5 Trip Tips on How to Take Shrooms Safely

mushrooms forest

Magic mushrooms have been used for centuries in spiritual, recreational, and medicinal practices. In fact, their usage predates written history.

Over the years, the shroom psychedelic trip and its effect on our brains have been studied extensively. These magic psilocybin mushrooms are scientifically proven to have a positive effect on our mood and emotions. Shrooms actively help treat certain mental illnesses, like depression and anxiety.

You can find out more about the medicinal benefits of shrooms by reading our article on how magic mushrooms help you stop panicking.

We now understand more about the psychological side effects of magic mushrooms. Giving us the ability to identify the best ways to have a recreational psychoactive mushroom trip. This is why we can advise on how to do this safely.

Read on for the 5 essential tips to ensure you have the safest and most enjoyable shroom experience!

1. Research Your Mushroom

Make sure you know what type of magic shroom you are about to take. There are over 180 species of psilocybin mushrooms. Each has varying potencies and effects.

Psilocybin mushrooms come in various forms. You can ingest fresh or dried mushrooms. You can also take shrooms in the form of sclerotia or “truffles”.

Each of these different forms of magic mushrooms has different potencies. This is true even if they are part of the same species.

Read our article on the top 10 types of psilocybin mushrooms. This article gives a brief overview of each mushroom’s potency. It explains common side effects and any potential long-term ramifications.

What to expect on a psychedelic shroom trip

Common side effects include:

  • Intensified feelings
  • Mixed senses (such as “seeing” sounds or “hearing” colors)
  • Spiritual experiences
  • Visual hallucinations
  • Auditory hallucinations
  • Changes in sense of time (moving slower or faster)

Psilocybin shrooms can also cause some negative side effects, such as:

  • Paranoia (distrust of others – this can be merely unreasonable or extreme)
  • Nausea
  • Sleep problems
  • Panic
  • Psychosis (disorientated thinking and/or a detachment from reality)

During your shroom trip, you may experience a few or many positive and negative outcomes. It is important to be aware of the possible consequences prior to your trip to be fully prepared.

2. Monitor Your Mood

When taking psychoactive drugs, it is important to ensure you are in the right headspace.

Magic mushrooms affect your brain – the way it thinks, sees, and hears – for a portion of time.

Negative emotions like anger, sadness, anxiety, or stress may be intensified.

If you are taking a very strong strain of shroom, it is likely to cause visual or auditory hallucinations. Negative emotions may produce unpleasant and potentially scary hallucinations.

Ultimately, if you’re in a bad mood, you might have a bad trip.

Shrooms will likely produce feelings of intense euphoria, elation, and giddiness when taken while in a positive mood.

To have the best and most enjoyable experience, it is important to make sure you’re feeling calm, comfortable, and content before ingesting the magic mushrooms.

3. Start With a Small Dose

Taking a small number of magic mushrooms for your psychedelic trip is recommended. It will help to ease yourself into the experience.

This is especially important if it is your first time taking shrooms. The same advice should be followed if you are taking a strain that you have not tripped on before.

Pacing yourself means you can tailor the intensity of your trip to suit you. You can always take more psilocybin mushrooms if the effects are too mild. Doing so will increase the intensity of the drug.

Shroom Dosage Amounts

  • Microdose: 0.1 – 0.5 grams
  • Low Dose: 0.5 – 2 grams
  • Average Dose: 2 – 3.5 grams
  • High Dose: 3.5 – 5 grams and up

These dosages are for DRIED psilocybin cubensis shrooms. If you are taking fresh shrooms, you can multiply the dosage amounts by around 10.

As different strains of shrooms have different potencies, it’s important to research first. After this, you can tailor your dosage amount accordingly.

Once you’ve taken the shrooms, you will trip for at least a couple of hours. If you initially ingest too much, the effects of the experience may feel overwhelming. In this instance, there is nothing you can do but ride it out.

Trips can last over 6 hours if you take a large amount, so heed this warning! It’s really important to start slow and top yourself up to avoid any unpleasant effects.

mushroom top of the plate
Source: merryjane.com

How to Make Your Shrooms Easier to Take

Raw mushrooms admittedly taste a little gross for many people. Chewing a bunch of raw mushrooms is also not an entirely pleasant sensation.

