To the OP, 7 people tripping together is going to also increase the chances of a bad trip, IMO. Tripping causes a huge increase in awareness and perception of social dynamics. If one of you freaks out, it will likely cause the group to freak out. And also, just trying to deal with that number of social connections is likely to be stressful. How close are you to these people? Are they all really good friends? I'm not saying it WILL cause your trip to be more difficult, but I always recommend people to trip with 1 or 2 very close friends for their first time. Or alone, with a sober sitting nearby in case anything happens, not necessarily interacting with you. For me, the difficulty socially was the hardest part of tripping to deal with until I had more experience.
 
Thank you all for the input it's given me a lot to think about. To the person who said mushrooms are a completely different beast then cannabis. I know they are vastly different, even though I've never taken mushrooms, but my bad experiences with cannabis have given me the utmost respect for psychedelic substances and I know what that intense fear and panic feels like. I don't get that fear/anxiety anymore when smoking weed and my first experience with a heavy hitting psychedelic (acid) was a couple weeks ago and I didn't feel any negative emotions that I couldn't rationalize away.

I only really know two of these people very well. I know it's going to be harder tripping with acquaintances but I plan to go into this with a positive attitude. I might just chill and listen to some music for the come up to help me start the trip out relaxed.
 
also this thread was meant to be more general then just mushroom trips so feel free to input any other psychedelic experiences
 
Clocktower said:
If you're grateful it happened, then it wasn't a bad trip.
Click to expand...

Xorkoth said:
There is nothing to be gained from a traumatic, psychosis-producing, run-down-the-street-naked-and-get-arrested sort of bad trip. But from a trip that is difficult and terrifying and takes time to recover from? Absolutely there can be value in that. Some of my best trips have been these sorts of trips. Not that I felt that way during them!
Click to expand...

I agree with these sentiments.

Cudi said:
Clocktower, I definitely disagree with your statement regarding bad trips. Now, I've only tripped one time. It was LSD about two and a half years ago and it was by far the most traumatic experience of my life. Indescribably terrifying, something nobody else will ever be able to understand because I could never properly put it into words.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your story, Cudi. Not everyone escapes a truly traumatic experience without some lasting problems, but I think that many times the old saying rings true, "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger".
 
Honestly, I believe that if you are suffering from horrific and unwanted hallucinations/anxiety, you should be able to abort the trip right there and then. Unless of course you lack the capacity to do so...in which case, learn what you can and know that it will be over eventually!
 
Well it depends on your reasons for wanting to abort - say some accident happens IRL that you have no control over and you can't deal with whilst tripping - by all means, kill the trip a little - no need to suffer unnecessarily.

If it's more of a case of you're tripping and you're going through a difficult time mentally for what seems like an eternity, try and change set / setting / focus on breathing / speak to someone, do something besides worrying as that will only make it worse. The times I've starting spiralling mentally and had someone reassure me, or just allowed myself the time to get a grip / perspective on what's going on has left me feeling so much more confident as a result in the past.

I only consider a trip 'bad' if someone completely loses it and ends up running down the street naked and hurting themselves / others. If it's internal panic you're dealing with, I'd consider that more of a difficult / challenging experience that you'd be better off facing and getting through - just to let yourself realise you can sit with your feelings and there's nothing wrong with that, thoughts come and go, learn to observe and not attach yourself to them, feel what you need to feel, don't suppress or fight it, just ride it out / go with the flow.

(Unless you feel like you really can't handle it, in which case, abort trip and re-consider why you're tripping in the first place! :D)
 
It isn't either good or bad to abort a trip. It's a neutral decission. It could be a good decission if you are really having a bad trip, but it would never be a bad decission. There is anything bad about stopping a trip.
 
^hahah I guess that's right.

One of the people that is going to be tripping will be taking cocaine with the shrooms. I have real qualms about giving them Xanax if they are gonna fuck up their trip with coke. I don't think I'm gonna give him any Xanax if he starts to have a bad trip, I feel like he needs a slap in the face mentally, he's a douche and just blew a relationship with a great girl.
 
You should probably crush a few xanax and be ready to force them down his throat in case he starts seizing.
 
may we recommend your friend don't mix the shrooms with coke? And don't be too cruel...give them a friggin xanax.
 
I mean I'm going to suggest that he save the coke for another time but it's his birthday and since I'm not close friends with him I doubt my words will carry much weight with him.

The thing is I only have a limited amount of Xanax, 2.5mg, just enough to kind of calm 5 of us. I don't want to blow 1-1.5mg on him because he made the stupid decision to mix coke with shrooms and its going to take more Xanax then usual to calm him down so I might not have enough left for the rest of the party.
 
never done the combo myself, but they are basically polar opposites...keep an eye out for him...or really try and convince him to save the coke for when he's come down off the shrooms.
 
Well I took the trip, it was beautiful and fightening at certain points. I thought I had become part of all dimensions and would never be able to leave, everything and everyone had merged into one being and I felt as though I would never die and be stuck in this infinite loop forever. It's what I imagined being in hell would be like.

Before this I accepted death and felt the full beauty of the universe and if I died at that very moment everything would have been perfect. It was an intense experience to say the least, I did have to abort the trip at the end since it was getting far too intense and fightening, but overall I had a good time.
 
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