is this normal??

[discreet_label]

hello again
last night, i tried mushrooms for the first time and it was absolutely terrifying...i was hallucinating, seeing all kinds of crazy stuff, completely losing touch with reality. needless to say, that wont be repeated, but im just wondering if that is a normal reaction or not?? i thought it was going to be like ecstasy.

 

[kidklmx]

Well if you weren't expecting what happened to happen, then I can certainly understand your confusion haha Do you have any idea how much you took?

Don't be discouraged, however, this is how it's supposed to be. There's so many sides to the psychedelic experience, you can feel incredibly uneasy but if the planets align just right and you've taken proper preparations you can feel better than MDMA/ecstasy could ever make you feel. Yes it's weird sometimes, but I an amazing way. You'll learn to appreciate this if you know what constitutes to a safe trip.

I think a key lesson here should be that before ever taking anything, you should probably do a bit of research in whatever it is you're taking. If you want to pursue the psychedelic experience again you should take at a safe place where you're undisturbed, with people you care deeply about, and a way to be able to distract yourself if you think things are spinning out of control.

 

[Lys]

Yes, it is completely normal, as kidklmx said. In fact, it is the reason that people take mushrooms. Whoever told you that they would be like ecstasy has no idea what they are talking about, and has probably only taken a threshold dose if anything.

 

[discreet_label]

i took 1.5 grams..some stuff my significant other grew for his cluster headaches..he warned me that it was unusually potent though. no one told me it was like ecstasy, i just read a few articles that compared the two and thought, why not? i will say that i think ive had enough fun this summer! 8( it was definitely a life experience, thats for sure.

 

[kidklmx]

Yeah if they really were potent then 1.5g can be quite a ride, it's why people do it in the first place! I'm sure something like this will have left it's mark on you. I wasn't really suggesting you'd do it again next week, or something like that, working through a trip takes time. Those of us that use these drugs for their therapeutic or spiritual value usually take some time to integrate whatever it is they experienced in to their lives. I'd suggest reading a trip report either here, in the trip reports forum, or on Erowid (this one seems to explain things rather well)

Having a bit more context will help putting you things in the right place. It might be a confusing mess now, but somehow things will become clear if you just let yourself think about it. Or at least, it does for me. There have been trips where I was a bit too far out of my mind, and to this day (hell, even writing this about integrating) I'm learning to understand what it really was, why it went there. I really did learn some valuable things about myself, and I feel a better person from it, even though at first I was a bit jarred.

 

[discreet_label]

well, i do feel better about the whole thing, now that its been a couple of days..but WOW. seriously. i cant even describe what the hell that was like! i think the thing that freaked me out the most was that at one point, i 100 percent thought that i was back in high school again, with my husband, who was obviously my boyfriend at the time..it seriously "Felt" like i was. how does that even work??
i do think ill try it again though, but i will do it a LOT differently..not some spur of the moment deal! :D i also thinking eating a lot before hand was a bad idea..it didnt make me nauseous when i took them, as my husband had ground them up and put it in capsules, but during the latter part, i felt pretty queasy. thanks for all the advice, guys!

 

[Cream Gravy?]

Hahah, those first experiences with psychedelics, how I miss them... I remember my roommates and I trying three tabs of LSD the first time; we were pacing circles around one another, saying nonsensical things yet completely understanding one another. I've never done MDMA, but I can tell you, I think psychedelics probably offer a truer sense of oneness with all things, a truer sense of understanding the universe in a way that MDMA could never offer, because there's two sides to the psychedelic coin. There are no bad trips, all trips are good and bad; it takes both sides of the psychedelic coin for you to understand life, the universe... everything! But I digress.

In short, yes, those effects are normal to experience on mushrooms and most psychedelics. That's why we take them hahah! It takes multiple experiences for the uneasiness to dissipate, but even then... I'm 50+ trips into my psychedelic journey, and I still get the fear sometimes. We all do. It's something all psychonauts must face if they desire to travel down these mysterious paths of knowledge.

It's cliche sounding, but always remember, "Set and Setting"! It will help you maintain a more grounded journey if you keep those in mind when planning a trip.

 

[discreet_label]

i think you are right..next time around,i will definitely plan this all out better and not just pop them on a random saturday night with no forethought..one of the things that really really took me aback was at one point, i swear i was able to somehow "hear" colors. i mean..how?? i know that a few days ago i was saying..never again, but i have to admit that i am intrigued now!

 

[Cream Gravy?]

Since the very first trials of LSD and other psychedelics, researchers have noted that the most common statement test subjects made about these drugs was that there simply were no words to describe the experience. I'm sure you can understand that now hahah.

I'd like to point out that the come-ups are usually the toughest part. Most of us feel uneasy in the first hours I'm sure, and often your gut will hurt from all the serotonin action in your intestines. But man oh man, once you push to the other side and into the peak, to me, it's next to godliness sometimes. Especially with mushrooms. My toughest trip was probably on my highest dose of mushrooms, the come-up was hell, I was completely torn up about figuring out my future and my career in that exact moment, even though it would have been rational to wait... but when the peak hit, we dimmed the lights, put on some great music, and I swear, I understood what it was to be the carpet. I knew everything about my carpet, the feelings it felt, the experiences it knew. I was the carpet through and through. And my god, if that wasn't one of the most blissful moments of my life, ahahahaha!

Safe travels friend!