My Psychedelic Trip Turned Into Full-Blown Caveman Psychosis
Hey everyone, I wanted to share an experience I had recently to get some insight and maybe advice on what happened.
My coworker and I decided to go camping on a Friday night after work and trip together. We drove out to western AZ, and on the way, a grower we know gave us an ounce of mushrooms called “Albino Bluey Vuitton,” which I paid for.
We arrived at a sandy area near a lake with tall shrubs, parked his truck, and set up our tent and a campfire. We started playing some music. My coworker was smoking weed, and I took a quick hit, which made me cough violently. I have a low tolerance, usually only taking one or two hits of a disposable a week.
I hadn’t eaten for about six hours, as I’d been told by friends that fasting a few hours before can reduce nausea. I’d used this method on previous trips over the past month without problems.
We both measured out 2 grams using a gram meter. About 30 minutes after taking them, I started feeling the effects—first a tingling up my back, then a pulsing sensation in my head that felt stronger than usual. At first, it was euphoric and calm with the campfire and music, but the music soon became uncomfortable. My coworker suggested switching to jazz, which was initially better.
As the visuals intensified, I started feeling anxious. We decided to put out the fire and head into the tent. I was in a thin sleeping bag and felt very connected to the ground. Closing my eyes triggered intense visuals—almost like objects and shapes had eyes—and I could hear sounds that reminded me of planes passing overhead. I could also hear almost slight laughing also, I tried listening to lo-fi music to calm down, but it didn’t help.
I told my coworker I needed to sit in his truck to get comfortable. I started overthinking and felt very drowsy and almost drunk. He came in to comfort me, but I began speaking incoherently and mentioned feeling extremely cold. The truck’s instrument panel looked blurry and almost low-poly like, and I started saying math equations out loud. Suddenly, I blacked out and lost control completely like specifically being blackout drunk memory wise, I have been blackout before but usually I am quiet and find somewhere to sleep never violent.
At this point, I acted violently. I hit things in the truck, and my coworker tried to calm me down. I eventually exited the truck, slamming my body into it thinking I could phase through it and breaking the handle. I tore off my shirt, threw sand and rocks, and cried violently. I thought I was being attacked by ants and that I was going to die. I ran around the area, slipped, and burned my hand in the hot coals, which finally caused me to move away.
I eventually tore off my pants and boxers and wandered naked, convinced I was turning into a caveman and that time was reversing. I destroyed a nearby tent and damaged property. Thankfully, the people at the camp intervened, knocking me out and calling an ambulance and the police.
I woke up on the front of a police cruiser, almost sober still bare naked with a towel over me. I ended up at the hospital with scratches everywhere, could barely walk and had damaged. My coworker’s trip was moderate, and he was able to stay somewhat in control. I paid the people whose property I damaged, as I felt terrible.
Some context about me: I’m a 19-year-old male, weigh about 125 lbs., and have no personal or family history of schizophrenia or other serious mental illnesses. I’ve tripped a few times over the past month, separated by 3–4 days. I’ve eaten healthy, felt good mentally, and haven’t had major stressors aside from feeling a bit lost relationship-wise. The mushrooms were not laced or tampered with, and I took a 5-hour energy drink about four hours before the trip.
Looking back, I believe this was more than a “bad trip” and closer to a psychotic reaction. I feel terrible about my actions and think I should never take psychedelics again. I’m reaching out here to understand what happened and what steps I should take to recover fully.