First (& difficult) mushroom trip

[lexiqon]

Decided the beach would be nice for a first mushroom trip. Drove in with my partner who agreed be trip sitter. I'd made up some tea with 2g of psilocybe subaeruginosa. Wish I'd had warning about the strength though! I drank about 3/4 of it over 10 minutes before starting to feel shaky and relaxed so stopped there. I felt a slight discomfort in the stomach soon after but it eased off fairly quick. We'd made it to the beach but it was pouring rain so resigned to sitting in the car facing the water.

I put on some music and enjoyed the come up but started getting nervous after 30 minutes as the trip was progressing faster than I anticipated. Strong DMT-esque visuals started flooding in. A head appeared in orange and purple before splitting in half and melting into a mushroom. A forewarning? I was about to give myself up to the mushroom spirit.

Despite my best efforts the anxious thoughts were becoming pervasive and things started to turn dark. The music began to sound eerie. The edge of my laptop screen gave rise to thoughts of rotting bones. Fleeting images of a dark forest. White emaciated bloodstained creatures. A voice urging me to kill?? A pit of corpses falling into a red background. I was struggling to hold what little sanity I could without giving way to panic.

I hadn't prepared for this! I could sense another presence in my body. Caught myself doing things. My hands were reaching to get out of the car. I wasn't in control. The darkness was getting stronger and I was struggling to let go to this experience. My partner was barely able to help me in this while I battled on a shadowy border between madness and reality.

It is almost a blur.

There were some brief nicer moments like seeing pretty patterns in the waves, vines over the ceiling and little lines of rainbow energy. But overall there was always that very dark, scary overtone.

When it finally calmed down I was really shaken up. I've never experienced such horrible, gory thoughts and visions and what freaked me out most was just how real and intense they were. I was swearing off psychedelics altogether but my sitter reminded me it was just a bad trip and the situation wasn't ideal. On the way home I was still tripping but I could finally enjoy it as it calmed down. I had a fantastic time at home listening to music. I found a whole new aspect of enjoyment in listening that was different to acid. I found I could appreciate dark psy as if part of me had awakened to it though I never really liked it before. None of this is real by infected mushroom embodied my trip very well I think.

In retrospect I am thankful for having experienced the dark side of mushrooms as well as the awesome side - especially on my first trip. Despite the difficult time, it was enjoyable at the end and I definitely learnt from the experience. Looking forward to exploring it further in the future

 

[Elpo]

The feeling you talk about the mushroom taking over is something I experience every time I take them. It always starts in my stomach and it expands from there. The key is to be able to trust in the mushroom and just let go. Welcome it into your body like you would an old friend entering your house. If you succeed at this you should be fine. Remember that mushrooms are much more physical then LSD (at least for me). They take over your whole body and mind.

What the setting is concerned for me tripping in a car would probably be one of the worst places to be in when on mushrooms. I know you had no choice, but I think this might have influenced you as well.

I was wondering what kind of trip your boyfriend had?

 

[lexiqon]

Elpo, very true! I just did another low dose trip the other day and accepting the mushroom and allowing it to control went much better this time.

I agree I think it was the situation which aggravated my trip. Being in the confines of the car and not being able to get out was unsettling. It's interesting though with acid I usually feel really safe in the car. My boyfriend was being sober sitter so did not trip.

 

[Nathanial.Dread]

I've gotten really strong, gory, horror-movie visualizations on mushrooms as well. They're not fun at all.

What potency are the mushroom you're using? It sounds like things got a little more intense then 2g of cubensis would produce.

Blessings
~ND

 

[adam]

For me I have a lot of trouble relaxing at low dose trips. I feel too much in between, and too much body load I become uncomfortable and have bad trips. My best trips are towards the higher end of spectrum where my bodies sensitivity is less an issue.

I have had similar visions and when I reflect back I can often equate them with being uncomfortable.Tripping being confined in a car seems like it could be difficult and produce a lot of negativity. When I dose I make sure I always have a place where I can lay down,stretch out and be comfortable in case of things getting heavy. A good thing to have when getting bad visions is something that smells nice. Like some sage, or lavender essential oil, or whatever you think smells nice, having that when things start feeling heavy really calms my nerves and allows me to relax.

 

[Gone-and-Back]

I agree with what people are saying about being in the car. If you are going to be in a confined car while tripping on mushrooms, especially a dose that is that strong for you, it is not a good idea to consume and come up in the car. This usually leads to bad feelings for me. I was never the driver as well, driver was always sober. Dont want people to get the wrong idea.

There have been times though where I have eaten an eighth, and my girlfriend who was sober asked me if I wanted to go for a car ride after coming up completely. It sounded like a great idea, the wind in my face and hair, the smells of everything, and it really was a great experience. I feel had I not done it this way, waiting to come up before getting in the car, I would of freaked the hell out.

