Psychedelic Induced Changes in Thought
Questions:
18. Do your thought patterns change when on hallucinogens? (yes or no)
Percent Yes |
Percent No |
Margin of Error |
93.4 % |
6.6 % |
+/- 6.0 % (n=61) |
19. If yes to 18, please describe how your thought patterns change. (Take as much space as you need to do this)
Subject ID |
18. Change in Thought |
19. Change in Thought - Textual Responces |
1 |
Yes |
Everything I think seems to make much more sense than it does when im not high...Thoughts become more vivid, and answers to problems that Im thinking about always present themselves to me. |
2 |
Yes |
I get really paranoid around a lot of people - the same goes for marijuana. I can't fool myself into thinking someone cares about me if they don't - what are normally just menial social interactions with acquaintances take on a whole new meaning. Also, I find it impossible to really hate anyone on these substances, because everything in the world seems so ridiculous and stupid. |
3 |
Yes |
Well, I could probably write a book on this subject, so I'll be brief. My thought patterns *do* change, but in a limited way. For instance, I don't become a drooling clueless freak, rather, my regular-life thought patterns are more or less "amplified" to acid thought patterns. Much faster, clearer, cripser, no bullshit. I'm always able to think about what I want to say BEFORE I say it, which is something I can't always do in real life. |
4 |
Yes |
many thoughts start connecting. Ideas flow at an enourmous rate. Sorting through them all the next day for the gems in the garbage is time consuming. But I come up with some of my most creative stuff and far reaching thoughts under the influence. Seeing through everyday patterns of behavior and viewing oneself in a meta format also occurs. Paranoia can also happen in which one believes that everyone is looking down, or watching, etc. |
5 |
Yes |
This is really hard to describe thougfhts don't seem to be controlled, ideas spring to mind that are unrelated yet if I conentrate I can keep a train of thought going |
6 |
Yes |
god, i wouldn't know how to explain. I can give you an example: I was starting to have a bad trip onlsd once (I got out of it) and I became convinced that i would always be tripping and i would never be able to communicate with my friends or family again unless they were tripping It's like a separate world, but the same physical space. Perceptions are totally different. |
7 |
Yes |
Hard to create/remember long thought patterns, time distortion |
8 |
Yes |
I ask a lot more questions about reality and myself. |
9 |
Yes |
much more abstract. Thoughts come together joining things (ideas) that normally wouldn't be associatd with each other. |
10 |
Yes |
Everything is non-linear, and much more 'important'. Solutions to global problems seem clear. |
11 |
Yes |
a lot more random, exploring forgotten or undiscovered neural pathways, often jerky or confused, inability to concentrate at will and hold a thought, or complete a task |
12 |
Yes |
All that I know is that during an extensive "trip" It was very easy to understand schizophrenia, because at times your patterns of thought could change at the flip of a coin. Very moody. And the change literally hits you like a wave. |
13 |
Yes |
think repeatedly of same things. This is no good, when I'm thinking about negative things, or things that straight me thinks are negative. I'm more open to influences and can't decide for sure what I want. |
14 |
Yes |
Pretty much impossible to describe. Sometimes my thoughts become more "cosmic", other times I tend to look inward and examine myself objectively. I tend to connect things that I normally wouldnt think of as being related. |
15 |
Yes |
Often find thoughts get trapped in a short circular fugue, need to consciously break this by changing environment. Free-association is enhanced and new links are made between randomly-occurring thoughts, although these links are often very hard to remember after the trip. |
16 |
No |
- |
17 |
Yes |
I think quicker, more clearly. My thoughts are profound and wise, understanding what is going on in my life and on the planet. |
18 |
Yes |
i tend to be filled with wonder and marvel for the things I encounter, both inside and outside my head. (to a greater degree than usual) |
20 |
Yes |
scattered, unable to focus attention may obsess about certain thoughts alternatively may find clarity and depth, but usually in a non- reflective state. |
21 |
Yes |
yes, I had no experience with bhuddist ideas - a complete virgin to that - but came out of the lsd trip with a completely new and deep understanding of the meaning of reality, the "yin yang" of everything. understood why the buddha laughed and everything - things I had no idea about before. |
22 |
Yes |
Pretty hard to describe. I tend to have a large number of disconnectted thoughts, wthe juxtaposition of which is often very profound. Some things seem more "important". One thing I notice, with the mile-a- minute thoughts, is that it is hard to remember all of them. I will have a real convoluted, branching, "chain" of thoughts, reach a very profound conclusion, just to have someone say something to me that interrupts me and makes me forget the whole thing. And then I'll think about what it was, trying to remember, and go off on another tangent. Its real easy to get distracted. |
23 |
Yes |
lets see, sometimes my mind just goes on it's own tangents and i forget where i am, like a real intense daydream. then i snap back into reality this is usually at the most intense part of the trip. otherwise i seem to me philisophical, reflective, and empathetic it feels like i have more understanding, and get some really good insights. instead of most drugs (like pot or alcohol) which clouds your mind, LSD seems more to open different pathways of thinking, a total conciousness. |
24 |
Yes |
