[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":133},["ShallowReactive",2],{"topic-harm-reduction":3},{"articles":4,"guides":5},[],[6],{"id":7,"title":8,"author":9,"authorTitle":10,"body":11,"date":119,"description":120,"draft":121,"extension":122,"featured":121,"heroCredit":123,"heroImage":124,"meta":125,"navigation":126,"path":127,"readingTime":128,"seo":129,"stem":130,"topic":131,"__hash__":132},"guides\u002Fguides\u002Fsupporting-someone-after-a-hard-experience.md","How to support someone after a difficult experience","Higher Place editors",null,{"type":12,"value":13,"toc":109},"minimark",[14,18,24,29,49,55,59,62,65,69,72,83,87,90,94],[15,16,17],"p",{},"Not every experience goes gently, and people are not always in a clinical\nsetting when it doesn't. If someone you care about is shaken — during or after\na psychedelic experience — your steadiness can matter enormously. This guide is\nabout being useful.",[19,20,21],"note",{},[15,22,23],{},"This is general harm-reduction information, not medical or emergency advice.\nIf there is any concern about physical safety, a medical emergency, or risk to\nlife, contact local emergency services immediately.",[25,26,28],"h2",{"id":27},"in-the-moment-lower-the-temperature","In the moment: lower the temperature",[30,31,32,36,43,46],"ul",{},[33,34,35],"li",{},"Calm voice, low light, fewer people, a familiar place.",[33,37,38,39],{},"Reassure simply and repeatedly: ",[40,41,42],"em",{},"you took something, it will pass, I'm here.",[33,44,45],{},"Don't argue with their reality or demand they explain it. Don't leave them\nalone.",[33,47,48],{},"Don't give them anything else — alcohol, other drugs, or \"something to bring\nthem down\" — unless a medical professional tells you to.",[50,51,52],"blockquote",{},[15,53,54],{},"You are not there to guide a journey. You are there to be a safe, boring,\nreliable presence until the intensity recedes.",[25,56,58],{"id":57},"when-to-seek-medical-help","When to seek medical help",[15,60,61],{},"Call emergency services without hesitating if the person has chest pain, a\nseizure, a very high temperature, trouble breathing, or cannot be roused; if\nthey are trying to hurt themselves or someone else; if you cannot keep them\nphysically safe; or if you suspect what they took was not what they thought it\nwas. Also seek help if a pre-existing serious mental-health condition is\nclearly escalating, or if you are simply out of your depth. Asking for help is\nthe responsible move, not a failure, and in most places you will not be in\ntrouble for doing so.",[15,63,64],{},"If the situation is frightening but not a medical emergency, peer-support lines\nexist in some countries. In the US, the Fireside Project runs a free\npsychedelic peer-support line by call or text. Check what is available where\nyou live.",[25,66,68],{"id":67},"in-the-days-afterward","In the days afterward",[15,70,71],{},"A frightening experience can leave someone raw, suggestible and prone to\ncatastrophic interpretation. Useful support looks like:",[30,73,74,77,80],{},[33,75,76],{},"Listening without rushing to explain what it \"meant\".",[33,78,79],{},"Keeping things grounded — sleep, food, routine, ordinary company.",[33,81,82],{},"Gently encouraging professional support if distress persists or deepens,\nespecially if they are not sleeping, are becoming withdrawn, or are talking\nabout the experience in ways that frighten you.",[25,84,86],{"id":85},"looking-after-yourself-too","Looking after yourself, too",[15,88,89],{},"Sitting with someone in distress is heavy. You are allowed to find it hard, to\nget support afterward, and to have limits. A carer who burns out helps no one.\nSteady, humane presence — not heroics — is the thing that helps.",[25,91,93],{"id":92},"sources-and-further-reading","Sources and further reading",[30,95,96,103,106],{},[33,97,98,99,102],{},"Johnson MW, Richards WA, Griffiths RR. \"Human hallucinogen research:\nguidelines for safety.\" ",[40,100,101],{},"Journal of Psychopharmacology",", 2008.",[33,104,105],{},"Zendo Project, psychedelic peer-support principles (zendoproject.org).",[33,107,108],{},"Fireside Project, psychedelic peer-support line (firesideproject.org).",{"title":110,"searchDepth":111,"depth":111,"links":112},"",3,[113,115,116,117,118],{"id":27,"depth":114,"text":28},2,{"id":57,"depth":114,"text":58},{"id":67,"depth":114,"text":68},{"id":85,"depth":114,"text":86},{"id":92,"depth":114,"text":93},"2026-03-30","A harm-reduction guide for friends and family — how to be useful to someone shaken by a psychedelic experience, and how to recognise when to seek help.",false,"md","Higher Place — original artwork","\u002Fimg\u002Fheroes\u002Fharm-reduction.svg",{},true,"\u002Fguides\u002Fsupporting-someone-after-a-hard-experience",6,{"title":8,"description":120},"guides\u002Fsupporting-someone-after-a-hard-experience","harm-reduction","35Tdbo_DPiulYxdxuJ30RjYW4dvphdQOM4jnrTUfaTE",1791062477060]