The after effects of LSD.

[TheRandomGuy1789]

After taking LSD for the third time about a week ago, I had a textbook bad trip.  Panicked, scared, restless, and generally uncomfortable; I paced around my basement and backyard for about 5 or 6 hours till I was calm enough to sleep.  The bad 'feeling' or 'vibe' from the LSD lasted through that day and the next, but eventually went away.  Well about two days ago (a week after the bad trip) I was drinking with some friends.  Got pretty drunk, and passed out on the couch.  I woke up the next morning with a hangover.  However the hangover developed into the exact same feeling that I had when I had the bad trip.  It wasn't as intense, but the same feelings of anxiety, a loss of my sense of reality, and general discomfort came with the feeling.  These feelings lasted through the day, but I tolerated them and made it to sleep.  I woke up the next morning... today, and the feelings were still there.  Today was better than yesterday, but still noticably 'not right.'  Is this depression?  Anxiety?  I am very confused and concerned for my mental health.  I'm not crazy but I fear I'm on the way.  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and I plan to see about prescription Xanax or Valium.  I have been warned to stay away from Wellbutrin and Thorazine, both of which have been known to worsen patients mental states in cases of drug related mental trama.  Has this happened to anyone else at all?  My main question is.. what happened?  the drug is out of my system.. and I was fine for a week.. so why should the effects come back.? something to do with drinking maybe??  Please help.. Thanks..

[HockeyShark]

LSD has not had much research into its overall effects. Some effects can be very damaging.

I had a 'Bad Trip" back in '86 and every once in a while under the right physical circumstances, my body reacts to physical stimulii, setting off a panic like 'trip.'

[Ifeelthesameway]

Yes I also had more of a confusing and lost trip but still was bad I had intrusive thoughts of how it's easy to harm my self and other and ever since I feel I'm losing my sanity I feel I'll never be happy or the same as i was before it gets so bad I pray i don't go insane and hurt somebody and my anxiety increase when I'm alone but when I'm with friends I'm some what happy but still scared

[Tjalsma]

Don't do LSD.  

[lellann]

Okay, it's almost exactly what had happened to me. To me, your body is telling you you're done with LSD. Do not do it anymore. It messes with your serotonin levels, which is what affects anxiety. I'm not a doctor or anything, I've just been living with anxiety for 10 years since my 'bad trip'.  Slow down on the drinking. You don't have to get hammered to have a good time. Just take this with you. If anyone asks if LSD permanently screws you up, say yes. Some people could take a lot and be fine, others it only takes a few tabs before anxiety becomes a problem.  If I hadn't have done LSD, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be such a nervous person today. Just slow down with all of it. And absolutely no more LSD!!  And if you get anymore panic attacks don't try to fight them just think about what's really going on. Just realize that it's anxiety and nothing more. The doctors always recommend you get blood work done just to rule out all other possibilities. Which is good, it will put your mind a little more at ease. I wish you all the best. ~ lellie

[TheRandomGuy1789]

Yes I understand that LSD is absolutely not for me, and neither is drinking for a while lol.  But the doctor prescribed me a low dosage of Ativan. One tablet every 8 hours.  Works okay for the anxious feelings, but the feelings of a loss of reality are still there. Sort of like being high all day.  Doc says that the LSD may make me feel that way for a few more weeks.  The idea is to simply mask the symptoms until the LSD is out of me... which could take 2-3months at the very most, but could be as short as a few weeks.  Any ideas?

[weedle101]

I had to quit smoking pot and ddrinking because I started get get panic attacks when I was high(went years of doing drugs before this happend). And then I started to get them when I wasn't high. I took lsd and had a good time but then the next time I smoked pot I had a "lsd backflas" or whatever it's called and it broughton a panic attack now every time I feel a little tripped out even if it's something small like deja vu or getting dizzy I go into a panic or anxiety. I quit smoking pot at age 20 and was put on medication for anxiety. I have been off of meds for 3 years now at age 27 and started smoking pot again just the last 6 months and my anxiety is back horribly. I just take one hit and boom I'm throwing up and soooooo nervous that I feel like I'm going crazy...and pot is supposes to calm you down, right?! Wo I think there is a Definate connection with the drugs and having those panic episodes. The thing is now what the hell do we do.

