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Opposite of an afterglow?

Pagey

Pagey

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
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The Valley of Ashes
Hey,
So I took about 100mg of aMT friday night which is about twice my usual dose, because I really wanted to sort of push the limits and really see what was beyond and all that. Anyway the trip went incredibly well, I couldn't tell what was real anymore, I felt invincible and like everything was one and united. Was amazing. It didn't wear off completely until about 24h later (so last night) and I expected to get quite a strong afterglow, but instead I'm just extremely depressed and keep thinking back on that world and on how much better it is and that I just want to go back there. So I guess my question is just is that 'normal'? In the next few days should I take care of myself as if I'd had a bad trip?
Thanks :)
 
i get that all the time; every single time i trip i am depressed and anxious as fuck the next day.

Yeah it's normal, for some of us at least. The next few days just take it easy, figure out what you found on the trip, see if you can integerate it into your life and maybe get some insight on things. That's the beauty of being a psychonaut, the downfall is yes, depression the next day is very common. Afterglows happen at first but once you're well versed in psychedelics, you can expect depression the next day IME at least. It goes away within a day though, not like MDMA or anything, so all in all, it's not so bad, just relax and don't let it get to you! good luck!

eventually you'll realize that tripping isn't any better than sober experiences and you won't be depressed. i was like that for years, i'l still get depressed after tripping but it's not because i don't feel that psychedelic wonderfulness anymore, more like my body is just drained and needs to recover.

another question to ponder, why do you feel depressed? dig deep and figure out why the psychedelic experience seems so wonderful in comparison. I tried for years to permanently make myself trip by using heavy psyches but in the end without that clear headed sobriety, psychedelics have no context and lose their magic.
 
Usually if I'm depressed the next day after a trip I didn't have a breakthrough trip with lots of insight. When I have such a good insightful trip, why would I be depressed the next day? I wouldn't and no one else would. After a few days or a few weeks, you'll be back to normal. Depending upon how much you use.
 
It's also AMT, which depletes serotonin (not as much as MDMA, but still). This might be a physical thing in the brain, not a psychological after-effect.
 
Yeah I was going to say ^. amt also is rather long lasting, long comeup and imo a smooth long comedown, muscle contracting is sooo nice it happens without you thinking about it, and personally I feel I'm always physically drained from taking it, this oftens adds to the afterglow negatively.
 
RobotRipping said:
i get that all the time; every single time i trip i am depressed and anxious as fuck the next day.

Yeah it's normal, for some of us at least. The next few days just take it easy, figure out what you found on the trip, see if you can integerate it into your life and maybe get some insight on things. That's the beauty of being a psychonaut, the downfall is yes, depression the next day is very common. Afterglows happen at first but once you're well versed in psychedelics, you can expect depression the next day IME at least. It goes away within a day though, not like MDMA or anything, so all in all, it's not so bad, just relax and don't let it get to you! good luck!

eventually you'll realize that tripping isn't any better than sober experiences and you won't be depressed. i was like that for years, i'l still get depressed after tripping but it's not because i don't feel that psychedelic wonderfulness anymore, more like my body is just drained and needs to recover.

another question to ponder, why do you feel depressed? dig deep and figure out why the psychedelic experience seems so wonderful in comparison. I tried for years to permanently make myself trip by using heavy psyches but in the end without that clear headed sobriety, psychedelics have no context and lose their magic.
Click to expand...

Cheers RR, that was very helpful as always! Yeah I think it's probably mostly because of how drained and exhausted I was. Since it lasted about 24 hours I slept something like 8 hours in two days and didn't eat for a good 30 hours. Probably explains it.
And I do know why I'm depressed, one of the reasons why I use psychs in the first place is as my own form of therapy :)

The Dr said:
Usually if I'm depressed the next day after a trip I didn't have a breakthrough trip with lots of insight. When I have such a good insightful trip, why would I be depressed the next day? I wouldn't and no one else would. After a few days or a few weeks, you'll be back to normal. Depending upon how much you use.
Click to expand...

'I wouldn't and no one else would' seems rather limiting no...? I did have a breakthrough trip actually, it's not because it's a breakthrough that it's easy to deal with or accept. More that it was such a breakthrough it made the 'real' world pale in comparison.

relbatnrut said:
It's also AMT, which depletes serotonin (not as much as MDMA, but still). This might be a physical thing in the brain, not a psychological after-effect.
Click to expand...

MrPorter said:
Yeah I was going to say ^. amt also is rather long lasting, long comeup and imo a smooth long comedown, muscle contracting is sooo nice it happens without you thinking about it, and personally I feel I'm always physically drained from taking it, this oftens adds to the afterglow negatively.
Click to expand...

