What to do during a trip

The short answer: lie down, put on eyeshades and music, and let the experience come to you. Research sessions are built this way on purpose. The Johns Hopkins safety guidelines describe a living-room-like session room, at least two monitors so the volunteer is never alone, and participants encouraged to focus inward with eyeshades and music through headphones. [Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety, Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2008, read 28 October 2026] Set and setting, your mindset and surroundings, shape the response to the drug. [Constructing drug effects: a history of set and setting, Drug Science, Policy and Law, 2017, read 28 October 2026] [Psychedelics and the essential importance of context, Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2018, read 28 October 2026]

Before it starts

• Read your intention once, then let it go. You do not have to steer.
• Use the bathroom, set water within reach, dim the lights.
• Phones off. Your sitter keeps the only one, for emergencies.

As effects begin

Effects generally begin within 30 minutes and peak within one to two hours. [The abuse potential of medical psilocybin according to the 8 factors of the Controlled Substances Act, Neuropharmacology, 2018, read 28 October 2026] Physical sensations such as nausea, dizziness or weakness can come with it, and research volunteers are encouraged to trust that their bodies will keep working. [Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety, Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2008, read 28 October 2026] Lie down, breathe slowly, and resist the urge to check whether it is working. If nothing seems to be happening, wait: never redose because of a slow start.

At the peak

• Go inward. Eyeshades on, music playing. Let images, memories and feelings arrive without judging them.
• Move toward, not away. Research volunteers who see a frightening figure, such as a monster, are encouraged to approach it and ask why it has appeared, rather than flee. [Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety, Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2008, read 28 October 2026]
• Breathe. Slow breathing out, feeling the body against the floor, is the simplest anchor.
• Ask for what you need. A hand, water, a different track, the light changed.
• Stay put. No cooking, bathing alone, going outside or driving.

If it gets difficult

Difficult is not necessarily bad: a hard passage often carries the meaning people talk about later. [Zendo Project guide: the four principles of psychedelic support, Zendo Project, read 28 October 2026] Remind yourself that you took a substance and that it will wear off. Change one thing (posture, music, eyeshades off for a while), and tell your sitter. Full steps are in bad trip: what to do.

Coming down

As the effects fade, sit up slowly, drink water and eat something simple. Write a few lines, even fragments, before sleep. The integration journal has prompts for the next day.

What not to do

• Do not add alcohol or cannabis. The Dutch drug information service says alcohol raises the chance of a bad trip and cannabis can make it stronger, longer or less controllable. [Paddo's: combinatiegebruik, DRUGSinfo, Trimbos-instituut, read 28 October 2026]
• Do not make big decisions, send messages or post anything.
• Do not drive or go out until the next day.

Planning from scratch? Start with the four-week plan, the dose calculator and how long shrooms last.