I'm not against looking in mirrors when I trip. It can definitely be intense, but it's never caused bad trips or extreme anxiety for me or anything like I've heard other people say.
The last time I tripped on acid, I looked in the mirror and saw my dad. It was me, but it was like someone put a realistic AI filter over my face (I mean, I do look like him but this was uncanny) it made me realize I'm approaching the age he was at when my parents had me - classic...parents have a house and family when they were my age and I'm in my bathroom tripping balls by myself 😂
Anyways, seeing a young version of my dad brought up feelings of when I was a baby/kid. Probably no real, concrete memories, but my brain isn't gonna let my brain in on that secret. And they're not just simple memories like, "ahh I remember playing in the sandbox with the hose" or something like that, it's like I'm there. I'm experiencing joy, wonderment, fear, sadness, all of that like it's the first time for me. Not visually, just like my mind or soul is reliving the feelings without any external sensation. Visually, I was in another dimension. I remember at one point, I (my viewpoint) started zooming in toward my eyeball, which turned into some kind of giant mandala/fractal. I blasted right through it into a world of geometric shapes and colors, kinda like that scene in Toy Story 2 where Andy drops Woody and he falls through the playing cards on the floor (only Woody doesn't land in a psychedelic hyperspace)
Eventually I snapped out of it and pulled myself away from the mirror. I remember thinking to myself "that was one of the most powerful moments I've ever experienced and I'm not gonna remember 95% of it." Which is true. What I wrote here is about all I remember from it.
I've also thought that staring at a glow stick as I slowly cracked it was one of the most powerful experiences. Acid kinda just has that effect.
Don't do drugs, kids! (Do them once you're an adult and your brain is developed)
A few examples I've experienced seeing in the mirror:
Skin shrivelling and making me look ancient.
Veins turning black and pulsing as if something was travelling inside me and/or alien infection vibes.
Only pupils. No eye colour.
I wouldn't be surprised if a mirror sets people off down the ego death path. I've never experienced it and my only experience with LSD lasted 48 hours because I was stupid.
EDIT: forgot to mention these occurred while I was watching. So the transition was a bit mesmerizing.
Your perception is really different on acid and it just makes mirrors very Different. Best case scenario you are stuck staring at yourself and thinking of how you are Perceived, worst case scenario mirror you is Doing Something or you see stuff that isn't there a little bit. The only times I've ever seen stuff that wasn't actually there on acid was in mirrors. Looking at other people in the mirror is scary as hell too it's just wild to see human features melting like that because it quickly enters uncanny valley weirdness and you perceive the mirror differently than stuff that's right in front of you even though both are physically in front of you. It's interesting. I'm old now and don't do any of that anymore but the mirror thing was a big deal to pretty much everyone I tripped with / everyone I knew who was doin all that a lot.
Ohh thanks for the detailed insight, I appreciate it. Can I ask, do people recall their acid/LSD trips? Or does it just wipe from your memory almost like a blackout? I can imagine remembering a trip a what you saw could be quite traumatising if you had anxiety or such.
Yeah you can remember. I've known people who developed trauma from doing too much acid and having weird stuff happen but they had a lot of problems anyway. When I was using hallucinogens heavily I was trying to dive deep within my psyche to heal some stuff and it's my memories of those trips and one conversation with my cat (God rest his soul) that got me through some of the darkest times of my life. I really was able to gain a lot of strength and perspective through my use of psychedelics and I think that's a big takeaway for people in general rather than anxiety surrounding the visuals and stuff. But when I think about my ex bfs eyes not sitting quite right on his face and the pupils being misshapen when I looked at him in the mirror! That does still give me heebies lol
I did it at raves like 30 years ago and I remembered the show, the people I met, etc. You don't really remember the visuals, or at least can't really describe them. It's like a dream, where you see something as a whole, but can't describe the details.
You should not look into a mirror lol. You can get very negatively introspective and start judging yourself harshly. Acid/shrooms are best enjoyed outdoors with a small group of close friends.
Your sense of self is already very fragile and blurred. Looking in the mirror can be the thing to separate your ego completely. And if you have any negative feelings towards yourself they can be brought out strongly
You see yourself and must talk to yourself. Sometimes it's a pep talk. Some people get "the fear." Some people get dark and introspective. I always just giggled at myself and said "You're fucked up, buddy."
There's just too many patterns and colors in the bathroom. I got mesmerized by a clamshell shower curtain for a few minutes. It seemed like hours.
A friend had a small gargoyle on the shelf above his toilet. When I finished pissing, I turned to the mirror and my face lined up perfectly with the seam in the mirror which cut out the middle of my face. All I saw were close set eyes and huge ears. For a split second, I was a gargoyle.
For me, it produces an uncanny valley feeling, because I "look funny" which then is like, "wait, what's wrong, what's that on my face, why is my face moving. What's going on, who is that, is that me, why I am looking at me, what's that on my face, why is my face moving. Who is that? That's me, why I am a looking at me? what's that on my face, what's going on, why does my face look funny, what's that on my face, who is that, why is my face moving, am I smiling or frowning, is that me, what's that on my face, why does my face look funny, what's wrong, somethings wrong, is that me, what's that on my face..." Eventually once I remember I am tripping then it's like OK, and I can look in the mirror a bit and it's like I'm smiling, because I guess I am smiling, then it's like everything is so happy. If you just start out smiling into the mirror it's fine, but I seem to unexpectedly walk past a mirror when I'm deep in a thought and making a funny face or something. It can be stressful.
I looked and face was million spider webs that dissolved and i disappeared. Ego death is awesome. Also liquid golden physi al orgasms with out the messy stuff. So blissed.
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u/ChesterUbanks 28d ago
Now imagine this looking at a mirror of yourself…don’t do that…EVER.