How integration can help maintain your psychedelic afterglow

The value of integration after psychedelic journeys.

Image by Richard Reid from Pixabay

Serotonergic psychedelics like psilocybin can boost mood and overall wellbeing for days, weeks or even months after the substance has been completely eliminated from our bodies. This effect, known as the “psychedelic afterglow”, is characterized by a positive state of mind, increased mindfulness, greater self-awareness, and even improved focus, motivation and creativity. Who wouldn’t want more of all this? If psychedelics can make us feel and function better than we typically do, perhaps we should all just be tripping more often, right?

Why tripping too often is not a good idea

If you think being a regular tripper might solve your life problems and help you get unstuck with whatever you’re stuck with, here are a few things to consider. Tolerance develops with repeated frequent use of psychedelics. This means that the mind-manifesting and afterglow effects of the substance becomes weaker “after repeated exposure within a short time span”. A therapeutic psychedelic session is not cheap, so there’s the cost that you’ll need to think about too. Also, psychedelics can be hard on the body as some people experience nausea, headaches, chills, or aches and pains during their trip. You may even have to take a day or two off work. There’s also the risk that you may have a challenging experience which has the potential to leave you feeling dysregulated for a while. Often, plant medicine ceremonies require fasting or strict diets, which may mean no caffeine, salt, cheese or spices for as long as three weeks prior to taking the medicine. Furthermore, the inspiring thoughts and intentions sparked by a trip don't always lead to improved behaviors or habits. After the glow subsides, you’ll still have to do that thing called “your life”. While a psychedelic trip can be profoundly mystical, terrifying, or both, its transformative effects will fade unless you actively integrate the insights gained into your daily life. The healthiest way to approach psychedelic journeying is to spread your trips out, and to do solid integration work between experiences.

What exactly is psychedelic integration?

Psychedelic integration is a type of talk therapy that happens after a person has a trip with psilocybin, ayahuasca, ketamine or any other psychedelic substance. Unlike traditional psychotherapy, integration uses your psychedelic experience as a springboard to help you work through your life issues. It can also include making art, meditation, journaling, or even breathwork, bodywork and movement. Working with an integration therapist can help you unpack the significance of your trip and any actions it might inspire. Psychedelic integration takes a holistic approach to healing and personal growth by inviting you to consider how –informed by your psychedelic revelations – you can live with more joy, peace, and connection. The process might include reflecting on past traumas, relationships, childhood, work, habits, spirituality, your fears, hopes and dreams that came up in the context of your psychedelic experience. Psychedelic integration is especially helpful if you’ve had a messy trip you can’t quite make sense of, or if you’ve had a dark, scary or difficult journey. After a psychedelic trip, many discover, sometimes for the first time, a sense of what their ideal self or life might feel like. Through integration, you can better define your ideals and develop a practical roadmap to reach them.

A new way of seeing and being

Originating from the Greek words "psyche" (mind or soul) and "delein" (to manifest), the term "psychedelic," coined by scientist Humphrey Osmond, means "mind manifesting". I agree with therapist and podcaster Lauren Taus when she says that “life is psychedelic, and integration is a lifestyle”. I see integration as not just a lifestyle but as a practice. Similar to a trip, the ups and downs of life also reveal the contents of our minds and souls. In “The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem”, author Nathaniel Branden points out that “since action in the world is a reflection of action in the mind of an individual, it is the internal process (the manifestations within the mind) that is crucial”. He refers to a “practice” as “a discipline of acting a certain way over and over again – consistently…a way of operating day by day, in big issues and small, a way of behaving that is also a way of being”. Integration can orientate us to become a little more like who we aspire to be despite our previous conditioning and life's pressures and daily stresses. Through well-integrated psychedelic experiences, we can cultivate the self-awareness needed to approach our days with more grace, compassion, and patience, for ourselves and others.

 By Michele Koh Morollo, NUMEN NoSC Therapies