Do bad trips exist? My thoughts.

[ComedownsSuck]

Hi-

So i have done my fair share of psychedelics, most of which at varying doses.
These drugs including --
LSD (15+ times, highest dose being 6 hits of clean LSD which were dropped in front of me)
Psylocibin Mushrooms (2 times, highest dose being 6 grams)
MDMA (40+ times, highest dose being 400mg)
MDA (10+ times, highest dose being 250mg)
2c-b (2 times, highest dose being 25mg)
25c-NBOMe (5 times, highest dose being 1400ug)
25i-NBOMe (1 time)
DXM (1 time)
Diphenhydramine (DISSASSOCIATIVE, 1 time, 400mg)
I have taken many of these drugs at a home/club environment and feel very comfortable while tripping. I believe that the trip can become overly intense, which if one is not both physically and mentally prepared for can become overwhelming and may lead to a negative mindset during the trip. But i dont believe that those trips are necessasarily bad. If you prepare yourself for your trip, and know what you are taking and at what dosage, you should have no worries about your trip going "bad". Even when a trip becomes overly intense, i have never experianced scary visuals or even thoughts of my own creation with bad vibes. i can see how some people may not enjoy things of that nature, but do those scary visuals/dark thoughts that come with "bad trips" actually exsist? What do you guys think/ have you experianced?

 

[Cuhpcakes]

When experiencing a new high, it can be overwhelming so a bad trip can manifest on such negative thoughts.

A trip is what you make of it, I see no plausible reason to think pestimstic when you're high.

 

[Mitchi]

When your heart starts beating so fast that it may very well explode, then it has nothing to do with the mind. It's just pure fear. Not that it's bad

 

[Mysterie]

depends how you view things/life, its hard to classify anything as bad or good, everything is subjective and relative

 

[Asante]

If you prepare yourself for your trip, and know what you are taking and at what dosage, you should have no worries about your trip going "bad".

How utterly wrong you are. Any psychedelic trip, no matter how well prepared, can spin out of control into a complete nightmare. Your rational mind is powerless to stop it as it can be easily thrown into a loop or otherwise taken out.

You need a sitter to help mitigate the consequences of a bad trip emerging. Controlling set and setting curbs most bad trips but the very hardest ones tend to be almost completely independent of whatever preparations you take or how rational you usually are. Theres no magic formula with which you are safe, tripping always will be a high risk activity, the psychological equivalent of basejumping.

I trip for 20 years and have tripped on several hundred doses.

 

[my3rdeye]

I have had nightmare bad trips on large LSD doses they most definitely exist. You be about the 10th person I met who didn't believe and then had one all of a sudden, give it time. Maybe you need to experience one to believe. Be as prepared as you want, one time my friend dropped and got a call his grandmother died and it turned bad almost right away. And bad trips are kind of contagious, like at Woodstock, group bummers are common. Sometimes you can turn them around, and there are many levels of bad trip from somewhat uncomfortable, like you can't understand what anyone is saying, to flat out terror.
I haven't had one in a long time though and would be somewhat surprised if I did now. But there is no way I could say 100 percent that it couldn't happen.

 

[ThaDudeAbides]

I've had a bad trip on 1 hit and a great trip on one sheet. It's about set and setting and if the person who made the LSD took the proper care and love making it too. I truly feel that I have a connection to the chemist when I take a trip. I can tell commercial LSD, from the family stash LSD made with love and not for profit.

But set and setting is key. I used to enjoy tripping at festivals, but I got to a point I just wanted be away from people and left alone. I mainly house trip now. I prefer being a house hippie now as I've gotten older. But in my teens and twenties it was amazing sharing the experience with others.

Remember tripping or sober we are all connected in one way or another. You may not like everyone but you share a connection with everyone in this world. Sadly most people don't realize that and just care about themselves and their dead presidents on dead trees ($).

A good trip will show you this. It's not just the drugs talking. They simply are keys to open doors you can't get in without. Reality is what you make it. Don't let the reality you see believe it's the true reality.

