Disregard Everything I Say

This article is technically a repost but the previous version of this article was extremely uninformative and in need of a complete overhaul. Not to mention that I have received emails from a few different people over the past week requesting and suggesting that I dedicate a section of this website to the art of tripping responsibly and avoiding bad trips. Something that is extremely easy providing the following factors are all taken into consideration before a trip…

Effects,
It is important to know the desired effects and the side effects of the substance or combination of substances that the person will be taking. There are too many to discuss here, however, there are many online resources to use for education and reference. Including whichever of my three detailed explanations of the effects attributed to psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants that is most relevant to your trip. If I’ve written a dedicated guide for your specific hallucinogen of choice, be sure to find and read it here, because if you know the exact effects of the drug, then you will know what to expect. Something that prevents confusion throughout the experience completely and significantly reduces the chances of a negative experience by a huge margin.
For further research on the effects of any substance that people are considering, a combination of Erowid and Google for information on personal trip reports, duration, pharmacology and potential adverse effects should be used.

Dosage,
An extremely important rule when it comes to tripping responsibly is to avoid dosages which you are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with at all costs. An inexperienced tripper should always be starting at very low dosages with the goal of working their way up in small increments, as they feel comfortable doing so, trip by trip and never taking great leaps into the unknown. This method of dosage selection allows people to get a feel for the substance that they are tripping on before they dive in, minimizing the risk of an accidental negative experience enormously.
It’s also worth noting that many people have naturally tolerances to these substances so should not undershoot repeatedly or assume a substance “does not work for them” and give up if it fails to have an effect the first 2 – 3 times. A general rule to follow is that if it does not work the first time, take more next time! For information on the appropriate dosage for any hallucinogen further research should be done using a combination of both Erowid and Google.

Setting,
Choosing an appropriate and safe place for a person to trip is extremely important and plays a huge factor in determining the outcome of a trip. The best place to trip for an inexperienced user is a familiar, safe and indoors environment that is completely devoid and free of certain factors which can cause a direct negative influence.
For example, on the day of your trip you should also be certain that you have nothing that needs to be done, the simplest of tasks will become incredibly difficult and sometimes stressful during even mild trips. You should be lying down and listening to music, not performing chores. This includes driving and operating heavy machinery for obvious reasons.
It’s also important to remember that people who are irrelevant to your trip should not be present throughout the duration of the experience. This includes parents who are sleeping in the same house and close friends who are anything but extremely trust worthy and understanding. The mere presence of people can be downright annoying, with their consistent worrying and lack of understanding. Drunken people should also be avoided at all costs, as their primitive behavior is full of bad vibes. Another factor which should be avoided at all costs is any sort of potentially dangerous, loud, unfamiliar and public environments. This should be fairly obvious but is often overlooked, you should not be tripping in a town center, house party or bar as an inexperienced tripper under any circumstances. The people will be generally irritating at best and horribly distorted at worst.
The easiest avoidable factor that can contribute to a bad trip are general bad vibes of any sort. This may seem obvious but do not watch scary or unpleasant films and do not listen to unpleasant music. If bad vibes are encompassing your trip they can easily be escaped by quickly changing your environment, if you’re sitting down with the light off stand up and put it on. Change the music you’re listening to or move to a different area and any negative thoughts will immediately reset to base level.
Once a person has become familiar with their substance of choice and aware of their own limits. It becomes entirely down to them as an individual when it comes to whether or not they would be comfortable tripping in more recreational environment such as nature, social gatherings, parties, raves, etc. The inexperienced however, should always seek out a safe, comfortable room be it at home or a friends house. With privacy, relaxing music, comfortable seating and readily available food / water. Deliriants should never be taken outside at any dosage and dissociatives only with extreme caution. Psychedelics on the other hand are possible to take in low to high dosages in a great number of recreational situations, although this depends entirely on the experience and abilities of the tripper.

