A bad trip is a stretch of intense fear, confusion or panic while a hallucinogen is acting. Health Canada says one may occur, especially at high doses, and that impaired judgment during it may lead to risky behavior. Safety guidelines for hallucinogen research call overwhelming distress during drug action the most likely risk (Johnson et al., 2008).
Researchers prefer the phrase “challenging experience.” A questionnaire built from a survey of challenging psilocybin experiences identified seven factors: grief, fear, death, insanity, isolation, physical distress and paranoia (Barrett et al., 2016). In an online survey of 1,993 people describing their single worst bad trip on mushrooms, 11% said they put themselves or others at risk of harm and 2.7% received medical help (Carbonaro et al., 2016). Respondents chose to take part, so those figures are not rates for all users.
How often a bad trip needs emergency care is unknown. Canadian poison centres say to call 911 if a person is unconscious, not breathing or having a seizure (CAPCCT). This is a description, not medical advice.
General information, not medical advice. In an emergency in Canada, call 911. For a mental-health crisis, call or text 9-8-8.
Sources
- Health Canada: Psilocybin and psilocin (magic mushrooms)
- Johnson, Richards and Griffiths: Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety
- Barrett et al.: The Challenging Experience Questionnaire
- Carbonaro et al.: Survey study of challenging experiences after ingesting psilocybin mushrooms
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