How is your sanity different after a fully immersive experience? I have heard it can rip your old programming to pieces and leave you either helpless or immensiley reformed for the better.

The one thing that has always terrified me about DMT is an intuition that it might just show me a something about my dreamy life which I could never recover from and would leave me nakedly paralyzed by PTSD and psychosis for the rest of my life by a shocking truth that I could not recover from nor re-format in to my old programming. I am worried that I won't be able to keep my shit together even though I want to enhance my appreciation of the world with DMT.

A bit like offering Neo the red pill and then kicking the living crap out of him and leaving him on the sidewalk So do I trust DMT will treat me right? NO. Why not? Because I suppose it has being giving some really bad post trip hppd experiences with derealization and other strange dejavu-esque thought loops after only a sub-breakthrough even though I had good intentions (to feel the beauty of an expanded consciousness).

How do you all manage to keep you wits together after you dive so far deep?

It's like driving a car. You know there's a probability that everything can go wrong and you can get injured, die or injure or kill other people, but you weigh the risks and benefits and more often than not, decide to operate a motor vehicle. So in this analogy, driving a car is actually far more hazardous than smoking DMT, which will neither kill/physically injure you nor other people. I went for months of smoking regularly before having a bad experience. Theoretically if I would have decided to stop smoking before that experience, I would have easily made it out of the rabbit hole unscathed.

Edit: In hindsight, I figured that the message of this post was more clear without the clutter of its original first and last paragraph. They've been omitted for posterity's sake, and because they're simply not in good taste.

If you are wondering, in fear, about what life will be like after the DMT experience, and are apprehensive about the possibilities which the future holds (especially insofar as your mental health is concerned), then you should not be using DMT. Psychedelics should be used only by those who are of sound mental and physical health, who are educated on and accepting of the full spectrum of possible outcomes of psychedelic exploration, and posses the necessary inner and outer resources to successfully navigate the experience to achieve positive results. You should also have a clear positive intention at heart when taking the substances and preparing for your trip; Or you are frankly, little more than a child grasping at straws.

Self-Responsibility is key when making adult decisions, and the choice to use psychedelic drugs is indeed an adult decision. If you are unsure whether you can behave responsibly in the wake of a life-altering experience, or if you are prepared to live in a reality which may be different from your current mode of perception... Then you should put it down and walk away, for your own good and for that of your family/friends and local emergency and mental health resources which are ill-equipped to handle those in the midst of tryptamine psychosis triggered by an inability to cope with the consequences of your actions.

No, you can't just continue on after DMT breakthrough like nothing happened. Your world will be turned upside down, and your mundane existence especially if it's centered around your comfort zone will seem meaningless.

If you like things in your life just the way they are, stay away from DMT or any other intense psychedelic.

I totally agree with Hiyo Quicksilver - if you are unsure whether you should take DMT - don't do it! If DMT call is genuine, you would never go around asking "Should I do it? Can I handle it?" You would simply do it, no questions asked (except for technical things like extraction help). By the very fact that you have doubts, I see that DMT didn't call you (yet).

Sometimes I don't wonder if we don't overestimate the power of these drugs. I'm sure we've all had our lives changed by psychedelics, and we've all had that one friend who went off the deep end, but by my estimate, the vast, VAST majority of people who try psychedelics (even a drug like DMT) basically end up the same as they were going into it.

There might be a brief period of "oh my God the wonder, the connectedness," but it seems like most people end up falling back into the same patterns and habits they lived in before they tried them.

Think of all the hippies that grew up, got office jobs, and now vote conservative. Taking LSD and getting all religious about it didn't seem to turn them "on" in any permanent way. I'm sure we've all been to music festivals and met "that guy" who goes on and on about how he's demolished his ego, how connected we all are, and how enlightened he is, while still drinking from a plastic water bottle and shutting down anyone who disagrees with him.

(If you don't know who I'm talking about, you may be that person)

For some of us, these drugs may legitimately change our perspectives, and some of us do experience massive healing, but I think we're generally in the minority, just like all those horror stories you head growing up going to D.A.R.E. classes are also small minorities.

In short, I think the answer to your question is: yes. I think it's totally possible to smoke a lot of DMT, experience contact with the Holiest of Holies, and be basically back where you started within a few months. You can even go off the deep end for a little while, but at the end of the day, you'll probably be pretty much who you were before.

Blessings
~ND

hallucinogens are a tool.
even if ya get the whole tool box,
you still have to build your own house.

My personal approach to entheogens was always "show me the ultimate horrid truth that was never meant for humans, break down my personality, show me what it's like to not be". I always went into the use of new substances with Captain Kirk's intention, to go where no man has gone before.