Mind state,
One of the most important factors to consider as an inexperienced tripper is your current state of mind. All hallucinogens enhance a persons currents mind state, emotions and general perspective on the world many times over which is a process that can go in either a positive and euphoric direction or a negative, terrifying and anxiety ridden direction. This is instead of simply inducing euphoria, which is the case with almost every other class of commonly used recreational substance. It’s because of this that psychedelics should not be used by the inexperienced during stressful or negative periods of a persons life and users should be fully aware of the ways in which hallucinogens, particularly psychedelics, consistently force a person to face and deal with the personal introspective problems that all human beings are plagued with. Something that would only become a problem should the person tripping be in denial or generally unwilling to face the true nature of their situation without complete openness. We are all complex people with our own tragic little back story, insecurities, depressive tendencies, regretted actions and past or present relationship problems. No human beings are completely stable and tripping tends to cause people to unavoidably dwell on these aspects of life, especially during a persons first few trips. However, this is assisted by an extremely powerful process of unbiased drug induced self analysis. Helping people solve personal problems, come to terms with problems in their life that they may not have previously realized were there and become a generally more open and positive person, but only if the tripper does not fight it.
Throughout the trip itself the person needs to let go and allow the trip to take charge. Taking the passenger seat and never trying to control any part of the trip. It is extremely important that people simply relax and take things as they come. Understanding that the act of tripping is often ineffable and incomprehensible at appropriate dosages, meaning that an acceptance of not being able to understand what is happening should be present at all times. Embracing the fact that their thought processes, although more insightful in places, will always be impaired along with motor control, conversational skills and general functioning. Something that the tripper should be sure to not feel self conscious about, as it should not be a problem in the first place, providing the tripper has made sure not to have any complex tasks to carry out throughout the duration of the trip.

Trip sitters,
A sober, responsible trip sitter is definitely recommended to be present during an inexperienced individuals or groups first two to three trips. It is this person’s responsibility to assist the individual or group by maintaining a rational and responsible frame of mind. This should be done by simply watching over the trippers and calmly reassuring them if they experience any anxiety or stress, whilst also preventing them from coming to any harm. There is an obvious correlation between the name trip sitter and babysitter; this is because at many times, trip sitting can be like babysitting. And it is definitely a responsibility that must be taken just as seriously.
A good trip sitter needs to be sure of a number of things throughout the experience. They should remain (mostly) sober and should be able to empathize with the group members’ situation through personal experiences with tripping or at least considerable amount of research on their effects. Understanding that when a person is tripping, they might not be able to communicate like they usually do. Also, their balance and spatial judgment may be off. The trip sitter should contribute to the conversation but also remember to leave them to explore the experience without too much external influence.
Once a person is familiar with the experience after at least two to three trips, it becomes down to them whether or not they feel comfortable enough to trip without a sitter.

Tolerance and over use,
If a person is to use hallucinogens responsibly, the frequency in which they use them should be monitored closely. Although many of the classical psychedelics such as LSD, Mushrooms, DMT, Ayahuasca are physically benign no matter how frequently they are used and come with a built in tolerance that prevents using them more than once a week. This is not the case with all hallucinogens, dissociatives, deliriants and certain psychedelics such as the 2Cx family and AMT all come with potential adverse health effects that need to be individually researched before use. Not to mention that every hallucinogen in existence can cause problems with a persons psychological health if over used. Keep in mind that  drugs become an addiction once the downsides start to outweigh the positives but you continue to use them anyway.
However, I’ve been through this myself more than anybody else I know and have come to the conclusion that you must pay attention to more than just making sure that drugs do not get in the way of your responsibilities. It’s about understanding that life should not be comprised of any single interest. If your life becomes about any one thing including drugs or anything else, it starts to become meaningless. The goal is to remain interested in these substances but at the same time keep your hobbies and interests broadened across other areas as well such as personal, intellectual and creative pursuits. Drugs should be for helping you to learn to appreciate the things that already exist in life, not for replacing them.

Conclusion,
In conclusion, careful consideration should be taken before undergoing a trip with any class of hallucinogen. Following these simple instructions however should minimize the risks by a huge margin, allowing people to trip safely and responsibly with little danger or fear.