[sam75]

i had someone put something in my drink 4 yrs ago and suffer anxiety attacks and panic attacks still!

[kimberley868]

Hi ya, how you doin now? I took LSD when 17 since then have suffered from acute anxiety, I am 33 now. Most important thing is to get help early on. I had a very unhelpful doctor when was 18 who disregarded everything and said that life was about getting married, children and dying. VERY HELPFUL! One thing I will say, fight for help you have a mental illness that has been brought out by taking LSD, no more, no less. The LSD is out or your system now, but your system has just gone into anxiety overide, you r still the person you have always been you r just suffering from anxiety which is why you feel so weird.

[sunshine9194]

I'm currently suffering with anxiety and getting help. I'm 21 and worried that this will never go away. What are some tips you can give me?

[kimberley868]

One more comment adam, the lsd trip scared you, (post tramatic stress kind of ting), thats why you got over it but when u drank brought back feelings of anxiety and your sences were heightened so it had that effect, nothing to worry about u ain't goin mad!!

[insafeuste]

I had the same thing, except mine was from combining morning glory seeds with a lot of marijuana.. thought I was dying and had my heart race for hours. Since then, panic attacks came on regularly whenever I did drugs. Bottom line is, you create thoughts based on your current perception and then react to them. If you create negative or anxious thoughts because, in your case, you drank too much the night before and have low dopamine levels it may be enough to trigger an attack. As you become anxious and release adrenaline you start thinking faster, and as a result start having even more anxiety, which continues as a cycle until you practically feel you are going to die or are going insane. It's possible to completely stop this though, and all you have to do is spend the time to work on your thoughts. When a negative thought comes in to your mind, instead of reacting to it and keeping the cycle going, CHANGE it. You aren't going insane, thats just a negative thought! Get rid of em. Don't let these take hold of you and eventually your mind will stop throwing them at you altogether. It takes time and practice, but if you try hard enough to change what's going on inside your head you will no longer have these problems.Worked for me... hope this helps

[Che_G]

im 16 and i took LSD at the age of 15. i don't know if it was since i took the LSD but i used to smoke alot of pot and have GREAT highs but now whenever i smoke weed i get self conciouse and go into deep thinking and i feel 2 feet tall to say the least.....whats wrong!!!!!

[Sue357]

I am a 53 year old woman who took a lot of LSD in the early 70's.  I have suffered from clinical depression, off and on, since I was 9.  Now, I am dealing with horrible anxiety/ depresion and am on a lot of meds.  My pdoc thinks I have a mood disorder.  I often wonder if my problems now are a result of my drug use (  I used a lot of other drugs as well) back then.  I have asked my therapist and pdoc but they couldn't really give me any definate answers.  I am thinking there is a not of research out there about it.

[ihateanxiety15]

When I was 15 I took lsd and had a horrible trip. Then next day I smoked pot and got that same bad feeling..I know these are very old posts but felt the need to respond. I am now 40 and still suffer from anxiety. I thought I was going crazy so I was afraid to tell anyone. To answer a question does lsd cause anxiety? YES YES YES! I have found the only help to be valium. Other things only make it worse..The problem is you are producing too much Serotonin. I have figured out you have a panic attack on lsd and then you just have anxiety. This doesn't offer much hope but you can get through. Okay sometimes just knowing helps...You aren't going crazy..it cause a detached feeling and nervousness, rapid heart beat but these symptoms do get better. They never went away but at least I know why it happens so it's less scary..They have greatly decreased but aren't gone..Also I feel anxiety is a habit and the valium helped to stop the symptons while taking the medication so now I rarely need it..Bottom line knowing is 75% of the battle..You are NOT crazy or going crazy. You are just producing too much seratonin. Hand in there get on a good anxiety med not a seratonin inhibitor it just makes it worse

[Event_Horizon]