 

[hypnagogic]

You be about the 10th person I met who didn't believe and then had one all of a sudden, give it time.

Like he said I've known so many people to talk about how they've never had a bad time and anyone who does was just unprepared right before losing their shit. Not saying it happens to everyone, but the potential exists.

Also, diphenhydramine is not a dissociative.

 

[.:Holy::Toast:.]

Yes bad trips are real. And they are terrifying
Seeing shit like shadow people jumping over your shoulder every couple seconds and feeling like the fabric of time and your sense of reality is slowly disintegrating is just fucking horrifying

 

[GreenMachine]

Yes bad trips are real. And they are terrifying
Seeing shit like shadow people jumping over your shoulder every couple seconds and feeling like the fabric of time and your sense of reality is slowly disintegrating is just fucking horrifying

i dont feel like i have had any "bad" trips, just a couple difficult ones. but yes, i have definitely been in a spot a couple times where most people would consider it a bad trip. paranoia is definitely the biggest factor here, if you feel safe where you are tripping you are much less likely to experience a bad trip. i consider myself very rational, and pretty experienced with psychedelics, but even so i have had trips where parts of my brain are convincing me that people are out there fucking with me, trying to kill me, almost schizophrenic style hallucinations. i can deal with scary crazy visuals, but when what is left of my ego is convinced there is some conspiracy out to get me, things get pretty uncomfortable.

however that has only really happened once in about a hundred or so trips. set and setting is everything and for that particular experience both set and setting were compromised pretty badly. its important to research these things and understand the possible outcomes that come with the unpredictability of psychedelics. no matter how bad things get, things can turn on a dime when you are tripping and knowing that is what has saved many a trip for me.

 

[RhythmSpring]

A bad trip is just a panic attack while tripping. You are in as much control as you are in a sober panic attack; it's just more intense.

 

[jackietango]

When experiencing a new high, it can be overwhelming so a bad trip can manifest on such negative thoughts.

A trip is what you make of it, I see no plausible reason to think pestimstic when you're high.

So true, dude. I tend to roll with the punches and go with the flow. It all depends on the state of person and how much control they have over their mind.

I've had a couple of trips where there have been tarantulas crawling down my walls, I just told myself it's all in my head and then I tend to embrace whatever it is out to get me. As soon as you come to terms with the fact that you're in full-control, then you shouldn't experience an extremely bad trip. Take the bull by the horns!

This is just from personal experiences, I can't speak for anyone else.

 

[Thomas Davie]

Yes bad trips are real. And they are terrifying
Seeing shit like shadow people jumping over your shoulder every couple seconds and feeling like the fabric of time and your sense of reality is slowly disintegrating is just fucking horrifying

The trouble Sir is that I am not sure if what I have experienced or perceived is a bad trip. Not saying I am immune by any means; if anything I would think I am a bit more predisposed towards bad trips. I've definitely had uncomfortable trips. Sometimes it doesn't flow the way I want or had planned, and I desperately want it to change (or end). Is that bad, or expression of a desire? Physically I've had intense stomach pains that I thought were 3 dimensional razor blades inside my body. Psychologically I've seen colours that I don't like (sober or high).

But all of my trips have been solo; maybe if I was with another person they would think 'bad trip'.

I keep expecting to have a bad trip. I just don't know what they are. For me it comes part and parcel with the thought (or supposed knowledge) for the majority of my life that psychs were wrong or 'bad' to take.

Maybe life is the bad trip?

Tom

 

[SoonAJunkie]

On psychedelics?Absolutely not.Trips that are considered "bad" are just intense,deep trips that show you your true self,your true thoughts.Possibly the dark ones.The "bad trip" is just a lie of people that are against drugs,i mean come on,lsd is a stimulant at low doses,even on medium ones,it is against its nature to give you a bad experience.I've done 3 trips,one of them was at school.I expected it to be bad,but i was just kinda anxious and paranoid,nothing more.I had a great time.I've also tripped more than 30 times on DMT,still,not even 1 bad trip,that made me regret it.2 of my trips were VERY intense,dark,mysterious but defintely not bad.

