The Masked Psychedelic Experience
For many, psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, DMT, and MDMA have a reputation for unlocking deeper self-awareness, fostering emotional healing, and even offering a window into spiritual insights.
Yet for some if us—those unknowingly autistic or still grappling with unrecognized neurodivergence—the psychedelic experience can amplify inner truths that they've long kept hidden. What begins as a journey toward clarity can sometimes lead to an overwhelming confrontation with sensory overload, intense overthinking, or profound feelings of alienation.
Psychedelics might not have all the answers, but they can serve as powerful mirrors, reflecting back the parts of yourself that you’ve hidden away.
But rather than seeing this as a failure to "break through" or reach the same depths of insight as others, these moments can actually be signposts—opportunities to embrace a part of yourself that has been masked or misunderstood for years. The key is in recognizing how psychedelics can illuminate autistic traits, offering a path not just to insight, but to transformation.
Sensory Overload
Psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin often heighten the senses, revealing an enhanced world of vibrant colors, intricate patterns, and subtle shifts in perception. For most, this is experienced as an enriching and often joyful enhancement of reality. However, for those with autistic traits, these same sensory shifts can become overwhelming or even distressing. The sounds, colors, and sensations that delight others can feel like an onslaught, pushing the brain's sensory processing capabilities to their limit.
Imagine walking through a forest on psilocybin. The leaves shimmer with iridescent beauty, the sun seems to sparkle through the trees like cosmic rays, and the sounds of the forest floor crunch underfoot with surreal intensity. For some, this is magical. But if you have an autistic sensory system, you might find yourself unable to filter any of this. Every rustle, every beam of light, every slight change in texture might feel as if it’s bearing down on you simultaneously. Instead of feeling connected to nature, you might feel trapped inside it—bombarded by stimuli that your mind can’t sort through fast enough.