[Bad Trip Subthread] Have You Ever Had a Bad Trip?

[Mirrough]

I've had a few. I really suggest not going to sleep before or during a trip. Once i took a pretty large dose of shrooms, from the very beginning i felt paranoid, so i thought i'd lie down. Big mistake! I woke up not knowing who i was. I thought i was really dying but didn't know what was wrong, just this horrible feeling. Slowly it came to me that i took somethign psychedelic, people's names started coming back. I think some part of my brain had a reset or something. :D
It's funny to think about now, but it really was scary as hell. Later when i was a little sobered up i was in deep thoughts, i remember i had some great insights but didn't write them down. Now i try to keep a pen and paper close every time i use psychedelics.

Also had a horrible trip with DMT. This wasn't as bad because it was over soon, but i remember looking outside and seeing houses vibrate like crazy going in every direction, the music playing became unrecognizable, slowing down and speeding up. All was accompanied by the most horrible fear. But as soon as it stopped i was like... pff what was i scared of?

 

[Bone14]

Yes 80mg 4-HO-MiPT, absolute horror trip.

 

[johannes kreisler]

yes. the 2 seriously negative experiences I had were stupid doses in stupid settings and stupid sets. a "bad experience" on a strong psychedelic substance is literally the worst you can imagine.

and no. the 1 catastrophic experience (lsd) I had left me with psychiatric symptoms for a few months, took me over a year to properly integrate - and in the end left me as a stronger and overall much more experienced person. under no circumstance whatsoever would I wish anyone to have an experience like that and I am not sure if a less experienced person would have been able to integrate that at all. nevertheless today I am grateful that I had it.

 

[Anon610]

I don't venture far into the realm of RCs and synthetics. I mean, I used to smoke spice (Probably AAM or JWH blend) and had one difficult experience. I guess, just extreme paranoia. But not bad at all, and often I'd crave these panic attack like highs. Despite my really bad anxiety. Tried 25C-NBOMe, 25I-NBOMe, and DOC. I prefer 25I. I guess what I'm trying to say is I've done psychedelics quite a bit in the past year and a half I started doing anything. Ever since a kid I was fascinated with Timothy Leary and Albert Hoffman. My dad would give me the run down and funny stories about his Grateful Dead days. But never a difficult experience on any psychedelic.

As far as 'stupid' doses go. I like to do my research. I went kinda balls deep with the NBOMe compounds. First time I did it was in blotter form. And took 2mg. Great time, zero vasoconstriction.
Mushrooms, I've gone to 7 grams. Again, great time. But completely floored. DMT I did almost half a gram once, and it was astonishing. Don't remember much of it honestly. Oh and 3rd time doing acid was a ten strip. Little panic-ish at first because it kicked in so quick. And after about 26 hours of tripping it just got boring.

 

[solxyz]

Ive had quite a few. Actually its remarkable that I still love these chemicals considering the proportion of my trips that have been "bad." My first trip was distinctly bad. There were a lot of factors going into that: I was very tired, I had just been in jail the night before, there were a lot of cops around, and i smoked cannabis early in the trip. I dont smoke much pot, and I have found that it for me it makes a terrible combination early in the trip. (Smoking marijuana at the tail end of a trip, on the other hand, is one of the most fun things ever.)

Ive never felt that bad trips were learning experiences, as many people say. On the other hand, there is nothing too terrible about them - its just a few hours of experiencing something that is not fun. Life is like that sometimes. Ive never had any lasting negative effects from bad trips (while the good trips have lead to a number of positive changes in my life). Once, on an overly large dose of mushrooms, I thought I was dead and in a kind of panic I went around writing on the walls of my apartment, trying to unriddle reality, or to leave a record of the impossible, or some such, then after an hour or two, I suddenly came out of it, shrugged, and thought "well, i guess now i have to clean this up."

 

[Morninggloryseed]

Some people have 'trips' where they trip and other people have experiences where they experience.

 

[laurenslv]

I'm really not afraid of having a 'bad trip'. I've had a difficult experience once and I learned a lot from it so i'm grateful I had it. A lot of people say you shouldn't trip alone but to be honest, that difficult experience was set off by other people, not me. Next time tripping will be me alone in my house, alone with my thoughts. Seems awesome to me. Atleast i'll be able to do whatever I want, I tend to feel these boundaries when I trip with others and I don't like it.

