drugs

12 Days of Girly Juice 2020: 7 Bangin’ Selfies

Kate Sloan

Every December, I write about some of the most significant selfies I took throughout the year. Despite the fact that I spent most of 2020 sitting on my couch in my pajamas (anyone else?!), I nonetheless managed to take many photos of special moments with special people. Here are 7 of my faves!

January 13th

This was taken while Bex and I were on a work trip to Burbank, California. We had been provisionally hired to helm a sex magazine which never ended up happening (thanks, COVID) and had to spend a couple days chatting with fellow sex-industry professionals at ANME and learning about the latest innovations in the sex toy field.

They have legal weed over there, so we got a little silly. I snapped this selfie on our way back into our hotel after a smoke break in the parking lot; I had gotten wayyy too high on that legendarily strong California kush, and my childlike glee started to break through the veneer of polished adulthood we’d had to project all day at the tradeshow. Bex, sensing my over-intoxication, helped me plan my next steps, and when we got back to our room, he encouraged me to get into a hot bath and call my partner so they could take care of me over the phone.

I love this picture because it captures so much of what I love most about my friendship with Bex: our ability to make each other howl with laughter. It’s the reason our podcast has remained so fun to do all these years, and it’s one of the things I missed most about my normal, pre-pandemic social life while everything was up in the air this year.

January 17th

It’s still so wild to me that I wrote a book. It’s not coming out until September 2021, but at this point it’s been so long since I actually wrote the thing that sometimes I forget what my daily routine was like during that process. My calendar archives make it very clear, however, that I was surprisingly disciplined and productive for a chronically fatigued person, generally writing 2 short chapters every weekday for about 3 months. I’m proud of myself!

This photo was taken the night of my official book deadline. I’d submitted the completed manuscript a couple days earlier, because I have way too much anxiety to leave things like that to the last minute, but it still felt like a momentous day. My partner and my friends encouraged me to get dressed up and go out for a solo date to celebrate. I put on one of my favorite dresses and a full face of pretty makeup, and walked down to the Fairmont Royal York hotel, which contains the Library Bar, an ornate and auspicious salon filled with good books and excellent cocktails. It’s the same place Matt and I went when I ceremonially signed my book contract and had some celebratory drinks, so it made sense to return there when the book was finished, albeit by myself.

I have a lot of trouble acknowledging and celebrating my own achievements, even big ones. Part of me always believes I didn’t quite earn them, or that something will go disastrously wrong and I’ll embarrass myself somehow if I actually take ownership of what I’ve achieved. But it felt good to sip a dirty martini by myself and write in my journal about how proud I was to have written a whole goddamn book.

February 22nd

Doing shrooms for the first time was one of the oddest things I did all year. I took them (in tea form) in the early afternoon, and what followed was basically a full day of laughing, crying, dancing, marching, hallucinating, joking, and singing. Fortunately my trip-sitter and friend Brent willingly put up with all of it.

I think I took this selfie when Brent had stepped out of the room for a few minutes. His presence had been an anchor to my floaty mind, and I’d gotten mildly panicky every previous time he’d tried to step out, so this time I picked up my phone (even though my phone had been unofficially off-limits to me all day because of the loopy things I might tweet) and texted my partner so I could make it through the duration until Brent got back. But in classic “me” fashion, I also needed to take a selfie.

This picture really captures the childlike giddiness I felt for much of my shrooms trip. While I didn’t necessarily have any of the “epiphanies” many people report from psychedelics, the experience did lead me to reflect on the artifice and malleability of (some aspects of) identity – and truth be told, I like the part of me that’s silly and happy-go-lucky, whether she shows up in an age-play scene or during a shrooms trip. This photo shows a side of me I sometimes ignore or repress, but I’d probably be much happier if I let her out to play more often, like I did on that day.

March 8th

This picture is important to me because it was taken at the last big event I went to before the coronavirus shut everything down.

My mom and I went for dinner at Insomnia – y’all, I miss their kale salad with grilled chicken so much that my stomach made excited anticipatory noises as I was writing this sentence – and then we walked across the street to the Bloor Cinema, where Drunk Feminist Films was holding a screening of Cats. I had thus far avoided seeing Cats even though everyone was saying it was the most outrageously goodbad movie in decades, but I knew Drunk Feminist Films would be the best possible setting in which to see it, and I was right.