There are various ways to ingest shrooms that make them go down easier and taste a bit better. These tasty ideas are a must for your first time tripping on psilocybin shrooms.

  • Mushroom tea – a good way to avoid nausea when ingesting shrooms. Steeping shrooms in hot water softens the mushroom, making it easier to chew. The psilocybin will also seep into the hot water and make it psychoactive too.
  • Honey mushrooms – mix dried shrooms into a pot of honey. Doing so makes the shrooms extra sugary and sweet and masks the earthy, natural flavor. Storing the mushrooms in honey also preserves them. You can make multiple batches and use them whenever you wish!
  • Mushroom pizza – mushroom is a great topping to have on pizza; psilocybin mushroom on pizza is even better. The best way to have shrooms with pizza is to sprinkle the chopped mushroom over a pre-cooked pizza.

There are many other ways to make shrooms taste better and easier to ingest. Trippingly identifies some of the best foods to eat with shrooms. Have a read and get creative!

4. Create a Chilled Out Environment

Tripping in the right environment is essential. Doing so ensures you maintain the positive headspace discussed earlier.

You’re likely to experience warm, happy, and positive emotions during your psychedelic experience. Consequently, having a cozy, comfortable space is best.

Here are a few ideas on how to set up your shroom room:

Comfort
  • Pillows – if you feel like a laydown or a nap, you’ll want lots of pillows around to crash on.
  • Blankets – to wrap up and cocoon yourself in. They will make you feel snug and safe.
  • Beanbags – softer than normal chairs. You can sink into a beanbag and ride out your hallucinogenic experience in comfort.
Lighting
  • Soft lighting – creates a cozy vibe.
  • Starlight – these lights project star-like lasers onto your ceiling and walls. Perfect for psychedelics.
  • Fairy lights – you can get these lights in a variety of colors. Some plug-in fairy lights have different flashing settings, too.
Snacks
  • Chips – a great snack to pick at if you’re feeling peckish.
  • Fizzy candy – your touch sensors may be heightened during your shroom experience. Fizzy candies will stimulate the inside of your mouth and add an element of excitement.
  • Juice – a flavored, cold drink is sometimes better than just water. Choose your favorite refreshing juice.
  • Tea – a steaming cup of sweet tea is the perfect warming drink for a psychedelic experience.
  • NO alcohol – it is recommended in the Alcohol Rehab Guide NOT to combine alcohol with psychedelics as it can cause users to get sick. In extreme cases, mixing alcohol and shrooms can cause “co-occurring addictions”.
Extras
  • Sensory toys – stimulating your senses is a great way to have an enjoyable and interesting experience on psilocybin shrooms.
  • Trippy Youtube videos – searching for psychedelic videos on Youtube is a fun way to trigger visual and auditory hallucinations.

5. Trip Together, Not Alone

Drugs are always more fun taken with friends… Taking recreational drugs in a group adds an element of fun to the experience. Tripping together is also much safer than by yourself.

Having others around when you are taking shrooms is important. Doing so helps to monitor everyone’s psychedelic experiences.

As mentioned, shrooms can sometimes cause feelings of nausea. Furthermore, individuals can sometimes experience unwelcome emotions or hallucinations. In these cases, individuals experience a “bad trip”.

Having other experienced trippers or a sober individual present when you experience your mushroom trip ensures that if you do begin to feel unwell or unnerved, there is someone who can look after you and make you feel safe.

One Final Tip Before You Trip…

Hopefully, you’re feeling more confident in embarking on your first (or next) shroom-taking adventure.

Our last – and very important – general piece of tripping advice is: taking psychedelics should be FUN!

So throw yourself into the experience. Enjoy exploring new, altered levels of consciousness. Just make sure you’re being safe.

If you’re interested in reading up on more shroomy info, then have a look at our FAQ page. We’d also recommend checking out our Ultimate Guide to Magic Mushroom Therapy. This is a fantastically detailed look into the medicinal benefits of magic fungi.

Happy tripping!

Featured Image: pxhere.com