 "Old hippies don't die, they just lie low until the laughter
stops and their time comes round again." - Joseph Gallivan
Got a question about hippies, drugs, love, or whatever?
Visit the Ask the Old Hippies Forum to pose a question to our community of Old Hippies!
Thanks for the great response
to Ask the Old Hippy.. We're sorry but the original Old Hippy is no longer available to answer questions. |
| Bad Trips, Good Trips | Category: Ask The Old Hippy | Topic: Drugs | Books about Drugs | Print E-Mail This page has been viewed 61499 times | | I have never tried mushrooms, although i know that i want to. recently,
however, my friend had a bad trip. he said that it was the worst he
ever felt and that he became so depressed that he actually considered
killing himself. this is the first time i have ever heard of a bad trip
off of mushrooms. i am wondering if it is common or if this is some
freak occurrence?
The way psilocybin, the active ingredient in mushrooms affects the brain is similar to that of LSD, affecting neurotransmitters. This can lead to a
number of psychological manifestations. Depression is more likely if the
dose is large and the trip is deep. Contributing factors can be a tendency towards depression, or a bad mind set going into it. Perhaps your friend was thinking he was just going to get high, and wasn't prepared to undergo an intense inward experience. The setting is also important since some places have good vibes (like nature), and others can elicite negative responses (like cities). Perhaps most important is having someone supportive, who isn't doing mushrooms, around to monitor the situation and help out if necessary.
I'm surprised that people are doing these drugs (still) without realizing
how powerful they are. LSD, psilocybin (mushrooms), mescaline (peyote) are all heavy hallucinogens whose dose is very hard to gauge. Each of these
drugs has the potential of giving the user one of the most intense
experiences of his/her life. They are not to be taken lightly, they are not
for kicks or to get high. Many people take these psychedelics for the first
time expecting a party. It may start that way, but often it turns into
Scream, or some other horror movie gets shown at their own private cinema of
the ego.
If you are prepared for this, knowing what might happen, and have the proper
set and setting then the chances of a "good trip" are maximized. What is a
good trip? I suppose it would be the one where the layers of the ego are
stripped away, and the now humbled tripper sees himself as an infinitesimal
speck in something so wonderful, that being just a speck, something alive
and aware, is far greater than anything he can imagine.
What a long strange trip,
The Old Hippy
| Suggested Reading The Art of Peter Max
by Charles A. Riley II, Peter Max
A few years ago I went looking for any kind of Peter Max book, in vain. Now at last here's a great collection. Peter Max, along with Andy Warhol just about invented pop art. Max's brilliant colors, and iconic graphic design had a tremendous influence on commercial art in the 1960s. His psychedelic posters adorned just about every college dorm room, and embodied the spirit of the times.
Now you can relive that period, and Max's later work, some of it focusing on environmental causes. Peter Max has closely held his copyrights, with few chances to even see his work any more. So don't miss this one. A great holiday gift! |
|