At that point confined spaces seemed comfortable. Had I come up in a confined space though I guaruntee I would of felt extremely claustrophobic and sickened. Probably would of felt like I couldnt breath.

 

[lexiqon]

Nathanial.Dread, they sure aren't! :S The shrooms were psilocybe subaeruginosa, to give an idea about potency according to the Shroomery's dosage calculator a level 3 trip would be achieved with 1.5g of these vs. 2.4g of cubensis.

adam, definitely good advice! I think I did it right the second time in my room with much more space and I actually had the compulsion to bring out some perfume to smell and it was great

Gone-and-Back, good to know a car ride isn't completely out of the picture but yeah won't be coming up in the car again for sure.

 

[Hieronymous]

Yeah the subs can be a dark experience sometimes. They certainly put their own twist on the experience. Subs can be strong like cyanescens or even really potent like azurescens for those in other parts of the world who've never experienced them.

A 1.5 gram dose can sometimes be a lot more powerful than you'd expect and can be like a 3-4 gram cubensis trip with a dark twist to it.

Subs scare a lot of people off mushrooms for good, so the fact that you were able to try again seems to indicate that you've dealt with it OK.

8)

 

[lexiqon]

Hieronymous, yeah they were definitely stronger than expected! Later on I was able to embrace the dark side of the trip and it became enjoyable and I found it to be a very interesting and insightful experience.

 

[Gone-and-Back]

Sounds like the subs are really something to experience if you are a mushroom enthusiast. Are they able to be grown using the PF tek? Or something similar? Or are these a wood loving species?

At some point down the line I would love to give growing those a chance. Never have had the chance to try them out, and would love to give a go at growing them at some point so I can experience their mysterious ways

 

[lexiqon]

Gone-and-Back, unfortunately don't know much about growing. From wikipedia it says Psilocybe subaeruginosa grows solitary to gregarious from wood such as wood chips in urban areas, pine tree plantations and woody debris in forests and gardens. Can definitely vouch they were a very interesting experience!

 

[Gone-and-Back]

Sounds like they were interesting for sure! These are on the top of my list to try out. I have not grown anything yet, but when I do and get the hang of it, I shall move to wood loving species and give these a try!

 

[anrchy]

Something people don't usually do but helps a lot, if you feel a negative sensation or thought ect, remove yourself from that room, car, environment whatever. If your sitting down when it happens get up and walk around. A little change in scenery can help distract you from the thought pattern that are plaguing your trip. Physical movement takes focus and if you can create a task for yourself tht can be tremendous as well.

A friend of mine will shake his head as if he's tryin to shake off water. Mentally at the same time he pushes any negative energy away. Changes in what environment your in can have huge effects on any part if the trip.

One time 4 of us were sittin around a campfire for a good amount of the trip. From time to time I would get this slight feeling of uncomfort. I pushed through it but eventually couldn't ignore it anymore. The trip at the fire felt like a tunnel vision head feeling. Fairly strong body load in the head but not super visual. As soon as I stood up and walked about 30 ft into the darkness I felt the high change gears. Everything about my trip felt different suddenly. I felt more open and free to move. Felt like I could breathe better and the visuals increased slightly. Once I convinced everyone else to leave the comfort of the fire to adventure our trip became so much better. It was a blast.

So ya experiment with this idea. A bad trip is a loop of sorts. It's much like any other mental loop but its a loop of negativity. Dont get stuck in it by sitting there. Enjoy!

 

[Gone-and-Back]

That is some of the best advice you could give someone for a trip going bad. This is usually what I do as well, or even just changing the music that is playing to something more calm, or just a different sound all together can help as well.

However, sometimes you are in so deep into the bad trip that you can not change it, or even get up to move and change enviorments. This happened to me once, where I had started coming up and all of a sudden got sick. Ran to the bathroom to throw up a few times, it was very colorful and interesting looking. Didnt feel to good though while tripping.

After that, all I could do was lay in my bed staring at a poster on my ceiling. The post would be warping so much that I would get lost in it, forgetting to breathe. Then Id notice I am not breathing, freak out, and focus only on breathing. After a few minutes of that, I would be so focused on breathing, that I couldnt feel anything. So I would start rubbing my legs together to regain feeling...

Then I noticed the poster again! :lol: After noticing the poster again, this whole process would repeat. I am sure if I were to change locations maybe it would of helped, but I was not able to stand up without vomiting everywhere. So I just stayed there.

At the end, I had rubbed my legs raw... :thumb_dow

 

[lexiqon]

anarchy, definitely good advice I'll take more heed of next time. I did reach out to go outside at one point but my boyfriend stopped me because it was raining so much / I was tripping hard but I have the feeling getting out would have still improved the trip.

