Health - Taking LSD too much?

[Wierd Logic]

I know that generally it is a good idea to space out your trips about a week, but is it a bad idea to take LSD for several consecutive weeks? Previously, Acid wasn't easy for Monkey to find, but his friend recently got a large amount of liquid - and he has been taking full advantage. There was one weekend where he took four - three on one day and one the next, and every other weekend for three or four weekend he has been taking one or two.

Is this a bad idea? How regularly do your friends take it? Monkey has decided to go on a break for a bit but thinks he has noticed a bit of a change in his personality - not a bad one, but a change nonetheless.

Discuss!

[Nature Boy]

It's probably better to avoid heavy and regular LSD dosage. If one comes into a large batch when it usually isn't available, put some of it into storage (sealed and frozen). LSD trips are most valuable when the user takes time to reflect afterwards. The most rewarding LSD experiences are the ones spaced apart.

[Songcycle67]

Yes for a long time SWIM would take LSD and be in awe and have all these wonderful revelations and then dwell on them for a few days and sort of forget about all the important aspects that pertained to his ego. Because there was always "that next time." And the sooner that next time came, the better. Because he craved the experience..the fireworks, the magic, escaping this cruel, solid world for the wind and wizardry of acid. But he realizes now that this was his way of "blocking" the important, but hard-to-face, bits. After repeated doses one gets to the point where they can control the experience in a way and repress the negativity and focus on the light show. But after a while of tripping weekly or bi-weekly these problems will eventually come screaming through. Repression in waking consciousness is dangerous to the mind, but in psychedelic consciousness, if one is the average, it can be absolutely devistating. For LSD to work properly the person must be willing to lie with their problems and attempt to understand them--no matter the difficulty therein. Taking the substance frequently would make using it in a proper and healthy fashion nearly impossible. And if one thinks that they are the type of person who has no proverbial skeletons in the wardrobe; LSD tends to dig deep and hard to find such things.

The only way to Use psychedelics and not ABuse them, is to take them when you feel you've integrated your previous experiences into your waking life. Not to mention the fact that after taking it weekly the effects are going to dwindle to a minor body buzz and a manic state, no matter the dose.

Having said that, SWIM doesn't think there's anything wrong with a little indulgence here and there

[Panthers007]

If a person's head is screwed on fine to start out with, vacations like this don't cause any long-term effects. Unless one gets arrested or something stupid. Once one has had enough of the thrill, they just put it down and recuperate for awhile.

If the person is squirrelly to begin with - all bets are off. They shouldn't have had access in the first place. Another shining example of the "War On Drugs" preventing proper regulation.

[psyche]

SWIM found himself too that he really wanted to repeat the first experience the same night. The most remarkable thing compared to other psychedelics was the complete merging with the universe and the uniting of all senses into one; it was like a extremely relaxing dream, but he was awake. He enjoyed it all the time and after it was over he started thinking of all the things he should've done under the influence, and was really looking forward to next time.

It's very easy to dive in the midst of fantasy, and seems easier to use acid to reality escape than mushrooms or especially ayahuasca, which makes you confront your demons. LSD is a mighty powerful tool, too, but SWIM sees it can have devastating effects with narsistic and inward personality.

Any SWIY have stories about long-term usage and it's effect on ones personality? Negative and positive?

[Songcycle67]

SWIM was obsessed with LSD long before it ever touched his tongue. Being a Beatles fan at 15, he was into early psychedelic rock'n'roll (pre-hendrix and all that shite) hot and heavy and craved the experience. By the time his turn came around he was so in awe of what happened that he wanted to see it all again until he could analyze it and remember how it felt. He wanted to see every type of hallucination possible and try his best to calculate what was happening via the tremendous amount of literature that he had read over the past 8 or so years. This ended up turning into one extremely acid-fueled year in which he tripped at least once a month, but more often than not: weekly and bi-weekly. Needless to say he didn't "figure much out." It's just too strange and variable an experience to pin down, but that didn't stop him from trying.

He got real good and strange for a while, but slowly re-integrated and now functions completely normally. For a while he was obsessed with trying to stay in "acid consciousness": looking at the world as part of oneself, seeing the things around him as illusions and varying wavelengths of light and energy. But that gets very tedious after a while and soon he was happy to view the world in the way he had before. He realized there are no conclusions to make on the importance or relevance of the visions and sensations experienced and now he only takes it when he feels he needs to see things in a different light.

Reputation Comments on this post:

sounds a bit familiar

[Frond]

When personality changes start taking place - and actual, otherwise inexplicable changes, not mere "well I came to a few conclusions today" changes - it's time to ease off the sauce.

Of course, it varies from person to person. LSD is a drug that tends to produce very different experiences in different people, and indeed in the same person at different times. So, SWIM's experience may not necessarily help SWIY. It will all depend. But, better safe than sorry.

SWIM has had a year in which he did not-insubstantial quantities of acid every weekend. Going to parties, outdoor psytrance festivals, indoor club parties, or just plain "stay at home and trip balls" sessions. He was so wrapped up in the culture, the experience, and the idea of it that he didn't see changes happening to him at the time.

Fast forward a year, and SWIM had a mild case of HPPD. Certainly not enough to be distracting, but if SWIM stared at any pattern for long enough it would start moving. SWIM also noticed a reduction in his ability to focus, which was accompanied by a slight loss in mental acuity, and generally SWIM was more "out there," with a lot less in common with his friends, family, and others that have not gone through the same experience.

That was as good a time to stop as any. SWIM laid off the sauce for quite some years, and within half a year, his HPPD virtually disappeared, and his mental acuity is back.

But, something else disappeared as well. The magic. The experience had no more mysteries for SWIM. LSD wasn't something truly magical and wonderful, it was simply yet another state of mind. The LSD space, at one time so mysterious and entrancing, was explored and familiar. Sure, there were some experiences that were out there still, but most experiences were now centered around SWIM's immediate worldly worries and events, and that doesn't make for good tripping material. SWIM's entirely too grounded these days.

That isn't the case for SWIM's other main ally, the Sacred Mushroom. The Mushroom hasn't lost its charm for SWIM, though to be fair he has met the Mushroom significantly less.

The moral of the story is: SWIY shouldn't overdo it. Let the LSD space remain mysterious. Something thoroughly explored and familiar loses its fascination, and when momentum is keeping someone going through a process that carries with it possible dangers, then this becomes a very irresponsible thing indeed. Also, one starts taking LSD for granted, and a drug that variable should never be taken for granted.

Of course, it is entirely possible that SWIM's social situation is preventing him from fully letting go and enjoying the LSD space to its potential, and this warning is moot. But, as has been rightfully said before - better safe than sorry.

[Lethargy]

Our PEF tells us that he figured the most efficient use for him came every 6 months or so, otherwise he hasn't fully re-integrated after his last dis-integration.

That said, he took it almost every weekend for a month or so, plus various other psychs in the weekends he had no acid. He had nothing but good to say of it. He does however note that he meditated every day and journaled heavily, so he could get an adequate level of reflection in between trips. Someone who had a more stressful life might have a much more negative reaction.