Psychedelics are going through a serious revival right now. Clinical trials are taking place with LSD and psilocybin (magic mushrooms), MDMA is already being used to treat PTSD, and ketamine is being prescribed for depression (you’ve probably heard all of this countless times). Now is most certainly a great time to explore the unusual and deeply expressive headspaces that these substances have to offer.
Additionally, the stigma around psychedelics is disappearing too. It is becoming easier to have a legitimate and open discussion about them with people from all walks of life, regardless of whether they have tried them or not. These drugs are getting a new-found respect.
As a highly experienced user of psychedelics, it excites me to see people share so many great stories about them, and it excites me even further to know that doctors and researchers are now listening too. But as someone who has had both glorious and down-right terrible experiences with these drugs, I feel there needs to be some balance to the discussion because they can do as much damage as they can good.
In particular, I want to talk about traumatic trips, or psychedelic trauma. These are the sorts of experiences that end up leaving a stain on your mind. They cause you not to shudder but to freeze, break down and close off. You could simply call them bad trips but that term…