As far as “last major outings before a global pandemic” go, this one was pretty excellent. I was wearing pink sequinned cat ears. I was quite tipsy. I was with my mom, who I love and who makes me laugh a lot. There were whispers about “that coronavirus thing” but I wasn’t all that concerned yet. And I got to scream at the screen, along with hundreds of other raucous feminists, about Judi Dench breaking the fourth wall and Ian McKellen drinking milk from a bowl. I have a few coronavirus-related regrets from this year, but attending that screening of Cats is not one of them.

June 20th

After months of staying at home, the case numbers finally started to decrease to a level where I felt comfortable visiting my family, who had also remained at home except for essential trips to the grocery store or pharmacy. My mom picked up Matt and me and drove us to her house, where we drank martinis in the back yard with my mom and brother, told stories, and joked around.

I know I’m not alone in feeling that this year really emphasized the importance of family and togetherness (to the extent that such things are possible and enjoyable for you – I know not everyone is lucky enough to have a family they like, who likes them back). You can see in my face in this photo that this was no ordinary “sitting around drinking and chatting” kind of night – this was special, even though the tone was casual. I was so glad to finally get to see these people again who had seemed hundreds of miles away even when they were just across the city from me.

September 15th

This photo represents two of the major kinks Matt and I played with together this year: chastity and financial domination. While they were locked up in chastity, we decided it would be fun to do one of our long-distance “phone dates” – wherein we each go to a restaurant or bar in our respective cities and talk on the phone throughout – but for them to foot the bill for the entire evening, because sometimes it turns them on to spoil me.

I put on the set of blue Agent Provocateur lingerie Matt had bought me as an earlier financial domination task, and added (of course) the necklace on which I keep my key to their chastity cage. On top of that, I wore a blue dress and a yellow cardigan, and walked to a restaurant Matt had chosen for me in swanky Yorkville called Sassafraz. (I sat outdoors, away from other guests; me and the staff had masks on whenever possible; there was ample hand sanitizer available; etc. etc.) We chatted on the phone during dinner, and they paid for my whole meal and my Uber ride back home.

I like this photo because I look powerful in it, even though you can’t see my face. Being dominant doesn’t come naturally to me, but this year I’ve enjoyed finding new ways my dominance can manifest, and how those newer routes can help me access different sides of my dominance that feel authentic and restorative. Here’s to more kinky adventures in 2021 (hopefully also in gorgeous lingerie)!

November 14th

A wedding-day selfie was a necessary inclusion in this post, of course!

As I explained on a recent Dildorks episode about weddings, although it’s common for couples to avoid seeing each other before the event so as to preserve the surprise, Matt and I decided not to do it that way for our tiny COVID wedding. It just made more sense for us to both get ready at their apartment and then walk over to the wedding location together.

I had thought this might feel disappointing when we actually did it, but it was totally fine, and even kinda fun. On such a potentially nervewracking day, it was nice to be with the person who alleviates my nerves most skilfully – and also to share in our excitement together.

We took this selfie just before heading out to Madison Square Park to get married. We look happy, calm, and excited to continue our lives together. ❤️

 

In the comments, feel free to tell me about a favorite selfie you took this year, and what made it so special!

5 Natural Ways to Reignite Your Libido

Kate Sloan

It’s been quite a week, to say the least. And quite a month. And quite a year.

While there has been an occasional piece of good news amongst the bad (Joe! Kamala! All the wonderful trans and BIPOC candidates who won senate seats! Steve Kornacki finally getting to pack up his map and go get some sleep!), obviously overall it has been a rough time to be a human. That’s part of why, in my sex educator communities, there has been so much discussion this year of how (or whether!) to try to reignite your libido in such tumultuous times.

This is a fairly new problem for me, and I know I’m lucky in that way. Traditionally my libido hasn’t ebbed, but has instead flowed, during times of high stress. If that’s your experience too, please know that there’s nothing wrong with it – it can be more difficult to navigate when you’re in a relationship with someone whose stress affects them in the opposite way, but it’s still fine!

It’s also 100% fine if you don’t want to revive your libido right now – either because there’s too much other stuff to do (our work is not over and there’s still a lot that can be done to support, for example, Democrats in the Georgia runoff elections), or because you just don’t have the energy at the moment (FAIR!), or because you just plain don’t feel sexy while fascism is flaring.