 

[TheAppleCore]

^ I love tripping alone.

 

[Tokindope]

SWIM very seldomly smokes pot anymore because I get these horrible anxiety/panic attacks, I feel like my hearts racing non stop and that I'm for sure going to have a heart attack.. But i only started having these since I tried that k2 shit.. It was called mean green.. But that was over a year ago and swim has tried countless times with pot hoping for a calm relaxed high and it never fails every time ill have a horrible high, anyone know what I can do or why it's doing this?

 

[Anon610]

SWIM very seldomly smokes pot anymore because I get these horrible anxiety/panic attacks, I feel like my hearts racing non stop and that I'm for sure going to have a heart attack.. But i only started having these since I tried that k2 shit.. It was called mean green.. But that was over a year ago and swim has tried countless times with pot hoping for a calm relaxed high and it never fails every time ill have a horrible high, anyone know what I can do or why it's doing this?

Well being you smoked k2 and shit, you don't know exactly what pot you're getting then. You need a good INDICA strain. To relax and slightly sedate you. Oh or make Indica brownies.

 

[HaveUsedB4]

I can think of many ways to induce a bad trip, not that I would want to do that. My first LSD was bad at the start, I didn't know what happened to me. I was 14 at the time and wanted a a beer but had stricked parental units that threatened tests for alcohol. I took LSD for the wrong reason then and got scared. I have had a few moments on shrooms that were unpleasent, but things cleared up by the end of the trip. These drugs can work through scary mental affects. Things the mind has been unable to work through consiously. San pedro was a problem. I really thought a girl gave me HIV, but she was a whore and would of gave me that with a smile

 

[Toz]

LSD once.

Never again.

 

[thatdreamer123]

My definition of a bad trip, is when the trip causes you extreme fear, anxiety or paranoia in which you lose control over, and tare therefore thrown into a dark place in your mind of self-doubt, sadness, and other insecurities.

While I do believe this is all part of a trip, there is a point where it is a bad trip. What signals to me a bad trip, is when the one in the trip panics and truly wants the trip to end.

I've felt this way twice with mushrooms, and I think thats only because I was very young (15), and I was simply not developed or mature enough to handle such a powerful psychedelic. I definitely was thrown into those dark places of the mind that I was not yet comfortable to explore, and therefore fought against it making everything worse.

And yes, set and setting is all of it IMO.

But there is definitely a difference between going through the difficult part of the trip, the battle or the strife that leads to the bliss or enlightenment, versus the all out sheer manic terror and mindless paranoia of a "bad" trip.

 

[Cartesia]

Everyone's got some strange unheard of immunity to bad trips, until they have a bad trip.

 

[solxyz]

But there is definitely a difference between going through the difficult part of the trip, the battle or the strife that leads to the bliss or enlightenment, versus the all out sheer manic terror and mindless paranoia of a "bad" trip.

I think this is an important distinction. i think it would be great if we could come up with different terms for these two states (and then introduce them into popular culture) in order to reduce the on-going confusion about "bad trips."

 

[Morninggloryseed]

I think this is an important distinction. i think it would be great if we could come up with different terms for these two states (and then introduce them into popular culture) in order to reduce the on-going confusion about "bad trips."

Everyone's got some strange unheard of immunity to bad trips, until they have a bad trip.

Ok, time for some mgs dicksizing here.....I am immune to bad trips and you know why? Because I have a background in psychology, I work to understand the/my mind every day and I KNOW that any experience on a 'trip' is MY MIND and not some external thing caused by some 'dangerous and illegal drug.'

I have been tripping for more than half my life, taken more variety of psychedelics than I have fingers and toes. Yeah, I think I know my mind and the drugs I take. But beyond experience it comes down to perspective.

Most of my original LSD experiences were all mental torture....they broke me apart into nothing.....my first real LSD trip I could not tell you anything about it other than it scared the FUCK out of me from the moment it came on, till I knew it was wearing down...the few times during the peak I had any ego...I was convinced it was always going to be this way/the effect would never wear off.

Guess what.....still one of the best trips of my life. SHEER hell to go through but how can I call it a bad trip? I felt reborn, so grateful to be alive once I knew it was going to end. The world is what we make it....a psychedelic trip is no different.

