Wait...So Personality Actually Shapes Your Trip?

Good morning and welcome back to the Drop In, DoubleBlind’s newsletter serving up independent journalism about psychedelics straight to your inbox!

Ever wonder why some people have mystical, healing, or therapeutic psychedelic journeys, while others writhe under harrowing forces from the underworld? Today’s lead story offers a theory as to why this might be. If you keep scrolling you’ll find pieces on why legacy media should stop sending writers to parachute into psychedelic spaces and just hire reporters who cover the beat full time; a court rule in India that found mushrooms are not narcotics; and the ways in which psychedelics are entering university classrooms.

Plant seeds 🌿,

Mary Carreón
Editor-in-Chief

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Your Personality May Shape the Course of a Psychedelic Trip, Study Says

New research suggests that traits like openness can make psychedelic experiences more mystical and transformative, while neuroticism may leave users vulnerable to unsettling effects.

Ever wonder why some people have mystical psychedelic journeys while others have harrowing experiences with visions of demons oozing from the bowels of the underworld? According to new research, our personalities may have something to do with that, PsyPost reports.

These findings add nuance to the current wave of psychedelic research, which often emphasizes average results while glossing over individual differences. Substances such as psilocybin, LSD, and DMT are known to induce experiences often called “ego deaths” and alter perception in ways that can be therapeutic. Yet, the same compounds are also notorious for unleashing terror, anxiety, or emotional chaos. So, what determines whether a trip ends in profound revelation or soul-wrenching despair?

Researchers framed their inquiry through the Big Five personality model — openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism — one of psychology’s most widely accepted frameworks. By aligning these traits with psychedelic experiences, the authors hoped to shed light on why different people react so differently to the same drugs. “Applying individual differences in personality traits to one of the most phenomenologically interesting experiences a human being arguably can have is, of course, in the interest of psychological research,” explained Petri J. Kajonius, an associate professor of personality psychology and assessment at Lund University in Sweden.

Because psychedelic use is prohibited in Sweden, the team relied on an anonymous online survey. 400 participants, with an average age of 34 and one-third of whom were women, were recruited through social media. Most had used psilocybin or LSD, often outdoors and sometimes with a “trip sitter” present. They were asked to recall their single most impactful psychedelic experience, typically from their early 20s, and to rate how challenging or mystical it was and how it had shaped their lives since. They also completed a 30-item Big Five personality assessment.

The experiences were overwhelmingly described as “meaningful.” 82 percent of respondents placed their psychedelic experience among the top 10 most significant events in their lives, 56 percent in the top five, and 11 percent as the most significant of all. On a scale of zero to five, the average trip was rated moderately challenging (3.14) and even more mystical (3.63). Long-term consequences tilted heavily positive: Negative aftereffects barely registered at 0.14, while positive life changes averaged a robust 4.26.

Openness proved the strongest predictor of positive outcomes. Participants high in openness were more likely to describe mystical qualities and lasting personal growth. “The Big Five trait Openness seems to be a very strong predictor for many outcomes before, during, and after a psychedelic experience,” Kajonius told PsyPost.

Neuroticism, by contrast, leaned in the opposite direction, with those high in this trait more prone to negative consequences and less likely to report benefits. The researchers calculated that higher neuroticism increased the likelihood of negative aftereffects by 56 percent. While modest, the effect underscores the vulnerability of people with anxious or volatile dispositions. Other traits carried less influence, though conscientiousness showed a small positive link with life improvements, while extraversion and agreeableness were only minor players.

“Our study again gives evidence that not only dose and context matter, but also the person, the psychological constitution of the individual taking the psychedelic substance,” Kajonius said. “For instance, neurotic persons should take extra caution, while open-minded persons tend to explore and grow in their personality in regard to psychedelics.”

Of course, the study has limitations. The sample was self-selected and, as Kajonius said, “very, very skewed towards psychonauts,” which likely means the pool leaned heavily toward people with especially profound or positive experiences. Psychedelics themselves may also alter personality traits, raising the question of whether openness and neuroticism shape the trip, or whether the trip shapes the personality. Some research suggests psychedelics can increase openness and decrease neuroticism over time.

Future studies could address these questions with larger and more diverse samples, assessments before and after psychedelic use, and controlled trials. For now, the message is clear: Who you are when you take psychedelics matters, perhaps as much as the setting or the dose.

We’ve Entered the Luxurious Bling-Era of Ketamine

This Friday, we’re dropping another WILD story about ketamine culture — and it all starts at a massive, beloved electronic music festival, where spoons have become a must-have accessory. From packed vendor stalls to whispered tales of a rogue spoon emporium, these tools aren’t just kitchen utensils anymore. They’re symbols of a culture pushing against the mainstream.

At the heart of spoon culture is a mysterious figure who’s turned a simple piece of drug paraphernalia into something closer to usable art. What does it mean when ketamine gets its own iconographic symbol — and what does that say about the rave generation carrying it?

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DoubleBlind Digs

• If you’ve ever attended an afterparty hosted by PORTAL, then you know how powerful (and fun!) destigmatizing psychedelics can be. Support PORTAL now during their $100K in 100 days fundraiser. Learn more here.

• What’s the point of engaging in psychedelics culture without community? Support the Global Psychedelics Society and find helpful resources near you. Learn more here.

• Johns Hopkins University is recruiting volunteers with chronic low back pain and depression for a study on psilocybin. The trial will explore whether psilocybin can ease both physical pain and mood symptoms in adults ages 21–80. Apply here.

• Interested in cannabis and psilocybin research? Oregon State University’s SUN Lab is running an online survey on cannabis and psilocybin co-use, open to U.S. adults 18+. The 20–35 minute study is anonymous, and participants can enter a gift card raffle for completing it. Learn more and participate here.

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