Setting - FIRST TIME.. ALONE?? reccomendations from anyone who drops alone..

[Spinner]

Originally Posted by roserjoe

SWIM did acid alone his first time and loved it. But SWIM has also experienced a bad trip alone and been unable to contact anyone for help and it was hell.

If you do it alone make sure you've got someone to fall back on if things go bad. Otherwise you'll probably have an amazing experience.

That's what SWIM means. SWIM has tripped alone many, many times. SWIM used to trip so often that nobody even noticed when SWIM was tripping anymore. It's just those times when you really feel the need to talk to someone, or share something with someone, and find that you're so utterly alone...that can drive you to tears. Too much of that can drive someone mad. SWIM used to get such good LSD25 that he'd "lose himself," and that can be a horrifying experience, alone. SWIM thinks having someone else there tripping with him changes that experience altogether. In those cases, it can be fun to laugh with a friend about how hard you're both wigging out. Seeing and feeling something so spectacularly absurd is always more fun when you have someone else to share the experience with, ISO.

Spinner added 13 Minutes and 45 Seconds later...

SWIM is still wondering why he can't edit his posts?

Not long ago, SWIM got a hold of some shrooms that were something else. These actually made SWIM uncomfortable to do alone, just because he'd go so deep into his own consciousness and emotions. They were the kind of shrooms that make you cry your eyes out, feeling hopelessly lost. SWIM took them a few times by himself, and then shared them with some friends. Every trip with SWIM's friends was a blast! Alone, was almost horrifying. Acid can provide the same type of panic, if SWIY really gets something SWIY didn't expect. Nothing SWIM hasn't handled many times before, but not something SWIM really enjoys. SWIM likes to be able to talk to someone who understands, when he discovers some new revelation or something.

[Goldy]

Swim did acid the other day on his own for the 1st time. he doesnt quite know what to think of it..it wasnt a bad trip. just interesting. i prefer cannabis

[aliceinwonderland.]

I really would not recommend doing that alone. SWIMS dropped for the first time in a group of people, though - and she wouldn't recommend that either.

On acid nobody can really control their thoughts (at least SWIMS couldn't) and they can't really know who it will affect them. SWINY could have an urge to like, sit in the middle of the road.

When SWIM tried acid for the first time, she managed to toilet-paper her friend's house, take all her friend's clothing out of her dresser and stuff it in the bathtub, ran into the street in only and blanket and socks, and was convinced she had found the corner of the universe, which turned out only to be a closet 12 hours later. Someone had to save SWIMS from picking a fight with a two-story window, also.

All SWINY really needs is someone willing to hang out at your place for 8 - 12 hours. Not that hard, really.

[dadrone]

SWIM did acid alone his first time and had no problems. If SWIY are well-versed in other drugs, it should be no surprise what happens.

SWIM dropped a shitload of acid in his day and never had a problem. LSD during lunch at school, return to school after smoking a bowl... no problem.

[FrogEye]

if you have a strong mind and know how to control your thoughts and avoid bad trips (read the trippers handbook in the sticky of this forum) then you will be perfectly ok. One thing i tell people who want to take acid is to follow the rules and they will be ok.

[Metal_Ren]

First time advice for solo...

Experienced Tripper, prefers to trip alone. Has tripped in class, at dances, at home, camping, carnivals, concerts etc... Has taken 8+ doses at school many times....

ONLY do so if SWIY has a strong willed mind.

Swim prefers alone due to control over the situation. If doing with anyone, it MUST be a close friend,- prefrebably one whom SWIY trusts and knows to a GREAT extent.

Alone for first time, it would be good to have a close friend available to call, or come by and visit at a moments notice.

Read the handbook STICKY in forum.

Remember ALWAYS that everything will be back to normal FORSURE. All it will take is time.

If its SWIY first few hours and its intense and SWIY brain starts saying "Holy shit this is intense, Can SWIY handle this? Should SWIY have done this?"... etc...
DON'T think about the 8 hours SWIY still has of it.... Just KNOW and tell SWIY that it shouldn't get too much more intense than it already is. It's all going as it should be.... And that intensity does stop increasing after 5-6 hours tops if SWIY didnt re-dose [and barring in mind that it is genuine LSD] Its not like it will be 12 hours of increasing intensity.

