4 ms·

I know two people who had prolonged psychotic episodes, as in, for weeks they were in their own world. These were both people who had many fun/enjoyable experie

I know two people who had prolonged psychotic episodes, as in, for weeks they were in their own world. These were both people who had many fun/enjoyable experiences beforehand. I myself have had bad / hell like experiences a small percentage of the time, despite literal hundreds of good experiences prior. Becoming a father many years ago significantly altered my trip experience. Dosage also plays a strong role.. These things are generally less toxic than alcohol and it is criminal to punish someone for having them or using them.. But they are also extremely powerful, and despite potential amazing experiences, do carry risks. And they are definitely not for everyone.

Bnichs 1y ago
Can you explain how it changed after being a father?
- colecut 1y ago
  I tripped a lot in my early 20s, a whole lot, and never had a bad time. Well, I had some uncomfortable experiences, but not what I can now call a bad trip. One of my first times after, in my experience, I literally went to hell. I was convinced I was on the outskirts, all the people at the party around me were demons, I was about to be tortured forever, and I was never going to see my son again and he was going to grow up without me.. I convinced myself I was in that position because I had wrecked and killed someone, and my punishment was forever replaying the experiencing of a life where I would grow up to have a son, only to have him ripped away from me, reminded of what I did, and then tortured for some nearly eternal amount of time.... Any conversations people had with me at the time, I heard the words they were saying but completely twisted the meaning of the words to fit whatever crazy narrative was going on in my head. This has happened 4 or 5 times. Despite being familiar with the experience, in my mind it just reinforces that I am in a "loop" at the time, about to be tortured again.. It's happened with LSD, Mushrooms, and surprisingly even ketamine. *edit it also happened during an intense changa experience with a shaman in Tijuana, which was my most intense experience with anything to date.. You'd think I would not take this stuff anymore =p I have at least slowed down considerably...
  - gavinray 1y ago
    I've had remarkably similar bad trips, unfortunately I didn't make it out as unscathed. I tell people: I had both the best day of my life, and the worst day of my life on psychedelics.
    - colecut 1y ago
      Interestingly, In 2006 I had both the best and worst night of my life (up to that point, this was pre-fatherhood) while on acid... but the acid wasn't really the primary factor in either direction.. Some of the best raves of the late 90s and early 2000s were at The State Palace Theater in New Orleans.. At the last party thrown there, I was invited to play first on the main stage, biggest soundsystem and crowd I ever played for, all my friends there to support.. Set goes great, we all hug and celebrate and and start tripping, and have a great time.. At about 4AM I go to get something in my record bag that I left on the stage by the decks.. someone stole it. It also had my car keys in it, among other things.. My buddy had to drive me 3+ hours away to get my spare keys, and hours back, and hours back home again, it was two days after the party before I finally settled in at home, without most of my keys and my stuff. I had a friend who recorded and took pictures during my set, but in a different incident at the party, he dropped the camera in a literal hole in the floor of this dilapidating building, never to be seen again. Despite being the worst feeling of my life, and being on acid, it wasn't a "bad trip" because it wasn't the trip's fault... I would be interested to hear about your experiences. username at gmail if you'd rather not share here.
      - gavinray 1y ago
        > I would be interested to hear about your experiences. Sure, I've written a bit about one of the more damaging trips I've had before on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22993060 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22993060
  - whymememe 1y ago
    I have had an incredibly similar experience, including falling back into being convinced I was in a 'loop' when my mind was tired or on psychedelics. I've always found it interesting how common this type of bad trip is and wondered if there's a reason why it's so common. Cultural context can have a large impact on the type of trips you have, but I would not have guessed that western culture would create this type of bad trip, in particular.
01100011 1y ago
Also worth noting that persistent negative effects do not require a bad trip. You can have a wonderful time and still have long lasting issues.

Bnichs 1y ago

Can you explain how it changed after being a father?

colecut 1y ago
I tripped a lot in my early 20s, a whole lot, and never had a bad time. Well, I had some uncomfortable experiences, but not what I can now call a bad trip. One of my first times after, in my experience, I literally went to hell. I was convinced I was on the outskirts, all the people at the party around me were demons, I was about to be tortured forever, and I was never going to see my son again and he was going to grow up without me.. I convinced myself I was in that position because I had wrecked and killed someone, and my punishment was forever replaying the experiencing of a life where I would grow up to have a son, only to have him ripped away from me, reminded of what I did, and then tortured for some nearly eternal amount of time.... Any conversations people had with me at the time, I heard the words they were saying but completely twisted the meaning of the words to fit whatever crazy narrative was going on in my head. This has happened 4 or 5 times. Despite being familiar with the experience, in my mind it just reinforces that I am in a "loop" at the time, about to be tortured again.. It's happened with LSD, Mushrooms, and surprisingly even ketamine. *edit it also happened during an intense changa experience with a shaman in Tijuana, which was my most intense experience with anything to date.. You'd think I would not take this stuff anymore =p I have at least slowed down considerably...
- gavinray 1y ago
  I've had remarkably similar bad trips, unfortunately I didn't make it out as unscathed. I tell people: I had both the best day of my life, and the worst day of my life on psychedelics.
  - colecut 1y ago
    Interestingly, In 2006 I had both the best and worst night of my life (up to that point, this was pre-fatherhood) while on acid... but the acid wasn't really the primary factor in either direction.. Some of the best raves of the late 90s and early 2000s were at The State Palace Theater in New Orleans.. At the last party thrown there, I was invited to play first on the main stage, biggest soundsystem and crowd I ever played for, all my friends there to support.. Set goes great, we all hug and celebrate and and start tripping, and have a great time.. At about 4AM I go to get something in my record bag that I left on the stage by the decks.. someone stole it. It also had my car keys in it, among other things.. My buddy had to drive me 3+ hours away to get my spare keys, and hours back, and hours back home again, it was two days after the party before I finally settled in at home, without most of my keys and my stuff. I had a friend who recorded and took pictures during my set, but in a different incident at the party, he dropped the camera in a literal hole in the floor of this dilapidating building, never to be seen again. Despite being the worst feeling of my life, and being on acid, it wasn't a "bad trip" because it wasn't the trip's fault... I would be interested to hear about your experiences. username at gmail if you'd rather not share here.
    - gavinray 1y ago
      > I would be interested to hear about your experiences. Sure, I've written a bit about one of the more damaging trips I've had before on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22993060 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22993060
- whymememe 1y ago
  I have had an incredibly similar experience, including falling back into being convinced I was in a 'loop' when my mind was tired or on psychedelics. I've always found it interesting how common this type of bad trip is and wondered if there's a reason why it's so common. Cultural context can have a large impact on the type of trips you have, but I would not have guessed that western culture would create this type of bad trip, in particular.

01100011 1y ago

Also worth noting that persistent negative effects do not require a bad trip. You can have a wonderful time and still have long lasting issues.