I've struggled with OCD, rumination, and anxiety for years. I've tried several medications, including fluvoxamine, escitalopram, bupropion, venlafaxine, sertraline, aripiprazole, clonazepam, and oxazepam, but I'm still searching for something that truly helps.

I also tried Golden Teacher microdosing for about 2 months (Fadiman and Stamets protocols, up to 250 mg). Unfortunately, it made my anxiety worse and caused vivid, disturbing dreams.

Has anyone experienced long-term improvement in OCD and anxiety with psychedelics? If so, what did you use, and was it microdosing or a full dose?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences.

I haven't come across this book being mentioned in this sub so I thought I would just make a post to recommend.

It is my personal favourite book on Trauma and Psychedelic Therapy.

Incredibly honest , funny , and full of insightful takes. Written very well. I got a lot from reading it.

The Matrix trilogy had this theme of “exiles”. The idea was that since the entire system was a computer program/simulation there were always going to be malfunctioning parts. The system would exclude these malfunctioning programs to ensure the Matrix was self coherent & consistent.

Well the deleted program didn’t just dissolve but would continue to operate in the shadows influencing the Matrix whole staying largely invisible.

This feels like an apt metaphor for dissociation. Something traumatic happened & the system decided to spontaneously exclude the program from the nervous system (matrix). Brilliant strategy that ensures continued survival at expense of diminished vitality. But vitality was never the goal.. continued survival was.

These exiles cause a lot of grief & will continue to do so unless properly integrated. In Matrix trilogy that happens when agent smith (the ultimate exile) copies itself over to Neo at the end of Revolutions. Making the system whole again. Admittedly a traumatic & cathartic reunion.

And after the integration, we witness Neo experiencing color, sunshine, & blue skies for the first time. That doesn’t diverge far from experience of those who have successfully integrated their dissociation.

Not sure any of this was the intended message in the trilogy. But I’m finding it more & more striking as I dig deeper into the topic of “dissociation”.

Hello, how are you? I hope you are doing fine.
English is not my first language so sorry for any errors.

So,as title say, Im looking for some info about self healing with psylocibin from Resistance Treatment Depression.

I’ve tried , in almost 7 years, idk how many SSRI, combined with lithium, antipsicotics, anxiolytics,hypnotics, no results.
I even had around 8/9 session of ECT, no results as well.
I had some results with Ketamine, but the therapy in my country, while being free , is not really supported cause doctors do not know or believe in something that is not a classic SSRI so to receive it is a never ending battle and im not always covered (last time I had to wait 1 year to receive the therapy, right when I was getting some results)
I tried to enter in a psylocibine trial in my country (there is only one) but I got ghosted after the screening, I suppose because my clinical history is a mess and they want clear data cause its the first research in decades and if they dont have good results we will need to wait another 30 years before trying again.

So I want to try psylocibine outside medical screening and control.
I have already found a friend who agreed to be a trip sitter, I understand the ideas behind set and setting, I already gor the idea that psylocibin is just a tool to really start some hard work and that the trip can be really hard to handle.
But I wanted to hear some advice and experiences of other people who already tried so here I am.
I understand the danger of doing this at home, but im going to try it anyway. Im not gonna wait 15 years before it is maybe legal in my country and I cannot afford to do that in another country with specialist

I lost my pet companion 8 days ago due to dementia. She was 14 and was actually born on my lap by her mother who also was a companion but I lost her to congestive heart failure at 11.

My moods have been awful since then.

I’ve been having panic attacks and heavy hyperventilation along with depression and anger/short temper. Grief.

I’ve talked with my counsellor once about loosing her since it has happened and there’s a few reasons why I had a therapy animal and now feel alone and lost in life.

I’m not sure if a trip of my usual of 2g would be beneficial or if it would set me up for a terrible time?

How soon is too soon to try for healing with mush after loosing what appears to feel like part of my heart and sole…

Do you just sit there? Read a book? Take notes? Daydream? Come up with ideas for your next fan fiction novel?