they become focused on more metaphysical aspects of life as opposed to mundane matters like 'I have to pay my rent'. |
25 |
Yes |
Loss of ego, transcendence from learned behaviour patterns. Increased interest in form, meaning, relatioships, function, as opposed to objects, surface detail, description |
26 |
Yes |
there is a feeling of heightened awareness, clarity of thought. You tend to feel more like what you are thinking is important, "revolutionary". |
27 |
Yes |
As previously mentioned I percieve 'things' in much more detail. Another effect is that I (simultaniously) percieve the 'thing' upon which my attentions are focused as part of a much larger pattern. Strange, sometimes inapproiate, associations will come to mind when thinking. |
28 |
Yes |
I generally tend to like wandering and taking in as much as I can through all my senses when I am doing A Hallucinogen. It unshackles me from the standard bounfdarys I set for myself in daily life. However, I have never done anything dangerous... Like running in a road, or climbing crazy heights. I act mostly normal , but like to walk and experience. |
29 |
Yes |
Mental capability is lucid and finite like never before. True sense of being connected with the universe and mankind, of the ages gone by. There are different levels of travel. One cannot just jump to the higher levels of traveling. |
30 |
Yes |
it is a completely different mind set. I go deeper into subjects that I normally would ignore |
31 |
No |
- |
32 |
Yes |
i have a more open mind, etc. |
33 |
Yes |
My way of looking at things seems to back out of my situation, and I look at things objectively, from an outsider point of view. This vantage could be from outside my own social group, my culture, my demographic, western society, even human society and human existence. I loose the desire to acheive pointless goals, and cease to care how I appear to others in their TV set lives (yes, I know, very Leary-esque). I also fail to see a real point to my life, and for that matter, human existence as a whole. |
34 |
Yes |
far more erratic--scattered, but not wholely different than normal. |
35 |
Yes |
sometimes I spend hours thinking on trivial matters, with some very intense ideas on concepts on these. More often I find myself thinking about life, the universe and everything. |
36 |
Yes |
I am going to answer here anyway, because while my thought patterns do not change, in the sense that i do things that are totally uncharacteristic of me, I do often have profound insights and clarity of thought. |
37 |
Yes |
Complete insanity/schitzophrenia. My mind becomes unglued, I become paranoid, and my thoughts become fractured. Sometimes I will have several thought processes occuring at once, sometimes I will be in a void completely devoid of any thoughts whatsoever (ego-loss). Primarily I find myself getting in arguments with myself, a common example would go along the lines of: "oh fuck I took too much acid" "no! no your fine!" "no i took too much, i'm losing my fucking mind" "no! your fine!" "no! fuck! Yes! No! Argh! Acid! NO!! Fine!! OKAY!" This continues building up intensity and momentum until it feels as if every braincell in my head is screaming a highpitched terrifying scream. I usually only have one or two occurences of this "i took too much acid, and I'm never coming down" experience in a trip. Usually the "arguments" are over much more mundane things, such as what a friend is currently doing, or why something looks the way it does, etc. |
38 |
Yes |
My mind seems to think faster. I reach amazing conclusions about the universe, but can't slow down my mind long enough to write or speak my thoughts before more flood into my mind. Both exhilirating and frustrating. |
39 |
Yes |
much more aware and enjoying mother nature |
40 |
Yes |
I'll describe only larger doses. I lose all sense of who I am, what my place is in the world, and what the world is. I can become confused particularly when returning from a state of near total dissolution -- eg more than once I have been tripping alone & got the idea that we all take turns to be things, eg cups, shoes, etc. Once I was terrified that it was my turn to be a cup which was full of tealeaves & disgusting. I felt that this was because I hadn't made a good job of being me. I often get seriously paranoid sometimes thru circumstance, sometime through guilt. Examples being driven on a motorway the motorway was the game with losing meaning something incomparably worse than death. We had to get off. We were a team, we'd done it before. Getting off meant descending to a world and adopting new identities. If we screwed up, we might be in a bad position eg Bosnia, a bad time, etc. In one trip I was clear that I constructed everything -- I knew my memory was faulty & terrified that the world would fade as I forgot things. I was scared to open any book on my bookshelf in case the pages were blank. Once a friend and I thought we'd left a juggling ball in the park. We thought that *that* meant that we'd killed another friend through our carelessness I can summarise this without more stories -- a sense that the "real" world is an illusion -- emphemeral and easily lost. |
41 |
Yes |
I feel much more intelligent -- it's like somone's greased up the ol' synapses. I also tend to dwell on paranoia and delusion of grandeur (but both in a fun way, usually). I really grok the SubGenius. |
42 |
Yes |
I become much more aware of the natural world and the energies that extend through everything. Sometimes I can hear peoples thoughts and I am always more sensitive to the way others are feeling. On some trips, I am completely taken over by a seemingly outside force and taken into the spirit planes to be taught a lesson. Other times it is more subtle and the lesson simply apears as a reoccuring thought throughout the trip. On trips where I remain in my body my thoughts proceed almost as normal but are enhanced by a greater awareness of the world and a greater understanding of reality. I often loose all reference to myself and become simply one point of awareness in the universe. These effects always remain with me afterwards to a degree but to a diminished extent. I hope this makes sense as I find it hard to describe the effects even when I am experiencing them let alone now. |
