LSD is a synthetic psychedelic, derived from ergot fungus, and the most powerful conscious-altering substance known to man.
The LSD effect is described as a 'trip' because it is a l and powerful experience which takes you beyond normal perception and then back again.
Simply put, it profoundly alters and expands consciousness by loosening or - at higher doses - completely erasing the normal filters and screens between your conscious mind and the outside world.
With these filters down, more information rushes in. You sense more, think more, feel more. You became aware of things normally filtered out out by your mind, visual, auditory, sensory, emotional. The intricate details on surfaces, the richness of sound, the brightness of colours, and the complexity of your own mental processes.
At higher doses, the rush of information becomes a flood and your sense actually begin to merge and overlap (syntheasia) until you can see sounds or smell colours.
- COME UP -
The effects begin to be felt between 20 minutes to two hours after ingestion. The first signs are a sense of euphoria and expectation, along with a tingling body feeling.
Once started, the effects usually take between 30-45 minutes to reach their peak.
It is common to feel some nausea during this stage. It can be reduced by having an empty stomach.
- PEAK -
The peak effect lasts from two to five hours. A clear symptom is rich visual hallucinations. Colours seem more vibrant. Surfaces may ripple and shimmer. You may notice tiny details on objects. Music sounds richer and louder.
At the same time, you may feel blissful, have flashes of insight into yourself or the world, experience severe time-distortion, or feel yourself dissolving or see objects merging into one another.
- COMEDOWN -
The trip wears off gradually after 8 to 12 hours, although you may continue to feel tender and altered until you get a full night's sleep.
- AFTER EFFECTS -
Physically you will feel tired and drained of energy right into the next day.
Psychologically, any insights or feelings you had during your trip will stay with you. A positive experience can give you a glow lasting hours, days, or even weeks afterwards. A negative experience - or 'bad trip' - can leave you traumatised for the same length of time. But it fades.
The effects below describe the common physical, mental and emotional effects which comprise the psychedelic experience.
The most important thing to realise is that no two trips are the same. The intensity and effects of a drug like LSD vary dramatically from person to person. If different people take the same amount in the same circumstances, each will have a distinctly different experience. If the same person takes LSD repeatedly, each experience is usually completely different in its flavour and content.
The nature of the psychedelic experience is strongly determined by set and setting. Set is your mindset (how you're feeling, issues in your life, your psychological makeup) when taking the drug; setting is where you are - that includes who you're with and how relaxed you feel. Dosage and previous experience with the drug also have a part of play.
Basically, if you take LSD, you will experience some or none of the effects on the following scale:
- BASELINE -
How you feel before taking a drug.
- OFF BASELINE -
Very mild effect. Relaxation. Giggling. Like being stoned but with enhanced visual perception: colours may seem brighter, patterns recognition enhanced, colours and details more eye-grabbing.
Physically, a feeling of lightness and euphoria, and a slight tingling in the body. Energy. A sense of urgency. Music sounds better.
- PLUS ONE(+1) -
Stronger visual hallucinations. Radiant colours. Objects and surfaces appear to ripple or breathe. Coloured patterns behind the eyes are vivid, more active. Moments of reflection and distractive thought patterns. Thoughts and thinking become enhanced. Creative urges. Euphoria. Connection with others, empathy. Ability to talk or interact with others however slightly impaired. Sense of time distorted or lost. Sexual arousal. "Flight of ideas" and "ambitious designs".
You're tripping.
- PLUS TWO(+2) -
Very obvious visual effects. Curved or warped patterns. Familiar objects appear strange as surface details distract the eye. Imagination and 'mind's eye' images vivid, three dimensional. Geometric patterns behind closed eyes. Some confusion of the senses.
Distortion rather than deterioration of mental processes. Some awareness of background brain functioning: such as balance systems or auditory visual perception. Deep store memory becomes accessible. Images or experiences may rise to the fore. Music is powerful and can affect mood. Sense of time lost. Occasional trance states. Paranoia and distortions of body image possible.
Physical symtoms may include: stiffness, cramp, and muscular tension. Nausea, fever, feeling of illness.
You're loaded.
- PLUS THREE(+3) -
Lying down. Difficult to interact with other people and 'consensus reality' in general. You should really be somewhere safe.
Very strong hallucinations such as objects morphing into other objects. Tracers, lingering after-images, and visual echoes.
Intense depersonalisation. Category enscramblement. The barriers between you and the universe begin to break down. Connection with everything around you. Experiencing contradictory feelings simultaneously. Some loss of reality. Time meaningless. Senses blend into one. Sensations of being born. Multiple splitting of the ego. Powerful awareness of mental processes and senses. Lengthy trances often featuring highly symbolic, often mythical visions when eyes are closed. Powerful, and sometimes brutal psycho-physical reactions described by users as reliving their own birth. Direct experience of froup or collective consciousness, ancestral memories, recall of past-lives, and other mystical experiences. Ecstasy.
Music extremely powerful, perhaps overwhelming. Emotionally sensitivity increased (often massively). Crying or laughing, or both simultaneously.
Tremors, twitches, twisting movements, sweating, chills, hot flushes - all common.
You're out of it.
- PLUS FOUR(+4) -
A very rare experience. Total loss of visual connection with reality. The senses cease to function in the normal way. Total loss of self. Transcendental experiences of cosmic unity Merging with space, other objects, or the universe. Out of body experience. Ecstasy. "Entity contact". The loss of reality becomes so severe that it defies explanation. Pure white light. Difficult to put into words.....
LSD is remarkably non-toxic, has no known adverse physical after-effects, other than fatigue and a lingering sensation of mind-expansion.
However, LSD is a powerful mental amplifier. If you are feeling depressed, anxious, sick at the world, at the quality of modern television, at rampant consumerism, at life in general, do not take LSD.
The LSD effect makes you enormously sensitive to your environment. You should always be in a safe, comfortable environment, preferably with a friend you trust. The higher you fly, the safer must be the landing arrangements. Many users recommend being outside, in a beautiful setting in nature.
LSD has zero physical addiction potential.
Tolerance builds up rapidly with LSD. The same amount the next day gives a noticeably diminished effect. This wears off after three days to a week. There is also some cross-tolerance with other drugs of the same 'tryptamine' chemical family (magic mushrooms, DMT).
That being said, inform yourselves and if you decide to take them, use drugs wisely.
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