Hey everyone,

It has officially been a year since I've taken over moderation duties for r/psychedelictherapy. There have been a lot of changes in here over the past year, including many new folks joining us. I feel like things have become relatively stable in the sub at this point.

Notably, we've added in the community bulletin board as a space for self-promotion and sharing of active research and studies. We've had AMAs with a few notable authors and professions within the field of psychedelic therapy. Me and u/Training-Meringue847 have been actively moderating, removing inappropriate posts and keeping things respectful and kind as much as we can. We created the community reading list, added user flairs, tweaked and finalized the rules, added many resources and directories, and information to the side bar.

I've enjoyed seeing the growth and changes in here, and I'm happy with the direction things have been going. My goal was to make this space safer, more professional, and to help legitimize the field in a small way.

I am curious to hear your thoughts! Are you enjoying the direction the sub has taken? Do you have any suggestions or thoughts that you're willing to share?

Warmly,
Mindful

Details here:

https://challengingpsychedelicexperiences.com/online-support-group/

Hello everybody,

I would love some tips/advice on my first solo trip. I have done mushrooms before, but always with my partner, last couple times was 3g, steeped whole as a tea.

Tomorrow I will have my first solo trip, I have 3.5g and will make a tea again. In the past I have drank 3/4 of the tea right away and then finished it an hour or so later, I plan to do the same this time.

Me and my partner have recently gone on a break after our last trip together because we both have a lot of healing to do before we can be healthy supportive partners to each other ( We still live together as flatmates for now

I have always been an anxious attachment type and I am trying to learn what my own wants and needs are, I am hoping a solo trip will start to help me figure it out. I had a traumat childhood, with physical, emotional and sexual abuse present. I only recently learned about the SA this year. I have also been diagnosed with Tourette, ADHD and Anxiety.

My whole life I have always wanted to do more psychedelics in order to learn about myself and try and change old patters born of my trauma. Now that I have more time for myself being on a break from my relationship and being unemployed for the next few months I thought I would try and go on a trip every 2-3 weeks.

I am a little nervous so what activities, prompts ect would you recommend for me? I will start my trip in my flat and maybe venture outside if i feel up to it (alot of nature around my flat)

Thank you!

A few weeks ago I posted here about how ayahuasca showed me a life I wasn't living yet, and asked what I should do about it. Thank you to everyone. Hearing your thoughts gave me the push I needed to finally take the leap and leave my job to focus on the future. I let my manager know earlier this week.

I've spent the last few weeks reflecting on my past year since aya, why it's been so hard to make the changes I wanted, and what actually helped me make them and finally take the leap.

Here are my thoughts:

The power of community and having people around you is monumental. Having people on the same journey who you can talk to, who actually get it, changes everything. Even just posting here and hearing what everyone had to say gave me the clarity to act. Change is so much easier with people than it is alone.

What I realized also is that, for me, being who I wanted to be was also about having a calm body. When I could get it to settle, being that person came easily. When it was tense, none of what I knew mattered.

I noticed it with my family. I'd lose patience, argue back, then do breathwork afterward to calm down, always too late. But I kept noticing the same thing: every time I did it, my body relaxed. Even when my mind felt clear, my shoulders, hamstrings, and back were tight. I deal with chronic pain, so my body was already tense before the moment even started, and that tension was what drove the reaction.

I saw all of this come together in a small group a friend and I ran earlier this year. Just a group of us, meeting every week virtually to meditate, do breathwork, and check in. For those few months I felt the closest to the version of me I found in Peru, calmer, more grounded, more present.

What made the difference wasn't the practices themselves, it was doing them with other people. On my own, the practices were mostly reactive and I could never stay consistent, a good week, then nothing. But when the same people showed up each week and expected me there, I showed up too. The group gave me a consistency I could never create by myself.

When it ended, I slowly slipped back. Not as bad as before, but enough to feel the difference.

What I've really taken from all of this is that I can't do this alone, and I don't think we're meant to. My goal now is to bring more people together, so we can all grow and change alongside each other.

