Are Bad Trips even a thing? (lsd)

[TheodoreRoosevelt]

Just curious. I mean you can have the anxiety or nausea or looping thoughts maybe get to you, maybe the body load is too much to be enjoyable, but that's just taking too much, being too high. Is a bad trip really a thing? I've done lsd, shrooms, etc hundreds of times, but like I can't even fathom having a bad trip on lsd. Is it some significantly different experience or something?

Closest I've had to a 'bad trip' is like maybe the first time I got stoned from a bong, I was just hallucinating hardcore (wonder if maybe pcp was in it, it was just so out of the world), but that was more just being overloaded.

Is it permanent or anything? Just curious on thoughts on bad trips.

 

[[éS]Infinite]

Plenty of people have had bad trips, set and setting as well as individual neurochemistry play huge roles in these occurrences. I understand where you're coming from though, having really positive experiences with psychedelics can make it easy to overlook how they can go wrong.

 

[ParappaTheRapper]

Laced marijuana doesn't have the character of being higher than u expected. It has direct dissociative/stimulant effects. Weed paranoia and.pcp paranoia are two different.things. One is more dopamine and psycedelic, the other is imaginative and delusional. An artifical body load will also occur above the high. What u have described is usually considered a myth. Pcp bud is usually called sherm and is fairly common. The pcp is of low potency so is smoked, accordingly, regulating the amount smoked, knowingly or not. A coated ciggarette, or direct dosages from medical vials are not the same thing. People often see freakout.videos or hear news stories and use it almost as a connotation for negative drug experiences. Low dose pcp is calmer than high dose mariujana.

For the right profit, sherm would be sold without the buyers knowlege, in small quanities, or smoked in a blunt/joint without realizing. Or, intentionally purchased. Either way, the situation where someone who owns a water pipe, packs a large enough amount to fill a bowl, to give you for an early smoke is unlikely. Careful analysis will show, substances on it, and smoking it will have a chemical taste.

Anyway, lol, I'm on the trips can only be difficult and difficult trips are educational team.

 

[DOB]

I never had bad trip and I was in some fucked up situations

 

[TheodoreRoosevelt]

Laced marijuana doesn't have the character of being higher than u expected. It has direct dissociative/stimulant effects. Weed paranoia and.pcp paranoia are two different.things. One is more dopamine and psycedelic, the other is imaginative and delusional. An artifical body load will also occur above the high. What u have described is usually considered a myth. Pcp bud is usually called sherm and is fairly common. The pcp is of low potency so is smoked, accordingly, regulating the amount smoked, knowingly or not. A coated ciggarette, or direct dosages from medical vials are not the same thing. People often see freakout.videos or hear news stories and use it almost as a connotation for negative drug experiences. Low dose pcp is calmer than high dose mariujana.

I think a few people commented that it may have been laced and/or was just really weird shit. There's no way I can really verify unless I like, tried PCP. It was a very weird experience and I've had nothing ever since the first time I smoked out of a bong (2nd time ever) that comes close to that experience. People were floating like ghosts, objects went through things, everything was dark in a weird way, my vision was super distorted. I may have just gotten too high (i had one experience kinda similar when I had made a bong and packed it with a 1/4oz or something insane like that).

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

Closest I've had to a 'bad trip' is like maybe the first time I got stoned from a bong, I was just hallucinating hardcore (wonder if maybe pcp was in it, it was just so out of the world), but that was more just being overloaded.

Cannabis causes hallucinations on its own. It's incredibly stupid to sell any bud 'laced' and the only time you'll ever come across it is if someone laces their own batch (not to sell).

Bad trips are pretty common, but it's relatively easy to avoid and/or deal with them.

 

[wayab]

one time we were talking with a friend during the day and he was going on about how bad trips did not exist and that it was just some form of propaganda and later that night he had the worst trip of his life.

 

[Frydea]

Of course they can happen. On LSD though I feel like bad trips usually come from simply taking too much and being overwhelmed, where as with shrooms you can easily just get lost in your thoughts and it can lead to a bad place

 

[.:Holy::Toast:.]

