I’ve Taken Psychedelics, Now What?
It’s been quite the journey where you've been. You’ve seen things, felt things, heard and maybe even tasted things that you now find hard to explain to people. And after this journey is over, there is often an incredible wealth of information, emotions, ideas, and new perspectives to work through and process. It can be an intense and difficult experience to come back to earth, so it’s important to do some integration work. It's been said that psychedelics will give you what you need, not necessarily what you want. So you may have found yourself suddenly faced with a traumatic memory, overwhelming feelings, or revelatory insights. Everything may feel new, different, suddenly very wrong, or suddenly very right. Maybe you’re not even sure what you experienced. It may have been the single most spiritual and wonderful experience of your life, or it may have been terrifying and traumatic.
Additionally, if you don’t understand what happened and are struggling to make sense of the world, integration is important to help ground yourself and get back to your reality.
What can support me to integrate my psychedelic experience?
Meditation (and other spiritual practices)
Spending time in nature
Connecting with community
Move your body - yoga/physical exercise
Start a journal
Get creative - different art forms, making music, dancing, painting etc
Seek psychotherapeutic support.
Check out https://psychedelic.support/
These are some practical ways to help integrate your psychedelic experience, and the APS resources page may also be helpful here. It is important to approach integration intentionally. If you engage with the process as an active participant, you are much more likely to process the experience. This means really reflecting on what happened, what it means for your life, what perspective was gained and what you learned about yourself, and exploring how to put these things into practice in your life.
There is no formula for integration because it is truly unique to the individual, their particular psychedelic experience, and their intentions.
The biggest tip: don’t make big life changes straight away. Give yourself time to put the psychedelic experience in its proper place in your life. Maybe big, dramatic changes are needed, but people need time to stabilise emotionally and energetically first. And even then, give it some time. People’s understanding of what needs to happen may change over time. Give it the space to do that.
