Hey man, I'm gonna move this to Psychedelic Drugs, where you'll get the best replies.
It's a good idea not to take a whole 8th your first time, definitely. It's not that an 8th will cause a bad trip, it's just that you don't know how you'll react yet. My recommendation is to go with 1.5-2 grams. That will give you a solid trip most likely (unless the mushrooms are weak), but will be much more likely to be manageable.
You should expect it to be nothing like you expected (assuming you have never tripped before?). Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- The come-up period is the most difficult part of psychedelics. In most of my early trips, I felt uncomfortable and sometimes quite anxious until I reached the peak. It can be quite disorienting to make the transition from sober to tripping. This is normal. I often used to find myself thinking "fuck, why did I do this to myself? I feel poisoned", and stuff like that, on the come-up. Don't succumb to that and remember it will pass. Psychedelics sort of give you a hangover beforehand, and then leave you feeling great, unlike most other drugs, that feel good immediately but leave you feeling drained. All that said, my first trip was very smooth, so it's not a given that the come-up will be difficult
- Remember, if you feel anxious at any point, it will pass. Giving in to the anxiety and panicking can make the whole trip feel bad, but it's normal for trips to have periods of "badness". In fact some of my best trips have been very difficult at points.
- Remember if you start feeling like you'll never be normal again or that you've gone insane or that you've broken your brain, that these things are not true and that the trip will pass and you will feel normal again. Sometimes these thoughts happen when things get difficult, and if you can remember that it's normal and will pass, it really helps you get past them.
- Don't fight the effects, let go and accept what is happening, this will really help if things get difficult or confronting.
- Expect it to last 4-6 hours. Afterwards you probably still can't act normal for a few more hours.
- Make sure you're in a good, safe setting, where people won't be dropping by unexpectedly and you won't have to deal with strangers, and where you're not going to have to hide your tripping from anyone.
- Smoking weed will make the trip much more intense, many times smoking weed will push a trip from totally manageable to very difficult. Weed contributes to anxiety, especially on psychedelics. So at least make sure you're definitely done with the peak before smoking, in my opinion. At least your first time. If you're hitting uncomfortable territory, smoking weed will NOT help, it will make it worse.
Psychedelics can be recreational, but they also require some work on your part and can be challenging. But if you remember this stuff, you're likely to have a good time. In all likelihood, your trip will be euphoric and great, but I just wanted to give you some information for dealing with it if it's not. The way I see it, difficult trips can be the most rewarding in the end, even if they're frightening or disturbing during the trip. I have tripped hundreds of times, and I have never had what I consider a "bad trip", even though I have been so terrified before that I considered killing myself during the trip. It's about how you frame the experience. Some people have a difficult time, or are confronted with something about themselves they don't want to accept, and give in to panic and then afterwards become obsessed with the idea that they damaged themselves, but the vast majority of the time, it's just anxiety. Chronic anxiety can have all sorts of negative effects on your physical and mental health. So just remember, you'll be fine, and difficult periods of the trip are perfectly normal.