Of course they can happen.
When you feel like you're stuck in a permanent psychosis and feel literally insane and possibly possessed or something of the like then bad trips can be HORRIFYING
Never had them from LSD but only from mushrooms

 

[Xorkoth]

I have had extremely difficult trips, but not what I would call a "bad trip". However it's clear that some people have bad trips, the kind where they go psychotic and end up with long-term negative ramifications. I think it boils down to two things. One, some people are prone to psychosis from psychedelics. That comes down to individual chemistry, and most of us here are the type that can experience psychedelics without that sort of thing happening (hence the reason we got into psychedelics). The second thing is that I believe if you are sufficiently uncomfortable with your own emotions or some other aspects of yourself, psychedelics can tear down your carefully built walls and delusions and for some people, that can result in extremely intense discomfort that, if not dealt with properly, can manifest themselves during and afterwards as long-lasting negative aftereffects.

After literally hundreds upon hundreds of trips, often in non-recommended settings and often far too frequently/at high doses, I have never had any trip that made me feel like I had done something bad to myself (except sometimes during the peak, but this is a passing feeling that does not persist past the peak). I can only conclude that I am comfortable enough with myself to be able to put my experiences in perspective and not be traumatized by anything I uncover about myself, and that I am not prone to psychedelic psychosis. Because of this, I don't see a truly "bad trip" in my future.

 

[isthisincognito]

I think the idea of a "Bad trip" come purely from one's perspective.

I've never had a bad trip. I have had difficult experiences, but I have always benefited from the ultimately, they've invoked some sort of post-trip positive .

It's how I deem deliriants, I can't see the recreational fun in them, but at the same time I hold the utmost respect for people who undertake those journey's.

I see Delerients in the same respect as trekking through the arctic or marathoning through the sahara, It's not something many would wish to do, It's a long gruelling experience mainly of suffering, but It's a feat which one would ultimately hope to derive new understanding, perspectives and appreciations for their own capabilities.

I've never had a bad trip, and I think it would be best to say I've only had mildly difficult experiences (delusions, short term psychosis etc.)

At the time, it was horrible, but in hindsight I can only look back and analyse it with awe, I feel lucky to have been given this kind of insight into the psyche, and it's relationship with reality.

Ultimately one needs to decide the line between Good, Difficult, and Bad.

For me a Bad trip would require prolonged negativity (with abstinence) over 14 days, otherwise I'd class it at the higher end of difficult.

In the days when I used to abuse amphetamines, and substituted amphetamines, I'd result in delusional psychosis lasting days, and the dreaded "coke bugs/parasitosis", it was difficult, but never what I would of deemed a Bad trip, just the negative side of the territory.

The sad thing is, the more you understand and become accustomed to negativity, the easier it is to endure.

These experiences I write from have never derived from LSD though, other substances at play. I have never had a negative experience, or even a difficult one from LSD.

 

[tryptamine-tripper]

A bad trip can absolutely happen on LSD. I wouldn't say it's about "taking too much", moreso bad set/setting...I mean, yes, some people simply can't handle the more extreme side of the psychedelic spectrum, so they'll freak out on a high dose, and if you weren't expecting a trip to be super strong, then it is, I can see how that would throw you off. Personally though, I think where bad trips are most likely to happen is at a dose that's high enough that you start to lose control...but low enough that you still want to control it. This dosage range can still offer many wonderful trips, but when I've had difficult trips (only one of which was with LSD), they haven't been the real heavy doses, they've been in this range (which is unfortunately the highest most are willing to go, as they are unwilling to really surrender to a trip).

On a truly heavy dose, I no longer desire control, and I'm 100% immersed in the trip, so while I may get anxiety in the come-up, ie the transition between "normal" and heavy tripping, once I peak it's golden (for the most part), and these heavy doses are where the real life changing trips, ego-deaths, and other profound, mystical trips really come into play. I will say though, that such heavy trips are not something to do every time I trip, they need to be reserved for when the time is right, and they truly are quite an endeavor which you need to be prepared for much more than a normal trip.

