Six Reasons LSD Causes Depersonalization

While weed is the drug most commonly associated with triggering Depersonalization / Derealization disorder, psychedelics like LSD and mushrooms are a close second.

Relative to weed, acid is a much less commonly used drug. But I regularly hear of and from people who have developed DPDR from just one bad LSD or mushroom trip.

It can be a really scary experience, and because of the intensely psychedelic and often introspective nature of the drug, it can cause people to believe that they’ve really messed up their minds, maybe permanently.

But in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

There has been no permanent damage, and I’ll explain why.

But first, let’s look at the triggers for why it can happen -- Here are six reasons LSD + Magic Mushrooms can cause Depersonalization / Derealization.

1.The Intensity

Drugs like hash, ketamine etc are very obviously dependent on the physically amount that you’ve ingested.

Magic Mushrooms, and in particular LSD can be much more of a lottery in terms of strength, especially if you’re not 100% sure of the source. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of coming up hard on acid or mushrooms, and not knowing when it’s going to stop intensifying.

Especially for people who might not have a lot of experience in using psychedelics, this can be a really frightening experience that can trigger intense feelings of panic and anxiety.

2.The Type of Tripping

As Terence McKenna said about Ketamine -- “The first thing that happens on Ketamine is you cease to be concerned that you’ve done Ketamine.”

Acid and Mushrooms are different -- you are very much aware that you’ve taken a drug, that it’s affecting you in various ways. This can be wonderful and euphoric -- but if it goes badly, it can be incredibly intense and brutally introspective.

Again, for people experienced with psychedelic drugs, they can rely on their past experience, recognize the patterns of thought and remember that they are safe and the effects of the drug will inevitably pass.

But there’s a Robert Frost quote that's often referenced in psychedelia -- ‘The only way out is through’ -- that is to say that no matter how hard you want it to stop, there is no stopping it. You just need to be patient, and get through it.

Fighting against it can be frightening and even traumatic, especially for someone inexperienced with psychedelics.

3.The Duration

With a very strong dose of weed, the peak high can last for about 3 hours. So even with a bad experience at least you know that you’ll soon be down.

But mushrooms can last up to 5 hours and LSD can last between 10-12 hours, so a bad trip can be a bit of a marathon. This can be a very scary prospect, especially if the trip starts to go bad in the first hour or two.

The more experienced user will know that panicking will only make things worse, and that ‘the only way out is through’. But others will find themselves fighting hard against the mental effects of the drug, trying to hold on to reality and rational thought through waves of psychedelia.

This can of course cause all sorts of perceived trauma and irrational fears, like you'll go crazy, you'll never come down, have a permanent loss of reality etc. (none of which will happen, by the way!)

4. It’s Already a Dissociative Drug

One of the typical effects of LSD are feelings of unreality and distance from your body.

Normally this is quite a pleasant experience and passes naturally as the drug leaves your system. But if you’re suffering through a bad trip, you may feel that this is some sort of permanent and frightening dissociation.

This, combined with the anxiety-based feeling of disconnection that occurs with DPDR can create a negative thought spiral that can persist and make you feel -- incorrectly -- that you’re still tripping even after the drug has left your system.

5. Lack of Sleep

Since mushrooms can last up to 5 hours and acid can last up 12 hours and people usually take it in the evening / nighttime, it can really disrupt your normal sleeping patterns and intensity feelings of DPDR.

Think of it this way: If you stayed up all night without having taken any drugs (like with jetlag) you’d feel quite woozy and out of it for the entire day, and probably even for a few days afterwards too. Right?

Now, couple that with the mental and physical exhaustion of an intense (and possibly bad) trip and you can see why feelings of Depersonalization / Derealization can take hold.

6. Fear That It Won't Stop

It’s an incredibly common worry with acid, especially when you’re coming down slowly: that for some reason you won’t be able to stop tripping, ever, and you’ll be stuck like this (and end up in a padded room somewhere for the rest of your life).

Of course, that’s impossible -- LSD or Psilocybin, just like any drug, is nothing more than a temporary chemical in your system and it will dissipate.

Worrying that you won’t be able to ever come down is like drinking a cup of coffee and worrying that the caffeine will never leave your system. Of course it will, it has to! Again, it's a scientific certainty!

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Because of the above reasons, feelings of Depersonalization / Derealization which occur naturally with LSD / Mushrooms can persist after a bad trip because they turn into anxiety-based DPDR (an extremely common but typically very brief experience).

In the same way with any perceived traumatic experience (a car crash, loss of a loved one etc), Depersonalization / Derealization can kick in as a temporary defence mechanism to get you through the bad trip. But when the feeling itself is focused upon (fear of going crazy, tripping forever etc) it can turn into a thought loop, driven by anxiety, that can persist for days, weeks and months after the drug experience.

This is known as Depersonalization Disorder and when left untreated, can persist for days, weeks, months, and as it did for me, years.

The good news is that it only lasts that long when it’s not addressed properly, but when you do so you can recover from it completely.

For now, if you’ve developed DPDR from LSD, Mushrooms (or weed, or any other drug) -- the main thing to remember is that it’s NOT the drug that’s causing the feeling anymore.

That’s physiologically impossible -- once the drug is gone from your system, it’s gone. And no, there hasn’t been any switch flipped in your brain where you’re now stuck like this indefinitely.

I know it can feel physical and tangible, but the reality is it’s nothing more than a negative thought habit that’s driven by anxiety.

When you take all of the above into account, including the intensely psychological and self-reflexive nature of the drug, you can see why people are so quick to jump to frightening conclusions.

The fact that it’s been triggered by a bad LSD / Mushrooms (or any other drug) experience makes no difference.

It can seem like an intensely scary experience, but really what you’re feeling is no different from people who have developed DPDR from panic attacks, car crashes etc.

The fact that it's such an inward-focused and psychedelic event can make it seems like an intensely scary experience, but really what you’re feeling is no different from people who have developed DPDR from panic attacks, car crashes etc.