Possible Crises with Psychedelic Use

Challenging psychedelic crises cover a vast area

The following manual excerpt is from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS, 2010), and just touches on challenging experiences. Jules Evans also adds his opinion.

Challenging Experiences

The most common felt threat to sanity is the feeling/experience that one is going crazy, losing one’s mind, or that this will never end. Major shifts in ego/personality structure, regarding one’s belief and understanding of oneself, the world, and God, are common. Old traumas can be remembered and relived. These traumas can also be of a transpersonal nature, meaning phenomena that go beyond our personal identity or biographical understanding of the universe. One could leave one’s body, have the experience of merging with an archetype, or experience the life cycle of an animal.

Some of the most frightening manifestations of the psychedelic experience are energetic. People go through powerful releases, rendering their bodies out of control, shaking, twisting and vibrating. Some possible experiences include: reliving birth; remembering different deaths; reliving accidents, illness, drowning, or torture; reliving mystical states; merging with rocks, animals, plants; merging with people and reading their minds; or being overwhelmed by feelings and emotions.

Jules Evans (above) is the author of Philosophy for Life, and co-author of The Art of Losing Control, and Breaking Open: Finding a Way Through Spiritual Emergency. He researches challenging psychedelic experiences and what helps people who have them.

If you are interested in learning more about the positive potential of psychedelics for healing please see the courses on this topic at IMHU.org. Click HERE.