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What's your trick to get out of bad trips quick?

T

Trying2Iso

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Joined
Oct 22, 2013
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Obviously taking antipsychotics or benzos works well but i mean if you don't have access to other drugs.

My main method is putting in fear and loathing in lv because it reminds me that i'm just on drugs and all the bad thoughts are just from the drugs.
then i go right back into a good trip and have a blast the rest of the time.
 
I go outside in nature, it almost always works. Or, I turn on some good music and close my eyes. Sometimes a simple change in setting can make all the difference.

There's only been one time I've had a trip that was negative/terrifying the whole time. Generally trips can contain difficult periods, but I find that trying to abort them with benzos or antipsychotics is much worse for you than just riding them out. If you ride them out, you come out the other side stronger and having learned something, and the trip gets to fully resolve and almost always results in something positive. If you abort it, it never fully resolves and you are left with the tattered remnants of something negative in your psyche.

Your fear and loathing suggestion is a good one. :)
 
Changing the setting is the ultimate rapid "cure" and is easier, safer and arguably better than a pharmacological route.

Changing the music, the lighting, the room or just about anything can have a huge influence on the mindset of a person who is tripping and this makes it an invaluable technique.

Consider also that challenging moments in a trip can be an incredible opportunity for the development of one's character and you may come to the conclusion that many others have - that benzos are great but really ought to be a last resort.
You can draw a parallel outside of the context of illegal drug use to those that drink heavily when times get tough. Instead of dealing with the hurdles that life presents they retreat to the bar, and they tend to be very immature as a result.
 
Over the years, I've picked up a few worthwhile methods to change the headspace mid-flight..


I really like to use a piece of charcoal to vaporize essential oils. I've seen even complete amateur girls in freakouts find quick peace after I disperse a few tangerine and spearmint drops. The whole environment becomes immediately heavily saturated with the scent and essence of the oils; for example, the bright and buoyant citrus and the cool calm of the mint work wonders with uncomfortable trips, physically, mentally, even socially and emotionally. Different oils also have different capacities, useful in different situations, for different purposes. Just takes a little research and an oil burner.

Another trick is controlling the air, which is so very easy. Sometimes, while tripping indoors especially, I feel stifled or claustrophobic or just bogged down. Fresh air inevitably cures this though, an open window or just stepping outside.. Or, in regards to temperature, I've found cooler environments can cause excess energy (more electricity or pins-and-needles), while warmer rooms can create heavy feelings and slow laze.

The amount and type of lighting in a room can also dramatically affect the character of the experience. I guess most of my methods involve the senses.. Tried and true techniques often involve setting.


Something in another vein might be more psychological though, maybe relating to nostalgia.. A lot of fear is a response to the unknown or confusing, and the common and well worn-in comfort of an old cartoon or favorite food/drink can remedy most anxiety, in my experience.

Or, you could always divert your attention into reality by watching an interesting documentary. I find natural science and speculative technology to be fantastic material for when things are getting too out there or uncomfortably bizarre. Discovery Channel's "How It's Made" series is the ultimate. Some solid grounding, you know?

Oh, and for truly dire situations, I mean those honestly terrifying, emotionally harrowing, soul searching judgement type loops, nothing beats a long, hot shower.
 
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I make a point of not trying to elude or get away from the negative thing.

resistance makes it repeat
avoidance makes it more sharply noticed and it repeats - looping is hellish.

slowing down, however, and not avoiding the negative thing, changes the quality of and the perspective on things.

I don't want to try to put in words what follows, except to say that the situation will turn inside out naturally.
It does for me,
trying to escape never works for me while sitting by works well to reconnect with what is in a good way.
 
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pupnik said:
I make a point of not trying to elude or get away from the negative thing.

resistance makes it repeat
avoidance makes it more sharply noticed and it repeats - looping is hellish.

slowing down, however, and not avoiding the negative thing, changes the quality of and the perspective on things.

I don't want to try to put in words what follows, except to say that the situation will turn inside out naturally.
It does for me,
trying to escape never works for me while sitting by works well to reconnect with what is in a good way.
Click to expand...

you, my friend, have not experienced a true "bad trip", which is so horrible that there is no reason it could possibly therapeudically benefit you, and in fact could actually cause harm to you in the form of PTSD (Posttraumatic stress disorder)... trust me man, bad trips suck WAY to much for you NOT to attempt to elude or "get away" from them.
 
But what causes such a thing? Why do some people have them and others don't? It's my belief that such terrible experiences come from an intense internal attempt at suppression/denial/flight. But you can't hide from yourself so it manifests itself in a traumatic loop. That is, until you can relax and accept the situation you're in and discover why it is you feel that way. Is it a past trauma? Is it that your ego is terrified at losing control? Why is it that I have tripped hundreds and hundreds of times, sometimes on insane dosages by most peoples' standards, and I have never had such a trip? I think it's because I'm always cognizant of the things we're mentioning here and if I feel that runaway negative thought loop, I stop, breathe and try to determine why I feel this way. As a result I have aided myself in getting over a variety of neuroses from my past, which were brought up in terrifying fashion in psychedelic trips. I could be wrong I suppose, but I just don't believe that some people have these kinds of runaway bad trips that result in PTSD and some don't. Like any experiences in life, the end result is very much dependent on how you handle it and work through it. If you work toward a resolution, you can escape from most situations a better and stronger person. If you hide away and suppress, you will not have dealt with the negativity associated with the experience and it will manifest itself later because it hasn't been resolved or dealt with.