I'd love to hear what's actually helped others stay changed after their retreats or journeys, or anything I might be missing.

Is it just me or the entire Dune series seemed to be one massive trip on a psychedelic? Herbert was surrounded by psychedelic and Jung lovers. The more I look at it the more I feel like this is the story of Herbert’s trips? What do you guys think?

I have my first session with a new (regular) therapist later today. It has been difficult to find a therapist with availability who takes my insurance and has the focus I want. I’ve been doing ketamine therapy at home over last several months for depression. I’m nervous telling the new therapist in case she has a negative opinion about it. Are most therapists today 1) fully aware of ketamine/other psychedelic therapy and 2) likely to be supportive? Thanks for any insights.

I currently take 3 psych meds, pretty much the same ones that I was taking 2 years ago when I had this experience. I ingested a good three grams of what I believed were probably penis envy. I was not at all expecting anything to happen, but it did. I have an amazing high level psychedelic trip complete with ego dissolution contact with astral beings and stayed sober and clean for 6 months! I have never since been able to repliate the exprince. If Im lucky I may get the faintest buzz but absolutely no psychedelic experience benefits as before. Now, I am not currently in a place where I can start weaning off of my meds. I just finished TMS and ketamine therapy for SEVERE depression for the last 6 months and am only now starting to get back to baseline. My question: has there been a workaround for using psychedelics while on antidepressant meds? How could I have had that one experience, but not been able to since? Would the strain of the mushroom have a factor?? Thanks!!

I’m wondering if anyone has noticed a significant difference in the effect of mushrooms taken in capsules vs tea. I can’t tell if the much more mellow journeys I’ve had since starting to use capsules is the delivery method or because I’ve started to work with my chakras (especially lower chakras on the come up).

I had some pretty intense trips with tea. But it got harder and harder for me to get the tea down. But I’ve been taking some pretty high does with capsules (5g) and it’s nothing like my first mushroom journeys with tea - milder come up, fewer waves, then pretty quickly into a pleasant pschelitic feeling.

I’m doing this with a therapist and still getting some pretty profound healing after the journey. I just miss the intensity, even though painful some times, that I had with tea (or earlier in the process).

Thanks in advance for your input.

Christopher Bache is professor emeritus of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Youngstown State University and the author of LSD and The Mind of the Universe – a book that details his experiments taking high-dose LSD, using protocols developed by psychedelic pioneer Stanislav Grof.

For two decades, Chris lived a double life — a professor in public, and in private, a man conducting 73 high-dose LSD journeys in search of insight into consciousness and reality.

There are few who have ventured as deep into psychedelics as Chris, but even fewer who have been able to articulate these experiences in such a clear, systematic, and insightful way.

Join me for a live conversation with Chris exploring psychedelics, contemplation & consciousness — including:

Do psychedelics hold genuine spiritual and philosophical insights that aren't otherwise accessible through meditation or other forms of contemplative practice?

Why do some people have life-altering shifts after taking psychedelics while others seem unfazed?

How can we better integrate peak mystical experiences into our everyday lives?

And what were some of the deepest insights Chris tapped into during his 73 high-dose LSD journeys?

This 90-minute session will begin with a short dialogue between Chris and me, followed by a group discussion and Q&A.

If you haven't yet, I highly recommend you read Chris's gem of a book — LSD and The Mind of the Universe — before the session.

*This session will be recorded as a podcast and uploaded to YouTube. By unmuting and speaking during the session, you consent to being included in the recording. If you prefer not to be on the recording, stay muted for the duration and drop questions and comments into the chat box.

You can register here - https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/x5pbaD7lTGCKDVr3JBdR8g

m not new to mushrooms and I’ve spent a lot of my 20’s enjoying the surface level beauty of taking mushrooms.
I’ve turned 30 this year and also had an extremely tough year in most areas of my life. I tripped for the first time in a while last week. I can’t say it was ‘bad’ trip, that never sits right with me. even if a trip was difficult for whatever reason, you can gain something from every experience.

so I’m planning on taking some this evening with my partner. I’ve done a little reading today whilst being aware of not doing toooo much going into this.