 

[Issac Sinclair]

If you don't get fucked up from it or stressed then no they don't exist. But I knew what this thread was gonna be like from the topic, and you confirmed it with your post.

Yes you can get brain damaged from psychedelics. You can develop disorders and destroy your well being. Bad trips certainly do exist, and they aren't just scary, or too intense, they will make you have anxiety where you didn't have any before, and other such issues. There are many cases of this happening, and just because it didn't happen to you doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

 

[buildersoftime]

I've had a bad trip on 1 hit and a great trip on one sheet.

When people say things like this it makes me wonder. Nobody in their right mind would take £500 worth of psychedelics in one session. Not only is there no point, but it's also physically dangerous.

So I can only assume that when people say they've taken 100 doses of acid, they're lying. But to what end?

 

[PRUCH]

After tripping for the first time I had the exact same question. I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder and was anticipating an overwhelming trip that would be too much. Not only did I have the time of my life, I easily shot away anxious thoughts by saying "just go with the flow lulz ur trippin" and was right back to laughing my ass off. As long as you keep an open mind and know what you're taking a bad trip is highly unlikely imo.

 

[Diode]

It's impossible to say, there's too much variance in what people would consider as "bad". Terror, anguish and everything inbetween have come up in the past and still may, but I've never had a bad trip. A mindstate like that is inherently negative, but can be used for construction if you work at it and it will make you feel amazing about yourself conquering a difficult experience. Anytime I've run into difficulty I've come out better off everytime and enjoyed the rest of the duration or the next day with a huge sense of satisfaction.

There are things can happen that will without a doubt spiral you into a bad space, those being extreme hunger, thirst and whatever other things your body is going to scream at your for. I was extremely dehydrated once and the walls of my room began to tear open with glowing magma claw marks and a heard a huge ringing in the distance almost like an alarm bell. That was really scary, but it was actually a warning. Until that very moment the words food and drink meant nothing to me, I probably could have died had those scary things not happen to me. Fear is a defensive response, it's not attacking you. If fear ends up being wrong, sit down and let it know.

That being said, some people just can't take the heat and some distortions or effects that a chunk of us find fascinating can and do terrify/disorient people, and make them extremely uncomfortable or scared. Lasting psychological disturbances are not uncommon in the slightest. We probably all know at least 1 of these people, people who have a hard time displacing the experience from baseline reality, which in itself can be quite scary. I consider this anomaly, and these people maybe shouldn't trip at all.

So yes, bad trips do exist but that doesn't mean they are inherently evil or malicious, they can get that way but bluntly put, it's 99% chance your own doing. You create bad trips by damaging yourself as far as I see. If you get such bad aftershock from your experience that you're left with latent anxiety, paranoia etc. you most likely were not prepared for what you did, perpetuated the bad trip by lacking the knowledge on how to deal with it or something horrible happened to you during. When it boils down unless it's a deliriant situation or a massive overdose you are still in control up there somewhere. If you have a bad trip, it's all on you. So really you decide if you want to perpetuate the existence of "bad trips" instead of using those experiences as a tool for growth in the end. You may not be aware of your ability to make that decision, but it's there.

 

[Clocktower]

If you've had a bad trip, you know they exist

If you don't believe bad trips exist, you're too closed-minded to listen to all the people who have had them.

 

[elucidator]

From the vast majority of wonderful experiences in my past, there has definitely been the odd negative one. I have had gut wrenchingly terrifying trips, extremely uncomfortable trips, and mind numbingly dull trips, though I cannot say that I find any of them bad or non worthwhile.
Some of the more unpleasant ones were the ones I have learnt the most from, so for this reason I regard all trips to be good.

Edit~ only if it didn't cause any physical/mental/social harm.