Thus, ultimately, most of my experiences left me underwhelmed, even a few that in my opinion might have traumatized more "grounded" souls. Do I trust the substances? I trust them not to kill me or cause actual biological injury. I trust them to be out of my system after a few hours. I trust them not to leave me literally insane (or rather, I trust myself not to go insane). Otherwise, no, I don't trust them at all.

If you don't have similar intentions, then my personal suggestion is don't use psychedelics.

(BTW there is something definitely abnormal about my brain, after surviving a car accident that could have very easily been lethal with minimal injuries, my reaction was between "wow God must really like me" and "hey that was a bit scary but also fun, maybe I should become a stuntman".)

Psychedelic use has indeed changed me in ways, but to a lesser extent than I have hoped. I recently had a flash on mushrooms where the "spirit of the mushroom" was kinda telepathically asking me in a resigned and slightly annoyed manner why I'm there again, since I haven't even done my homework from last time. So I guess even the "spirits" are dissatisfied with my pace of self-improvement, heh... Psychedelics aren't "magic" in a sense that they do the work for you.

^ This.

A friend of mine has the same concern as the OP. Thinking that he wont be the same after the trip, that he will be consumed by an entity and never return. I think both the OP and my friend are thinking way too deep into it.

Before I took DMT, I was told to not have any expectations. I limited my expectations as much as possible, but I couldn't get rid of a few ideas of what the trip might be like. When I eventually did do it, it met some expectations and shattered others. From my frequent dances with DMT, I realised this; it is what it is. It's as simple as that.

Has the experience changed my life? Absolutely. Did it affect my personality or my "ego"? Absolutely not. All hallucinogens have ever done for me is made me aware of who I am. Ultimately, I changed me, not DMT.

Mindset plays a huge role in the "sanity" of the DMT once-returner. Imagine if a person walking on the street suddenly had a huge DMT breakthrough trip out of nowhere. They wake up to find a crowd of concerned people and paramedics. They might be in shock, from the unexpectedness of the trip, mixed with no preparation for the trip. This could leave them with PTSD or something. We, however, are psychonauts. We explore the deepest reaches of our consciousness. We do this deliberately. We prepare before blast off, we make sure we are safe, and that nothing will happen to our physical bodies. We tell ourselves if shit gets too intense "I took DMT, it's not real". The dude on the street didn't have this level of preparation.

Don't expect DMT to change you. It's not guaranteed to do anything. The best way to approach it is from an exploratory perspective.

Having said all that, I do agree with Hiyo. If you're doubting yourself, then don't do it. Spend some time reading up on more information. The Grateful One has an excellent trip report aptly named "Fear and Respect", two things that you must come to terms with.

Have you noticed how people behave who have not done "it"?
With tongue in cheek: Oh they have their wits together alright

Both to "not dive" or "dive" is just like the other tools in Anne's mentioned tool box, they both can be fruitful or stinky results. It's up to the users very Self, not especially the tools itself, those mainly magnify. If there's one reason to be afraid of then look in the mirror there you have it. Your enemy and savior in one package. Get hold of your very own users manual is the best take-on I can think of.

How can one ever evaluate the consequences of partaking or not, if there is no idea whatsoever of the results of going in or not? Waste of time IMO, and asking others will only add to confusing what was already confused.

I suggest addressing intuition, feeling called to, gut feeling.
The day is calling, have a very good one yourselves

PS: you can also dive "a little" and never care what others think of that and see from there.

Hello Emptiness, look the bottom line is you are not handling what happened well, you should see somebody professional about it. See a psychologist, there are plenty of good ones out there friend. This is evident from the posts you have been making here, you're not integrating the experience, this is affecting your day to day life.

For me it changed everything I thought I knew. Ok maybe not everything.
It opened up an endless question and will dumbfound me for the rest of my life.

One thing is for certain ,I now appreciate everything, good or bad.

Edit: My sanity is the same as it was before DMT but I've always been well grounded.

oh my friend.
I want to say ive been there but I actually think Im still in that situation, its been 8 months since the last time, and whenever I start to feel normal I realized Im not the same one and I cracked.

I know what you're fealling and I hope you come out of it soon. I do not wish this to anyone.

Interesting, looks like some would like to revert to their pre-DMT self. I would never do such thing even if it was possible.

The red pill isn't for everyone.

OP its not an easy road. Don't get in to it if you think its about what the molecule can do for you. Its about what you need to do, and that freaks some people out.