OP I can relate to the feelings you are having.
There are many cases out there like yours. My very first trip on LSD became so horrible that I ended up calling 911 on myself and finishing my trip in a hospital. While LSD cannot kill you in recreational doses and it may not cause any physical damage to the body there are DEFINITELY people who develop long term anxiety disorders from it. I was a little shaken after my trip for about a month before I began to experience panic attacks and anxiety whenever I smoked or did any drug other than alcohol. Even after years of smoking pot every day, it became something that made my anxiety worse.
I am still having anxiety issues to this day. I have very vivid but broken memories of my trip all the time. The panic attacks tend to set in whenever I have a change in my mindset such as drug use, trying to fall asleep, meditation, or even periods where I don't have anything on my mind.
Sometimes the panic attacks get so intense that I start shaking uncontrollably.
While the majority of people will probably be fine after hundreds of trips, LSD certainly can cause anxiety disorders in some people.
The thing is that no matter how safe a drug is reported to be, everyone reacts differently and you can never be certain that you are not going to have an adverse reaction to something. There is so much we still don't know about the brain.
LSD was the most profound experience of my life and I have been changed forever because of it.

[patient49]

Hey adam, life can be very complicated, Just stay away from drugs and take it easy, you'll be alright!

[blakeoz]

Hey mate, how are you felling now? I took LSD about 5 weeks ago. Had a good time but was very sick and anxious for the next 4-5 days. About two weeks ago anxiety came back for no reason. I feel anxious almost all the time and have stoped drinking, smoking and taking drugs etc. I have used LSD in the past and have never had a bad trip. Did it go away for you? Are you on any meds? Thanks and hope you are doing well!

[blakeoz]

Hey mate, how are you felling now? I took LSD about 5 weeks ago. Had a good time but was very sick and anxious for the next 4-5 days. About two weeks ago anxiety came back for no reason. I feel anxious almost all the time and have stoped drinking, smoking and taking drugs etc. I have used LSD in the past and have never had a bad trip. Did it go away for you? Are you on any meds? Thanks and hope you are doing well!

[guyinasuit]

Im 20 and took lsd abouty 3 months ago for the 5th time. Ever since ive had weird anxiety but i was dealing with it. Reciently ive been having really bad anxiety and panic attacks and i think very deeply into everything, almost "trip" into different situations and question reality like im going crazy. This is intensified by marijuana. I am quitting smoking and talking to a therapist tomorrow actually so i'll get back to this and let you all know how i progress

[blakeoz]

Hey all, Ive been trying some alternative stuff like acupuncture, raw chinese herbs and hynosis. Ill let you know if i have any luck. Its been 8 weeks now and i still am suffering from bad anxiety and depression.

I think i will have to go on some medication however but im hopefull something else will work. Let me know if anyone else has any luck!

Peace

[FunkusMunkus]

I'm 36 and took a lot of LSD and E's during my late teens and early 20's, I loved taking both but started suffering from panic attacks, anxiety and sleep paralysis. I still suffer from anxiety to this day and spent 8 years as an alcoholic as it was the only thing that stopped the panic attacks and the doctor I had was useless.

[snowboarder12248]

i did LSD heavily over my senior high school year and actually had a great time but bad trips in between, then tried mushrooms ironically everyone had said they were the best and your more likely to have a good time on them, so i took an eighth on a nice sunny summer day and had the most terribly trip of my life :( i didn't get sick and i didn't freak out on the people i was with i didn't even budge (previously takin pyschedelics i knew it was just a bad trip) but being in that situation still ***** i was so depressed all my thoughts were moving WAY too fast and i pretty much was begging myself to just stop thinking. that whole day i felt scared and afraid of my thoughts tried making myself do things like talking and playing games to get rid of it, the only thought i remember repeating in my head to make it stop was "just keep doing what your doing and everything will be fine" (a very general statement) finally later that day the trip faded and after the final 2 hours of sitting in the shower then laying in my bed quietly freaking out to myself it dissappeard, for 2 weeks after i was the happiesst person alive, pretty much to not feel insane anymore but then all of a sudden the third week i freaked out and broke down with some sort of panic attack then for 6 months i thoughti was permanently changed by the drug losing all sense of what i knw to be my REAL reality, or my COMFORTABLE reality it was the most depressing time of my life, but because i'm very against drugs and think they are largely overprescribed i didn't go to the doctor (also cuz i knew before hand i was completely fine without them) so i came to the conclusion to continue with what i had told myself "just keep doing what your doing and everyhitng will be fine" so i continued with everyday life working a job trying to make people happy living like i lived before and quit weed and drugs altogether, i can happily say i still remember how i USED to feel but it no longer affects me at all not even 1 percent everything phased into normal reality after i got "back in the grove" of real life so all i have to say for advice to ANYONE that had a bad experience with hard psychedelics is to just quit the drugs and continue with like and force yourself to continue with what makes your happy and what you originally wanted to do and after i while the feelings and panics will eventually fade until your back to how you used to be only now your mentally stronger and you are just THAT much smarter about how your own brain and thought process works :) hope this helps everyone, thanks for reading!