Some people want a ride, they get on a marry go round...other people get on the roller coaster.

There are no bad trips in MGS land, never met anyone who has had one either. I make no separation in my mind between my mind and the 'state' brought on by a psychedelic. I make no distinction between a calm experience, and one in disharmony....both are a product of my mind....both have lessons to teach and you know what...


[serious dick sizing and ego here]if you label it a 'bad trip' and see it as being caused externally, a product of some drug and not your own consciousness then you don't 'get it.' Period, end of statement and thank you drive through.[/dick is big]

 

[spankydoo]

A 'bad trip' is such a loaded phrase. What is 'bad' itself is a loaded word because so often only when people are 'bad' can they see the good, and (hopefully) aspire to reach it.

This is one of the greatest things I have ever read on Bluelight. I have had many difficult experiences. My first shroom trip was BEAUTIFUL, everything was so clear to me. The rest (I think I have done them 3 other times) were an absolute nightmare. One was setting, camping in the woods and the cops showed up = instant mindfuck. The others I was tripping about myself.

To point out that when you're "bad" or not the person you know you are capable of being, you can see the "good" clearer is a great way to put it. If you are unhappy with yourself, it's easy to see what you wish you could do better or how much better a person you could be. I have had bad trips (oops sorry) difficult trips on other substances as well and some give me anxiety just thinking about, I think it's a sense of being overwhelmed and being vulnerable that puts me in a troubling place mentally when I trip on mindfucking substances. I am always thinking people are out to get me and ever since the cop ordeal on shrooms, that has been a recurring theme. Also, I was always with my ex-gf during my bad trips, and she had cheated on me earlier in life and was generally a careless person and that always freaked me out when I tripped with her.

I am now much better and feel stronger personally. Maybe one day I will trip again, but with the difficult experiences it lead me to believe this: the definition of stupid is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. I don't think it would be the same if I were to trip again these days because I am older and wiser(imo haha) and generally more cautious and don't have a shitty relationship looming over my head anymore.

I would like to think people can recover from "bad trips", but I don't know if I will ever do something like LSD or mushies again. I am considering 2C-B as I have heard more people say it's easy to retain a grasp of reality? Good thread, good read.

 

[Help?!?!]

Ok, time for some mgs dicksizing here.....I am immune to bad trips and you know why? Because I have a background in psychology, I work to understand the/my mind every day and I KNOW that any experience on a 'trip' is MY MIND and not some external thing caused by some 'dangerous and illegal drug.'

I have been tripping for more than half my life, taken more variety of psychedelics than I have fingers and toes. Yeah, I think I know my mind and the drugs I take. But beyond experience it comes down to perspective.

Most of my original LSD experiences were all mental torture....they broke me apart into nothing.....my first real LSD trip I could not tell you anything about it other than it scared the FUCK out of me from the moment it came on, till I knew it was wearing down...the few times during the peak I had any ego...I was convinced it was always going to be this way/the effect would never wear off.

Guess what.....still one of the best trips of my life. SHEER hell to go through but how can I call it a bad trip? I felt reborn, so grateful to be alive once I knew it was going to end. The world is what we make it....a psychedelic trip is no different.

Some people want a ride, they get on a marry go round...other people get on the roller coaster.

There are no bad trips in MGS land, never met anyone who has had one either. I make no separation in my mind between my mind and the 'state' brought on by a psychedelic. I make no distinction between a calm experience, and one in disharmony....both are a product of my mind....both have lessons to teach and you know what...


[serious dick sizing and ego here]if you label it a 'bad trip' and see it as being caused externally, a product of some drug and not your own consciousness then you don't 'get it.' Period, end of statement and thank you drive through.[/dick is big]

Tee hee, nice to know we got a low swinger here... I myself could be pretty ballsy and act like bad trips don't really exist but in my mind is all preference and the way you think about it. I feel similarly to you, after those terrifying eye widening experiences, I was always simply thankful to be alive and amongst the living! I'd have to agree, "bad trips" in the sense of "this is doing something serious and dangerous to muh bodies!?" does not exist, well maybe with exception for the newer things likie nBOMEs/BD-FLY but besides that, its all non sense. However do I believe experiences where your mentally battered, tattered, and left pretty fucking shattered...hell yeah! Its just whether you really must think of those as bad, I mean fundamentally they are terrible experiences, but that feeling of elation from escaping such insanity pretty much unscathed is pretty euphoric IMO....then you just piece together how and why it went to shit, what you can and will change for the next journey/focus your mind on that. In that sense "bad trips" don't exist. I'd rather use the term difficult experiences.

