Why do psychedelics nearly always give me a bad trip?!

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Mentally speaking psychedelics are the most intense drugs to use. Some people just can't take the mind altering experience and it can lead to a bad trip. Other drugs like alcohol and MDMA are completely different drugs and give very different effects. Alcohol is a depressant and you don't mentally 'trip'. MDMA is an amphetamine that stimulates the brain with mass amounts of the neurotransmitter serotonin which is responsible for emitting appetite, thought process, feelings, senses etc. The euphoric high makes it difficult to have a bad trip. Whereas hallucinogens like psylocibin mushrooms work differently on the brain that give a unique experience that make it possible to have a good or bad trip. Set and setting are very important for psychedelics. Your feelings, thoughts and everything will be released in a completely new way that effects everyone a little bit differently. Hope that cleared some things up.

Drug Psychology

It's probably your attitude and anxiety over a previous bad "trip". In actuality all "trips" are bad that is why the drugs are illegal. Having them and using them makes you a criminal. The subconscious fear of getting caught may contribute to your anxiety. Since it is not good to be a criminal and you don't enjoy your trips why don't you stop breaking the law? Be clean and sober!

Life!

Weed isn't a psychedelic...
As for shrooms, they react to how you feel, so you're probably going in thinking negative thoughts. Just think to yourself about how awesome the trip is gunna be.
You may be able to find more info on Erowid.org, do some research there

There's no such thing as a "good" trip. Prolonged use of these drugs will result in brain damage and DEATH, if you don't believe me just look at Kurt Cobain, Jimi, the late Chili Peppers and the rest.

Unlike MDMA, which forces you into a positive mind set, true psychedelics like mushrooms or LSD are highly dependent on your state of mind and the setting in which you take them. If you have anything that is worrying you or if you are under stress, those drugs will just magnify those emotions.

Psychedelics aren't exactly fun most of the time. They are interesting and give you a chance to experience a state of mind you would not otherwise experience (plus the visual effects can be pretty awesome) but if you aren't in a good place mentally, you are likely to have a difficult trip. As somebody else mentioned, part of your problem might be that due to previous trips, you expect to have a difficult experience, and what you expect to get out of psychedelics is generally what you actually get from them.

That being said, a difficult trip doesn't have to be bad. You can use those difficult trips to do some self exploration and self evaluation. I have learned a lot about my life during difficult trips. If you don't fight it and just flow with it it can make it easier, and you can use it as an opportunity to explore yourself and evaluate your life. Mushrooms have several times lead me to make positive changes in my life. There have been times when I have been going through difficulties that were just too much for me to handle on my own, and mushrooms have helped me work through those issues and make positive changes in my life. One difficult mushroom trip lead me to focus more on my school work in college. I had gotten a little lazy and my grades had dropped some, but under the influence of mushrooms I was able to explore why I was letting that happen, and vow to make positive changes to fix the problem. I stuck to the plan I formulated during the trip and was able to bring my grades back up. True, recognizing the things that you are doing wrong in life can be a difficult experience, but if you flow with it rather than fight it, a difficult trip can be very beneficial in the long run.

Although psychedelics can be difficult at times, they can also teach you a lot about your life if you don't fight it. Next time, prepare yourself mentally and tell yourself you are going to have a good trip, and that might do the trick. If you end up having a difficult trip, instead of fighting it, use it as an opportunity for self evaluation.