by Various Authors
1) Have you tried LSD: yes __ no __
Yes, 10 or more times.
>Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes __ no __
Yes, once -- image in my head was that an oil well was about to explode,
unleashing all the stuff about myself that I did not want to know. It was
taking all my strength to keep the well from blowing. I finally took 500
mgs of niacinamide to abort the trip (took about an hour to abort).
The bad trip could have been predicted, given my state at the time.
>Have you experienced flashbacks: yes __ no __
Not in the "traditional" (bad) sense. I have had dreams in which I
have taken psychedelics and have experienced identical effects to normal
waking reality while under the influence of psychedelics. I can't recall
ever having a flashback while awake.
>Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: yes __ no __
No.
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|Have you tried LSD: yes
|Have you had a bad trip on LSD: no
|Have you experienced flashbacks: see below
|Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: n/a
I have tripped on acid about 20 times and 'shrooms twice. All of my trips
were (mostly) pleasant and enjoyable. I haven't had any flashbacks in the
classic sense -- i.e. whoosh!!! I feel like I'm trippin' again, but certain
pieces of music that I've listened to while tripping give me the 'warm
fuzzies' whenever I hear them now, which is fine by me! On a related note,
I find I can sort of induce that trippy/hallucinatory feeling when I stare
at something for a while. I don't think this has anything to do with drugs
per se -- only the fact that most people can put themselves in a frame of
mind that they have been in before...
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Yes I've tried LSD -- I've had over 50 hits, total. Maximum at once was 9.
Bad trips: I've been highly miserable and sick for most of several trips,
notably the 9-trip above. Same FUCKING thoughts running around in your head
for hours, sick with guilt for the miserable life I'm too tripped to
realize I don't actually have, etc,etc. No blood gushing from the walls
or insects under the skin or anything. Lots of loneliness, when bad
tripping (in this manner) alone.
Flashbacks, no. If I concentrate I can remember ... not a taste, exactly,
but a sort of state of my mouth and nose that corresponds to tripping.
Somewhere in between a feeling and a taste. Also, if I concentrate, I
can see 2-d tiling hallucenations and some colors-that-aren't-there at the
edges of things. Actually, it doesn't take any concentration at all for
the latter, but the 2-d tilings require either concentration on the level of
simple self-hypnosis or sleep deprivation. I look at the ceiling now, and
I see red and yellow tints to the crinkly dark things. (Acoustic tile --
the crinkly dark things are real.) I wonder why they're red and yellow,
and not some other color. The cracks between the keys on my keyboard are
red and green.
These colors are all hallucenation, but it's hard for me to say whether they're
because of the acid. They're very slight. The question is, whether acid
taught me what hallucenations look like, so now I see them where I previously
hadn't, or if I'm permanently affected in some way by the acid.
Naturally I favor the first theory...
-stevea@geom.umn.edu
(If you feel that this is interesting, please feel free to cut and post.
Credit me, I hate being anonymous.)
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>Have you tried LSD: yes X_ no __
In excess of 100 times, seriously. I used to trip at least
once a week for over two years.
>Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes __ no X_
No. The worst experience was on six hits of microdot one
4th of July. It was bad only in that I was up for over 48
hours and I was simply bored of being high! It was quite
interesting for a time, though.
Almost without exception, tripping was, for lack of a better
word, fun.
>Have you experienced flashbacks: yes __ no X_
Never.
>Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: yes __ no __
Not applicable.
Of course, all the above occurred during the Carter administration, so
if set and setting have anything to do with it...
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Have you tried LSD: yes
Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes
Have you experienced flashbacks: yes
Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: yes
Flashbacks largely came from moments/scenarios/visions which went out of
control as part of bad trips, so there is something to your hypothesis.
I don't think it's quite as simple a causal relation ("bad trip" -->
"flashbacks") but certainly the emotional intensity of a bath in terror
seems positively correlated with the subsequent intermittent return of
certain images afterwards.