[LG12345]

To anyone who is dealing with a anxiety or panic disorder from psychedelics, I feel like I am just finishing the most difficult two months of my life. Here's my story, and I think people can learn from it.

I took LSD in early December. On the trip I smoked weed (after a two week break from smoking multiple times daily), got WAY too high, and had a full on panic attack  (my first) after feeling a complete removal from reality. The first half of my trip involved going back and forth between 15 minutes of tweaking to 15 minutes of enjoyment (but the day felt like anywhere from a week to a year so think about relativity). The second half of the trip was awesome and I felt amazing for overcoming the bad stuff.

My first flashback was a month later. I didn't know flashbacks were real, and I completely lost touch with reality. This led to another panic attack. The following week was filled with terrible anxiety. It began to fade after a few days and after a week I was back to normal. I saw a psychologist about halfway through the week and he said I had substance induced anxiety disorder. I was simply off biochemically. My mindset was that "my body just thinks its on acid and will take the same path as the trip," which for the most part, is exactly what happened.

My second flashback was about a week after. Once again, I had about a week's worth of anxiety. On about day 5, I took some xanax, and it just made me trip out (but I didn't care because I was on xanax). This was because my body was not prepared to handle that change, and when it received a drug, it overreacted and interpreted it as acid.

I had two normal days before my third flashback. This was followed by a week's worth of anxiety, but other factors, specifically worry about flashing back again, prolonged my anxiety to last a few weeks.

Now, at this point I had been going through about a month and a half of anxiety. My body was conditioned to worry. I had forgotten what it felt like to be normal. About two weeks later (today), I now feel just about past this thing. Here's how I beat it:

-It's all about mindset. Think Positively! If you truly know that this anxiety/alternative reality is not the life you’re supposed to live, then you will beat it. Stay patient, but continue to believe deep down that you will beat this thing.

-Don't fight it. Let yourself feel feelings. Your mood will go up and down, don't be afraid to be borderline suicidal (as long as you know deep down your not actually suicidal) for a few moments if your mood takes you there. When you come out of it, you'll feel better. And don't get too excited over a good mood, as a manic state doesn’t feel very “real” either.

-Stay patient. It's two steps forward, one step back. The steps back really suck because you say to yourself "I thought I was passed this, what's going on?" However, asking yourself those questions only spiral anxiety worse. You can monitor progress by noticing how the current step back is ahead of the previous step back.

-Two mindsets really brought me out of this.:
1) Today, my mindset is that I'm rehabbing my mind back to full strength. Its as if I broke my brain, it was in a cast for about a month and a half (where I couldn't do anything and was completely restricted and living in fear). But now that I know how to control my anxiety, I am facing it, and for the last two weeks I try and do one thing every day that will make me nervous. In a way I’m working on motion, durability, and strength. As I have more success, I get less nervous for the next new thing as my mind gets stronger. Remember, the mind is a muscle.

2) Retrain your subconscious (which you can feel as your body's reaction) to trust your conscious again. The other night I felt a dialogue within me that had my conscious say to my subconscious "Hey, you can trust me. We don't have anything to worry about." My subconscious responded, "No, you were an idiot, and you took these drugs, and worried for so long, and now its MY job to make sure you don't do that to us again." My conscious responded, "I know, I made a mistake, but it won't happen again. I promise. It's MY job to worry. Trust me." And THAT has REALLY helped.

-TALK TO A PSYCHOLOGIST. They know a lot about managing anxiety. And even though you feel like it might be anxiety plus something else hard to define because it involves dealing with other realities, it is actually just anxiety.

