Yeah I have several permanent overhangs from my experiences with psychedelics as well. At one point I did 500+ug of LSD in a single trip and I am still working through PTSD from some of my delusions.

That said, the net effect on my life has been massively positive and has directly contributed to me being comfortable with myself, my body, my mind, my friends, and my place in this world.

Despite the overhangs, I highly recommend psychedelics as well. Though maybe stay under 400ug :)

When you say PTSD, would you mind expanding on how that manifests? Is it a low level constant anxiety, or more akin to sudden anxiety due to a certain trigger, or something else? I understand if it's too personal a topic. I'm very interested in psychedelics, but am worried about the potential negative side effects. Someone I know said LSD caused them anxiety once, and it lasted for a few months but eventually sorted itself out. Is your PTSD sorting itself out slowly? How long ago was your 500+ug experience?

Also you say you have some permanent overhangs; would you mind telling me a bit more so I know what to expect?

Trigger oriented, usually related to existential feelings of emptiness. Asking the question "does my existence have meaning" for a long time would spike my pulse to 150+ and cause me to freeze up. Took maybe 18 months to wear off fully. I can still psyche myself out if I try today.

Other triggers were anything that seemed too unlikely to be reality. Waking up with 11111 karma on Reddit, strangers winking at my like they could read my thoughts, things of that nature.

It honestly wasn't that bad to live with.

After my 4th trip I had really sharp HPPD. That burn in effect you get when you stare at something for a minute plus, that took about 0.5 seconds for me. And then it took about 60 seconds to wear off. For about 2 weeks I had a constant triple or quadrupole or more image burned into my eyes. Eventually I learned to cope by shifting my eyes every 0.5 seconds like a crazy person, but it did stop the after images from accumulating.

That went away after maybe 3 months, hasn't been a problem since.

My advice would be to space out trips 12 weeks or more to avoid hppd, and stay under 400ug to avoid PTSD and crazy delusions. And if you are inexperienced with LSD really you should start at a dose of 150ug or so.

Counterpoint: The YouTube engineer who, over the summer, took LSD and went on a stabbing rampage.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/youtube-engin...

That's probably more related to working for YouTube where the comments are absolute vitriol. Actually reading this article this person was clearly not mentally equipped for a trip, ended up taking 2 additional doses after already "becoming delusional" and then going on a rampage when his friends tried to get him to stop. All because they rented a house on the fourth of July and thought what better thing to use to party with loud explosions than the most introspective and revelatory substance ever discovered by mankind. What? How about a little respect for the aperture in the navel of the Universe? I wouldn't chug a liter of Ayahuasca and go mow the lawn, what sort of world do people think this is? No consequences is the lie that got us here if you ask me. Of course there are consequences. Nurture altruistic intentions.

My worst trip (which I still don't regret) was when I took a strip of acid, and then a friend who was 4 tabs in pulled out some tannerite that he hadn't mentioned beforehand and started shooting at exploding targets. I was totally lost in the swirl of drugs, vaguely aware of the explosions and worrying about the safety of my friends. I think I could've handled it a lot better if I had known about the exploding targets before the entheogens kicked in, but still, the 4th of July probably isn't the best time for those particular drugs :/

Most kinds of drugs, really. Alcohol and explosives are a legal but often unfortunate combination.

As one guru at a random festival once said regarding someone having a bad trip,

>"That is what happens when you try to put a 6 cylinder drug into a 4 cylinder brain."

Some people just aren't ready for what they are about to experience and if you are not in a good place, it isn't like alcohol which masks your feelings and makes you numb. From what I gather it forces you to confront your inner demons and come to terms with the meaning of your existence itself, which not everyone is suitable to handle.