For most people, the come-down from a magic mushroom trip can be quite a pleasant experience — soothing even. As familiarity returns, and you slowly begin to re-ground, it can be as though you are sinking into a warm bath. 

Ideally, you have the rest of the day (and maybe even the next) to digest and integrate your experience. Psychedelic trips can be deeply affecting. They can reveal deeply hidden truths, induce spiritual insights, and sometimes, shake you to your very core. This means having time and space to rest, and luxuriate in the post-trip afterglow, is an essential part of your journey too. 

But, if you are not able to take the time (for whatever reason), you may be asking: after a shroom trip, when am I back to ‘normal’?

After a Psychedelic Trip, When Am I Back to ‘Normal’?

Of course ‘normal’ is subjective 😉. But what is actually pertinent for you might be when you can drive, or when you can look after children or someone else in your care. It might be when you can cook, or have a work meeting. As we said, ideally you take the rest of the day, but understandably this may not always be possible.

In this article we will explore psychedelic timelines, aftercare and integration, as well as when it’s ok to resume normal activities and responsibilities after a trip. 

First things first: A magic mushroom or truffle trip will generally last between 3 and 6 hours, depending on how high your dosage, tolerance, and the method with which you took it. This means that if you must, you can usually carry out normal activities after 8 hours, when the psychedelic effects of the drug have fully worn off. 

With a low-to-medium dose it’s easier to glide back into normality. You are less likely to have had as highly an emotional, spiritual, or sensorially intense experience than if you have taken a high (or heroic) dose.

After A Trip Some Effects Can Remain

After a psychedelic experience, especially if you have taken a higher dose, you may experience lingering phenomena that lasts longer than the duration of the trip itself. These effects can show themselves in both the short and long term, and have an influence on various aspects of an individual’s mental, emotional, and even physical well-being. 

The residual effects of a psychedelic experience may continue for several hours, or even days, after a trip. Short term effects can include mood changes, altered perception, enhanced creativity, and heightened sensitivity to external stimuli. 

Potential long-term effects can include sustained improvements in mood and well-being, enhanced openness and creativity, strengthened emotional resilience, personal and/or spiritual insights, and brain health benefits such as neuroplasticity. 

By having a prior-understanding of the short and long-term effects of magic mushrooms, you can approach your psychedelic experiences with mindfulness and intention, as well as an idea of what to expect in the aftermath. 

While the acute part of a magic mushroom trip generally lasts between 3-6 hours — peaking around hours 1-3 — a general feeling of ‘coming down’ and sinking back to reality may continue up to hour 8, and possibly beyond. 

Photo by Christopher Jolly on Unsplash

Understanding Psychedelic After Effects: Short and Long-Term

How long shrooms stay in your body relates to the time it takes to remove half of the substance from your blood. This is called elimination half-life. For psilocybin, the half-life is 160 minutes. For psilocin, it’s just 50 minutes. This means that both psilocybin and psilocybin are flushed out in the urine rather quickly. Within 13 hours, more than 95 percent of psilocybin is gone. The same ratio of psilocin is also urinated after 5 hours. 

After 24 hours, give or take, all traces of shrooms will be flushed out via urine.

However, while the substance itself may leave the body quickly, individuals can still experience lingering phenomena that continues after the ‘end’ of the trip. These phenomena can manifest in both short and long term instances, which can influence aspects of one’s emotional, mental, and sometimes even physical well-being. 

What Are the Short-Term After Effects?

In the immediate aftermath of a magic mushroom trip, many people describe a feeling of ‘afterglow’ that can last from several hours to several days. This is one of the most renowned short-term after effects of a psychedelic experience. Other short-term effects can include:

Mood Changes: Feelings of joy, euphoria, introspection or vulnerability may persist as a person processes their experience and starts to integrate any insights or realisations. 

Altered Perception: changes in auditory perception, sensory distortions, or even enhanced visual acuity can continue in the short-term after a shroom trip has ended. 

Heightened Sensitivity: increased sensory sensitivity, both to external and internal stimuli may be heightened after a trip. This can lead to an enhanced sense of empathy and interconnectedness with the world. 

Enhanced Feeling of Creativity: Lots of people report enhanced creativity and cognitive flexibility (thinking outside of the box) in the immediate aftermath of a psychedelic experience. 

Photo by Harry Quan on Unsplash

What Are The Long-Term After Effects?

As we’ve covered, the acute effects of a psilocybin trip usually wear off within hours or days. However, the long-term effects of psychedelic use can be profound and lasting. Research has found that the benefits may continue far beyond the immediate effects of psilocybin. These long-term effects may include:

Lasting Changes in Mood and Well-Being: studies have found that people who undergo psychedelic-assisted therapy often find they have lasting improvements in mood, well being, and general quality of life. Reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD can persist for months or even years after psychedelic-assisted therapy. 

Spiritual and Existential Realisations: Many people report enduring and meaningful insights of the spiritual or existential kind following a transformative psilocybin trip. These can manifest as enhanced feelings of purpose, interconnectedness, and a higher meaning, that last long after the initial trip. 

Improved Emotional Resilience: Psychedelic experiences can induce profound shifts in perspective and worldview, which can improve adaptive and coping skills in the face of adversity. 

Enhanced Creativity and Openness: Some studies have found that those who have undergone psychedelic therapy show sustained increases in personality traits such as open-mindedness and creativity. 

Brain Health and Neuroplasticity: Recent brain-imaging research suggests that psychedelics may promote neuroplasticity and synaptic re-routing in the brain. This is thought to have long-term benefits for memory, cognitive function, and mental flexibility. 

via Pixabay

By learning about the short and long-term effects of psychedelics, we can approach our journeys with intention, mindfulness, and responsibility. When we are aware of what effects can linger in either the short-term (such as physical coordination, or reaction time) or long-term (such as enhanced openness, or spiritual shifts) we can plan our psychedelic ventures accordingly. 

Psychedelic Planning: Making the Best Decisions for Yourself

While we have the facts and figures of how long psilocybin lasts in the body, it is key to remember that the after-effects will always vary person-to-person. Ultimately each trip is a subjective and individual experience. Only you will know when you feel able to resume normal life after a magic mushroom experience. It is essential to re-ground (and leave it AT LEAST 8 hours) before you attempt to do any of the following:

  • Drive or operate machinery
  • Care for children, the sick, or the elderly
  • Embark upon any important relationship-based decisions or conversations

The best way to be sure you are ready to return to normal activities is through an honest assessment of your own emotional and mental state. Focus on recognizing the signs of lingering effects from your experience, such as mood changes or altered perceptions and/or senses.  

Do you still feel a bit ‘odd’? Is your vision not quite yet back to normal? Are you still a bit spacey and floaty? Are you still in the throes of heightened emotion? If so, you may need to continue resting and re-grounding before you try and do anything else. Take it easy and honor the process!

The Takeaway: Understanding The Short & Long-Term Effects of a Psychedelic Trip

  • Magic mushroom trips can lead to lingering short-term effects. These can include altered perception, mood changes, increased sensitivity, and enhanced creativity. 
  • Long-term effects can include persisting improvements in well-being and mood, strengthened emotional resilience, enhanced openness and creativity, spiritual and existential insights, and potential brain health (neuroplasticity).  
  • Being able to conduct an honest self-assessment and know the parameters of one’s own mental and physical state is essential when deciding whether to return to normal activity after a trip. 
  • When in doubt, chill out! It is best to give yourself as much time as possible to rest and re-ground.