This post, however, is for people whose sexual desire has waned, and who want to do something about that. Sex and masturbation can be almost medicinal for me in stressful times, giving me much-needed bursts of happy neurotransmitters, affirmation of my desirability and desirousness, or even just helping me sleep. So here are some tips you can try if you’re missing sex – or just missing the sensation of wanting sex – and want to give your libido a gentle boost.

 

Try something new sexually. It doesn’t even really matter what it is. A magnificent new vibrator or clitoral sucker. A kink scene involving hot wax or E-stim. Even just a new position. Many sex and relationships experts point to the hit of happy chemicals your brain produces when you try a new and exciting thing, regardless of whether the thing itself ends up becoming a new fave of yours or not. This is a really easy way to put the spring back in your step sexually.

Not sure where to start? Take a BDSM quiz online (with a partner or alone), fill out a Yes/No/Maybe list, peruse sex toy reviews written by people you trust (hiii), or just ask your perviest friend what their latest sexual fascination is!

 

Seek out new sexual stimuli. I know it’s not always the most fun thing to scroll through porn sites or flip through erotica books when sex feels unappealing, but it’s gotta be better than sitting around feeling sad about your magically disappearing libido, right?

Set aside some time on a regular basis to explore new things in your sexual medium of choice, whether that be hardcore kinky porn, soft tender fanfiction, group sex erotica, or literally whatever. Maybe it’ll be unbelievably hot and get you all riled up; maybe it’ll just make you laugh or teach you more about human sexuality. Either way, it’ll give your brain and genitals something new to ponder. (Don’t forget to pay for your porn, please! Supporting sex workers is hot.)

 

Drugs ‘n’ supplements. (Big congrats to all the states that recently legalized weed, medicinal shrooms, etc.!) These are not an option for everyone, of course, whether it be due to their own personal views on drugs, or something more logistical like an incompatibility with crucial medications they’re already on. There’s also the question of how drugs may affect one’s ability to consent – which is why I suggest negotiating the components of an upcoming sexual encounter while still sober, deciding on safewords that are easy to say, and checking in regularly.

I’ve always found that smoking or vaping marijuana enhances my arousal and pleasure, in part because it reduces the volume of my depressed and anxious thoughts. Some of my friends have had similar experiences with shrooms, hashish, and various other trippy goodies. You could also look into natural libido supplements, such as HerSolution, which contains bloodflow-boosting niacin, orgasm-intensifying cayenne, and various other herbals, nutrients, and alleged aphrodisiacs. (Be sure to check with your doctor before adding anything new to your medication regimen, especially if you have preexisting conditions!)

 

Cultivate a new crush. I often return to this strategy when I’m depressed because I know how motivating and uplifting a juicy crush can be for me. Maybe you’re still fantasizing about the map guys from election week and want to go read some John King fanfiction. Maybe that person you follow on Twitter for their hilarious political jokes would be open to a flirty DM (tread carefully and respectfully!). Maybe you just want to re-watch a beloved old TV show and obsess over the will-they-won’t-they dynamic between your favorite characters.

However you choose to manifest it, I believe that (for those of us who are alloromantic, i.e. capable of experiencing romantic attraction) crushy energy can be heart-healing and world-widening. This is true even if (and perhaps especially if) nothing ever comes of the crush. Just like meditation is more about the bliss of the journey than it is about the one-time attainment of enlightenment, having a crush can be more about the invigorating almostness of it than it is about actually pursuing the person/people you have your eye on. And yeah, sometimes that can lead to an uptick in sexy feelings, too.

 

Make time and space for yourself to feel sexy. This one is so important, and unfortunately our overstuffed days under capitalism don’t often allow for it. But study after study has shown that stress inhibits sexual desire, and so in many cases your best bet in fighting libido troubles is to eliminate the stressors in your life that can be eliminated, whenever possible, and create little stress-free zones within your day/week/life.

This might mean rearranging your work week so that you have 3 hours open on a Tuesday night to read erotica in a hot bath by candlelight. It might mean asking your spouse to watch the kids for an evening so you can try out your new sex toy. It might mean addressing that lingering health issue that’s been making you feel super gross/ugly but that you haven’t had the time or energy to deal with. It might mean doing your hair and makeup, slipping into some lingerie, and taking some sensuous selfies so you can get some sweet sweet dopamine hits from your thirsty followers’ likes and retweets. It might mean clearing your schedule to watch a sexy ’90s thriller while munching popcorn with your sweetheart and then seeing where the night takes you.