I mean honestly nine times out of ten......my experience turns sour mainly because I end up unable to deal with an unwanted side effect, like uncomfortable BL/racing thoughts/anxiety, or projectile vomit style nausea. Its been soooo rare that anything else goes wrong and those one or two times it has, its literally been all my fault for being an asshat. Everytime I was properly prepared in the prepare state, everything was bliss, yes occasionally bizarre circumstances would unfold that must be dealt with but still cake walk in comparison...

As for some dick sizing, I hate it, because to me, it doesn't exist, my dick is a bit above average and I am perfectly satisfied with its abilities and attributes, so maybe that's why I never understood drug dick sizing, or maybe its the fact that dick sizing with drugs is like trying to dick size with weaponry, weird and insane...! Either way though, by this time, i've tripped literally thousands of times now if I include short lasting duration psychedelics like DMT/the like and out of these thousands upon thousands of trips....how many bad ones have there been where i'm willingly to truly call them "bad"? Three, how many do I feel safe calling unpleasant? Maybe twenty or thirty max..... What does this say? If you've come to learn to love that psychedelic state of mind and find out how to play reasonably and keep the right materials around, the statistics of having a "bad" experience are really pretty slim, especially if you choose not to be an asshat like me and do things when you know you shouldn't. Hey though......you buy the ticket.....you take the ride!

Lastly, i'm sure most people who know me would tell you my incoherency and lunacy has only increased over the years.....but....who thought it wouldn't regardless of chemical use or not....

 

[IamMe90]

Ok, time for some mgs dicksizing here.....I am immune to bad trips and you know why? Because I have a background in psychology, I work to understand the/my mind every day and I KNOW that any experience on a 'trip' is MY MIND and not some external thing caused by some 'dangerous and illegal drug.'

I have been tripping for more than half my life, taken more variety of psychedelics than I have fingers and toes. Yeah, I think I know my mind and the drugs I take. But beyond experience it comes down to perspective.

Most of my original LSD experiences were all mental torture....they broke me apart into nothing.....my first real LSD trip I could not tell you anything about it other than it scared the FUCK out of me from the moment it came on, till I knew it was wearing down...the few times during the peak I had any ego...I was convinced it was always going to be this way/the effect would never wear off.

Guess what.....still one of the best trips of my life. SHEER hell to go through but how can I call it a bad trip? I felt reborn, so grateful to be alive once I knew it was going to end. The world is what we make it....a psychedelic trip is no different.

Some people want a ride, they get on a marry go round...other people get on the roller coaster.

There are no bad trips in MGS land, never met anyone who has had one either. I make no separation in my mind between my mind and the 'state' brought on by a psychedelic. I make no distinction between a calm experience, and one in disharmony....both are a product of my mind....both have lessons to teach and you know what...


[serious dick sizing and ego here]if you label it a 'bad trip' and see it as being caused externally, a product of some drug and not your own consciousness then you don't 'get it.' Period, end of statement and thank you drive through.[/dick is big]

I get what you're saying and I respect the general sentiment, but I think you're going a little too far. So every traumatizing experience is, in fact, a positive experience in disguise, because escaping from it reaffirms life? Does rape not count as a "bad" experience? Do the experiences which incur PTSD not count as "bad?"

Of course, I doubt you've had a trip as traumatic as being raped. But, no doubt, some people have. Are those experiences good experiences?

Bad trips do exist, they just don't exist for you (maybe, and that's a strong maybe). If it was truly not possible for a bad trip to exist for you, I'd say we should be able to extrapolate that no bad experiences exist for you, because the way that we process events is entirely dependent upon our minds, and apparently your mind is incapable of insurmountable trauma. I find this hard to believe, but if it's true, good for you.

Edit: I also think it's a bit condescending to tell someone that he just "doesn't get it" for having trouble integrating difficult experiences. All of this seems a little sanctimonious, especially given the kinds of lessons we tend to learn on psychedelics about openmindedness and forgoing unnecessary negative judgments

 

[ugly]

"bad trip" = fear and loathing

yes in 1976.