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Have you tried LSD: yes X no __
Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes __ no X
Have you experienced flashbacks: yes __ no X
Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: yes N/A no N/A
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>Have you tried LSD: yes XX no __
>Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes __ no XX
>Have you experienced flashbacks: yes __ no XX
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> Privacy is as insured as is possible on the net--names will be
> promptly deleted off the computer system here and will not be kept in any
> other way:
Thank you.
> Have you tried LSD: yes __ no __
Yes, several times.
> Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes __ no __
Nope.
> Have you experienced flashbacks: yes __ no __
Yes.
> Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: yes __ no __
N/A.
> Also, if you could explain your answers in a little greater detail (ie.
> explaining what the bad trip was like, or explaining the flashback, etc)
> that would be appreciated, but not neccesary.
Well, it seems to me that your notion of flashbacks is different that
what most lsd users experience. I've never heard of anyone having a
flashback that was anything like the height of LSD intoxication. The
first flashback I experienced was when I was walking along a hall at
work overlooking a parking lot, and I suddenly noticed that all the
cars in the parking lot were machines. I know it doesn't sound like
much, but it was so startling I had to stop and look. It was as if
all the advertising and marketing and desire that surround automobiles
in our society was stripped away, and I saw lumps of metal and plastic
with engines, and I felt like I was seeing a parking lot full of those
old steam-engined tractors that were used to thresh grain in the old
days. So it wasn't an unpleasant experience at all, and I didn't have
any visual distortions. But cognitively, it reminded me very much of
LSD intoxication. I've had similar experiences since, at a rate of
one every couple of months, but none were as striking to me as that
first one.
Hunter Thompson, who would certainly have whatever flashbacks are to
be had, said "And where are those flashbacks they've been promising us
all these years?".
My experience is pretty much along the lines of what most LSD users
report, as documented in "Licit and Illicit Drugs", at least.
Carry on,
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1. Yes. 1 hit about 5 times, 2 hits once.
2. Kind-of. A couple of times,, I felt as if I was about to slip into
a bad trip, but got myself out of it.
3. Yes. I'm color-blind, and my English teacher had a green and red tie on.
Focusing in and out would make the colors change a little, and pulsate.
Next thing, I was looking around, and everything had a grid on it, like
graph paper. This happened maybe two or three times.
4. No.
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>Have you tried LSD:
Yes.
>Have you had a bad trip on LSD:
No.
>Have you experienced flashbacks:
No.
>Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected:
N/A
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>Have you tried LSD: yes x_ no __
>Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes __ no x_
>Have you experienced flashbacks: yes __ no x_
>Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: yes __ no __
I've taken acid about eight times some years ago now. All of the trips
were pleasant although at one stage I remember getting a little
paranoid but I easily managed to talk myself out of it.
I've never had a flashback. Sometimes I've seen a pattern that reminds
me of something that I saw while tripping. Then again, sometimes I
see something that reminds me of Italy; if I hadn't been there, I'd
never have recognised that aspect of it.
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Never used LSD. Plenty of my friends did, however. They
never complained of ill effects.
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>Have you tried LSD: yes x no __
>Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes __ no x
>Have you experienced flashbacks: yes __ no x
>Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: no idea!
I have taken LSD hundreds of times. I have not really had
a "bad" trip per-se, more like boring. I have never had a flashback.
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>Have you tried LSD: yes
>Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes
>Have you experienced flashbacks: no
>Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: N/A
>Also, if you could explain your answers in a little greater detail (ie.
>explaining what the bad trip was like, or explaining the flashback, etc)
>that would be appreciated, but not neccesary.
I was with 5 friends and they were dancing, having fun with loud dance music
and a red light bulb on. Everyone was otherwise complaining that the hits
weren't causing hallucinations or a 'trip' as it had been described to them.