The point is, you can’t expect yourself to just randomly feel sexy if all the circumstances of your life are conspiring to keep you focused on more pressing but less fun things. Sex may be “play” but it doesn’t have to be an afterthought if it’s important to you; you can choose to make it a priority, to treat it as an ironclad commitment on your calendar, to leave the proverbial door open so your desire can pay you a visit.

 

What has helped you most when you’ve had a prolonged dip in your sexual desire?

 

Thanks to HerSolution for sponsoring this post! As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

30 Fun Things to Do When You’re High

Kate Sloan

Happy 4/20, friends. I don’t know how many of you are, like me, lucky enough to have access to weed if you want it, but if you are, here are some things I have found are fun to do while baked as fuck. Give some of ’em a shot today if you like!

  1. Listen to beautiful music. Ideally with good headphones and while you’re not doing anything else. Just focus totally on the music and feel it in your body.
  2. Watch people perform methodical tasks on YouTube, such as making cocktails, cleaning workboots, or applying a full face of makeup.
  3. Read a children’s book you love, for the nostalgia and the pure childlike glee of it.
  4. Take a shower and really revel in the sensations. Bonus points if you have wonderfully-scented soap or body wash.
  5. Go for a walk and appreciate nature. (While maintaining social distancing, of course.)
  6. Masturbate decadently, with toys and lube and self-administered foreplay. The whole nine yards. You deserve it!
  7. Listen to a hypnosis file. Some people find that drugs and alcohol hinder their ability to focus and thus to go into trance, but some others find that trance combines well with intoxication. Find out which camp you fall into!
  8. Write love letters to your favorite people. Don’t send them until you’ve sobered up and can make rational decisions about whether or not it’s a good idea to do so – but you may find that the words and feelings flow more easily in an altered state.
  9. Pursue pain, whether through a little light scratching and pinching of your own skin, or through a full-on S&M scene with a partner. I find that pain feels much more pleasurable when I’m high.
  10. Wear your comfiest loungewear and enjoy the way it feels on your skin.
  11. Think about God. Do you believe in a higher power? What are your reasons for holding that opinion? How would your lifestyle change if your theological beliefs changed? These are interesting questions to mull over, even if you’re staunch in your religious views (or lack thereof).
  12. Sing or play music. Karaoke tracks are easy to find online and are ideal for this purpose.
  13. Watch stand-up comedy. Everything is funnier when you’re high. The stand-up section on Netflix is a goldmine; James Acaster’s absurdist specials are faves of mine.
  14. Moisturize. Mmm, luxurious.
  15. Read a fascinating and long piece of journalism, the likes of which you might find on Longreads.com. Let yourself get absorbed in the story.
  16. Dance to great music. I recommend Reverie Sound Revue and Robot Science.
  17. Cook an elaborate meal, if you think you’re level-headed enough to be trusted in the kitchen.
  18. Journal about your feelings, recent events in your life, things you’ve been thinking about lately, and so on. Sometimes drugs can help you access a deeper, more authentic self than regular life tends to allow for.
  19. Do yoga or stretch. Feel how the weed makes the sensations register differently in your body.
  20. Sit and look out a window, contemplatively and at length, like you’re a sad boy in a Victorian-era novel. We so rarely spend time just being quiet with our thoughts these days.
  21. Watch videos of baby animals. No explanation necessary.
  22. Make art. Pull out your paints or pencils or tablet or what-have-you. If you’re feeling uninspired, start by picking a random object in your room to create a likeness of.
  23. Play a video game, especially one with beautiful graphics. Virtual worlds can feel extra immersive on drugs.
  24. Talk on the phone with someone who is also high. It’ll either be really weird or really funny or both.
  25. Eat snacks. “The munchies” are very real.
  26. Take sexy selfies for you and/or a sweetheart to enjoy later.
  27. Put on a cam show, either for your sweetheart or in a more public venue like FireCams. (Just be sure that this is something Sober You would’ve wanted to do, too!)
  28. Watch a really dramatic TV show like The L Word or Westworld and allow yourself to get swept up in the ensuing emotions.
  29. Answer questions on Reddit in subforums like /r/AskReddit, /r/AskWomen, or /r/Sex. (You can make a new account to do so anonymously if you prefer.) This activity typically requires some self-reflection, which weed’s creativity-boosting properties can help facilitate.
  30. Focus on your breathing, in a meditative manner, for as long as you like. Notice the thoughts that come up.

