Why do I have a bad trip every time?!?!

[Warped Reality]

I don't understand why I have a bad trip every single time I do a psychedelic (or even weed, honestly!).

It's like, the trip is going great, up until the point where I think "What if I start having a bad trip?" and BAM the rest of the trip is a nightmare.

The only drugs I can do without having a bad trip are Ecstasy & Alcohol... Even when I smoke weed now I get very anxious and start losing my vision, and I've been smoking for 4 years... Maybe I have some anxiety issues or something, that don't really surface until I use drugs?

I really want to be able to enjoy psychedelics again, but it seems like I just can't do them anymore... I'm worried that if I keep doing them sooner or later I'm just going to snap and go insane...

Oh and btw I don't mean like I'm having a bad trip as in I feel like I'm going to die and I'm seeing intense visuals of Freddy Kruger coming to kill me, I just get stuck in these horrible thought loops and I start to visualize everything in my mind, and I start getting very anxious and I just have an over-all uneasy feeling, like there's something wrong but I don't know what.

 

[CFilter]

Quite simply: you psyched yourself out.

You have set yourself up for a bad trip because you expect to have one. You tumble down the same cognitive pathways because each step along the way seems like the only natural progression from "what if I have a bad trip?"

I suggest looking into mindfulness, and practicing it as well as meditation as an exercise which should help you better control your trips in the future.

 

[jakejake678]

can you give us some more information? maybe a previously bad experience, substance you are using, set/setting and most importantly dosage. for example their are kids i know that eat 1/8ths of mushrooms like its nothing (trust me these are good mush) and although i like a nice hard trip here and their my sweet spot is at like 2.3 -2.0, no more. where are you dosing?

 

[J.Wallace]

It's the loops.

Because you remind yourself of "Oh no, what if I do have a bad trip?" you are ultimately causing a ripple effect of thoughts. What I like to do if I get these thoughts, is think of what is it exactly I am worried about. Ask yourself, what is it that you would be feeling if you did have a bad trip, and why.

Ask questions like "Do I feel in harms way at this very moment?" "Am I around people who will make sure I'm not harmed?", and try to figure out what it is exactly thats causing these negative thoughts. Is it the environment? The people around you? Try to pinpoint it, and figure out how small and obscure it actually is. Usually, it's something so irrelevant we forget and just let it create a snowball effect.

Remember, you are not having a bad trip, you are just thinking of what would happen to you if you actually did have one. It creates a sense of reassurance, and reminds you just how safe and okay you really are. If you did the drug in the proper setting, you have nothing to worry about. Even if it's at a rave, remind yourself you are around people you know, people who will protect you. And even if you don't know them, think of the security, the people who are there to protect you. Just think of how exactly it could be worse, and this will ultimately bring out the positives and make them more vivid to the imagination.

And if all else fails, just keep telling yourself "It's only a drug. It will not last forever. Even if I wanted this to last forever, it is beyond my control and is out of my hands. This will not control me, I will control it!".

 

[CFilter]

Another great thing to ask yourself is, "could this have happened yesterday?" or something similar.

 

[Warped Reality]

can you give us some more information? maybe a previously bad experience, substance you are using, set/setting and most importantly dosage. for example their are kids i know that eat 1/8ths of mushrooms like its nothing (trust me these are good mush) and although i like a nice hard trip here and their my sweet spot is at like 2.3 -2.0, no more. where are you dosing?

Well quite honestly, every time I've done LSD or Mushrooms, I've been with a group of people that I didn't exactly feel comfortable around. Actually - it was more like 1-3 people there that I didn't feel comfortable tripping around, and about 5 people that I felt very comfortable tripping around. I've only had bad trips on Mushrooms (every time), and once on LSD (the other times I did it was before I started getting anxiety while doing them). I've never eaten more than 1.5 grams of mushrooms (1.5 grams nearly made me go insane, but they were VERY powerful), and when I had a bad trip on Acid I did one hit. I live in a fairly peaceful place, and I've always done them at a house where I feel comfortable, or in the summer where I can walk around feeling comfortable wherever.

