[stupidcar]

I used it at a birthday party a few years ago. My main takeaways were twofold:

First, it made me understand the concept of good and bad "vibes" w.r.t. to drug use. It was clear that the experience of taking LSD recreationally in a group of people was a much a social experience as a chemical one. Keeping the "vibe" positive, by playing the right kind of music, staying chill, and saying and doing the right things, was important not to break the spell. Unfortunately, as somebody who suffers from social anxiety, this awareness made things quite stressful for me at times, as I felt I had to constantly maintain some level of self-regulation, which was not made easier by how intoxicated I was. I have the same problem when smoking weed in company.

Second, while I hoped for the kind of psychological breakthroughs and revelations that some people describe having using LSD, I didn't experience them. I never felt connected to the universe or some greater purpose. I certainly had periods of intense introspection, but they didn't reveal anything to my about my character I wasn't already aware of. I think part of that was that I was already in my mid-thirties at the time, and had done plenty of introspection over the years. I already had a good understanding of my own character — my strengths, weaknesses, hopes, fears and regrets — and I suspect anybody with a similar disposition won't have any breakthroughs using LSD.

Ultimately, I didn't regret trying LSD, but it didn't leave me with any desire to try it again. Despite its reputation, it just seemed like another drug to me. Stronger in its effect than most, but I never felt like a child of the universe, I just felt high.

[pmoriarty]

If you were not utterly blown away, you probably either took too small a dose and/or what you took wasn't actually LSD.

However, different drugs do affect different people differently. So it's possible you're just not very sensitive to LSD, but it is pretty unlikely. With the right dose, set, and setting, it's unlikely that you would be so unimpressed.

[notRobot]

What does "set" mean in this context?

[pmoriarty]

Your mindset, which includes conscious and unconscious expectations and goals, how you're feeling around the time of the experience (depressed? anxious? indifferent? curious? hesitant?), how you feel about the people around you, any mental issues you may have, and how you approach the experience.

To maximize the chance of having a productive experience you'll want to make sure each of those elements is as helpful to your goals as possible.

What the appropriate set is will also depend on your setting, which includes not just the physical environment, but also what's happening there, and the people around you and their own mindsets and attitudes towards what you're going through, their ability to facilitate the experience, etc.

For example, while generally one is discouraged for partaking in psychedelics if one suffers from mental illness, in the context of psychedelic therapy with a trained therapist you like, trust, and respect, that could work for certain conditions.

But if you do have a mental illness please consult a trained, professional therapist before making a decision on this matter.

[notRobot]

Ah, very interesting. Thank you so much for your response.

[celticninja]

Psychological breakthroughs or revelations tend to come while tripping alone or in a small group.

[c-c-c-c-c]

Yeah it's crazy how much set and setting can affect your psyche and the outcome of your trip

[saiya-jin]

I had those experiences repeatedly (shrooms, which should be +-same), but always alone. I can't imagine doing that journey with anybody else, even close girlfriend, it would be just negative interference and distractions. In fact, I lost all my regular senses, laying on the bed, listening to very nice shamanic music (that must have helped a bit). I understood where religion comes from, or so it seemed to me at that time. At the end of the trip I had spiritual experience without any classical presence of god, at the end just chemicals going haywire in my brain.

By huge margin consistently the most intense experience in my life, and I've been through some stuff (birth of my son, 6 months backpacking in Himalaya, adrenaline/mountain sports, not in that order).

That was some 10 years ago, I don't even feel the need to try again. Kind of lesson took, not much more to gain, only risking some bad drama.

[crakenzak]

highly recommend trying LSD/Shrooms now they you're 10 years older.

You will very much likely have a much different experience, as you have a (pretty much) different brain for the psychedelics to work on -- as well as a lot of new experiences and memories floating inside your noggin.