How are you spending your 4/20, friends?

 

This post was sponsored. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

20 Questions About My First Shrooms Trip

Kate Sloan

I did shrooms (i.e. magic mushrooms) for the first time last month! Folks were very curious about it on Twitter and Instagram, so I thought I’d put together this little FAQ about my experience…

Q. Why did you do it?

A. I’ve been vaguely curious about psychedelics for a long time, but lots of other drugs in that category have tons of bad potential side effects or are much harder to get your hands on, so shrooms is the one that mostly caught my interest. I also know lots of people who’ve tried this drug, so I was able to amass a wide array of shrooms advice and stories from people I trust, making me feel even more curious about giving ’em a shot.

Q. How did you prepare for the experience?

A. First, I talked to a lot of shrooms-savvy friends about my various fears and apprehensions; their wisdom calmed me down a lot. I did a little research, but not much, because I didn’t want to cloud my experience with preconceptions. I discussed with my friend Brent the logistics of him being my “trip-sitter” (more on that in the next question).

As far as more immediate, right-before-the-trip preparation, I laid out a notebook and pen next to me incase I had any thoughts or ideas worth documenting, placed a can of seltzer next to where I’d be sitting (hydration is important!), and set up a weird monkey documentary I felt like watching.

Q. Did you have a “trip-sitter”?

A. Yes! A long time ago, my friend (and Question Box cohost) Brent offered to take on this role for me if I ever decided to try shrooms, and I was delighted that we managed to line up our schedules and make it happen. I took a bus from New York (where I was staying with my partner) to Philadelphia (where Brent lives), and stayed with him for most of the weekend so we’d have plenty of time for prep and comedown.

Brent has done shrooms a handful of times and is very thoughtful about them, plus we’ve been friends for nearly 5 years so I’m comfortable being weird around him and I trust him deeply. He did a minor dose of shrooms at the same time as me, because he wanted to “be on my level” somewhat while remaining lucid enough to take care of me as needed, and he was truly the perfect companion for this experience. He procured water and snacks for me when I requested them, loaded up videos and songs I asked for, put up with my antics, and pushed me further in the esoteric directions that my various “galaxy brain” thoughts pointed me toward. I really lucked out!

Q. Were you scared/nervous?

A. A little – but I knew I would almost certainly be safe because I was in a safe location with a safe person. Mostly I was afraid the drug would give me severe anxiety or even a panic attack – including possibly from intense dizziness, which sometimes afflicts me when I get too high on weed – but the negative effects of the drug were pretty minimal, actually. I found I was able to “steer” myself away from troubling thoughts and sensations by just moving my focus to something more positive, like listening to songs I like, watching funny videos, and telling stories.

Q. How did you consume the drug (and how much did you consume)?

A. The dose Brent advised for me was 2 grams, which (from what I understand, having looked into it further after the fact) is on the lower end of a medium-sized dose. I think this was the right call; we wanted it to be big enough that I would definitely feel it, but not so big as to be terrifying to li’l ol’ anxious me.

Several of my psychedelic-savvy friends told me that eating the mushrooms can upset your stomach – which, obviously, isn’t great when you’re in a state of intoxication that makes everything feel more vivid – so I imbibed mine in a tea. Brent and I went scavenging in a dollar store for a mesh tea infuser, and then he weighed out 2 grams on a kitchen scale and ground it up in what appeared to be a weed grinder. He then put that in the infuser and steeped it for 12+ minutes in boiling water along with 2 decaf orange tea bags and some lemon juice and honey. I thought it would taste gross but it was actually delicious and easy to drink.

Q. What are some do’s and don’ts that you learned?

A. I’m no expert, but I know that mindset and setting have a big effect on what kind of trip you’ll have (more on that in the next question). It would be a bad idea to take shrooms while in a less-than-good mood, or in a location that makes you feel uncomfortable or anxious. It helped that I knew Brent would’ve been more than willing to call the whole thing off if my mental state had felt off-kilter, but luckily it didn’t.

