Opinions - Should a Bad Experience Stop My Gerbil Trying LSD Again?

[mybloopwentsplat]

Should my friend let a bad lsd experience prevent him from trying it again? Its been sometime after his "hell" trip and he is apprehensive towards it. Could it help or go the other way, and make it way worse. Thanks for your opinions.

[PingoTango]

Try and indentify what it was the made SWIY have such a bad time in the first place - was it a person he/she was with, something someone said? (With a chemical such as LSD though, something seemingly minor and inconsequential can trigger a less then enjoyable experience - SWIM remembers he once had to leave the room where he and his friends were tripping and have some "quiet time" alone because the sound of Charlie Parker's horn on the stereo was too much for him to bear *shrug*)

It mighty be difficult to backtrack to this extent, but singling out, and as far as is possible, eliminating potential bad trip triggers, can work wonders. The only problem is, you may find it was something beyond your control that triggered this mindset - a memory perhaps? A particularly strong emtional "spike"?

If in doubt though, SWIM suggests that LSD is always deserving of a second chance - the things that this chemical has to teach us and the insights it offers are not anything to be passed up lightly. Just make sure that you know, trust, and above all, like the people you are tripping with, that there is nothing playing on your mind (upcoming exams, personal troubles, etc), and that there is nothing in the immediate vacinity that could startle/scare/injure you, and you'll be all set.

Good luck

Reputation Comments on this post:

some good advice in LSD recently

[mybloopwentsplat]

Set and setting definately went into play on it. He told me that it was an especially large dose (have no ideas on specifics)

[PingoTango]

One of the biggest mistakes people often make with LSD is to take x amount, not feel any effects, and assume that it hasn't worked/not enough has been taken, and redose (all of our hamsters have been there), which results in a "backlog" of acid slowly trickling into the brains of the poor subjects, which can lead very intense experiences, especially for new users.

It can take anything from twenty minutes up to two hours for the drug to begin to kick in. SWIM finds it helpful to drop his tab, then do his best to forget about it - sitting around waiting to come up is a big no-no. Put a movie on after dropping (nothing too heavy though!), and by the time the end credits are rolling, SWIY'll be in paradise

[mybloopwentsplat]

mostly he's scared because months of ptsd ensued. Its beginning to subside and life has, well life again so hes thinkin bout it

[old hippie 56]

If he had months of mental anguish, swim wouldn't recommend it.

[mybloopwentsplat]

Originally Posted by old hippie 56

If he had months of mental anguish, swim wouldn't recommend it.

< half of him feels like that but the other half believes that he can really come to kno himself, if only he had a "greater understanding of what happened and why". swim guesses that nothing ne1 sez will reasure him that it will or will not be okay to try it again. Only time will tell. We'll see where fate takes him...hopefully the right set and setting mixed with true friends will prove to be invaluable next time.

[innertiac]

was the bad experience the first experience? swim has had an unpleasant experience as well, but i know it was because of a particular person he was with who made him uncomfortable.

you can think about it like this - some days are good, some days are bad. swiy had a bad day - with acid. probably made it a whole lot worse. but its in your head that youre having a good day - and youre on acid - why, itll be all the better! especially if you have a little experience and know how to steer your trip.

[mybloopwentsplat]

He had done "acid" (no real visuals except spiral formations on the ceiling and patterns on walls and such. Most change was thought level (still small)) b4 but nothing like the strength of what he took on the bad trip. which leaves him wondering if that was even cid before...

[KillroyMindless]

swim had an awful trip on acid emotional "spikes" isolation extream fear paranoia were all constants in swims head for almost the entire trip. the peak was awful swim wanted to die. swim had never felt so scared. but swim was suicidal, manic, depressed, and coming out of a state of psychosis that led him into some legal troubles. swim thought acid would be a fix but its not its an experience. swims thinking of giving acid a second chance with a better setting. also would it be a good idea to take an euphoria causing pill like a painkiller or some amphetamines before the trip to feel good before it starts.?

[VitaminK22]

The sensible thing to say here would be to stay off acid until his ptsd has cleared as things like depression, anxiety disorders or any sort of stress can cause a bad trip, but from swims personal experience with LSD, for him it is just not true. When swim took acid for the first time, he was suffering from bad anxiety and actually had an anxiety attack just before he dropped 1 tab, but swim still had a great time. Also swim has been to acid parties where he has only known like 2 people there and has had some of the best experiences ever (due to the amount of ket that he had)
Swim has taken acid about 25 times in the past 12 months and not once has he had a bad experience.
Im not saying everyone is like this but what i am saying is stop being scared of having a bad trip (like most people are) and take control of your trip. Dont fight with acid because it will most likely win, instead make you mind and body work with it and you can go wherever you want.

This probably isnt the best advise but it is what swim has learnt from his LSD use.

Also, know your limit, swim once had to lock someone in a room because he went mad when he took too much and started smashing the house up, Swim was afraid that the guy was gonna do something stupid to himself or someone else