Ah yes that makes sense too. Ty :)

I have another question actually - I've been feeling really weird since last night. I was completely back to normal and this definitely isn't the aMT I'm feeling anymore, but for the past 12-14 I've been extremely confused and I feel very distant from everything. I've also got a fever, I'm all sweaty/clammy, nauseous, feels like my heart's beating out of my chest and I'm very restless (to the point where I can't sleep at all despite being exhausted). On top of that I'm getting vague visuals, both closed and open eyed. Had the great (:|) idea of googling serotonin syndrome and now I'm getting a bit worried. Anyone knows if this fits/ is this something to be worried about? Also it started about the time I took some opiates/benzos last night, but I barely took any and I'm very used to those anyway so I dunno if that would change anything...? :\
 
It might be an aMT thing or the fact that, as you said, you were pushing your limits. Can be quite taxing for the mind and body indeed. Personally I am inclined to believe though that 'negative afterglows' indicate that there is something wrong, it is an unhealthy reaction that could speak of a slight overdose, too frequent dosing or wrong kind of set & setting for example. Paradoxically though, I think these kind of reactions are something that could be healed with psychedelics. I don't think it is normal in the sense that it should be just ignored and accepted as part of everything.
 
A negative afterglow I just refer to as a hangover, even if the symptoms are purely psychological, and I've heard this can happen fairly easy with amt, although I've never done it
 
I was going to say that the opposite of afterglow is hangover as well.

Careful with using aMT as antidepressant, Pagey. I've heard other people say that aMT has that property, but I wouldn't consider it the same as using psychedelics for introspection and as a tool for getting over depression. As with most substances, it's a zero sum game. That which you put into it, you can expect back as well. That's not necessarily the case, and not necessarily the same for everyone, but as for 'pushing it', I think there's something to it.

My suggestions echo those of others before me: take care of yourself as much as you can, sleep plenty, eat healthily and take time to integrate your experiences into your daily life. Sometimes hedonistic experiences are not the ones you take most out of... take care! :)
 
Using AMT as an antidepressant is as sketchy an idea as using any such drug without supervision (it has been tried with ketamine, etc), and you'd have to be on the lookout for addiction.

A major factor here is dosage, as an antidepressant a proper dosage would be maybe 5 or 10 mg. You will probably not really trip but that is the point. If you trip it isn't really a sustainable thing, usually.
I've taken AMT at such a low dose before and it did work a bit like an AD, but I did that mainly to titrate and be careful.

100 mg AMT is a considerable dose and monoamine depletion is not a weird thing after that. If you compare it to something like psilocybin, I bet the factors for getting a positive or negative afterglow is much more psychologically based. Less reliable as an anti-depressant for frequent use maybe (if only because of tolerance), but the reason for getting varying after effects would not be depletion (or only general energetic exhaustion, which is transient if you don't overexert yourself).
 
Oh no RR & Solipsis, I wasn't clear - I don't use aMT as an anti-depressant, it's more that I value the trips as a way to have some breakthroughs that could potentially help with my depression,o n top of everything else. Ie. I don't think I use it any differently than your average psychonaut.
 
Right. But still, I get the feeling (and this is without having any experience with aMT, so maybe it's utter nonsense) that aMT has more abuse potential than the classical psychedelics and also more prone to leave you in a state of anhedonia afterwards.

Also, what RobotRipping (just realized his acronym would also be RR.... hmmm, the thick plottens!) said doesn't hold true for me. I really never get negative after effects or depression from psychedelics, except from a bit of tiredness maybe, but that's usually because of lack of sleep. Maybe the fact that someone does get that is an indicator in itself. Again, I don't really know. Might as well be talking bullshit.

What does sound right to me however is that you should take care of yourself. Your body and mind are telling you something and it sounds to me like you mighta overdone it. Be nice to yourself. Always sound advice, by the way. <3
 
Pagey said:
Hey,
So I took about 100mg of aMT friday night which is about twice my usual dose, because I really wanted to sort of push the limits and really see what was beyond and all that. Anyway the trip went incredibly well, I couldn't tell what was real anymore, I felt invincible and like everything was one and united. Was amazing. It didn't wear off completely until about 24h later (so last night) and I expected to get quite a strong afterglow, but instead I'm just extremely depressed and keep thinking back on that world and on how much better it is and that I just want to go back there. So I guess my question is just is that 'normal'? In the next few days should I take care of myself as if I'd had a bad trip?
Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Hey Pagey -

I think you've been too trusting of enactogens. They can be quite tricky. I know myself first RC I ever had was aMT - that was twelve years ago aged 16.

You just woke up depressed hun. It happens to the best of us.

Try incorporating some kind of meditation and/or self analysis into the picture next time you try an empathogen, or even another traditional psychedelic like LSD.

You'll be fine tomorrow I garauntee you that.
 
just take it easy now, abstain from tripping for a while and don't overthink it. overthinking makes it a hundred times worse (I speak from experience).
 
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