Brent also told me that singing helps a lot if you ever feel yourself starting to go off the rails during a trip. I found this to be very true: singing (or even, in some cases, playing the piano) brought me back to a calm, happy place, time and time again. I also drank water pretty continuously throughout my trip and adopted the mantra “Breathe and water! Breathe and water!” which helped immensely when I started to feel a bit panicky or dizzy.

Q. What was your mindset going in, and how did that affect your experience?

A. It was a chill Saturday. Brent and I had just gone for brunch with some pals, and then walked around in the wintry sunshine for a bit. I was feeling happy and relaxed. I wouldn’t recommend tripping when that’s not the case!

A mid-trip giggle session.

Q. What did it feel like?

A. The main thing I noticed, feelings-wise, was a vast heightening of emotion. I’m already an extremely emotional person so this was a bit disorienting and overwhelming at times. At the peak of the trip, I found myself oscillating wildly back and forth between laughing hysterically and weeping inconsolably. Sometimes I would have a thought about something I wanted to say and be too overcome with emotion about it to even get the words out.

Speaking of words: I also got very talkative. Brent and I found this highly amusing because, in our friendship, normally he is the one who rambles on and on while I listen (and I say that in the most affectionate way possible)! It felt like my thoughts were coming much, much faster than they normally do, to the point that I would often interrupt myself several times a sentence to go on some tangent that felt very important at the time. I told stories, made jokes and puns, sang lines from musical theatre songs that our conversation reminded me of, and just generally said aloud every thought that popped into my head. As someone who is shy and quiet in many social situations, this felt quite odd!

After a certain point in the trip, I also developed a strong compulsion to dance or march around almost constantly – so I did, often while continuing to carry on a conversation with Brent about completely unrelated stuff. Shout-out to him for remaining completely cool and calm while I did ballet in his living room.

One more observation worth noting: my chronic pain, which has otherwise been quite prominent lately, totally vanished for the duration of my trip. I didn’t notice it or think about it at all, not even once. Wild.

Q. How did it change your perceptions of things around you?

A. So, the thing that surprised me most about shrooms was that it didn’t make me less aware of what was going on around me, like weed and booze often can – it made me more aware of everything. I “got” every joke or reference I would normally get while sober, I could perceive with normal or slightly heightened acuity the emotional states of the people I was talking to (just Brent and, via text, my partner Matt), and I was more than able to follow along with songs/videos/movies/conversations.

I definitely noticed some weird visual effects, but they weren’t really at the level of what one might call hallucinations or visual distortions. For example: at one point I thought I saw a cat running around under Brent’s chair in my peripheral vision; a few seconds later, I thought that the rumpled cardigan lying next to me on the bed looked like a live rat about to attack me (but I was also conscious that it was still a cardigan and I was actually safe), and once I thought it looked like Brent’s shirt was attached to a bike propped against a wall several feet behind him. I was very aware at all times that any distortions in my perception were due to the drug and weren’t real, which I gather isn’t always the case when you’re on shrooms.

Q. How similar are shrooms to other drugs you’ve tried?

A. The only thing I can really compare it to – based on this one experience – is that it was like being on a really strong weed strain and a big dose of caffeine simultaneously. I have never personally taken a combination like that, but it sounds about right!

The mental agility was the main thing that set shrooms apart from other drugs for me. On weed and booze, I often feel that my thoughts and reactions are slowed down or muffled; not so with shrooms.

Q. Did you experience any epiphanies?

A. Not really. A few times, I observed that I was feeling like a different kind of person (either like I’d momentarily taken on the attributes of a specific friend, or like I was accessing “bro-y” or graceful or juvenile parts of my personality) and Brent prompted me to reflect on what that meant about my own identity – its pieces, its composition, its potential artifice – but I felt hesitant to wade into such upsettingly philosophical waters. Maybe next time.

My chattiness and impulses toward dancing and marching made me wonder if it might be good for me to incorporate more of those behaviors into my everyday life, but I’m still pondering what that might look like for me.

Q. What was your favorite part of the experience?

A. Making puns and terrible musical theatre jokes with Brent was the most fun part of the trip for me. My brain felt really sharp and quick, so I was even more inclined toward the type of silly wordplay we get into whenever we’re together – and it was fun seeing him crack up so hard at my absurd antics.