As for the terminology of "bad trip", I do think of a bad trip as a learning experience, but that doesn't stop it from being a "bad trip"...if it's uncomfortable for most of the trip, that's bad. I can gain some useful knowledge out of it, but I'm not gonna pretend it didn't suck to be there afterwards. However, I don't go out of my way to avoid bad trips like many do- I do make sure my set/setting are good, but fear of a bad trip seems to stop a lot of people from letting themselves have a truly profound trip of any sort, I'm not about "playing it safe" (except for physically, though I'll admit I've done some straight up stupid shit in the past), to an extent I definitely believe that "if you don't at some point think you've taken too much, you didn't take enough"- however, if your a psychedelic newbie, then you actually should play it safe until you've tripped enough times to have a good sense of how well you handle it, most don't handle it as well as me & other high dosers! You've gotta be very grounded and able to maintain some sliver of connection to normal reality/not lose your shit if your gonna go dosing high.

 

[Xorkoth]

I tend to differentiate in definition between "bad trip" and "difficult trip" simply because usually when people are asking about "bad trips", they're asking about that type of trip that has long-term negative effects on a person's life, ie, they become depressed, anxious, withdraw socially, and end up with significant life problems. It certainly happens to some people, but it has never happened to me. I think that when most people refer to a "bad trip", that's what they mean, whereas a "difficult trip" is one that may be horrifying at the time but which you emerge from fine, or even having learned something beneficial. The worst trip I ever had was the third time I tripped, on mushrooms. The set and setting were terrible and I spent hours in a terrible loop where I thought about every part of myself that was bad non-stop, out of control. It was horrific, but as soon as I came down I was filled with bubbling joy at being back to normal and it taught me to respect psychedelics and myself more. I have never referred to it as a "bad trip" because the net result was positive.

 

[Cream Gravy?]

I've never experienced a bad trip myself, and I only know one person who's had a bad trip. I accept that they exist, but I personally don't see anything worse than a 'difficult trip' happening to myself. It's not that I've never had difficult experiences; quite the contrary, my most difficult trip was also my 1st or 2nd most beautiful trip. I think it's just that trips are generally going to be full of both positive and negative energy, and for some people they can't find the positive. I'm not super experienced though, I've only had about 20 trips on a variety of classic psychs and a few Nbome trips.

I definitely feel weaker doses, that don't quite obliterate the ego, are wrought with anxiety and unease. When I do doses of mushrooms below 2.5-3 grams, I feel really uneasy, anxious, concerned about my uncertain future; but once I push through on a higher dose, I feel complete bliss and euphoria and simply can't fathom the concept of good or bad, I just am hahah...

 

[TheodoreRoosevelt]

Of course they can happen. On LSD though I feel like bad trips usually come from simply taking too much and being overwhelmed, where as with shrooms you can easily just get lost in your thoughts and it can lead to a bad place

Yea, okay, basically you just don't enjoy yourself because the side effects are overpowering and especially with weed and psychs you get caught in racing/looping thoughts and anxiety. I mean that isn't like a bad trip can just happen randomly, if you're used to a certain dosage you should never have a bad trip off it. It's not like some 1/10 chance of a bad trip, is what I'm thinking.

I guess I've had 'bad trips' from smoking wayyy too much weed, especially when I was first smoking. Feeling you'll never be sober and will always be like that. People just make it out that a bad trip can happen to anyone at any random trip.

 

[.:Holy::Toast:.]

Yea, okay, basically you just don't enjoy yourself because the side effects are overpowering and especially with weed and psychs you get caught in racing/looping thoughts and anxiety. I mean that isn't like a bad trip can just happen randomly, if you're used to a certain dosage you should never have a bad trip off it. It's not like some 1/10 chance of a bad trip, is what I'm thinking.

I guess I've had 'bad trips' from smoking wayyy too much weed, especially when I was first smoking. Feeling you'll never be sober and will always be like that. People just make it out that a bad trip can happen to anyone at any random trip.