Keep a few nice cold drinks accessible. If SWIY needs to be in a room he can't/won't want to leave than prepare ahead of time. Freeze a few drinks if SWIY wants to keep them cold throughout the night/day.
Swim wouldn't recommend snacks as they just dont work well in SWIM's opinion... Snacks can be good after 10 hours or so though. And SWIY will probably be really hungry the next day as well. So maybe planning ahead for the next day's snacks or dinner etc...would also work out well.... Its prob best to not eat a few hours before dropping too. But everyone is different in respect to their digestive system and possible nausea, gas etc...

MAKE SURE that SWIY trips when/where no one will be bothering him for at LEAST 8-10 hours. Sometimes SWIY will feel like he's sober enough after 6-7 hours but he'll notice when he goes anywhere familiar that he is indeed still beeming to a pretty good extent.

Marijuana can be great, or....bad.... it depends on how SWIY looks at it. It can intensify the LSD which some may want, but DON't smoke any in an attempt to mellow the lsd buzz or intensity, as it will do the opposite and increase it. After 10 Hours or so[12-14+ depends on dose/quality etc...], depends on the body, it can help get SWIY to sleep..... but it can also have the opposite effect there as well, and could excite the user.

Nice soothing music available. Maybe a few nice visual art pieces to look at during the visual stage IF SWIY gets one. [Usually more pronounced after the 4th/5th hour, and increases through to the 8th/9th if nice cid]

If SWIY is into art, - Have your utensils ready if SWIY becomes inspired. Writers = Have a pen and paper at the ready.

A favorite movie or TV show can be a great start. Because SWIY drops and then as SWIY watchs something familiar to him, soon he begins to realize how different things are actually becoming. --- Maybe itll be the sound...or the visuals, or he'll may start laughing at parts that were previously unfunny.... A few minor things that may clue SWIY in to the amazingness that is about to surround/encompass, and embrace SWIY.

First time alone is not something Swim would recommend for camping or the outdoors... enless with friends. Or the woods is like a second home to SWIY, but even then strange things can happen.
BUT to be alone for a first time....Only way Swim would recommend would be to have seperate areas for camping, and hopefully have friends trustworthy enough to leave SWIY alone and not disturb SWIY enless he decided to come get them to be involved with him. That way they could at least be nearby for if things went weird out in the wilderness... For a first time the woods can be a scary place.... even for experienced users. Other times it can be a peaceful utopia of tranquillity.

Whereever SWIY trips, - if things get too intense, sometimes a brief few minute walk through the house, to the bathroom, down a street, around a tent etc...will help. Then return to what SWIY wants to do.

Remember things ARE different. They WILL NOT stay that way. If walking around the block or to a park or something... Your not superman, nothing has changed in you. Only your perception of things. Your body, spirit, and soul are just more intuned to themselves. Cars will still hurt and kill SWIY.

Another tip. === After the frist few days, week... SWIY may feel inclined to say certain things to someone, that he probably wouldn't have said anything to about, prior to dosing. Before SWIY says something to said person.... - Try not to, - and think over what was going to be said for a bit and make sure that its really something that SWIY wants to get across to said person...
It's hard to explain to a first time user, but the SWIY's brain may be more susceptable to possible impulsive reactions. Where previously SWIY may have thought twice before saying what was really on his mind. The mind will tend to want to express itself more clearly and make its point to an extent. Usually things that bother SWIY and he will otherwise bite his tongue to avoid conflict or hurt to others...will now more easily flow out on possible impulse...

Hope this helps someone...

Reputation Comments on this post:

very well written information

[Spinner]

Never trip alone, on any hallucinogen. It can make you crazy, scared, uncontrollably sad, etc.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Statements of absolutes never help anyone. :(

[Metal_Ren]

Originally Posted by Spinner

Never trip alone, on any hallucinogen. It can make you crazy, scared, uncontrollably sad, etc.

Not true

90% of SWIM's trips were alone. And SWIM doesn't have any of those issues.
SWIM knows many others that also have done an extent of trips alone, and are hard-working, married/single, successful members of society.....
All are completely sane, comfortable in their skin, and as happy as anyone else ....

