Psychedelic drugs.
The expression can conjure images of running naked down the street (or worse, the highway). Of acting foolish and dangerously, such as the stories of people who jumped out of a window.
Very rarely you hear about a sudden death due to no known causes, or someone who put an end to their life while in the midst of a psychedelic experience.
Fears of losing ones' mind are also very common. Permanent insanity, never coming down from the trip. This one, I hear a lot, from people who have never tried a psychedelic.
Perspective
Sudden deaths are exceedingly rare, and to the best of my knowledge, usually a result of an unsafe drug combination, or previous, unknown health issues.
Insanity, and "insane" thoughts, resolve before the experience ends for mentally sound people. Such thoughts are somewhat common on higher doses, and tend to manifest with only certain psychedelics. I have been there myself, thinking, as the world begun disintegrating, "this is it, this is too crazy, I'm never coming back to sanity after seeing this!"
Relax. If you can tell you are going insane and never coming back, there is still some sanity left :)
(bonus: you will also grow to appreciate sanity that much more.)
Disclaimer - harm reduction
None of the information here is an encouragement for the reader to seek or consume psychedelic substances. All information is merely presented as harm reduction.
Safety first
While the dangers and risks are greatly exaggerated, this does not mean that they do not exist. Whether for your own self-edification, to prepare yourself to embark on a psychedelic adventure, curiosity, or any other reason you can think of .. it pays to be aware of the risks (as well of the potential rewards, which will be the subject of a future post).
Safety checklist
Here I provide a non-exhaustive list of contraindications/tips for the would-be tripper:
Health
Known (physical) health problems, namely heart, liver, kidneys: While there is some variance depending on which psychedelic you decide to ingest (and how much), some factors are constant:
Blood pressure will most likely rise. Whether due to the effect the substance itself has on the body, the anxiety that is common during the initial stages of the experience, or the frequent, strong emotional experiences these substances can catalyze, the cardiovascular system will be taxed.
For healthy people, this is no cause for concern - about the same as exercising, but if your blood pressure is already elevated, it might go into unsafe territory as the experience develops.
Don't mix stimulants and psychedelics if you want to keep the impact on the cardiovascular system as low as possible.
If your system has trouble metabolizing the drug, that will alter the duration and intensity of the experience. If your liver/kidney function is compromised, then consuming a new chemical will also affect your system in a much more unpredictable and stronger way than expected (when compared to healthy people).
- Keep in mind that there is individual variance when it comes to drug metabolism. Always start low.
Known (mental) health problems: If you suffer from any sort of mental affliction (schizophrenia, chronic depression, and so on), or if you have anyone in your close family who does, that is a major red flag. If your grasp on reality is fickle, it is perhaps best to not add the strongest mind-altering substances Mankind knows of to the equation.
If you suffer from anxiety, bear in mind that some psychedelics, such as LSD, will induce it - though not always, or even most of the time - even in people who are not normally anxious.
If you are depressed, opinions are divided; I strongly stand by working on improving your sleep, exercise, nutrition and socializing before even thinking of attempting to "cure" a depression through a mind-bending experience. Get the basics down first. And even after that, this is probably not your best bet (altough it CAN work, if you have your intentions set straight and prefer the shock treatment).
Medication: If you are taking ANY sort of medication, it is imperative that you educate yourself (and abstain from psychedelics completely until you are sure) on any possible drug interactions.
Some pharmaceutical drugs (or plants) will just render the psychedelic inert, or greatly decrease the effects.
Some will give troublesome physical (and sometimes mental) side effects.
In more extreme cases, combinations can be FATAL.
Hydration: Don't forget to drink water, especially if the experience is taking place outdoors in a warm day.
Adequate rest: Reschedule for another day if you are not properly rested. Going through this experience will already tax your body more, and it will be a long day. Better not add a subsequent crash and lack of sleep (many psychedelics induce insomnia) to that.
Proper nutrition: Eat something a couple of hours before, and don't forget to eat when the effects are wearing out. Some psychedelics will inhibit your appetite; regardless, you should eat a little bit afterwards.
Not in a good place in life: Unless you really know what you are doing (if you are reading this beginner-level intro, you probably do not!), it is best to save this sort of experience for a time when you are happy about your relationships, professional life, and yourself.
Substance and Dose
Know your substance: You must know with certainty that what you have is what you believe you have. Don't gamble with your health by taking unknown substances of unknown purity.
Know your dose: Complementary to the above is that you must also know how much you are taking. Depending on the substance, it can be very dangerous to take more than a certain amount, but even if it is not, you will be setting yourself up for an experience that can be much stronger than what you thought you could handle. Start low, learn the substance and how your body reacts to it, increase dose in a mindful way.
- The importance of dose cannot be overstated: The same psychedelic, in different doses, will be extremely different in intensity of effects. The lower the dose necessary to achieve effects, the more careful/mindful you have to be about this.
Frequency of use: Most psychedelics, due to tolerance, will not work, or will have their effects greatly reduced, if taken too frequently. This applies between psychedelics as well, a phenomenon known as cross-tolerance.
I advise a minimum waiting time of one month between experiences - and even that is too often most of the time. There are some exceptions to this, but for a beginner, all can be ignored.
More frequent use can cause mental and physical side effects, including neurotransmitter imbalances (depending on substance and dose), loss of grip with consensual reality, and a bunch of other negative things.
Situational safety
No interruptions: Have your cellphone (if you own one), but leave it in silent or airplane mode; If indoors, consider disconnecting the doorbell.
Have a trip sitter: This is someone whom you trust, and is supportive of your explorations. This person should be sober, and s/he will essentially be your anchor to consensus reality should the situation get out of control (and sometimes, it does). Very importantly, they will also be responsible for your physical safety, at a time where you may or may not any longer understand the concept of having a body.
- If you start without a trip sitter, lower the dose and do it indoors: play it safe the first few times, and then you know more or less (more or less!) what to expect.
Be mindful of dangerous physical things/objects: Whether it be candles burning unattended, knives and guns (indoors) or cliffs, steep slopes, dangerous wild animals (outdoors) and so on, remember that depending on what you take and how much of it, for a few hours you may cease to operate coherently in the physical world.
Never, EVER get behind the wheel: Even if you think it will be OK, believe me, it won't. You WILL be impaired, even some hours after the trip has ended. You are not only putting yourself in danger, but also countless other innocent people. Do not operate a vehicle if you are of have been tripping that day!
Closing thoughts on safety
By and large, psychedelics are extremely safe, physically speaking. It is exceedingly unlikely to overdose by accident - and I use the word here in the sense of getting in physical trouble from taking a (much) larger dose than intended.
Mentally speaking, if there are no mental health issues in your family, you are in a good place in life, and all the other things discussed above, then there is little cause for concern. Keep in mind that frequent dosing may negatively impact mental health, and it can lead to HPPD.
On the possibility of addiction
I would like to finish by addressing an issue that drug-naive people often worry about, and that is addiction.
In my personal experience and of all of those with whom I shared psychedelic experiences over the last years, it is unanimously agreed that this class of drugs is not addictive.
If you search online in psychedelic/drug communities, this is also the prevalent opinion.
More often than not, even though one is thankful for the experience, pleasurable is far from the word used to describe what transpired. Since we are pushed way beyond our comfort zone - which is necessary for deep learning - it is not necessarily an experience one wants to repeat anytime soon.
There is also the tolerance phenomenon mentioned before, which by itself would be enough to put a dampening effect on any aspirations of dosing more regularly - without an ever-increasing dose to compensate, it just won't work.
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