How to prepare for a psychedelic trip | Scientific insights on set and setting

Having the right preparation for your trip is essential!

You need to really take stock of what is going on internally (in your mind and body) and externally (in your immediate environment). This can make or break your trip!

In psychedelic circles, these are often referred to as your 'set' and 'setting'.

In this video I dive deep into what set and setting are and give a bunch of tips for each to best ensure you have a positive expeirence!!

*This video is for harm reduction and educational purpose only. I am not advocating the use of illegal substances*

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More info about the host:

Manesh Girn is a Neuroscience PhD student at McGill University and has been lead or co-author on over a dozen scientific publications and book chapters on topics including psychedelics, meditation, daydreaming, and brain networks.

Manesh currently has ongoing collaborations with Robin Carhart-Harris and others at the Imperial College Center for Psychedelic Research and is investigating the brain changes underlying psilocybin, LSD, and DMT.

[ThePsychedelicScientist]

Here are some timestamps to help you navigate this video. Lots of content in here!

What is set? - 1:51
Set, Tip #1 - 2:30
Set, Tip #2 - 3:32
Set, Tip #3 - 4:15
Set, Tip #4 - 4:41
Set, Tip #5 - 6:06
What is setting? - 6:38
Physical setting, Tip #1 - 6:50
Physical setting, Tip #2 - 7:03
Physical setting, Tip #3 - 7:20
Social setting, Tip #1 - 7:36
Social setting, Tip #2 - 7:50
Social setting, Tip #3 - 8:03
Cultural setting, Tip #1 - 8:24
Cultural setting, Tip #2 - 8:42
Cultural setting, Tip #3 - 9:04

[BrownGeorge-pwxo]

I was severely traumatized years ago as a teenage, got diagnosed with BPD. Spent my whole life fighting BPD. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my mom recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Much respect to mother nature the great magic shrooms.

[jessieclark-re]

My journey to recovery was aided by the therapeutic potential of mushroom

[larrydiaz]

Psilocybin mushrooms saved my life honestly. They helped me see the pure beauty in life, and made me realize how dumb it would be to take myself out.

[RonnieHolt-ox]

Psychedelics have the ability to induce profound altered states of consciousness

[Connorgibson-tsdq]

Psychedelics have definitely had a positive impact on my mental health. They've been really helpful for me in dealing with anxiety and depression.

[DMTEntity]

You forgot to mention that you need to start off with a low dosage, You don’t wanna be in a situation where you take a high dosage and end up having a bad trip cause you took too much. For your first experience you should probably ingest around 0.5 through 2 g of mushrooms and if you want to increase the dosage, get familiar with the substance first and see how you react to it and what your experience is before diving into 3 gs or higher, This pertains to any psychedelic or drugs you take be careful and have a safe and lovely trip my brothers and sisters!!!🙏🍄❤️

[geraldjoseph]

Psychedelic is the answer to most severe anxiety and depression. The use of magic mushrooms completely helps one get over depression and makes you feel like yourself.

[ASMRyouVEGANyet]

It changed my life. No more doubt. Everything is more beautiful to me. But you have to do it more than once because the sadness of the world still takes a toll

[TheBrianRuby]

Because it was mentioned, just wanted to say I have bipolar disorder II and psychedelics have balanced and healed me in ways pills never could. I still take prescription meds and they help maintain balance, but the mushroom has been a miracle.

[notadaytrader]

I think after you get a couple experiences under your belt, it becomes much easier to remind yourself it’s just a drug, and it will wear off, and you will go back to normal. Sometimes high doses of psychedelics can distort time and reality so much, it feels like you’ve been stuck and will be stuck like that forever. Just remind yourself this isn’t the case. It will pass. Always have a sober friend with you, and even if they aren’t sober, make sure they’re an experienced friend as well. When things start to get weird, you want someone who is equally okay with that. ❤️

[ADMIN-xrnp]

Several types of research has proven psychedelics as a beneficial substance in terms
Of medical use.

[maxatrillionfatstacks]

Something I've found that can help pull you out of a uncomfortable spot in a trip is asking the psychedelic why it's showing you this or telling it you're not getting any value from it. I took acid once and was having a great time but towards the comedown I had this vision of like cycles of teeth rotting and regrowing and it felt like it was past life memories of aging and I was damn that was gross and unpleasant and it kinda freaked me out but since I was mostly back to "normal" reality at that point I just moved on. A month or so later I was on MDMA, which I've found can be very reminiscent of LSD if you add cannabis into the mix, and I was just chilling not having any visuals and then I smoked a bowl and the first thing I started getting was the damn rotting teeth vision and I was just so frustrated I said "Really? Again with the rotting teeth bullshit? Of all the things you could show me and you show me rotting teeth? Wow so impressed...not, I know my teeth are eventually gonna rot to nothing when I die so I'd like to see something more interesting" and immediately my vision changed to flowers and beautiful imagery forming kaleidescope patterns, and I had the feeling like my higher self knew it couldn't get to me anymore. For me that was the best lesson in not resisting because my additude went from "please don't show me this, it's scary" to "ok I get it, rotting teeth, is this really all you're gonna show me? Ok let's see rotting teeth all night" I think the spirit of these psychedelic compounds like to amaze and astonish and sometimes they do that by causing fear but you can get through those scary moments by confronting them rather than trying to turn away and they'll have to find more positive ways to astonish you. But anytime you have visions happen that are unpleasant it's always better to ask why you're being shown this than say please don't show me this. Some of it comes with practice and sometimes you're on too high of a dose to remind yourself of that lesson but it's good advice for most experiences.

[maximyurchenko]

Even bad experience is extremely important. Sometimes you need to face whatever it brings and learn from it. It can be nightmare, but it is shown for you for a reason . I ve seen places where I was prior to current biological cycle. And I we seen few times I died before, and what comes after biological death. As experience it is extremely frightening but once you go over it, it is a gift from universe to see.

[peterestrada]

Psilocybin, LSD, shrooms and ketamine are absolutely life changing substances that have so much potential to help people with mental health issues.

[xwrogem]

Great video! I wrote the key points on my phone and I’m gonna make sure I go through all of them and prepare. Seems like a well rounded piece of advice.

[thebutterbakedpotatoes]

Thank you for this video, helps me understand how to create a good set and setting especially having a space to be alone, as well as culture and letting what you have been taught and learnt.

[dannyzhang]

Great timing! Might do a trip soon, and will share with friends :)

[Sutterjack]

Great video - really good comprehensive explanation of set and setting. I thought I understood the concepts fully but you touched on even more detail that I had not thought about before. Thanks!

[FPSAllTheWay]

Exactly the video I was looking for and more. Thanks so much for sharing.