[FrogEye]

Originally Posted by Metal_Ren

Not true

90% of SWIM's trips were alone. And SWIM doesn't have any of those issues.
SWIM knows many others that also have done an extent of trips alone, and are hard-working, married/single, successful members of society.....
All are completely sane, comfortable in their skin, and as happy as anyone else ....

agreed, SWIM does too.

[Spinner]

Originally Posted by Metal_Ren

Not true

90% of SWIM's trips were alone. And SWIM doesn't have any of those issues.
SWIM knows many others that also have done an extent of trips alone, and are hard-working, married/single, successful members of society.....
All are completely sane, comfortable in their skin, and as happy as anyone else ....

Then perhaps SWIY did not trip very hard. SWIM used to do it all the time, but SWIM noticed that losing your shit it not fun when nobody else is around to share and laugh at the absurdity. SWIM has found that tripping is much more fun and easier to deal with when other trippers are present, and SWIM has tripped more time than Jim Morrison over the years.

[Metal_Ren]

Originally Posted by Spinner

Then perhaps SWIY did not trip very hard. SWIM used to do it all the time, but SWIM noticed that losing your shit it not fun when nobody else is around to share and laugh at the absurdity. SWIM has found that tripping is much more fun and easier to deal with when other trippers are present, and SWIM has tripped more time than Jim Morrison over the years.

....people can say they trip more than Jim....but I doubt it, and it hardly matters really how many times. SWIM could probably say the same thing...

And SWIM has had MANY 2000+u trips if not, double..on a regular basis, and not that that matters either. What does tripping hard have to do with it...???

SWIM has taken 12 alone yellowmics/or ying-yangs - sunshines - gratefuldead or whitelightning. Cant remember which was taken that time. Yet only 1 was needed of those for paradise in every way. Those were the cleanest and most potent tabs ever taken. There was so much going around it became candy to SWIM. He was timed to every 4-5 days and effects were back in the 90-100 efficiency range. Didnt need to wait weeks. And regularily did 6-8 on average, which was never needed but SWIM always had to hit a new "level", so he constantly did take many tabs, in many different situations... 2-3 for class, 4-8 school dances, 4-12 personal/friend trips. - 12+ "inner-self" trips.
1 - Only when preserving the lot....
...and none of this matters either....

Alone can be just as rewarding as with friends is SWIM's only point. If SWIY does loose it and freak out.... It doesnt matter where SWIY is, but YES its better to have friends around if it does occur.
But that DOESNT mean it is more likely to happen because you are trippin alone....
SWIM has had 80-90% of trips alone and even in ONE room...and has not had a bad trip yet.

[Spinner]

Originally Posted by Metal_Ren

....people can say they trip more than Jim....but I doubt it, and it hardly matters really how many times. SWIM could probably say the same thing...

I know I have, based merely on the fact that I've lived a lot longer than Jim.

Reputation Comments on this post:

self incrimination (again!)

[Spinner]

Off topic, for the pretentious idiots who give me a bad rep for stating my opinion:

Every post I make here is MY opinion, unless I state otherwise. Keep that in mind, OK? Some of you are ridiculous, with your negative reps.
And there is no such thing as self incrimination if I'm talking about things in past tense. You can tell any cop you want. I guarantee they're not going to give a shit if I talk about past drug experiences. There is no law against that. People even do it on TV, in books, etc. It's called freedom of speech. You can't even prove that anything I say I've done is true anyway...although, I have no reason to lie. I am not afraid and I am not ashamed of my past.

[Alfa]

After the above posts, your hate mail and frenzy of reports to the staff, your freedom of speech has just ended. Goodbye.

[DopinDan]

SWIM has dropped alone many times, and some of SWIMS most mind bending, intense trips have been alone.

For SWIM, what saved me from some of the most terrifying parts of some of these experiences was the right music, and some Ativan helped one time, when I made the mistake of smoking weed at the wrong time and it set off an atomic reaction in SWIMs mind.

For SWIM it was a Jerry Garcia band show from 1980 on tape that convinced him that time was actually not still, and was moving forward, and that the trip would end.

