5 Reasons a 'Bad Trip' Might Be Exactly What you Need
Welcome to The Psychedelic Blog. I write about the Impact of Psychedelics on Grieving, Relationships, Culture, and Death. This week, I am challenging the assumption that all ‘bad trips’ are inherently negative experiences—they may just be exactly what we need.
“Nature is an integrated process of immense complexity, and it’s really impossible to tell whether anything that happens in it is good or bad, because you never know what will be the consequence of the misfortune; or, you never know what will be the consequences of good fortune.” — Alan Watts
Defining a ‘Bad Trip’
Before diving in, it’s imperative to define what I mean by a ‘bad trip.’ Psychedelics are risky—potent Psychedelics even more so. For example, Bufo (5-MeO-DMT) can catalyze PTSD due to the intensity of the experience. It can also trigger serotonin syndrome, as can MDMA. Psychedelics should never be taken with SSRIs. Those with schizophrenia or psychosis should avoid taking Psychedelics. Set & setting matter, and having a trusted facilitator lead the experience is paramount. Ignoring these guardrails is not the kind of bad trip I am referring to.
I'm referring to the challenges of an experience unfolding that isn’t comfortable—such as the surfacing of dormant memories that are difficult to process, flashbacks to traumatic events, images of lost loved ones, reliving times in your life when you made mistakes, or encounters with demons, shadowy figures, snakes, and serpents. These are not easy things to go through, but they can be the best thing for us.
Let’s dive in.
1. Better Out Than In
It was 6:00 a.m. I got in my car to drive to the gym, and as soon as I started the engine, Janis Joplin’s classic ‘Piece of My Heart’ started blasting. What a great fucking song. I was suddenly overwhelmed by a profound euphoria—the kind of feeling we may only experience a handful of times in our lives. The kind of organic moment that we didn’t schedule, plan for, or expect. Just a powerful surge of positive emotion that took over completely, leaving me incapable of doing anything but enjoying it.
The night before was a different story. It was my 40th birthday, and, in typical Psychonaut fashion, I decided to commemorate the day with a hero’s dose of Psilocybin—a journey that turned out to be one of the most challenging of my life. I had recently gone through a breakup with my partner of three years. I found myself in the throes of a “bad trip”—filled with intense nostalgia, worry, and a flood of negative thoughts. It was arduous, but I made it through. And a mere 10 hours later, with a little help from Janis, I enjoyed one of the best mornings of my life.
This is the beauty of a challenging Psychedelic experience: it brings buried emotions, memories, and sensations to the surface, allowing us to release what we store inside. In this way, a “bad trip” becomes a kind of cleanse, clearing emotional & spiritual blockages and paving the way for healing.
2. Exposure Therapy but with Drugs
In exposure therapy, the path to healing involves directly confronting our fears & traumas. When someone is attacked by a shark, the remedy is often to go swimming with sharks. For someone with a paralyzing fear of death, a psychologist might recommend a visit to a morgue. After the loss of my siblings, I was drawn to the spiritual realm, intuitively seeking answers there—and I was not mistaken.
A difficult Psychedelic experience can act as a kind of exposure therapy, bringing fears, traumas, or unresolved memories to the surface that we might otherwise avoid. Under the influence of Psychedelics, our defenses are lowered, creating a heightened vulnerability where buried issues emerge. This confrontation, though intense, presents an opportunity for deep healing.
Much like exposure therapy, a challenging trip compels us to sit with these difficult memories or emotions in an immersive, intensified way. By facing these deep-seated fears head-on, we reduce the emotional “weight” they carry, allowing for catharsis. In this sense, a “bad trip” becomes a safe container for processing difficult emotions.
3. A Newfound Sense of Clarity
I looked out over the Pacific Ocean, framed by the jungle-covered mountains of Puerto Vallarta, feeling a lightness & clarity I hadn’t known in my 40 years. The night before, I had communed with Samadhi (DMT + MAOIs) for the first time—a long, harrowing experience, what many might call a "bad trip." But it was a necessary one. Just a month had passed since losing my brother, and I felt compelled to let the medicine reveal what I needed to see.
One of the unexpected benefits of a difficult Psychedelic experience is the clarity that follows, sometimes immediately. During a challenging trip, unresolved emotions, hidden fears, or overlooked aspects of ourselves surface, forcing us to confront them. This raw experience is incredibly revealing, offering an unfiltered perspective on what truly matters, what needs healing, or what changes are necessary.
