Common Psychedelic Pitfalls to Avoid

Psychedelic substances are growing in popularity and are used as a tool for healing, spiritual growth, and complete transformation of the mind, body, and soul.

These psychedelic substances have great potential – with hundreds of published studies showing a multitude of benefits – but they also require respect. Deciding to undertake a full psychedelic experience (journey) should be a decision that is made after much research and contemplation.

Based on discussions with a multitude of folks who have been on one or more large psychedelic journeys, here is a list of the common pitfalls to avoid before, during, and after your experience.

This article focuses on what is referred to as macrodosing, or taking a full dose of a psychedelic substance. If you do not want to have a full psychedelic experience, then you may want to consider microdosing.

10 Common Psychedelic Mistakes

1. Lack of Research. Your first step with any decision should be information-gathering, and it is vital that you don’t leap into a psychedelic experience without doing your research. There is rarely any reason to rush into such a major decision, so take the time to investigate and understand every aspect, including all the elements discussed below. Also, use the resources shared at the end of the article.

2. Too Little Preparation. What’s your goal for partaking in psychedelics? Which psychedelic substance is calling to you? When, where, and how would you want to have your psychedelic experience? Do you feel ready? Mental and physical preparation is essential to having a successful psychedelic experience. Ideally, weeks before your experience, you will focus on a healthy diet and lifestyle, including limiting social media exposure.

3. Ignoring Safe Setting. Some people have extremely negative first experiences with psychedelics because they took them in questionable conditions, such as at a concert, party, or a hike. For a true therapeutic experience, you’ll want to take the psychedelic in a safe, comfortable, and quiet place – with someone or people you trust implicitly. Remember too, to think about hydration, temperature, and music.

4. Having a Poor Mindset. Whatever you are thinking and feeling before taking a psychedelic can have a major impact on what you experience in your journey. It is critical to go into a psychedelic experience with a positive and proper mindset. Setting an intention for what you hope to achieve (while limiting expectations) is critical. If you are anxious about the psychedelic experience, one expert tip is to work on breathing techniques beforehand to help calm yourself once you have consumed the substance.

5. Improper Sourcing. Because the Federal government made all the major psychedelics (including psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, mescaline, ibogaine, Ayahuasca, DMT) illegal, proper sourcing is a major concern for most people. Many scammers exist so it is essential to find safe and proper sources. Hiring a facilitator and/or joining a local psychedelic society should help you find trusted sources for the substances.

6. Weak Vetting of Facilitator/No Facilitator. Most people, especially those who have concerns or reservations about the psychedelic experience, should strongly consider hiring a facilitator or trip sitter or find a ceremonial setting led by a trained expert. Again, because of the legal situation, finding and vetting these people can be a challenge. Use personal sources or work with a company such as Psychedelic Passage, which has a network of vetted and trained facilitators.

7. Misjudging Proper Dose. You must be intimately aware of every aspect of the psychedelic substance you want to take for your experience. Each substance has different dosing, different lengths of duration, and different nuances. If you are doing it all yourself, you will want to both test the substance you obtain and be absolutely sure on the correct dose for your first experience. This is yet another reason to work with a trained facilitator because they can assist you in all aspects of choice and dosage.

8. Failing to Surrender to Medicine. One of the most common complaints I hear is that the psychedelics did not “work.” Part of that comes from not having realistic expectations, but the other part comes from not surrendering to the substance. The whole point of a psychedelic journey is to go deeply inside and safely face the things (past trauma wounds) you need to for healing, but if you are constantly fighting/resisting the experience, you will not have much of a healing journey.

9. Lack of Supportive Community. For many people, a psychedelic journey changes many things, including outlook and perspective, which means your life will be a bit unstable as you work to understand all the things you “saw” in your journey. It is critical to have people who know you are undertaking a psychedelic journey and who are there to support you all the way, from the beginning of the process through integration.

10. Failure to Integrate Experience. The healing and transformation do not come from the psychedelic substances; the healing comes from within yourself. The deepest and most meaningful work begins shortly after your psychedelic experience as you try to understand and piece together what you saw, felt, learned. While you may only need one psychedelic experience, the work (as we call integration) is truly never-ending; integration is a lifetime activity.

Final Thoughts on Psychedelic Pitfalls

While you can do everything right to prepare for your first psychedelic experience, you will never know what you will experience until you actually experience it for yourself. Trust yourself, trust your research and preparation, and surrender to the experience.

There are no guarantees that you will have a beautiful and meaningful experience. You will likely face some challenging emotions and images, but with proper preparation, you should be ready.

Finally, please understand that many medications are contraindicated with psychedelics. As part of your research, if you are taking any medications, you must know about the possible interactions and if it is possible to taper off your medications prior to your psychedelic journey.

Join a psychedelic society, find a trusted facilitator, or work with a therapist who is open to psychedelics as part of the therapy, and keep researching, talking, and learning about what will work best for you.

Additional Psychedelic Articles From Dr. Randall

• Are You Ready to Find Healing Through Psychedelics?

• Five Things to Consider Before Jumping into Healing Through Plant Medicines

• Frequently Asked Questions About Psychedelic Medicines: 1-10

• Frequently Asked Questions About Psychedelic Medicines: 11-20

• How to Prepare for Your First Psychedelic Experience

• Integration: It's What Must Be Done After Psychedelics

• Misconceptions and Myths About Psychedelics

• Not Sure About Psychedelics? Try Microdosing

• Reasons to Consider Using a Trip Sitter for Your Psychedelic Experience

• What Are Psychedelics? A Primer for the Curious

• What Should I Expect With a Psychedelic Journey?

Additional Psychedelic Resources

• Fireside Project

• Psychedelic Passage

• Psychedelic Support

• Psychedelics

• Reality Sandwich

• Third Wave

• Tricycle Day

• Tripsitters