Like the other's have said, it's better to be with people you trust, and will be sensitive to you. In SWIMS case alot of the trippers SWIM hung with, liked to freak each other out, so sometimes alone was better.

There is something about pot that intensifies a trip, and in SWIM's humble experience, when on large doses of acid or mushrooms, smoking too much weed at peak can cause very bad stuff, like when SWIMs friend kept smoking weed when they did 2 hits each of some killer clean stuff, even though SWIM told him to be careful. SWIMS friend spend the night in SWIMS back yard feeling that the ground had swallowed him up, he refused to come back inside.

Potency, and dosage, and tolerance are major factors that one needs to consider when tripping.

[doublezero]

i advise u 2 drop the best acid on ur own, swim did it, and he's been tripping ever since, swim came down once, but only when he was a heroin addict,,,

i advise u to, well do what u want, sounds like u r determined, just make sure u got a good doctor, or friends with heroin, diazapine, maybe u r lucky and ur see god, but i hope u dont meet the devil

personally, swim grew out of halucinogenics when he dropped in a mental hospital, and found smack, crack, and the true drugs found in every house

swim would say, make sure its proper lsd 25, but then, it wont be, since its a goverment substance, made for u, to do all there medicines and potions

u r part of a brave new world, so be brave, drink a borttl eof the stuuf, with cryustal meth, crack, smack, then u wont have to experiment, u cud be experimented ionj

oh yeah, swim is the distortism.....have i distorted u

double azero

black medicne

polar flip

carl le vino

and all the other bands and authors ive created


see you all in the spirit world, unless u fried the soul

Reputation Comments on this post:

Dubious advice, and parts of the post make no sense.

[VitaminK22]

Having someone with you (sitter or co-tripper) helps you keep a hold of reality to some extent, having no one with you can make you lose touch of reality which can cause a bad experience (depends on how far out you like to go)
Swim would say get some psychedelic experience before tripping solo

[Frond]

This is a tough one. There is a very specific reason why this is not a good idea, but actually putting that reason into words will take some effort. So, this post, seeing how this is my first attempt at explaining it all, will be dense and cryptic, and it doesn't help that I'm essentially making conclusions from someone else's experiences.

A person's ability to trip solo, especially for the first time, will depend on their capacity for self-awareness.

LSD is a mind-altering drug. It changes the way in which the mind makes associations, and it does in fact make it much easier for the mind to jump from one tangential conclusion to the next, which it would not do when sober. In effect, it is very common, while tripping, to lose control over one's own thoughts, and the mind will enter into strange trains of thought while it's jumping from one conclusion to the next. Then, it becomes possible for these trains of thought to veer off into unpredictable directions. These directions can be both positive and negative, and in a negative experience especially it is very likely that the train of thought will cycle back on itself, leaving the person stuck in one negative thought train that repeats over and over again. These types of thought trains are usually called "thought loops." Solo trips are far more likely to be introspective, and therefore are far more likely to encounter some kind of mental trigger that causes a negative thought loop. Then, once someone is stuck in that thought loop, it is very difficult to recover, and the amount of thought alteration and derangement that they experience while stuck in a thought loop can progressively get worse over time. It is not uncommon, in that kind of experience, to start to believe whatever one is thinking simply through sheer repetition (and from the fact that at higher dosages LSD makes accessing remembered concepts very, very difficult)

Therefore, it is very important to be able to tell firsthand if one's thinking is indeed affected by a drug, and which thoughts are a direct result of the drugs speaking, and which are not. You don't want your knights to suddenly think that there are demon rats inside their skull, and that they have to drill open a hole for them to escape, without realizing that this is the acid talking, and that they have in fact been stuck in the same negative thought loop scenario for the last hour until they started believing it themselves.

Also, LSD is fairly unique even among psychedelics in that its effects on perception will very often parallel the user's mental state - i.e. if someone is going through a negative experience, the chances of feeling various negative physical symptoms, like nausea, go up quite a bit. On the other hand, if the trip is mentally positive, then it's very possible to feel a powerful pleasant physical buzz or be in outright physical bliss. At times, the Good Sir has quite literally felt, and believed, himself to be made of pure energy. There is a connection between mental state and visual and auditory distortions as well, and if for instance someone imagines themselves to be hurt and bleeding, they could be seeing blood everywhere, and things will distort themselves to make themselves appear more blood-like. If someone becomes paranoid, then they can very clearly distort speech into something that sounds conspiratorial and threatening. Closed-eye visuals in particular will very often parallel whatever the tripper is thinking.

