🍄 Growing Pains: When Psychedelics Stretch You

Have you ever come out of a psychedelic experience — or even a few days or weeks into the afterglow — and started to wonder:

“Did I go too far?”

“Was I too intense?”

“Was that really me?”

You’re not alone.

This kind of vulnerability hangover is common. I recently spoke with someone who had a beautiful, revealing journey… and afterwards, in a more open state, they expressed some things they wouldn’t usually.

Maybe this sounds familiar.

Open-hearted truths. Emotions you’ve kept locked up.

But as the glow fades and your normal, perhaps more guarded self returns, doubt can creep in:

“Did I overshare?”

“Should I have kept that to myself?”

“What if they think I’m weird now?”

That shift from expansion to contraction can be jarring.

We often act from an open, spacious version of ourselves in the psychedelic space. Then we return to our usual boundaries, old stories, and familiar roles. And we can doubt — or even cringe at — what we did when we were more open.

Integration is about honouring both.

Not denying what emerged, but not forcing too hard either.

One practice is this:

If you feel the urge to express something during or just after a journey — write it down first. Don’t act on it right away.

Then, when you’re sober, return to it.

Try to express it again from your grounded, sober self.

That’s the challenge and beauty of integration: reconnecting with what felt true in the expanded state, and bringing it into language and action from a more embodied place.

Can you feel where it lives in your body?

Can you sit with it until it stabilises — until it’s not just a passing emotion but a deeper knowing?

Let yourself speak from that place — with care, but without shame.

You’re not faking or forcing it. You’re following through.

That’s sometimes what it means to be loyal to your psychedelic self.

It’s not avoidance. It’s respect for all your parts.

That expressive, emotional, unfiltered version of you might be closer to your truth than you realise. It might be the version you’re growing into — a self that’s more heart-forward, less performative, more free.

And trying on a new self can feel like putting on bold new clothes: awkward at first, unfamiliar, but still right.

This might show up in all kinds of ways:

Taking a creative risk
Speaking your truth
Leading a workshop or sharing your story
Letting yourself be seen in a new way

You’re evolving. And the people around you may need time to catch up.

“The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor: he took my measure anew every time he saw me, whilst all the rest went on with their old measurements and expected them to fit me.”

— George Bernard Shaw

So if you’re feeling the wobble, the “oh god what did I say/do” spiral, let that be part of the process.

You don’t take psychedelics to stay the same. You take them to grow.

And growth often comes with discomfort, second-guessing, and the awkward in-between.

If you’ve stepped out — into a new expression, identity, or truth — it’s okay to feel unsure.

You’re stretching.
You’re shedding.
You’re becoming.

And honestly? Kudos to you for being brave and stepping out.

Any of these bring up any thoughts for you?
Any questions or thoughts? Hit reply to share with me :)

📚 Microdose of Wisdom

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”

– Carl Jung

🎵Psychedelic Supplements

A love themed playlist from Mother Mary Myco:
"Recommend paired with headphones and some low dose ketamine, cannabis, mdma, or a heart opener of your choice and taking yourself on a journey of self discovery, acceptance and celebration"