{"id":11150,"date":"2022-12-09T10:39:53","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T09:39:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mapsofthemind.com\/?p=11150"},"modified":"2023-06-17T00:38:28","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T22:38:28","slug":"how-handle-anxiety-psychedelic-trips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mapsofthemind.com\/2022\/12\/09\/how-handle-anxiety-psychedelic-trips\/","title":{"rendered":"Techniques To Handle Anxiety During Psychedelic Trips"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to handle anxiety during a psychedelic experience?<\/p>\n

AKA how do I stop a bad trip?<\/p>\n

This question comes up again and again, so I thought I\u2019d pool together some techniques for you curious seekers.<\/p>\n

It can vary for different people, but here are a few methods, many of which can be combined:<\/p>\n

You’re Human<\/h2>\n

I think the first thing to say before getting into specific techniques is that the feeling of anxiety can happen to any of us.<\/p>\n

If you feel anxiety during your trip, it doesn\u2019t mean that something is wrong with you or your experience. It’s actually pretty common.<\/p>\n

It’s not every day that your whole world is dissolving around you and you feel like you’re dying. A bit of anxiety can be expected. It doesn\u2019t mean you will remain anxious or fearful, or that the experience won’t morph into something else. Psychedelic experiences can be very dynamic and your experience can entirely change in a matter of seconds.<\/p>\n

Remember, like all feelings, anxiety can and will pass...<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember It Will End<\/h2>\n

Both the feeling of anxiety and the trip itself are temporary.<\/p>\n

Just remembering that can be very reassuring and help take the heat out of the most acute anxiety.<\/p>\n

Say ‘Bring It On!’<\/h2>\n

Anxiety is a high-arousal state. Before trying to calm yourself down to a low arousal state, it can be easier to initially shift sideways to another high arousal state: excitement. Rather than nervously thinking \u2018oh shit, what\u2019s going to happen?\u2019, try instead to come at it with a sense of wonder and excitement, and think \u2018oh baby, what\u2019s going to happen? Bring it on!\u2019.<\/p>\n

Relish the adventure you\u2019re on. Don\u2019t resist it, embrace it.<\/p>\n

\"open<\/p>\n

You can practice this outside of your journeys. Every time you feel some nervousness about leaning into an edge, train yourself to smile and say \u2018bring it on!\u2019. This cultivates the bold explorer\u2019s mindset. It\u2019s also pretty fun.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve remembered you\u2019re on an adventure, that you signed up for a non-ordinary experience and now you\u2019re having it and going to embrace it, it might actually serve you to center and calm down a little.<\/p>\n

Breathe<\/h2>\n

Take long, slow, deep breaths.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This has a physiological response that calms the nervous system down.<\/p>\n

Breathe in deep, down into your belly. Use diaphragmatic breathing, filling your belly before your chest. If you\u2019re lying down, your stomach should rise.<\/p>\n

As you breathe, you can rest your attention on your breath. Aware when you breath in, aware when you breathe out.<\/p>\n

Breathwork<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Some people like specific types of breathwork. This can mean breathing in a specific rhythm.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n