I've always been a fairly calm person, never really getting stressed or anxious, other than occasional jitters before public speaking.

I recently smoked DMT for the first time and had a difficult experience, though it was short lived. The only thing I regretted was that I didn't prepare myself mentally, and planned to try again after meditation and other preparation recommended to me by users of this forum.

However, I realised that something was amiss when I woke up about 4 days after the trip with a strong, unexplained feeling of anxiety, bordering on terror. It was very strange because the mental component (i.e. the underlying reason) was missing, it was simply a physical response that seemingly had no cause but was nonetheless extremely unpleasant.

I noted this down as an unfamiliar event but decided that it was some sort of nightmare I didn't remember and assumed it would be an isolated event. However, today in one of my university lectures my lecturer began to talk about late penalties of 50% per day, high failure rates for the unit etc etc and I began to feel slightly anxious but still in good spirits as I usually get quite high marks. Later on in the tutorial though I began to get this feeling of anxiety again in the extreme, I was sweating, shaking slightly and with a feeling of nervousness in my gut that was totally disproportionate to what was going on - it appeared to have no DIRECT trigger other than a fear of failure.

The key thing is not that I experienced stress and anxiety about uni, it's that the stress was disproportionate and most importantly, out of character for me. My question is whether anyone has either experienced something like this or knows someone who has, and if it's something I should seek help about or is it likely to go away?

I realise that the overwhelming majority of psychedelic users have a positive experience and I'm not trying to knock the drug or blame my problems on it, it just seems to have triggered some kind of increased stress response in me and I'd like to know more. I haven't noticed any problems with cognition, vision or any other mental health issues other than the anxiety.

Another thing I should add is that when riding my bicycle to work, there's a hill I always ride down at a certain speed. But for some reason that speed felt much faster than it usually does the last time I rode down it - I felt every bump and heard the rush of air in explicit detail. I have a feeling this change in perception is also linked to taking the drug.

Hey,

Before I add anything I just wanted to know: how much did you take and how did you ingest it? Anxiety could very well be induced by DMT yet it should be short lived. But, please share dose and method.

I know a few people who have experimented with SSRIs who were not diagnosed with depression because they had the idea that it would make anyone happier. This lead to panic attacks in one person. This would make sense as I understand, too low of a serotonin level can be a cause of depression, and too high, a cause of anxiety.

I'm no medical professional at all, but I have read that DMT can raise your serotonin levels for about a week. If this is the case, and your normal serotonin levels are just elevated, you should be perfectly fine in a few days.

This might not be the case, you did mention that the experience was difficult. It might be a sign that your rendezvous with your subconscious let you know there are things you need to deal with.

Either way, you say you've always been a calm person, so just wait it out; or find out what you're supposed to deal with.

You'll be fine.

Well, I'm not a psychologist, but i believe that we subconsciously use certain mental schemes to keep us functional in real life. There is this idea of the shadow for instance, which represents all that we have to surpress due to conditioning etc. It could be, that your experience has scraped away some of these layers of neurosis, giving way to a certain part of yourself you have not and aare still not acknowledging (because you don't know why this is happening to you)

I have had month long anxiety problems and attacks and i know how terrible it is. Try to relax and "forget" about the anxiety, but still ask yourself if there is anything in your life that needs improvement. Something you have neglected for a veeeery long time possibly. It may be hard to uncover that, but still try.

Yes, you will be fine. Don't overhype your experience. It was intense, difficult and still affects you. You're more vulnerable now be it because of a slight "trauma" because your experience was difficult or because it was a sign, that you have some work to, to improve yourself. Only you can tell!

Unfortunately I don't know how much I took. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say somewhere in the region of perhaps 20-25mg, smoked with marijuana.



That's really interesting. I think I'll wait a week and see if the problem persists

Sorry to hear about that Breathe.

Fwiw, I'm finding I'm noticeably more sensitive to caffeine for a while after smoking DMT. Conversely, I'm also more sensitive to chamomile, which helps me keep it cool.

Integrate..integrate..integrate.

Get out and do activities that you love, whether that be art, exercise, music, writing, etc. It can be anything that will allow your mind to slip into the present moment, and your just there...right there....doing whatever it is in that moment, that you love or like doing. Surround yourself with a positive person or positive people.

But biggest of all...like I told you in the other thread...meditate. Meditation is so heavily overlooked by many people and I feel it should be given a fair chance. For some it's hard to start, but once you can get your mind relaxed enough, you can go VERY far with it, and this art will help tremendously in stringing apart the strata of your mind to the point where you can pin point key pieces of whatever may be plaguing you at the time, mentally.

Start with simple breathwork such as closing your eyes, take a breath in, exhale, etc, etc. Focus on that. It's simple, and imho, a very effective way to still your mind. You'll get to points in your meditation where you your senses start to shut down, and the train of thoughts running through your mind will start to thin out, and one by one, until, your left with an extremely hyper-clear state of being. All contact with your body and the outside world cease, and there you are, witnessing....no thoughts.....nothing....just be. This state helps you realize that (at least) your not your thoughts or your driven responses to things...your beyond all that. The effects of meditation carry over into your daily life, allowing a much smoother interaction with your new found insights/perception.

For some, the dmt experience changes them. It's a trying experience, especially when you have "that one" experience. It affords a new look at your consciousness and the world thats part and parcel with it. Many times it'll make us more sensitive to our own inner workings and the subtleties of life, stuff we're normally asleep to. Thats why meditation is key. It's not that dmt IS CAUSING sadness, anger, fear, etc.......its simply uncovering.

I hope you work this out and integrate accordingly. You must integrate. If you don't......well......your seeing first hand whats happening.

Much love breathe

tat tvam asi

Thanks for the kind words man. The idea of meditation has really struck a chord with me and for the last few days I've been trying the method where you picture an object and focus on it, but I find it so hard to concentrate. Your breathing method is the next on my list.




There's no need to be at all sorry, I don't regret my experience for one second. It's all part of the journey I think I'll revisit this chemical a few years down the line when I'm a bit more mature and a bit more experienced in the world of psychedelics.