[Opgelost] Are the psychedelic insights different for every psychedelic?

Researchers and enthusiasts often turn to user reports to understand how different psychedelics affect mood, perception, and insight. A collection of reviews on TripForum.nl – this forum for trip therapy reviews – highlights striking differences between LSD, psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”), and MDMA as experienced in guided sessions. Users’ narratives reveal recurring themes (like emotional release, unity with the universe, or empathy) as well as substance-specific effects. The quotes below are translated or paraphrased from TripForum user reviews (linked for context).

LSD – A Mind-Expanding Journey to Perspective and Release

LSD trips are frequently described as “mind-blowing” experiences that unlock new perspectives. In one review, a user said the LSD session “offered me exactly what I was hoping for: a new way of viewing myself, the world and my place in it.” (complete review). Many describe intense visuals and a sense of cosmic unity. For example, one user felt they were “in the centre of something enormous, the universe itself,” experiencing the “pain of the whole world,” followed by “the most wonderful silence, peace, tranquility and love, the most profound relief.” (complete review).

LSD also often brings deep emotional catharsis. In another account a user describes LSD dissolving long-held fears and doubts. Heavy emotions like sadness, fear, and guilt were addressed safely during the trip. The reviewer notes that with each release “a part of my body detached … everything was connected, everything was one.” He writes that in the end “I was so overwhelmed by the bright light, the inner peace, freedom, security and the beauty of this feeling, that I cried tears of joy.” (complete review). This mirrors a common theme: LSD can dismantle the ego and allow people to see problems from a new, more objective vantage point. As one reviewer put it, LSD helps dissolve “my questions and doubts … into thin air” and view one’s psyche from a fresh perspective (complete review).

Another user emphasized that LSD facilitated a confrontation with difficult emotions. She described her trip as “intense and safe contact with feelings of sadness, fear and guilt,” guided by a skilled therapist. The experience was not just disorienting (a “mind fuck” as she phrased it) but ultimately therapeutic because it brought suppressed feelings to the surface in a controlled way (complete review).

Key LSD themes: profound visuals (geometry, light, interconnectedness); existential insights (life’s meaning, unity); and emotional release (crying, trauma processing). Users often emphasize the importance of preparation, music, and a trusting guide to navigate the intense journey.

Psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms) – Heart-Opening and Therapeutic Reset

User reports of psilocybin (usually taken as truffles in the Netherlands) similarly emphasize introspection and healing, often in a slightly gentler or earthier way than LSD. In therapeutic settings, many seek mushrooms to address issues like depression or anxiety. For instance, one user who struggled with lifelong anxiety joined a guided truffle ceremony with Triptherapie. A week later he noted “significant improvements” in his mental health: his anxiety symptoms were “much less”, some had “disappeared completely,” and he was “sleeping remarkably better.”tripforum.nl. He attributed this turnaround to the psilocybin ceremony and the therapists’ professional guidance.

In terms of subjective effects, several users describe vivid, colorful visuals and a sense of awe or whimsy. For example, one Dutch user likened a mushroom session to “Alice in Wonderland,” noting that logic had “fallen sloppy dead” as her mind produced “calmly breathing patterns of Technicolor colors” and shifting geometric shapes (complete review). (She quotes lyrics from Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit to capture the feeling that reality became surreal.) Like with LSD, many psilocybin reports note time distortion and a feeling of stepping into another reality.

Key psilocybin themes: mood improvement (relief from depression/anxiety), spiritual or mystical feelings, and lush visual imagery. Many reviews stress the ceremony environment – being cared for and feeling safe – as crucial. One participant explicitly thanked her guides for providing “safety, comfort, [and] deep insights,” saying their “care and presence” (even in small comforts like food and drink) supported her journey (complete review).