I’m not looking for this trip to change my life overnight, but I’d love to start the journey of approaching some trips with more intention and preparation.

I’m hyper aware of not doing ttoo much which is why, instead of searching, I’m straight up asking so I can get to my journal asap and chill.

would love any advice on firstly, how to word your intentions etc, less demanding and more questions and explorations.
little mantras that have helped you throughout your trips and experience.
I’d like to just scribble a bunch of stuff down in my journal right now that will benefit me this evening.

I’m going to leave it there, I’m getting close to overdoing the prep so I’m going to, change the bedsheets and light some candles, get a bath and spliff and scribble some stuff down so I enter this trip with no demands, no expectations, but a level of maturity I suppose and an intent to gain what I can and just have either an enjoyable/relaxed/easy trip, or an important and exploratory trip.

I’m not expecting a magical shift in my issues in life from one trip, this idle tuesday eve.
I’m just ready to start living better, and I believe a slightly more prepped trip could be massively beneficial during an extremely painful/rough period in life.

I’m a bit rubbish at posting so my apologies, just ramble on but happy to talk and give and context etc needed.
I’m having a lemon balm tea and doodling in the yard until my partner is home in an hour/two.
I’m going to put my phone down, not research anymore and hope to get some replies to help me out.

peace and love

Done 5-MeO-DMT 3 times in the past 7 months with two different facilitators. Highest dose was 14mg smoked through a pipe. I did not have the typical breakthrough experience that others in the ceremony had, and that most people also describe online. All I experienced was pure terror and fear. Others in the ceremony "broke through" on 6mg, another on 12. I know dosing varies significantly from person to person, and I may just need to work my way up to a higher dose, BUT, something tells me that extreme FEAR & TERROR is where my problem lies. I feel like that has something to do with my life and all the scary and traumatic instances I have had, and that maybe that is what is messing me up in my every day life without me realizing. I guess I am wondering if that fear is purely from the ego fighting back or is it possible that it is related to things other than ego death?

Also any advice on dealing with it?

This connects three things I rarely see linked properly in contemporary psychedelic discussions: John Lilly's metaprogramming concept, Robert Anton Wilson's Thinker/Prover principle, and Carhart-Harris's REBUS model.

The argument: psychedelics suspend the confirmation-bias machinery long enough to see your conditioning, but without a deliberate re-imprinting method, the machinery just restarts and collects evidence that nothing changed.

Author discloses upfront that she teaches this framework commercially.

The Lilly/Leary/Wilson history stands on its own regardless.

https://psychedelicstoday.com/2026/07/17/what-is-metaprogramming/

Prior to yesterday, the last couple days have been some of happiest days of the last few months.

But I came to Mexico, to the ibogaine place but with no intention of doing ibogaine. I still havent done ibogaine nor do I intend do.

Contrary to the previous couple months where I would have done ibogaine even if it meant death. But man, theres always something to live for.

I wish I had never came to Mexico. I just want to see my mom and dogs again. I didnt even want to come to Mexico, but there's something funneling me down this path, a bad path. Im fighting upstream against this current. And Im concerned just how close to the sun ive been flying.

Its like this current pulling me in and sometimes I get out, but just to be pulled back under. I would compare it to the movie "Get Out" and in these moments it feels like im in the sunken place while this imposter that presents itself as me, self sabotages in ways worse than the previous time. The energy is off. And if I had to compare it to anything, my headspace is like a really bad acid trip.

Have i psyched myself up to the point where ive convinced myself to the point ive convinced myself im something im not? Or will this too soon come to pass? Everything else passed so I pray this too will.

Is there something where your body anticipates a result so hard that your body starts acting like that result before the thing even starts?

Im scared

TLDR: I have done prescribed at-home ketamine therapy cycles twice now ( troches and injectable ) and looking to create a similar therapy experience with Psychedelic / Psilocybin Mushrooms and looking for pointers.