Gone-and-Back, that sounds like a pretty rough loop to get stuck in, glad you eventually made it out minus about the legs. Yeah I was pretty much at that stage as it got stronger. Changing the music didn't help and leaving the car was too difficult given the situation. Will plan better in future.

 

[anrchy]

I dunno the situation but getting out into the rain would have probably been awesome. Water has always been intriguing to me while on mushrooms.

My first bad trip on mushrooms, my only actual bad trip really, we started out in the woods and it was pretty much pitch black. There were three or four people with us that weren't dosing so my friend and I split an eighth of some fairly strong mushrooms. The sober friends took glow sticks apart and splashed it all around into plants and trees and themselves. At first I thought "ok this might be cool and now I can kind of see". Unfortunately this became difficult for me to handle. Everyone looked kind of like glowing robots faintly and the utter darkness wasn't having a good effect on me. I went from standing up to sitting down, then vice versa. Each time I felt uncomfortable sitting or standing so I would do the opposite. Eventually I couldn't handle it anymore so I asked my friend to take us out of the trees and into the field or something.

So I focused on the fact we were walking as a group down a trail and it felt like a great adventure. When we finally passed into the field I felt a huge weight lift from my body. Again I felt like I could breathe better and my body felt light. My friend took us to a cool looking spot where the grass was really tall and we sat down in it under the bright moon. Now this started off great. The tall grass added quite a cool effect being above my head and the moon lit up the sky enough so I could make out the clouds and the clear spots. Then I started to peak. I became heavy and sitting cross legged I was unable to move. There seemed to be a crushing weight on my mind as well. For quite awhile I sat there and all I could do was twiddle my fingers in the grass and watch as it grew around my hands tightening down on them then releasing, then repeating again and again.

My friends became worried about me as I hadn't said a word. When I finally did my voice was course and my tone low and quiet. I was afraid. I let them know, calmly, that I was having a hard time but that I was ok and not to worry. Although in my head I was pleading to not be high anymore having no clue as to how long it had been. I tried changing positions but found myself stuck in having to stay in the position I had been in for a couple hours. My vision would vibrate sometimes so hard that I felt uncomfortable with not being able to see things clearly. I saw lines in everything as if looking at a topographic map. My other friend however was having the time of his life, rolling around like a child with a laugh that only a ten year old could make. (We were both 20 something)

Then it happened. The physical loop. I took a drag while coughing at the same time which then made me gag. This gag reflex became a loop and I struggled to stop it. It persisted and eventually led me to throwing up. Which then made manners worse cause my friends gf, inexperienced in dealing with people having bad trips, claimed that I was going to fry harder. This didnt sit well for me as I wanted to come down.

Once I started coming down I was able to get up, move around and ultimately feel better and enjoy the rest of my trip.

I think in a situation like that there are ways to come out of it but you really have to force yourself and it helps to have a sitter than can calmly suggest to you things to do to help. I recommend anyone taking higher doses have a sitter that you feel comfortable telling if your having a hard time. I did but I chose to try and deal with it myself which isn't always the best way. During really rough times it can be impossible, or seem like it anyway.

Sitter sitter sitter. They really can help.

 

[lexiqon]

anrchy, wow, that was definitely a heavy trip! Glad it eventually turned around but yeah loops are the worst on any psychedelics :s Very true about having a good sitter - I guess prior to any trip it would be wise to discuss with your sitter how to handle a bad trip, with emphasis on changing the setting as soon as it starts. On my second shroom trip I also found water fascinating! I got out a dropper bottle and had a lot of fun making lines of droplets on my body - almost felt like a plant with dew drops haha.

 

[anrchy]

hehe, ya now most of my mushroom trips end up at some point, usually throughout the trip, feeling like my hands are wet after touching certain things. I usually have a bottle of water, and after I set it down my hands feels super wet and kind of cold. I then rub my hands as if trying to dry them off that way, or wipe them on my shirt. Yet my hands are dry.

Ya a sitter is only as good as what they know about there job as a sitter. Them making small suggestions to you can help you a lot. Like telling you that you took a drug and it will pass. Everything will be fine. Do you want some water? Lets go for a walk. Changing the subject can help get your mind onto something else. If they can get you excited about something that goes a long ways.

I am glad I had that bad trip, it taught me a lot. It also reassured me that I am more prepared to handle them. It isnt a guarantee but atleast I know I don't freak out and run off somewhere.

I also like to plan out the whole trip. Or at least the main theme of what its about. You never end up following the whole plan, especially if your dosing strong. But it gives you a path to follow and feels more like an adventure IMO.