The "Bad Trip"—The Etiology of the Adverse LSD Reaction
American Journal of Psychiatry – May 01, 1968
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Adverse reactions to LSD are notoriously unpredictable. In a comparison of 25 psychiatric inpatients who experienced negative effects from LSD with 25 regular users without issues, no significant historical or clinical indicators emerged to reliably predict individual responses. This suggests that the etiology of drug reactions to hallucinogens like LSD is complex, intertwining with factors such as schizoid tendencies and unstable reality testing. Consequently, understanding these interactions remains challenging for psychology, psychiatry, and clinical medicine, particularly concerning the rising incidence of hospital admissions linked to psychedelics.
Abstract
In an attempt to identify the factors responsible for adverse reactions to LSD and to elucidate the rising incidence of hospital admissions associated with use of the drug, the authors compared 25 psychiatric inpatients hospitalized following LSD ingestion with 25 members of a group who took LSD together regularly without reported difficulty. Although some differences were found between the groups, there were no outstanding historical or current clinical features which could be used to predict an individual's response to LSD with accuracy. These findings support the hypothesis that LSD interacts with schizoid trends, unsteady reality testing, and related factors in a complex way that makes accurate prediction of response virtually impossible.