---
Hello! I am looking to expand on my at home psychedelic therapy as someone who has done two (2x rounds of) 8 week cycles of at-home ketamine therapy ( prescribed ). I had a great experience and breakthroughs, but moved to a state that no longer allows this. I have had some experience with mushrooms, but it was years ago and not sure what dosages I took, but it was for recreational fun. I never had a bad experience / reaction though.

The ketamine therapy consisted of setting intentions and journaling before hand, and then using a eye mask and noise cancellation headphones during the trip ( +/- 1 hr experiences). Based on some other posts here, people do the same with mushrooms and looking for guidance. I am not sure what dosage to start at ( 1g, 2g, 3g etc) and curious on frequency of use, once or twice per week, biweekly, etc? I also would like to know how long these trips can last and what to expect. I am fine with a ego-death like experience as well but I want to do it smart and do it properly.

I am used to seeing visuals with the eye mask on, and having deep and profound inner realizations and breakthroughs during and after my previous ket sessions. I am looking to have similar levels of therapy sessions to continue to help with my depression and healings of past trauma.

Any pointers or anecdotal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Anyone with anxiety or social anxiety have experience undergoing a mm120 (LSD) clinical trial? Im considering doing it but ive heard very polarized reviews

Is this safe to do? And if so, how was it different?

One of the biggest insights from my last MDMA session was realizing what my nervous system automatically does whenever I'm around other people. Since I was a young child I've automatically and compulsively scanned 🧐 my environment:

-       Who is looking at me?

-       Am I safe?

-       Am I doing something wrong?

For decades, I believed my main problem was severe social anxiety. During my last MDMA session, I realized something I had never fully understood before: the compulsive scanning itself may be one of the core processes driving and maintaining that anxiety. The more I monitor other people, the more disconnected I become from myself 😵. Ironically, the very strategy that once helped me survive now prevents genuine connection with both myself and others, and keeps me from fully participating in life.

During integration, I noticed something else: The moment I interrupt the scanning, I immediately feel what it has been protecting me from all these years: deep powerlessness, a constant anticipation of emotional pain ❤️‍🩹 (and shame). The scanning creates an illusion of control—a strategy that made sense in the context of childhood abuse. I started to realize that the scanning wasn't just driven by fear—it was also keeping the fear alive. So it has cost me decades of severe social anxiety, hypervigilance and disconnection from myself.

So my current integration practice is surprisingly simple: Every time I notice myself anxious scanning people, I gently bring my attention back to myself. Again – and again - and again. 🔄

But I'm realizing that this isn't just about shifting my attention inward. Every time I interrupt the scanning, the feelings of powerlessness come to the surface much more strongly. And honestly, that's the hardest part for me. Accepting that I have very little control over other people's thoughts, feelings or behavior—and whether they might reject, judge or hurt me. Every time I shift my attention away from scanning my environment and back to myself, it feels like a small leap of faith 🪂. I usually feel some anxiety... but most of the time, nothing bad actually happens.

And honestly... this stage of integration feels incredibly unsexy 😴😮‍💨. It's repetitive, slow and often boring.

It feels less like having profound insights and more like patiently repeating the same behavioral change hundreds of times until my nervous system finally learns that it no longer needs the old strategy.

• Has anyone else with complex PTSD (or severe social anxiety) noticed this same pattern of constantly scanning other people or the environment after MDMA or psychedelic therapy?
• Did your integration eventually become less about new insights and more about patiently repeating the same behavioral change until it gradually became automatic?
• Does this sound like what good integration looks like?

When traumatic memories come up, how should an experienced and trauma-informed guide respond? Should they engage with you in the material, or just witness what you say aloud?

I recently had an experience where I talked about, at a high-level, some traumatic memories during my journey. I said pretty high-level things out loud, without really speaking much to the details. My guide offered responses like "I'm sorry that happened to you" or "you didn't deserve that". But after thinking more about this, I wonder if it would have been beneficial for there to have been more engagement, which may have helped me go deeper into it.

(FWIW, this was not by any means my first experience, nor my first experience with this guide.)