-You can fight off flashbacks, and you don't need to worry about them. Flashbacks, from my experience, only occur when you admit to yourself that you're having one. You find yourself in an extenuating circumstance where you feel like you might be on acid again, and your mind goes "Hey, this kinda reminds me of acid. Whoa, this really reminds me of acid. Am I flashing back? I think so. Yes, I am." And that is when the flashback occurs. If you disrupt this long thought process, it won't happen (I'm two for two in fighting off flashbacks already). Avoid caffeine because it speeds you up and LSD is often laced with amphetamines. It was largely responsible for my first flashback, and wholly responsible for my second. There’s caffeine in chocolate by the way so don’t have too much.

-Anxiety sets it when your body doesn't understand what its going through (much like it did when you tripped).  It’s almost as if you’re doing things for the first time again. If you can identify the change, whatever it may be, whether its being in a new place, being in a humid room, being dehydrated, being tired, then you can separate the feeling completely from the trip, the anxiety will subside a little.

-Take LSD out of the equation! You are not on LSD anymore. You have always felt feelings. You have always thought thoughts. They are not related to LSD. Feeling depressed and off? You're just depressed and off, the acid trip doesn't have to reinforce those feelings. Overanalyzing by saying "What am I feeling? Is it LSD related? Why do I feel this way?" are not only unanswerable questions but are clearly something to give someone anxiety over.

-No more LSD, shrooms, I’m guessing no E, Weed, or heavy drinking. The elimination of weed can be a paradox because no longer smoking can cause more anxiety. But as you get used to not having THC in your system, that will go away, too. And it feels good to be clean! To get back in touch with reality you can’t be distorting it again! It will also give your subconscious less reason to trust you!

-I often felt stuck and that the anxiety might last forever. It’s okay to think that for a little bit!

-ACCEPT REALITY. This is normal life! Don’t doubt your feelings or perceptions and attribute your questioning to LSD. A good motto is, “everything is normal, everything is fine.” The only thing to fear is fear itself. Worrying about worry makes it multiply and you lose control. You will beat this thing!

And that's all I got! If anyone has any questions or anything please post, I’ll be revisiting the forum.

Life is Good.

[freebird724]

i am just now going through serious anxiety attacks and feelings of depression. I literally thought i was losing my mind and going completely insane. i was convinced i had some kind of brain tumor or brain cancer because i didnt know why i was feeling like this. im in school and just trying to get through this semester and i feel like its impossible, like a piece of my brain is missing. i now know that the reason i feel like this is because i took acid a couple weeks ago and had a really bad trip and ever since then i havent been the same. i miss the person i used to be. now i feel like im paranoid and scared all the time. its impossible for me to make decisions. i was at subway and had a panic attack cuz i couldnt make a decision on what to order. i feel like im crazy but i know its just becasue of the acid i took. ive been taking xanex for anxiety but it doesnt help that much. reading all these posts makes me feel like no one can help me but myself. i know all these crazy thoughts are just in my head and they arent real. but i still feel depressed and scared all the time. any ideas of how i can be normal again??

[Humphrey_Bogart_22]

I've been going through the exact same thing.

I took lsd 5 weeks ago and have not been the same since. I feel like I have ruined my life.

I wish I knew what to do.

[LG12345]

hey guys-

You can still beat this thing! one of the things I noticed is that you are both saying you have changed and miss the people you used to be. You guys have been through a lot, and your world has changed significantly. The key thing you guys have to admit to yourselves is that you ARE different now. You can't forget what happened, you can't ever live in the world that used to be yours. Things have changed. It's been a difficult transition, but you can understand this new world that you're living in and no longer fear it. And, you can learn how to get used to this new world, and how to not fear everything.

Are you smoking pot? One of the key things I've learned in the last month is that the biggest change I felt was because there was no THC in my system after four years of being a full blown stoner. That's a lot to get used to again. You guys CAN beat this! it may take months, but you need to accept reality and teach yourself that you have nothing to fear but fear itself. Please post again if you have more questions!

I would also avoid xanax because it's a drug, and your body just wants to find stability. The best way to do that is by being COMPLETELY clean. Just my opinion.

Hope you both are talking to professionals about this. And make sure you express that you feel like you're in a different world and its not necessarily just "anxiety" that you're dealing with, but a complete change in interpretation of reality that leads to anxiety.

Remember, "everything is normal, everything is fine"