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Comment by sterlind | Hacker News Reader

I'm really looking forward to psychedelic therapy. I have a very rare kind of body image dysmorphia/dysphoria. Traditional therapy, SSRIs, etc. have been useless at treating it. I'm scared of psychedelics, having had scary bad trips in the past, but with a therapist to guide me I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get deep into my subconscious and fix something. Uncharted territory I can finally explore.

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It's important that you abstain from any psychedelic use until you can get to your guided session.

oh, of course. I've been waiting precisely because I'm afraid to tangle with psychedelics solo, and want to hold out for a really good therapist to guide me.

Make sure you ask them how they'll handle it if things go _wrong_, like really wrong.

Psychosis can happen. Overconfident guides can lead you there. Make sure you're working with someone who knows that there are risks.

I don't have any family history of psychosis, but I'll definitely watch out for it. My plan for things going wrong was to take a benzo, use a weighted blanket and have soothing music until it kicks in. Possibly also something like trazodone to abort the trip.

Do you have any advice on how to procure a suitable guide? Ideally I'd want someone who's an experienced psychotherapist.

Honestly, I'd ask them how they've handled things going wrong.

If things have never gone wrong for them, then they're not that experienced.

Find out if this is someone who takes responsibility for their actions.

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