MDMA – Empathy, Positivity, and Emotional Healing

MDMA (often called “ecstasy” in recreational contexts) stood out in user reports as inducing warmth, openness, and positivity rather than intense visuals. In therapy sessions, users consistently note MDMA’s power to boost mood and help release trauma. One patient with chronic depression described her first MDMA therapy: “Since the session with MDMA I feel truly reborn. I have never been so happy, and I see the world much more rose-colored. Even my friends and family notice how much more positive I am.” (complete review). She enthusiastically recommends MDMA therapy to others.

Another MDMA recipient praised the session as “phenomenal”, saying it gave her “the next step towards healing.” She especially highlighted a newfound self-acceptance: the trip helped her realize “I am allowed to be here, [I am] allowed to exist,” a sense she’d lost amid long-term anxiety (complete review). Many MDMA reports mention feeling very safe with the therapist and that the emotional support (therapist’s presence, empathy) made it easier to process “old pain.”

Common after-effects for MDMA users include continued calm and happiness. One reviewer said that weeks after the session she still felt an “enormous calm,” with less fear, more energy, and better sleep, as if the MDMA were “still working in my brain.” (She had used MDMA to address PTSD from childhood trauma.) Many note that it helps them confront difficult memories gently, and then carry a sense of uplift and gratitude forward.

Key MDMA themes: overwhelming empathy and connection (e.g. love and trust for therapist), feeling “reborn” or fundamentally happy, and reduction of anxiety/depression. Users stress MDMA’s role in enabling them to talk about trauma and experience unconditional acceptance. Unlike LSD, MDMA rarely brings intense fear – it is often described as soothing.

Common Themes and Notable Differences

Across these reports, several themes recur:

1. Emotional Release: All three can unlock repressed feelings. LSD and psilocybin often work by confronting pain (sadness, guilt, fear) head-on, sometimes in dramatic ways (sobbing or panic followed by relief). MDMA, meanwhile, brings buried trauma into the open under a blanket of empathy – users speak of processing “old pain” without being overwhelmed.

2. Connectedness and Insight: Both LSD and psilocybin trips frequently include a sense of unity – feeling that “everything was connected, everything was one” – and profound cognitive insights. Participants report realizing the “triviality” of worries and attaining new self-knowledge. MDMA also produces insight, but more about personal relationships and self-worth (learning one “is allowed to exist”).

3. Perceptual Effects: Vivid visuals are hallmarks of LSD and psilocybin (fractals, patterns, warped time). MDMA is not known for strong hallucinations; users instead notice physical sensations (warmth, energy) and empathy.

4. Afterglow: All three can improve mood afterward, but MDMA shows a particularly striking afterglow in these reviews – lasting calm, positivity, and social openness. Psilocybin users often report lasting reductions in depression or anxietytripforum.nl. LSD users also talk about life changes post-trip, like having a “new way of viewing” life.

Bullet-point recap of differences:

1. LSD: Intense visionary, often challenging; ego dissolution; ultimately peace/releasel. Can feel surreal or even frightening at times, but provides deep perspective shifts.

2. Psilocybin: Deeply introspective, emotional and sometimes mystical. Often described as earthier or more nurturing than LSD. Many therapeutic reports emphasize mood/health improvementstripforum.nl.

3. MDMA: Empathogenic (heart-opening) rather than hallucinogenic. Creates safe space for trauma work, with warm, unitive feelings. Users emphasize love, rebirth, and positivity, rather than grand cosmic visions.

In summary, psychedelic users consistently note that LSD and magic mushrooms tend to produce profound, perspective-shifting experiences (sometimes difficult but clarifying), while MDMA induces a gentle, euphoric openness ideal for emotional healing. Each substance’s unique qualities emerge clearly in these real-world accounts. All users, however, highlight the importance of a supportive setting: skilled guides, comforting environment and proper integration to make these powerful experiences beneficial and insightful.

Sources: User reviews on TripForum’s Recensies pages for Triptherapie (see links in citations), which collect personal reports of psychedelic therapy sessions. Each cited passage reflects a participant’s own words.

 

More about: LSD | Psilocybin

Yes, every psychedelic works different and will give you different insights. Also everytime you take the same substances it can be totally different.