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The Big & Dandy Bad Trip Thread

AustinRay

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 4, 2004
Messages
14
The Main Bad Trip Thread

Discuss here the general issues of getting a bad trip.
Visit these subthreads for specific questions regarding this topic!!!


[original post:]

I was wondering if a bad trip is caused by somthing in the hallucinogenic that causes anxiety or that they are caused by frieghtening images that the user does not handle appropriately.

For example you could take LSD,DMT, or shrooms and see demons and become frightened, or could you handle the visions "appropriatly" and embrace the seemingly frieghtening images and even laugh at them.
 
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"...unless these metaphysical concepts are the basis of our understanding of esoteric science, we shall fall into supersticion and use magic as magicians, not as adepts; in other words, we shall be unable to transcend the bondage of the planes of form and shall be hallucinated and fall under the dominion of the phantoms evoked by the magical imagination, instead of using them as the beads on the abacus of our calculations, which is as if the engineer used a slide-rule as it were a foot-rule."
 
wow nanobrian your fucking crazy,,,....



Yes, you can if you have taken a moderate/high on a certain psycadellic.... but if you imed some dmt at an extremely high dose i dont think youd be thinking about thinking about bad shit
 
Its all in your mindset. While it could happen, its not so much about seeing demons and then "handling" it by laughing at them, its more about what you see in the first place. If you have a positive mindset you might see loving angels. I you have a negative mindset then you might see frightening demons.
 
Although, if you do see demons or the like, it is very helpful to not let yourself get swept up into what you are seeing. Just watch and it will pass.
 
I've never understood how some visuals can be disturbing. The example taken here (demons) is not something that would frighten me while tripping, I know it's the drug doing this to me. Although some realizations can be hard to accept and seem scary at the time, I really don't get how a visual can scare someone into having a bad trip..

Explanation is very much appreciated.
 
One time I was looking into my partner's eyes for an extended period on LSD and her face began to transform into a (for lack of a better term) demon. This was a very difficult for me because I am very attached to positive ideas and concepts about her and this vision was experienced along with the sensations that I don't know anything about her and that she could be a demon, metaphorically, literally or in some other manner.

She described very similar phenomena and for a few minutes, we were both at times, moments from getting sucked deep into a super negative place. She and I both had periods of crying about our experiences. We both often repeated the phrase to the other, "We're in this together and we need to both do our part to keep ourselves centered." and this helped quite a bit.

So I guess it is not to say that the visuals caused the bad trip, but they were a tangible piece of a volatile self reinforcing negative experience. The images were only the visual expression of some of this deeper fear.
 
I kind of agree Blowmoney- (knocking on wood here) but I've never had a bad trip - my first LSD experience, my friend dosed me and then went into the bedroom with his girlfriend while they made out (they were tripping too, but had done it before)

He left me with "The Meaning of Life" by Monty Python and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club band CD - I had a fucking great time and loved it

Then after the movie and the CD, I began to see faces in everything - some looked evil (or I prefer negative) - but I was never scared -

I have tripped hundreds of times since then, on almost everything you can trip on, and its always a beautiful experience. I have had trips where I look at myself really hard and maybe for a second think "You dumbass, why did you do that" - but I never got into the downward spiral thing or ever lost it - never see how that could happen to someone - I've SEEN it happen, so I know it does, but just can't relate to it.

I agree with gloggawogga - its all in your mindset. I do think you could see something during a trip that would send you in an entirely different direction - for example, seeing a car crash while in the middle of a great trip - but if your mindset is there to begin with, I believe you can roll with it without freakin.

*
you bring the potato chips, I'll bring the HOT SAUCE
*
 
Actually, come to think of it, the ugliest thing I've ever seen on LSD was my self, i.e. while looking in the mirror. I've heard it said not to look in the mirror on LSD because you'll freak out, but I just love it. I just sit in front of the mirror watch my self melt into a grotesque looking mound of nasty oozy respirating flesh. It totally amazes becuase I know intimately that the ugliness I see in the mirror is just one aspect of what I am. The uglier my ugly side the more beautiful my beautiful side :)
 
when LSD was used in therapy the patient was urged to look at herself in the mirror. The question was then asked internally or externally: 'Who am I?'.

The inevitable projections of the unconscious are then witnessed. From Demon to angel to rock star to old man. Every few minutes the question was asked: 'Who else am i'.

The patient was guided as to not get caught up on either the positive or negative images of themselves witnessed in the mirror. Eventually all the incarnations or projections were exhausted and the 'calm self' revealed. This process centered the LSD theraputee.

it works for me too.

E n j o y

X
 
From my experience bad trips usually revolve around your immediate health and not your visuals like aliens or monsters.
 
I think bad trips are the result of some spontaneous chemical reaction in your brain, and you have absolutely no control over having them or not. If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. And don't get suckered into the whole "just stay positive, think happy thoughts, and you wont wig out!" bit - this dosn't really work. First of all, if you try to con yourself into only thinking positive, happy thoughts, you're lying to yourself. I don't know a SINGLE person who thinks happy and positive all the time. And if you're lying to yourself while on LSD, you'll get your ass kicked. The most important thing is to just let it flow, let any visuals or thoughts just come and go, don't try to stick only to the positive or 'happy' ones. Your mind will realize that you're trying to resist a certain aspect of the trip, and it will usually magnify that particular aspect tenfold. So, my advice... just let it flow. Be passive while tripping. Stay neutral, and try to be as objective as possible.
 