The exception I would say is those psychotic trips that people predisposed to psychosis can experience. Oftentimes there is memory loss involved as well as sexually inappropriate behavior and complete lack of sense coming from said person. I separate these trips from other trips because there is something else at play there.
 
Xorkoth said:
But what causes such a thing? Why do some people have them and others don't? It's my belief that such terrible experiences come from an intense internal attempt at suppression/denial/flight. But you can't hide from yourself so it manifests itself in a traumatic loop. That is, until you can relax and accept the situation you're in and discover why it is you feel that way. Is it a past trauma? Is it that your ego is terrified at losing control? Why is it that I have tripped hundreds and hundreds of times, sometimes on insane dosages by most peoples' standards, and I have never had such a trip? I think it's because I'm always cognizant of the things we're mentioning here and if I feel that runaway negative thought loop, I stop, breathe and try to determine why I feel this way. As a result I have aided myself in getting over a variety of neuroses from my past, which were brought up in terrifying fashion in psychedelic trips. I could be wrong I suppose, but I just don't believe that some people have these kinds of runaway bad trips that result in PTSD and some don't. Like any experiences in life, the end result is very much dependent on how you handle it and work through it. If you work toward a resolution, you can escape from most situations a better and stronger person. If you hide away and suppress, you will not have dealt with the negativity associated with the experience and it will manifest itself later because it hasn't been resolved or dealt with.

The exception I would say is those psychotic trips that people predisposed to psychosis can experience. Oftentimes there is memory loss involved as well as sexually inappropriate behavior and complete lack of sense coming from said person. I separate these trips from other trips because there is something else at play there.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you have not been exposed to pure LSD or Dimethyltryptamine before, because of all people (myself, my dealer, and everyone i know who has used real tested LSD) has experienced a "bad trip", LSD has the tendency to bring out the best and also the worst in you at the same time and that can have a profound effect on the inner consciousness... maybe someday you will too have the privelage of experiencing LSD-25 in its purest form as i have, and then you will surely retract your statement...
 
if you get pure DMT (dimethyltryptamine) as well you will exceedingly open your mind.
 
Indeed, the best way I have gotten out of bad trips were to remind myself that I took a substance and that it'll pass. Once I get myself to focus on that and keep it in mind, the trip at least becomes neutral but more often positive. Not immediately most times, but eventually for sure. Supportive friends really help a lot too.

I've had terrifying bad trips, even though I don't have emotional/mental turmoil and I'm pretty sure my mind state is strong and as secure as can be. I've been through some pretty crappy times but I've always been able to learn from them and take positives away from events that were completely negative. I've seen most who have gone through something similar either affect them negatively way past the trauma, or they simply ignore it until time heals it. I'll shed a tiny bit of light on a very personal trauma that I went through that included physical/emotional abuse, no help, my very first gf cheated on me even though I did everything right, had many people laughing and shit talking on said abuse and my gf cheating on me, got kicked out of my house (many times) and ended up sleeping in a parking lot those particular days for trying to stop the abuse. Not to mention we were poor and lived in a poor neighborhood at the time, which compounded on those family issues (as we all know severe financial difficulties can easily wreck a household)...all of which happened at the same time when I was only 16.

Yet, as I said, I don't have any emotional turmoil and I'm pretty much at peace with everything. That trauma made me strong mentally, and from then on I was able to easily get over anything that was less traumatizing than that. Whereas most others who suffered something similar either go on to wallow in their despair, not try to fix anything and do what they can, become abusers themselves, etc. Personally, I couldn't imagine abusing anyone and I never will, including my dog who I treat like a baby. :)

Anyway, sometimes I did suffer that feeling of total despair just like I felt during that trauma when I have a really bad trip. None of my visuals have ever been related to that, for whatever reason, but I've always been able to come out of it with it having absolutely no negative effect on my psyche and outlook. It's just simply not enough to break me because it was only the drug making me see and feel that way, and not actual real life where there's absolutely no escape from it and I'd have to deal with it anyway. When I turned it all around on my own and fixed what I could, that's when I had mentally grown the most by far. Ironically, I became more fun-loving and good hearted after that trauma. I don't really know why either.

Damn, I said too much...but yeah, though I've had terrifying visuals (including gory shit) on bad trips and those classic negative thought loops, when it's all said and done I easily get over it and don't let it negatively affect me at all. Simply by reminding myself that I'm just tripping and that it'll pass. :)
 
Whenever I "abort" a trip using benzos, I always feel like I've kind of wasted money, even if I'm having a "bad trip". Like, I bought the ticket, may as well ride out the whole trip...
 