I always thought that it was the group of people giving me a bad trip, because I find it's really awkward tripping around people that you don't know well, but then I did them just me and 2 other very close friends, and the same thing happened.

 

[Warped Reality]

It's the loops.

Because you remind yourself of "Oh no, what if I do have a bad trip?" you are ultimately causing a ripple effect of thoughts. What I like to do if I get these thoughts, is think of what is it exactly I am worried about. Ask yourself, what is it that you would be feeling if you did have a bad trip, and why.

Ask questions like "Do I feel in harms way at this very moment?" "Am I around people who will make sure I'm not harmed?", and try to figure out what it is exactly thats causing these negative thoughts. Is it the environment? The people around you? Try to pinpoint it, and figure out how small and obscure it actually is. Usually, it's something so irrelevant we forget and just let it create a snowball effect.

Remember, you are not having a bad trip, you are just thinking of what would happen to you if you actually did have one. It creates a sense of reassurance, and reminds you just how safe and okay you really are. If you did the drug in the proper setting, you have nothing to worry about. Even if it's at a rave, remind yourself you are around people you know, people who will protect you. And even if you don't know them, think of the security, the people who are there to protect you. Just think of how exactly it could be worse, and this will ultimately bring out the positives and make them more vivid to the imagination.

And if all else fails, just keep telling yourself "It's only a drug. It will not last forever. Even if I wanted this to last forever, it is beyond my control and is out of my hands. This will not control me, I will control it!".

That actually helps a lot, I never really tried reassuring myself everything would be fine, it was more like "Oh fuck, I thought of it and now I'm screwed"

 

[jakejake678]

yea i feel you man, i get very bad anxiety and am prescribed 1mg k-pins, and sometimes on psychedelics i just get sooo anxious so it might not be an idea to try and dose with some benzo's, or just have them on deck. although they will reduce the visuals, they will really keep you cool.

 

[J.Wallace]

Well quite honestly, every time I've done LSD or Mushrooms, I've been with a group of people that I didn't exactly feel comfortable around. Actually - it was more like 1-3 people there that I didn't feel comfortable tripping around, and about 5 people that I felt very comfortable tripping around. I've only had bad trips on Mushrooms (every time), and once on LSD (the other times I did it was before I started getting anxiety while doing them). I've never eaten more than 1.5 grams of mushrooms (1.5 grams nearly made me go insane, but they were VERY powerful), and when I had a bad trip on Acid I did one hit. I live in a fairly peaceful place, and I've always done them at a house where I feel comfortable, or in the summer where I can walk around feeling comfortable wherever.

I always thought that it was the group of people giving me a bad trip, because I find it's really awkward tripping around people that you don't know well, but then I did them just me and 2 other very close friends, and the same thing happened.

Never trip if you are uncomfortable. Period.

First off, it's already strange communicating with people you know while on psychedelics. Throw in the added social awkwardness and the unwanted expectation of holding a conversation with total strangers, makes the trip just that much more uncomfortable. Seriously, I'd recommend tripping on a dose of LSD by yourself, on a day you are completely alone and won't be bothered by anyone, particularly parents (Don't know how old you are). It's a truly introspective and beautiful experience. Yes, you are still capable of having a bad trip, but the lesson learned is so much more positive and that much more of an impact on you're outlook of life.

Mushrooms always make me have a weird trip, if not a bad one. I love my LSD though, done it over 30 times now, and loved every trip, even the bad ones.

 

[Warped Reality]

Never trip if you are uncomfortable. Period.

First off, it's already strange communicating with people you know while on psychedelics. Throw in the added social awkwardness and the unwanted expectation of holding a conversation with total strangers, makes the trip just that much more uncomfortable. Seriously, I'd recommend tripping on a dose of LSD by yourself, on a day you are completely alone and won't be bothered by anyone, particularly parents (Don't know how old you are). It's a truly introspective and beautiful experience. Yes, you are still capable of having a bad trip, but the lesson learned is so much more positive and that much more of an impact on you're outlook of life.