Q. What was your least favorite part of the experience?

A. Toward the beginning of the trip, when the effects were only just starting to set in, I got a weird, heavy, tingly feeling all over my body, kind of like when your leg falls asleep, but everywhere. It was accompanied by slight dizziness and anxiety. I got through it by continually reminding myself to breathe and drink water, and things got better from there.

Q. How long did the effects last?

A. I started to feel “normal-ish” after about 4 hours, but it took another 3-4 hours after that for me to return to total normality. In that “still slightly high” period, I was still inclined to constant joking, giggling, and physical activity, but it felt more like something I had control over.

Q. Can you really do shrooms safely if you have mental illness(es)?

A. Numerous people have asked me this and I don’t think I’m ever going to be a better advisor on this topic than your doctor/therapist. I don’t know much about the mechanisms of shrooms’ potential negative effects (psychosis, panic, etc.) – sorry!

I was fortunate that – as I described above – I was in good spirits at the time of my trip, and had built a morning to precede it that was calm and cheerful. My mental and physical health issues weren’t especially flaring up at the time and I was totally fine. I’ve heard some other depressed, drug-knowledgeable people say that they wouldn’t take shrooms if they were having an active depressive episode, and I think that’s good advice – this drug will tend to amplify whatever’s already going on for you emotionally.

Q. How else did you keep yourself safe during your trip?

A. I gave Brent the phone number of my partner Matt, and vice versa, so that they could stay in touch if anything bad happened to me. (These are two of the people I trust most in the world.) Multiple other people also knew where I was and what I was doing. I drank water continuously all day. Crucially, I put my phone into a mode that would prevent me from (easily) accessing social media sites and my email, because – knowing how I typically behave when I’m intoxicated – I figured I might have the impulse to write some silly stuff online, and I wanted to keep that from happening if possible!

Q. Is there anything you would do differently if you could do it over again?

A. The literal only thing I can think of: I was keeping notes in a notebook, and I wish I had been typing them instead. My thoughts and ideas were coming very fast, and there’s just no way I could record them all longhand. Creative inspiration is one of the main reasons I’m interested in drugs in general, but they only help with that if you’re able to record your ideas as they come!

At one point, Brent offered to leave me alone for a while, because (according to him, and I’m paraphrasing here) some of your best and deepest insights can come when you have little to no external stimulus to distract you from your own inner world. I was ultimately too scared and asked him to stay with me instead, because the thought of him leaving made me feel panicky in a way that’s hard to describe – like without him, I would get sucked into a whirlpool or fall off a cliff into my own psyche. I would imagine that I will spend some time alone with my thoughts the next time I trip, though, if just to see what that’s like.

Q. Could you/would you/did you have sex on shrooms?

A. In this case, I did not, because me and Brent are not that type of friend!

Leading up to my trip, I asked many people for their shroom-sex thoughts and experiences – including Ashley Manta, the eminent sex-and-drugs expert. One pal of mine (the boy formerly known as my “rope bondage beau,” who I’m still friends with) told me that he’s had sex on shrooms and it was amazing, but I think everybody else said some version of, “You won’t even be thinking about sex!” or “You won’t be able to have sex!”

When I took stock of the trip in the days afterward, one thing that stuck out to me was that – as far as I can remember – I literally did not think about sex one time all day… which, as you can imagine, is quite unusual for someone like me! I am definitely interested in trying sex or masturbation on shrooms, because I think it would be fascinating and strange, but I think I would have to set things up beforehand (lube, toys, condoms, etc.) so that I would even remember to attempt sex. It felt like there was so much more pressing stuff to do and say and think about!

Q. Were there any lingering effects?

A. I had a sort of hangover-esque feeling for a few hours, plus some pronounced fatigue/sleepiness that I don’t normally get from hangovers – but other than that, not really.

Q. Would you do it again?

A. Yes! I semi-accidentally acquired way more of the drug than I actually needed, so I have enough left for probably 2-4 more trips. I am very curious about tripping alone, as well as tripping when I’m with my (ideally sober) partner – I think they would find my giggliness and sensitivity amusing in that state, being a sadistic daddy dom and all!

 

Have you ever tried shrooms? What was your experience?