You are right that those are not necessarily characteristic of a bad trip but losing your inability to think rationally, being convinced of insanity, or that demons or spectres are following you and trying to hurt you, and the end result being you curled up into a ball crying IS a bad trip, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemies.
The demon thing I never experienced as a part of a bad trip but the others were all there on my first psychedelic trip.
I have had the demon/spectre bit happen before but I just jumped into my bed and buried my head in the pillow until the trip had subsided and had prevented a possibly horrible trip

 

[tryptamine-tripper]

I tend to differentiate in definition between "bad trip" and "difficult trip" simply because usually when people are asking about "bad trips", they're asking about that type of trip that has long-term negative effects on a person's life, ie, they become depressed, anxious, withdraw socially, and end up with significant life problems. It certainly happens to some people, but it has never happened to me. I think that when most people refer to a "bad trip", that's what they mean, whereas a "difficult trip" is one that may be horrifying at the time but which you emerge from fine, or even having learned something beneficial. The worst trip I ever had was the third time I tripped, on mushrooms. The set and setting were terrible and I spent hours in a terrible loop where I thought about every part of myself that was bad non-stop, out of control. It was horrific, but as soon as I came down I was filled with bubbling joy at being back to normal and it taught me to respect psychedelics and myself more. I have never referred to it as a "bad trip" because the net result was positive.

By that definition then I've only had some difficult trips, I can see the logic to that way of naming them. I only know of two true "bad trips" (well really know the stories and such), which happened to friends of mine, then (one friend took 6 hits of strong acid at a show a few years ago and freaked the fuck out when he was a newbie, and didn't trip again for a good long time after that, though he's used the experience as a learning experience over time, another about a year and a half ago had an experience on HIGH POTENCY penis envy mushrooms, which I was actually there and also on those mushrooms for, which he's basically still traumatized by today, to some extent- though he's also just a very depressed individual). Though I stand by saying that a large dose doesn't automatically create bad trips, you just have to be even more wary of set/setting, a large dose can also give a you an infinitely better trip than a normal dose could ever possibly approach. Anyone who smokes weed through all their trips, try taking twice as much of the psychedelic (as long as it's a safe one to do that with), and don't smoke any weed whatsoever until you start coming down, you'll probably have a more relaxed, controllable (because of no weed), but also more full & deep (because of the dose), trip than you would on half as much of the psych + weed (guess I should put a disclaimer that this should only be done by those not afraid).

 

[Solipsis]

There is a related poll + thread on the subject of bad trips, which reflects that the definition is not that simple. What's in a name really?

I think there are difficult trips, and then there's trips that are beyond difficult - described aptly with words such as 'soul rape'. Also there are train wrecks, territory bordering or overlapping with health problems and other accidents.

To a novice tripper, a difficult trip may seem like a bad trip but with additional experience this can go in various ways: it may turn out that such experiences are mostly very strong and hard to handle but still productive and even with increased therapeutic potential, but it may also turn out that there exist exceedingly problematic experiences on the greater spectrum where issues turn into problems. Spiritual crisis, apparent neurological disalignment, being steamrolled and forced by drugs like mushrooms or salvia, that stuff can be pretty serious.
I also agree that long-term negative effects are a good indication (but not necessarily more than that like being equal to) the real badness of a trip. I know from experience that trips that have a torture factor can produce or exacerbate phobias and neuroses. I also know that in cases those can heal given even more time.

So in short: nuance is essential. There is no point in arguing about a yes or no answer.

 

[Xorkoth]

Though I stand by saying that a large dose doesn't automatically create bad trips, you just have to be even more wary of set/setting, a large dose can also give a you an infinitely better trip than a normal dose could ever possibly approach. Anyone who smokes weed through all their trips, try taking twice as much of the psychedelic (as long as it's a safe one to do that with), and don't smoke any weed whatsoever until you start coming down, you'll probably have a more relaxed, controllable (because of no weed), but also more full & deep (because of the dose), trip than you would on half as much of the psych + weed (guess I should put a disclaimer that this should only be done by those not afraid).

Yeah I agree, taking a full-on dose of something often provides a more cohesive, blissful experience. It really is those half-in dosages that can do a number on your mind. Also, smoking weed certainly makes a trip way more intense and it also brings in the anxious, panicky feelings from weed, at least sometimes, especially if you're prone to it. I often smoke on trips but it's usually just one hit around the peak, and then usually more after it's coming down.

 

[DOB]

I know this will sound like trolling but I never had panic attack when fap didnt help... sugar helps too but anything I need to chew doesnt want to go down the throat