Psychedelic experience

A prominent element of psychedelic experiences is visual alteration.[4] Psychedelic visual alteration often includes spontaneous formation of complex flowing geometric visual patterning in the visual field.[5] When the eyes are open, the visual alteration is overlaid onto the objects and spaces in the physical environment; when the eyes are closed the visual alteration is seen in the "inner world" behind the eyelids.[5] These visual effects increase in complexity with higher dosages, and also when the eyes are closed.[5] The visual alteration does not normally constitute hallucinations, because the person undergoing the experience can still distinguish between real and imagined visual phenomena, though in some cases, true hallucinations are present.[4] More rarely, psychedelic experiences can include complex hallucinations of objects, animals, people, or even whole landscapes.[4]

A number of scientific studies by Roland R. Griffiths and other researchers have concluded that high doses of psilocybin and other classic psychedelics trigger mystical experiences in most research subjects.[6][7][8][9][10][11] A 2011 study from Johns Hopkins University identified mystical experiences by means of psychometric questionnaires, including the States of Consciousness Questionnaire (using only a relevant subset of items), the Mysticism Scale, and the APZ questionnaire.[7] The researchers observed that psilocybin "occasions personally and spiritually significant mystical experiences that predict long-term changes in behaviors, attitudes and values."[7]

Research has found similarities between psychedelic experiences and non-ordinary forms of consciousness experienced in meditation[12] and near-death experiences.[13] The phenomenon of ego dissolution is often described as a key feature of the psychedelic experience.[12][13][14]

Individuals who have psychedelic experiences often describe what they experienced as "more real" than ordinary experience. For example, the psychologist Benny Shanon observed from ayahuasca trip refers to "the assessment, very common with ayahuasca, that what is seen and thought during the course of intoxication defines the real, whereas the world that is ordinarily perceived is actually an illusion."[15] Similarly, the psychiatrist Stanislav Grof described the LSD experience as "complex revelatory insights into the nature of existence… typically accompanied by a sense of certainty that this knowledge is ultimately more relevant and 'real' than the perceptions and beliefs we share in everyday life."[16]

A "bad trip" is a highly unpleasant psychedelic experience.[4][17] A bad trip on psilocybin, for instance, often features intense anxiety, confusion, and agitation, or even psychotic episodes.[18] Bad trips can be connected to the anxious ego-dissolution (AED) dimension of the APZ questionnaire used in research on psychedelic experiences.[4] As of 2011, exact data on the frequency of bad trips are not available.[18] In clinical research settings, precautions including the screening and preparation of participants, the training of the session monitors who will be present during the experience, and the selection of appropriate physical setting can minimize the likelihood of psychological distress.[19] In most cases in which anxiety arises during a supervised psychedelic experience, reassurance from the session monitor is adequate to resolve it; however, if distress becomes intense it can be treated pharmacologically, for example with the benzodiazepine diazepam.[19]

Bad trips are more common at high doses, where the psychedelic effect is more intense, and in unfamiliar environments, where anxiety and paranoia are more likely to arise. Bad trips can also be exacerbated by the inexperience or irresponsibility of the user or the lack of proper preparation and environment for the trip (known as "set and setting"). At the extreme, the occurrence of bad trips without proper preparation can result in a tripper committing self-harm or harming others, suicide attempts and contact with law enforcement. For this reason, a person who plans on taking a psychedelic is often accompanied by a trip sitter.

Stanislav Grof, a psychiatrist who has written extensively on psychedelic therapy, writes that unpleasant experiences are not necessarily unhealthy or undesirable, arguing that they may have potential for psychological healing and lead to breakthrough and resolution of unresolved psychic issues.[20]