  • remind yourself you've taken a drug and that you'll be fine in a few hours
  • focus on your breathing
  • go into a different room
 
I have two methods of snapping myself out of it; one is so simple it's embarrassing - I say a 'safe' phrase containing an immutable truth (it grounds me and allows me to realize I'm only on drugs). I suppose at some point this may fail, depending on what I've taken and how much. Maybe it's only a matter if time,

The other method is somewhat similar to what pupnik says; I go and stare at myself in the mirror, watching my face twist and melt, grow old and rot until it no longer bothers me....I become familar with it. Then I go put on a horror movie.

Tom
 
For my part there are two answers to the OP's question.

The first is that in a truly horrendous experience, where you are for all intents and purposes in a state of catatonic psychosis, there is nothing you can do. At this point, there is really no 'you' left to do anything. You can resist it no more than you can wrestle a tornado. However, what you CAN do is approach it healthily when you come back. I believe even the most mind-shattering experiences can be of benefit to you if you integrate them properly. Yes I've had a trip so bad that for a long time after, I was convinced there was nothing to learn from it and that it had just been my brain glitching and reality breaking, and that I was lucky to still be in one piece. However with time, reflection and repeated, far less intense psychedelic journeys, I came to realise it was one of the most important moments of my life, and I would be a very different, probably much weaker, person without it.

The second is that for unpleasant experiences, as pupnik says you just have to roll with it. Don't resist, don't avoid. Let it happen. Be accepting and willing to explore the darkest corners of your psyche. You may go to hell but you'll be back to baseline in time for breakfast.

For these, you may eventually come to realise that you have far more control over it than you think. Yes some people are more prone to negative experiences than others. This is because it is our minds we are experiencing, not merely the drug. Everybody's mind is different. I have been back to places that used to terrify me, where reality is on its head and I feared I wouldn't be coming back. I have learned to roll with it. It's the single most important technique you can develop on psychedelic drugs.

You may also, of course, simply change the setting or what you are doing if you just don't want to delve into the dark side today. This can have a remarkable effect at changing your expedition, because it will draw off different stimulus and react to it differently.

The most profound experiences, especially ayahuasca, teach that you are the master of your own reality, you just haven't clued into it yet. I am fond of saying that one man's psychosis is another man's enlightenment.
 
Also this:

Thomas Davie said:
The other method is somewhat similar to what pupnik says; I go and stare at myself in the mirror, watching my face twist and melt, grow old and rot until it no longer bothers me....I become familar with it. Then I go put on a horror movie.
Click to expand...

is great - as a friend told me not long ago, when evil smiles at you, smile back.
 
Trying2Iso said:
you, my friend, have not experienced a true "bad trip", which is so horrible that there is no reason it could possibly therapeudically benefit you, and in fact could actually cause harm to you in the form of PTSD (Posttraumatic stress disorder)... trust me man, bad trips suck WAY to much for you NOT to attempt to elude or "get away" from them.
Click to expand...

Trying21so said:
Perhaps you have not been exposed to pure LSD or Dimethyltryptamine before, because of all people (myself, my dealer, and everyone i know who has used real tested LSD) has experienced a "bad trip", LSD has the tendency to bring out the best and also the worst in you at the same time and that can have a profound effect on the inner consciousness... maybe someday you will too have the privelage of experiencing LSD-25 in its purest form as i have, and then you will surely retract your statement...
Click to expand...

Dude I don't mean to cause offense, but I've known Xorkoth loosely on this board (seen him around, anyway) and suggesting he doesn't know what LSD, DMT or a bad trip is like is actually pretty funny. You seem convinced you've had experiences no one else here understands but I'd suggest you might be the one who's missing something here.
 
There seems to be this subtle yet persistent bias towards 'deep' or psychological phenomenalism on this forum..

True, many so-called bad trips are the result of some sort of cognitive dissonance or fear-based resistance in the subject. Serious heads have probably seen the confused 'I'm Gay!' trip, or the 'Secret Code Language, Talking Shit' trip.

However, some bad trips are just the results of exponentially chaotic neural loops and convoluted thought patterns, or else simply delirious confusion and the accompanying displeasure at that. I've been in annoying loops which consisted of nothing but me getting off my bed to go to the fridge, then sitting back down, only to forget and restart the loop. Wanna psychoanalyze that, get Freudian and tell me about my hang-ups on eating or something?

All I'm saying is, sometimes it's not so philosophical and complicated, seriously.
 
Yes the experience itself may be meaningless noise. But it's still a very different state of mind to be in. An experience unlike any other.

I wouldn't psychoanalyse thought loops either, but isn't it curious to observe your own mindset when you're in one. I can draw parallels to unconscious and frustrating habits in sober life. It's almost as though in a trip it's the same thing, only, more extreme and acute. That is what I mean about integrating an experience. You tend to not pay attention to a habit loop in your life because you're so used to it. But you can hardly miss a psychedelic thought loop. I can certainly see how drawing a parallel could be useful, psychoanalysis aside.
 
Of course, I don't mean to imply hallucinations aren't useful for self-analysis. I only meant that putting too much emphasis on the deconstruction and understanding of difficult trips could also put one in the position of trying to integrate nonsense.

Self-discerning sorting out which shit means anything is imperative to successfully bring back something of value from that state.
 
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