Mushrooms always make me have a weird trip, if not a bad one. I love my LSD though, done it over 30 times now, and loved every trip, even the bad ones.

I suppose you're right, but I sort of like to have two kinds of experiences. There's times where I want to enjoy the beauty of nature and my surroundings, which is where I'd preferably want to be alone, or with another tripper that is interested in the same thing. Or there's times where I like to get fucked up and have some hilarious times with my buddies. I like them both equal. I found that getting fucked up with my friends and having a hilarious time usually ends up in a bad trip, however when I'm observing nature and my surroundings, it's usually a lot more calm and peaceful.

Also usually I eat the mushrooms, start tripping, and then my friends invite people that I don't know too well and it just ruins it. At that point there's not much I can do because it's usually at night time and I don't feel like walking around my neighbourhood by myself, and I can't go home because my room mate would call the police on me if he found out I was on drugs. (he's a total douche bag)

 

[bunnyhentman]

Sounds like, in your own words, "something's wrong and you don't know what." You're probably going to keep having the same trip until you sort out what's wrong and confront it. This isn't an issue with any particular drug -- it's an underlying issue that psychedelics are going to keep surfacing until you deal with it. If you are honestly having feelings of depersonalization, please stay away from drugs in general. You need to become centered on your own first.

You might need to hack some new pathways in your mind. If you get used to having negative thoughts while tripping, you could have trouble experiencing it any other way. I recommend taking a long enough break that some of the mental patterns have time to fade. Then the next time you do trip, pick a brand new place, fill your head with interesting things, carry a valium and only invite people who don't make you insecure. I find it helps to do little anxiety-relieving tasks before I trip, like talk to my mother, pay bills, clean up, etc.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Not everyone likes tripping, psychedelics, or even basic psychedelics like smoking herb.

I have friends who love using drugs and use a variety of them but they don't like pot since it makes them paranoid, they get lots of anxiety on it, or they get panic attacks while on it or they've had very bad experiences while on other psychedelics or on a certain psychedelic so they don't trip or smoke at all anymore.

If you think that you have issues with anxiety or panic attacks get help for them, don't try to use drugs to cure them.

If it's just the "What if I have a bad trip?" idea have some good trips or good experiences. You didn't write if you take drugs alone or with people, that can sometimes have an effect or change things for people.

Good luck.

 

[TheAppleCore]

If MDMA works well for you, try a mild candyflip, to ease your way back into psychedelics?

 

[Lady Codone]

I'm w/ you OP. Most of my psychedelic experiences have been 80% miserable, but my problems are more body-load related than mental freakouts. Happened on shrooms, 6-Apb, 4-AcO-DMT and almost every other psych I've tried. My only enjoyable trips were at Burning Man All the rest were plagued by strange body pains, crushing drowsiness/fatigue, fever/chills (real, not imagined) and kidney issues. I'd love to try 4-HO-MET but am afraid it will end up the same way

 

[Kishka]

Welcome to the club Lady ! At least 2C-D is very fine with me, you should give a try !

 

[SpecialK_]

Cfilter, J.Wallace and PriestTheyCalledHim have answered this for you. The only thing I can add is: Do you enjoy the psychedelics up until that point? In that case, I wonder if you're dosing too high and once you get into the peaking area maybe it's a little too intense? Also, try maybe more subtle headspace psychedelics.

Also Sometimes you gotta be a little harsh to your mind and just tell yourself to wise up, you aren't going to have a bad trip if there is no reason to.

If MDMA works well for you, try a mild candyflip, to ease your way back into psychedelics?

If you do this, be very careful dose wise - I recommend half your dose of each. A bad trip on a candyflip is about 200x worse than a bad trip and that is no exaggeration. Candyflips are brilliant, but when they go wrong they seriously go fucking wrong.

 

[A-TownKush]

i have experienced the same thing, it helps me to take some benzo's before so that your just so relaxed you dont even think about whats going on. you just live in the moment of the trip. it also helps to be with people you LOVE and trust! psychedelic drugs are the best and i really hope you find a way to do them without getting psyched out.