How do I deal with the fear of taking psychedelics?

[GroovyGuru]

I am 20 years old and have never yet had any sort of enlightenment or awakening experience. I try to meditate daily for at least 30 minutes every day and have begun contemplating with a journal. I know this is not enough, I am currently trying to battle distractions, excuses, and my own laziness but that is another topic. This summer, I am planning on taking some psychedelics in hope of having my first awakening, however minor it may be. I'm really just craving that first taste because although I can sort of intuit just how deep this sort of work is, I know my understanding through the mind can only take me so far. However, a part of me is terrified of taking psychedelics whether it be psilocybin or LSD because I just fear what I will see. It's strange because part of me is incredibly curious and eager to have this experience, but another part of me is thinking "I have no fucking clue what I'm really getting myself into." I have taken mushrooms before, on two separate occasions last year. However, I believe that they were of very poor quality because my friends and I took about 2.5-3 grams each and hardly experienced anything that profound. Just kind of a mysterious, strange, and unfamiliar state of mind with no crazy visuals or deep insights. I also fear that the fear I have itself may lead to an unpleasant experience, even though I was just as nervous my first time and it wasn't bad at all but rather enjoyable. How do I get in the right state of mind before trying them again? 

Thank You

[MM1988]

People here will probably not agree with my advice but have benzodiazepines at hand so you can abort a bad trip immediately. They calm down your anxiety and make you sleep so you can sleep it off. Try to stick it out anyway but its good to know that they are there in case things get ugly. Be careful they are addictive.

 

[Anton_Pierre]

Just sit in a room all day alone, food prepared, no distractions for 10-12 hours first please.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Anton_Pierre

[Forestluv]

@GroovyGuru Start with small doses and work your way up, if you desire. On a mini dose of LSD, meditate, contemplate and spend some time in nature. Get a feel for it. Treat it like medicine.

Perhaps your mind-body will resonate with low doses and thats it. Perhaps you will feel a calling to increase the dosage. Perhaps psyches won’t resonate with your mind-body. Who knows? Only one way to find out. 

I would start low and let the direct experience guide you. Trust your intuition. Psyches can help with getting in touch with intuition. Beyond all the thought stories and analysis. It’s beautiful.

[Shadowraix]

I 2nd having benzos on hand to lessen a trip intensity. 

You'll have to face your fear regardless. Starting small then working up is the safest way to go. With psychedelics there's a lot you have to overcome but it pays off 

[Leo Gura]

@GroovyGuru If it bothers you so much you aren't ready.

[Forestluv]

I’ve had etizolam on hand, yet have never taken it during a trip. Yet just having it on me, knowing I could sedate the trip, helped reduce anxiety and increase confidence. 

Part of the process is experiencing, deconstructing and working through the underlying source of the fear and anxiety. Yet ime pushing anxiety too far into panic zones is counter-productive. 

[Leo Gura]

If you are going to trip you need to learn how to boost yourself out of negative states.

You can proactively shift states at any time, rather than having them control you.

Practice causing yourself to feel happy, excited, confident, calm, loving, etc. Practice shifting state.

[Forestluv]

For me, shifting from anxiety to curiosity is one the most important skills in this area. 

[allislove]

I tried for the first time the full dose of LSD one week ago. I had fear before a trip. What helped me to relax is sober experienced friend who supported me during the trip. And make sure to have a good environment (like a clean room, good music, good food, preferably good weather). Environment is everything on LSD.  

[Lynnel]

@GroovyGuru

Shrooms can loose a lot of potency if dried improperly.

The amount of insights you get is proportionnal to your introspection ability you already have in place.

You become more comfortable with every experience. Having a trip sitter helps tremendously to reduce stress/anxiety.

You usually are quite bad at controlling your "state" until you achieve higher insight levels anyway so...just be in a good mood before hand.

Mushrooms for instance just throw your subconscious out there - it depends on the amount of "stuff" you got going on. The more your work on yourself the cleaner and deeper your trips will be.

Pro-tip : if you're doing acid maybe don't release ALL of your trauma at once - it's a pain to integrate afterwards x)

[RichardY]

@GroovyGuru The Bible, says that you will not inherit the kingdom of heaven through sorcery.

In the Quran there is a passage somewhere about it taking your soul or something. A reference to fallen angels and Egypt or something. Not sure what other religions say. Probably ok if you're an Aztec or Mayan. Not sure what Hindus or Buddhists scriptures say.

[Inliytened1]

@Leo Gura that is a huge point.

 

Think of pyschedelics as a boost to awakening they won't bring it about by itself

For that you need to be embodying Truth in your everyday life.  And by that i mean in your actions.

Message me for more as i can't fit a lifetime of preparation into a single post.

[Matt8800]

@GroovyGuru Start with a small dose just to get your feet wet. I would suggest mushrooms over lsd because lsd lasts a long time.

[Nahm]

@GroovyGuru

Address the fear regardless of the trip. Write down what happens, how it feels, etc on paper. Retrace it. Solve it like a mystery. 

A few ways to begin seeing how it is you can change your state of mind...

Write down a statement about your current state ...”I’m experiencing fear about taking psychedelics”....and identify as best you can, the sensation...”anxiety / rushy”. Then write down a sensation you’d like to be experiencing....”joy”. Then rewrite the first statement how you would see it if you were feeling joy. (Peace...love...)

You can also zoom out, think about how it’s one thing, on one day. Life is much bigger. It will come and go like anything else. Just be present for all the experiences, some will be great, some difficult. When you’re old & grey, I bet you’ll be glad if you embraced the entirety of experiences in your life. A shroom trip might last a few hours, but it’s just a few hours. Not that big of a deal. That can help calm the nerves. After relaxing, choose the approach to “zoom in” next with. First say to your self lightly, I’m choosing confidence and desire for new experiences here, and then “zoom in” and have a look. 

Also, a quick “shaking the energy out”, like a wet dog sort of, and seeing you got caught up again, and it’s also silly. 

Use whatever resources are available too. Music, book marked pages that resonated, going for a walk, etc. Let it go completely...then approach a preferred vision. 

Almost any brisk body movements, even facial expressions can help change your state as well. 

 

[pluto]

Just to add in reflection to some of the comments..

Instead of Benzo's there are many other natural alternatives that work like: CBD oil, Passionflower, Ashwaghanda, Chamomile, Valerian, KAVA ect.. Also Lavender Essential oil or essential oils of the herbs i already stated are far more potent and effective. Lemon, Ginger and Peppermint are also great for nausea and mood. Make teas or apply essential oils directly to skin. NOTE: I noticed adding passionflower for example to an LSD trip makes it feel more like Ayahuasca/mushroom-like and allows user to fall asleep easier near the end of the trip

Some other tips, be in nature, ground yourself, expose yourself to sunshine, fruits and deep breathing, yoga, dancing, singing ect.. In these states you will be surprised how even a little bit of something has such a impact on the trip itself because psychedelics in a nutshell show you how reality works and how your universe is a direct reflection of your own personalized consciousness/perspective.

Happy Tripping

Edited April 29, 2019 by pluto

[LoveandPurpose]

@Leo Gura How do you shift state? Repeating thought patterns?