I felt the blood rushing through my body and everyone's faces kept changing
shape slightly. I felt completely alone and alienated. They were asking me
to take my roommates hits (which I had saved for him) for us so they could
intensify the experience. I was so upset that no one was experiencing what
I was and couldn't share it with me. My friend and I kept staring at pictures
and each other's faces enjoying what we were feeling. I realized how no two
people have the same experiences in life and are probably never thinking the
exact same thing. I became very pessemistic about love and subsequently
friendships. We come into the world alone and leave it that way. I should
depend on nobody except myself for happiness. I though of my existentialism
class and understood how pain/hurt and chaos were things to look forward to in
life because they taught a lesson. I began crying and became very insecure.
I ran to a friends room and sat in the corner talking to them. I had to keep
my back to the corner in the room so that I could see everyone there.
I wouldn't let anyone touch me because the feeling of warm skin scared me
and reminded me that people are individualized (in different bodies and
though processes). I had to keep touching the wall behind me to remind myself
that I was against something concrete. I couldn't stop talking or else I'd
be scared of being 'alone forever.' I wasn't making coherent sense... I was
making sentences but I couldn't finish them because my mind was cluttered
with random thoughts. I thought of all my friends in the room I had left
and how I could no longer relate to them. I saw them as completely selfish,
defensive, insecure and followers (as opposed to leaders). They were all so
shallow that they had to party and dance and have fun instead of having
meaningful discussions. I went back to the room and there was toilet paper
everywhere (20 rolls at least unleashed) and the record player was playing a
record slower than normal speed so that it sounded very evil! Everyone there
was crying or screaming or running out. I didn't care about anyone at the time.I felt that my friends were using me and didn't care about me. I saw through
so many pretentions at that moment. I thought of past loves that had failed
or had been unsuccessful and cried some more. Everyone was suddenly quiet and
nobody would respond to me or look at me. Everyone was trapped in their own
little world. I couldn't find anything I owned in the room (shoes, jacket,
wallet) and I decided that I didn't want any physical/material possesions
anymore. I was going to destroy all social conventions and be myself.
We took a walk and had Japanese food. Came home, talked to some friends and
went to sleep.
If you'd like to know anything else, feel free!
I can't say I've ever had a flashblack or a real "bad" trip.
Today I was seeing very light trails occasionaly. Considering I tripped four
days ago... but I never saw actual colors/patterns that shouldn't be there.
While under the red light, to this day, I see slight trails.
Smoking a lot of pot also brings some of it. I'd like to trip on 2 or 3 hits
next to see what happens afterward.
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"Uncontrollable flashbacks" means that occasionally they relive a
part of their trips, and cannot return to the "real" world, for up to two
minutes. The both have had bad trips.
Please note well that I have never tried LSD and that I am
reporting only what I've been told.
I reiterate that I have not experienced any such thing. However,
one of the friends that I was talking about actually left me in spirit for
about two minutes by my watch. I do not know a better way to put it than
"he left me in spirit," and he couldn't explain it well (or I don't
remember). You may also quote this, in whole or in part etc... 8^).
"Debilitating": I do know that if my friend I referred to above
had had to respond to a crisis, he would almost certainly have been unable
to.
Anything else I can tell you, I will.
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1) yes 2)no 3)yes 4)n/a
Have you tried LSD: yes _X no __
Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes _X no __
Have you experienced flashbacks: yes __ no _X
Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: yes __ no _X
Between January 1972 and 1976 or so, I tried LSD about 80 times. I
had exactly one "bad trip". I had been used to doing LSD frequently
during my first summer of experimentation. After having not used
it at all for for 4 months, in January 1973, somebody gave me a
"4-way" dose which I consumed all at once. The resulting trip was,
not unsurprisingly, intense. I lost touch with reality to the point
that I felt I could cause things to happen just by thinking about
them. I also said things based on my false view of reality that I was
embarrassed about later. My friends just drove me around until I came
down, chagrined. There were no repercussions. Sorry about the
sketchy details, but hey -- this happened 18 years ago.