Some fear and anxiety is in my opinion normal, and I even worried about "breaking my mind", but I knew I wanted/was supposed to dance with it when I did. You should know. You should know you are not content with veneer of reality that is presented to you. You should know that once you take off the veneer, you can never go back to believing it was real. You should want this. You should prefer horrible truth, over beautiful lies. I'm not saying truth is horrible, but you may believe that it is many times if you embark on the journey.

There is nothing wrong with waiting until you are older to try it. You may not be ready now, but you may in a decade. Get some life experience, keep your mind open and flow with the universe. Believe nothing, yet entertain it all.

You will know when you are ready.

While I do agree with your promotion of caution around the doubt of whether psychelics are right for any individual I can't help but think you have a bad attitude, or at least it was worded so in the last paragraph. You make it sound like it is the OP's fault for getting traumatized by DMT and getting sent in to episodes of derealization, as if he couldn't of handled it from the begining and should never of even tried.

That is like telling war veterans or the traumatized prisoners of a nazi germany camp to "man the fuck up" and to 'come back when your fuckin ready, pussies' even though it is not really their fault that they can't handle the trauma and therefor develop ptsd from it.

Frankly, it isn't just a matter of knowing you are ready mentally. Plenty of people believe they are ready in every aspect for a full on immersive experience and they end up with ptsd from it. So your 'harden the fuck up" attitude is unwarranted in that respect.

How is your sanity different after any fully immersive event? Questioning your sanity or personality could come from many sources of new information. For example you could fully immerse yourself in a book or online and learn new ways of going about things. You might learn new ways to use your mind and think 'that makes so much sense, how could i have ever thought something the other way, i must have been insane'..

Whether you climb a mountain or jump out of a plane or smoke DMT.. YOU do not change, you have new experiences and new information.

We know that YES we can trust DMT, when done in a safe environment. The real question IMO is;

Can you trust your mind?

lol

I have a suspicion that seeking out altered states is actually a symptom of depersonaliztion / derealization, which may cause some confusion as to what's actually going on. It almost sounds like you've begun to feel the beauty of an expanded conciousness. It's just not quite what you expected.

Without much knowledge of your past history, I can only speculate that there was some sort of trauma in your past that has been brought to the surface. Perhaps it's time to dig down and face those demons. And therein lies the magic of this molecule. When treated with respect this molecule becomes a tool that allows us to see our life in an entirely different vmanner, without criticism or judgement. Simply as it is. But first, we have to learn how to let go, which can be extremely frightening or difficult.

This is another wonderful part of this tool, in that the transition will happen so quickly you won't have time to question what has happened until you're almost back to baseline. The experience usually leaves one left with a sense of awe and wonder, along with a new appreciation for life and a sense of gratitude.

Trust the molecule. Treat it with the utmost respect and you will be rewarded in unimaginable ways. It's difficult to wake up from our dreamy lives and to experience life from this perspective, but time will be your friend here.

With all due respect, you really should read more thoroughly before you post. Specifically, actually reading the OP before replying to a comment can help provide context to the discussion and its replies. This is one of many ways to ensure that you're not speaking from any orifice other than your mouth, which may be worth your consideration.
Also, please refer to attitude page for rules regarding the use of language and profanity. I'm sure that I don't actually need to inform you that such a degree of obscenity is inappropriate. However, might I suggest that when you do choose to bend the rules for the sake of argumentative impact, you first make sure that your argument is even remotely valid.

If you'll notice, the OP mentioned no history of heavy psychedelic use or traumatic experience whatsoever. In fact, he is clearly entirely inexperienced in immersive hallucinogenic perception and is seeking advice and information from those who are.

I certainly wouldn't tell someone in the grips of severe HPPD or who is struggling to integrate a particularly traumatic psychedelic experience to "grow a pair". However, this is not the case. In this instance, the OP is uninitiated in the use of psychedelics, and is concerned that altering his perception may result in a situation of ontological crisis, presumably because the reality he imagines that he may experience may be difficult or impossible to integrate into his current worldview.

It is indeed unkind to antagonize those who are in the midst of or recovering from traumatic events, certainly... But that is not what is happening here. What is happening is the occurrence of a common tradition among those who are initiated in a discipline to challenge those who seek to take part. This is to warn away those who may not be sincerely and genuinely interested, those who may harm themselves by doing so, or those who will simply end up making 90+ posts on the forum without actually contributing a thing, or earning full member privileges.

That is only half true, and your tone is uncalled for - both in your initial post and in the one I am replying to now. OP clearly stated they had had several DMT trips, with possible HPPD and negative psychological effects. Don't scold others with the accusation of not reading carefully if you yourself have committed precisely that act.