My worst experience became my most important one — how that happened
312 replies · Harm Reduction
I want to tell this story because I think the 'bad trip' framing is doing harm. I had what I would have called a bad trip: three hours of terror, crying, the absolute conviction that something had permanently broken in my mind. And then something important occurred that has been more meaningful to me than any comfortable session since.
The reframe that helped me: what felt like the worst thing happening was actually the thing that most needed to happen. The terror I experienced was the terror I had been carrying, not something the drug created. The psilocybin made the fear visible. And visible fear, with a good sitter, is workable.
For anyone in a difficult session: the single most useful instruction is 'let go and trust.' Fighting a difficult psychedelic experience makes it worse. Surrendering to it — not agreeing with it, not welcoming it, but stopping resistance — often allows it to complete.
I now screen the people I work with partly by how they talk about difficult experiences. If a guide tells me they help people avoid difficult experiences, I don't trust them. If they tell me they help people work through difficult experiences, I do.
309 more replies — forum posting coming soon.