My version of a bad trip?

I kept me safe from the ravages of time and my enemies.Though I did begin to fear I would go mad..Huh whix way mad ha ,he is mad what the hat?Hmm I pondered the riddle for a decade in a second of every waking moment.When no solution came i Shouted myself hoarse calling within myself for help.That attracted life other more unpleasant residence , who offered to not aid me but thought it would be fun to torture me.After going through my life I started creating others they came they kept me entertained but they never lasted now im back once again where i am alone.
 
bah forget what he said, this is a cool thread and i dont think it should die out now
 
id like to believe that set andsetting hasa lot to do with the trip, but that there are still thing s like chemical factors involved ina ll of this
 
Another point to think on is that not all trips necessarily occur due to frightening hallucinations...a single negative thought about oneself, family members, friends, life, etc can snowball, producing feelings of fear, paranoia, etc... I've been involved with people who have had both kinds of bad trips (my husband and i volunteer for a harm reduction group called Ravesafe) and i feel that its much easier to ground someone who's seeing devils, etc than it is to ground someone who's bad trip stems from the feelings i've highlighted above...

That's only my personal experience, it may not be the same for everyone... :)
 
Entheogenic experiences, like life itself, are what you make of them.

I can honestly say I've never had a "bad" trip. Now I've had a few downright scary trips, particularly some LSD, DMT, DPT, and Salvia divinorum experiences I can think of. And I also kinda "wigged out" once on 5-MeO-DiPT and once on 4-Ho-DET. Oh, and one baby woodrose seed trip, and a few morning glory seed trips, were scary. I had taken way too much on each of these seed trips and my ego went into “resistance mode” against my control. The time when I took too many woodrose seeds I thought I was going to die in fact. Truly believed I would. I'd never felt in fear for my life (haven't since either) so it was very terrifying. Powerful seeds they were!

Only on my second LSD trip (about 10 years ago) did I ever take a psychedelic in a really uncomfortable setting. This was my first real "acid experience." The first time I ate a "hit" of LSD there was only, maybe, 50ug of LSD present. However the second time I took LSD I got a full ego-smashing dose. I definitely took above 250ug and it was enough to shatter my ego like it had never been shattered before. Previous morning glory trips were powerful, but they never took me that far. LSD has an ego-shredding capability that no synthetic indole I’ve tried, except perhaps non-orally consumed DPT, can touch.

My first real LSD experience took place at a friend's house and an unexpected amount of people showed up that I was not anticipating. Well, I simply was not ready to have my head split open like that with so many people around me. I became very confused, and just generally uncomfortable.

I started drifting in and out of my body/usual space of consciousness. During much of the peak, I'd forgotten I was even tripping, where I was, or what I was doing. But it also would come in waves at times. When my ego returned to my body I'd fight the experience, which resulted in an extreme raw state of fear. And then I'd be swept out of my body again and there was little ego to put up any resistance anymore; only enough to retain memory of the experience. I remember at times not knowing who "I" was, yet I remember the whole trip with complete clarity.

But by the time the peak was over, I thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever experienced! Well it was up to that point. When "I" left “my” body, the states of consciousness experienced were beyond what I knew existed, or possible. I was in shock and awe for a long time after my first real LSD experience and realized/experienced a lot of things previously considered to not be possible. It really "opened my eyes" and began my long road (which I am still on) of spiritual discovery.

But none of those trips were bad trips. I grew in one way or another from each of those experiences, however scary or unpleasant they were at the time. And if you learn from a trip, and grow from it in some way, then I can't call that a bad trip even if it was frightening during the initial experience.

It also helped that I always had these experiences in good settings and had nurturing and loving people with me to be there. Even that LSD trip I talked about, my best friend was there and tried (when he wasn't too gone as he was also tripping) to keep me calm. I've always been careful about where I trip, especially since that LSD experience, and who I am with when I trip.

The big thing is control over your setting. The first thing I learned when I started reading about psychedelics was set and setting. Be in one you have control over! I guess I’ve only broken that credo when I've tripped at concerts. I don't have control over my setting then. But every concert I tripped at was either a Grateful Dead/post Dead entity, Roger Waters (of Floyd), or Dylan. And I was not the only person tripping (I think 3/4's of everyone was tripping at that Water's show) so I did not feel like I was in any danger of attracting unnecessary attention to myself. Those who have been to a Dead show know that almost anything goes! And I always had a sober friend to watch over me.

I guess if I got arrested while tripping, that would be pretty bad. Or if I lost a limb or my penis in a strange knife incident, I’d have a bad trip. But none of those things have happened to me so far!
 
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I would say that claiming visuals were the cause of a bad trip is putting the wagon before the horse. Real bad trip have little to do with what you're seeing, becuase what you're seeing has to do with what you're thinking and feeling. In fact, I'd venture that most people who associate bad trips with images of deamons have never really had a truly dificult experience . My negative moments have come from inside me: confronting things about my self that I don't like (my mortality, my self image, my ego). Its easy to get wrapped up in these matters, to lose control of your head and allow yourself to be at the mercy of your emotions.

Thats ok though. You just have to accept that you're experiencing something that, if you allow it to, will be a great teacher to you. Dificult trips aren't medical conditions that call for valium, they're underlieing psychological aspects of your mind that you might want to look at. This is the difference between tripping for fun and tripping for personal growth. My best experiences have been the ones where I feared, then accepted that I was going to die, or that nobody could ever truely love me except God.
 
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