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>Have you tried LSD: yes x_ no __
>Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes x_ no __
>Have you experienced flashbacks: yes x_ no __
>Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: yes __ no x_
>
>Also, if you could explain your answers in a little greater detail (ie.
>explaining what the bad trip was like, or explaining the flashback, etc)
>that would be appreciated, but not neccesary.
>From my experiences (the memory is hazy, since I haven't taken any in about
10 years, but I did take it quite frequently back then) what I would call
a "bad trip" would be a combination of impurities in the dose leading to
unpleasant physical side-effects (headaches, stomach ache, etc) or simply
the trip lasting too long (that's mainly why I stopped). A bad trip would
be wishing the experience would end, because of being in a bad setting, etc.
I concluded that the bad trips were due to impurities because of the contrast
with what I believed to be pure stuff, when I had trips I thouroghly enjoyed
and suffered few if any side effects (other than tiredness after it wore off).
It could all be a result of my frame of mine or setting, but I'm not convinced
of that. The few flashbacks a had weren't unpleasant, were momentary, and
stopped about a week after the trip. Typically some object I'm looking at
would momentarily become very bright, or I would imagine seeing something
improbable out of the corner of my eye.
I hope that is helpful.
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Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Message-ID: <1991Apr29.010351.5650@milton.u.washington.edu>
Date: 29 Apr 91 01:03:51 GMT
Have you tried LSD: yes XX no __
Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes __ no XX
Have you experienced flashbacks: yes XX no __
Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: Not Applicable
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Y,Not very,N,N
The only unpleasant part of the experiences was on the first, when my
pulse was about 160/min at the onset, for no apparent reason. I kept
track of it, and seeing that it didn't get any worse and began to slow
after a while, sat back and enjoyed myself. On the whole, very worthwhile,
though exhausting.
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1 yes (usage)
2 yes ("bad trip")
3 no ("flashback")
4 n/a
I used acid/mescaline/mushrooms occasionally, starting in my senior year
of high school (class of '72). I can't say I had any truly traumatic
experiences, but any negative feelings are enhanced. I remember feeling
incredibly self conscious, as if everyone was looking into me, at
a party...up to the point of paranoia, I guess. I think I just snuck
out and sat outside (it was cold out) until I was frrreezing, then came
back in and just sat in a chair and tried to "look comfortable". People's
faces were characatures of themselves...there were only a couple of
people I knew, so that didn't help. The only thing that helped was
the music; Hendrix was there, (I was able to "see" music sometimes) so
I felt better.
Social gatherings were the one thing that seemed to cause bad experiences
for me (I still hate parties).
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>As usual I'm looking for any excuse not to do my homework. I've also just
>been sitting here wondering if there is any kind of connection between
>flashbacks and bad trips. I tend to support the idea that flashbacks are
>generally caused by bad trips. In order to see if this idea floats at
>all (and to avoid the dreaded homework) here is one of the worlds shortest
>questionnaires. I'd like anyone whose tried LSD to take this questionnaire
>and reply to me (via e-mail only please). I will then post results to the
>net. Privacy is as insured as is possible on the net--names will be
>promptly deleted off the computer system here and will not be kept in any
>other way:
>
>Have you tried LSD: yes __ no __
Yes, many times. (if I hadn't this survey would be deconstructed)
>Have you had a bad trip on LSD: yes __ no __
No, not once.
>Have you experienced flashbacks: yes __ no __
No, never.
>Did you feel that the bad trip and flashback were connected: yes __ no __
>
Only in that they were both nonexistent.
>Also, if you could explain your answers in a little greater detail (ie.
>explaining what the bad trip was like, or explaining the flashback, etc)
>that would be appreciated, but not neccesary.
>
>For the purpose of this survey a bad trip is not an upset stomach, I'm
>looking for something a little more traumatic than that.
>
>I'm not in any way trying to be scientific about this, its just one of
>those things thats interested me for awhile.