43 |
Yes |
This could fill a book, but basically my thoughts seem to flow more quickly than usual, and with much more complexity. Often I end up following chains of thought to arrive at unlikely conclusions... |
44 |
Yes |
Depending on the situation, I think the way my feelings make me think: scary thoughts, thoughts of beauty... etc. |
45 |
Yes |
If I'm doing very physically oriented things, my thought capacity decreases. If I get relaxed, I start to think very profoundly and have amazing insights. I also get new perspectives on things that I probably wouldn't have thought of otherwise. |
46 |
Yes |
For simplicity sake, i have broken trips into three categories: First is the Power Rush Trip. where some visual H's occur, but more a feeling of synchronicity with everything. Also, strong unity felt between trippee and the surroundings. Feeling of some how emanating this incredible energy which holds our multiverse together. Second is the White Rabbit Trip where H's are more prevalent. This kind of trip has longer stages of paranoia and fear this is also the melty-drippy-where am I-where am I going kind of trip. Having fun but freaking timid as a bunny. Third, is the Illuminati Trip. This trip involves strong feelings of knowledge and WISDOM, The De'Ja Vu experience is likely to occur with this kind of trip. The difference between power rush and illumianti is this : The power rush deals with feelings of energy flow. The illuminati deals with feelings of enlightenment. |
47 |
Yes |
Completely new viewpoints (in problem sityations for example as if viewing a labyrinth from above). Disruptions. Mystic, almost religious interferences of something (my guess is material from unconscioussness)... |
48 |
Yes |
I feel more in tune to body language and gestures, I skip thoughts when I try to relate them as if the other person understands (usually they don't). My thoughts are sped up to an amazing speed--it's how I describe "tripping" because I can focus on a thought, then focus on the fact that I'm focused on another thoght and so on.. |
49 |
No |
- |
50 |
Yes |
Answer: Normally you just look at things from one point of view, after you've taken a hallucinogen drug you look at things from most points of view. All normal values gets scrambled, perceptual resistance weakens. |
51 |
No |
- |
52 |
Yes |
I felt in some strange way that I was actually using the overall thought mechanisms much closer to the design specs (if there are any!), even though "rational" thought was highly inhibited. A higher method of more direct experiencing was evident. Thoughts were not normally survival oriented or even mechanism (both physical mechanisms like locks/keys or mental mechanisms like analysis of behaviors etc.) oriented. They were configured around high emotions and aesthetics most of the time unless something pressing was introduced from the environment, like needing to move out of the way of an oncoming car or someone expecting an answer to a question and the like. |
53 |
Yes |
When on acid (my drug of choice) I see patterns in my behavior and in behavior of other people that may not be clear to me non-altered. Also, I look at an object and see not only the object, but the historical course of events that has caused that object to exist in our time in the form it is in. |
54 |
Yes |
Mind moves very quickly. Scope of my thoughts expands way beyond what they ordinarily are. Connections between normally unconnected thoughts occurs. Self-insight deepens massively. |
55 |
Yes |
I WOULD OFTEN THINK I WOULD NEVER COME DOWN AND GET PARANOID |
56 |
Yes |
They have drastically, and possibly still do, but to a much lesser extent if at all.//It is really hard to answer this. When I was inexperienced, I would look at myself, other people, and reality in new, sometimes pleasant, sometimes unpleasant ways. Psychedelics will change the user forever. However, I am not sad, because any experience you have changes you. I am more creative, insightful, and unconventional in my thoughts now, even when I am not tripping. I can function in society, because it is a necessary game to play in order to find fellowship with other people. Now, I try to not think anything when I am tripping, as the Tibetan Guide suggests. I can experience little to no change in thought patterns if I am aware of the mind-within-the-mind (Buddhist concept) and can then control it. |
57 |
Yes |
Thoughts happen faster than i can assimilate them and speak about them |
58 |
Yes |
that's not very describable |
59 |
Yes |
The closer you get to things the further away they become. Distorted sense of time & space. |
60 |
Yes |
somtimes it is hard to put what i have to say into words. i am not always sure i can say things so others can understand me. |
61 |
Yes |
IN SHORT...THEY BECOME MORE FOCUSED. ALTHOUGH I CAN LOSE A "TRAIN" OF THOUGHT VERY EASILY. LIKE MY PREVIOUS DESCRIPTION OF SEPERATING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, I CAN ALSO SEPERATE IDEAS, THEREFORE BEING ABLE TO FOCUS ON THE "BIG PICTURE" BETTER. I ALSO SEE MY "SELF" MORE CLEARLY. |
62 |
Yes |
(wish I had a few days...) Many connections made, sometimes between numbers, word spelling, and semantics. Thoughts appear to run faster and have more complexity. Time slows down. Often appear to be on the edge of the universe (or of reality), helping to create it. Sometimes think I am being taught or tested. Sometimes get "stuck" in thought patterns, such as left-brain busywork. |