A lot of other psychedelics don't act this way, and it is possible for the body to be wracked with cramps and nausea, while the mind is floating on a sea of blissful awareness, all at the same time.

So, it becomes even more critical to steer clear of dangerous mental waters. And without being aware of one's own thinking, that's impossible to do.

This is where sitters come in. They can talk someone out of a difficult experience, and gently push their trip in a more positive direction. Generally (though not always), all they need to do is interrupt the negative thought loop, and then things will stabilize on their own. Without a sitter however, there is no one to do that but the less-than-sober awareness of the trippers themselves, and without experience or metacognitive skills this is impossible.

For all of these reasons, tripping solo for the first time, in the Good Knight's opinion, could potentially work out if someone has the goods to handle it, but in general is a very bad idea.

Tripping in a group provides a focus for the trip to revolve around, even if it is just a bunch of whacked-out teenagers acting stupid in a basement. The possibility for encountering negative thought loop triggers is much less, and there is constant distraction to pull a tripper out of a negative mental state. This makes group trips much safer, and they are definitely the way to go for a first-time experience. The Good Knight has never had a well and truly negative experience in a group setting, though he has had a few completely crazy, balls to the wall tripped-out ones. But then, more than acid was usually involved.

It is also not recommended for one person to be tripping for the first time in a group of sober observers, especially if those observers have never seen the effects of LSD before. In this situation, the sober observers have a tendency to put the tripping person on display, and that can make them very uncomfortable. While tripping, one is very aware of body language, and may attach considerably more significance to body language than when they're sober. Being uncomfortable in an awkward social situation is certainly a very potent negative thought loop trigger that is very likely to derail the whole trip. Sitters have to let the trippers be, letting them control their own environment, and only stepping in when necessary.

After all that, it has to be said that Sir Tokesalot usually trips alone. There are several reasons for this. For one, he tends to internalize everything that's going on, and when he's in the spirit world he becomes very quiet and introspective. That's not much fun for others to be around, especially when they're tripping themselves. Also, you have to remember that Sir Tokesalot is a knight. He's a stern man who's lived a hard life, has been though severe hardships, and never had anyone to rely on but himself. No one has ever been there for him when he needed them. All he's ever had was pain, hard training, and difficult duty. So, in a tight spot, he neither expects help, nor is willing to accept it without injury to his pride. Besides, he's pretty experienced in the spirit world by now, and if the encounter ends with him curled up in terror in a corner, gibbering quietly to himself for 10 hours, then so be it. He's been there before, and he's ready for the possibility before he takes his dose. And, it has to be said, that with this kind of attitude and experience, his ability to navigate through dangerous psychedelic waters is formidable, and he can tackle difficult issues while completely bonkers and come out to the other side with a positive, uplifting trip.

With practice, it becomes possible to recognize negative thought loop triggers and shut them down before they start. However, it's a better practice still to not be in an environment where they're found in the first place. After all, you only have one brain. If you had a spare there would be more room for error, but as it stands, if you mess this one up it's GG.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	good post....expained all the precautions about tripping
	Great post in the tripping alone thread, couldn't have put it better myself.

[Third/Eye]

My goat tripped in the city last Thursday and nothing bad occurred. He was also in many different environments one after the other (fast mind sets to change from and to and having to deal personally with strange people) from a train, to a boardwalk, to a casino, to an aquarium (it was antarctica themed (penguins) to massive old churches, to parks and lot's more. The whole trip was really fulfilling for him.

Also what the above poster said about tripping alone how you can slip into thought loops real easy alone, it's very possible to do the same when with friends. There's a post in the 'experiences' thread by SWIYroserjoe about one. Plus SWIM knows someone who fell into a loop with friends.

SWIM doesn't nesessarily disagree with SWIY, just thought SWIM would point that out.