This newfound clarity extends to our relationships, goals, and values, shedding light on neglected parts of ourselves and helping us recalibrate our priorities. Although this process can be painful, it ultimately brings a sense of relief, revealing truths and allowing for a more honest relationship with ourselves.
4. Strengthened Resilience
The only time I’ve encountered the infamous “demons” that often accompany a challenging Psychedelic journey was my afore mentioned birthday trip. I kept seeing a haunting image of a black crow standing tall like a human, with piercing red eyes. The figure seemed to emerge from a painting on my wall, and it was truly unsettling. As a seasoned traveler, I knew not to panic—but that didn’t mean I enjoyed having this uninvited visitor in my space.
Enduring a challenging Psychedelic experience significantly strengthens resilience. During a “bad trip,” we may confront unsettling images, deep fears, or vivid memories that feel overwhelming. Yet by working through these moments, we learn that we have the inner strength to handle intense challenges. This process builds a mental and emotional toughness that extends far beyond the Psychedelic experience itself, reshaping how we respond to future stress or adversity.
Just as physical endurance grows through repeated challenges, emotional & spiritual resilience is fortified by confronting difficult experiences. A challenging trip becomes a training ground for the mind & soul, helping us develop the courage, patience, and resilience to face whatever life throws our way.
5. Bliss Follows Discomfort
The Janis Joplin-infused drive to the gym. Sitting on a balcony in Puerto Vallarta after a Samadhi journey. Having coffee with my then-girlfriend the morning after an 18,000-foot skydive. Driving back to LA with my best friend after we each bungee-jumped off the infamous ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ in the San Gabriel Mountains. The best moments in life come after we’ve stared fear in the face and kept moving forward—doing the things that others might scoff at, limited by their own fears. That’s where true bliss lies.
In his excellent book The Comfort Crisis, Michael Easter explores how the brain is a relative mechanism; constantly surrounding it with pleasure resets its baseline to expect comfort. This mindset can increase our appetite for pleasure in ways that aren’t necessarily beneficial.
A challenging Psychedelic experience acts as a reset, breaking the cycle of constant comfort-seeking. By pushing our limits, it recalibrates our baseline and renews our appreciation for life’s simpler pleasures. This shift brings a deep sense of bliss & gratitude after the trip, as everyday comforts—things we once took for granted—feel infinitely more fulfilling. In this way, the discomfort of a “bad trip” serves a greater purpose, helping us reconnect with a sense of contentment that isn’t reliant on chasing constant pleasure.
Closing Thoughts: Facing Fear
The number one objection I hear from those hesitant to explore Psychedelics is, “I don’t want to lose control.” I always respond the same way—stop your heart from beating. A force beyond our control is guiding all of us. Control is an illusion, and the more we think we have of it, the less we actually do.
Just as we don’t control our heartbeat, we don’t control a bad trip; the medicine takes us wherever she decides. Yet the fear of a ‘bad trip’ prevents many from experiences that could benefit their lives in ways they’d never imagine. Sometimes, a challenging trip can be life-changing—for the better. As Alan Watts said, nature is too complex for us to know if “good news” is truly good, or “bad news” truly bad. Often, it’s the difficult moments that usher in the most profound growth.
All we need is the courage to face our fear.
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I’ve had more bad trips than anyone I know and I think I actually have a severe PTSD now from all of them. I really hope I’ve learned my lesson and don’t try them again in the future… I always think it’s going to be different because it seems much more beneficial to others.
My most recent was with ayahuasca, but this and two other recent trips over the last couple of years lingered for months after, making my mental health quite unwell (one was with bufo, the other was an accidental THC exposure when taking CBD that put me on a full journey puking in the bushes for hours).
With this most recent experience with the aya 7 weeks ago, I’m still having waves of fear and visions that show me a life of suffering ahead of me and on-going loneliness. They’re a little less frequent than the weeks right after the ceremony—that were accompanied with on-going purging from both ends through those weeks—but they’re still haunting me. When they arrive I can feel my brain literally flood with intense energy moving around like electricity.
I definitely feel like I’m growing at times, and healing in big ways, but it’s definitely unnerving and scary.
https://www.psychedelic-library.org/bradencm.htm
Commentary on William Braden's Mescaline Experience
"How is it possible for two persons of such obvious intellectual talent as William Braden and Aldous Huxley to have such radically different experiences as a result of ingestion of a similar quantity of mescaline?"