When Does Psychedelic Use Become a Form of Escapism?

Overview: Sam Woolfe explores how psychedelics, while non-addictive and helpful in treating addiction, can lead to psychological dependence and escapism. Despite their therapeutic benefits, users may develop hallucinogen use disorder (HUD) or engage in escapist use to avoid life problems rather than confront them. Signs include cravings, compulsive use, dissatisfaction with sober life, and continued use despite negative consequences. True healing requires integrating psychedelic insights into daily life, not just seeking repeated highs. Woolfe emphasises that psychedelics should be seen as catalysts for growth, not quick fixes for emotional distress.

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When Does Psychedelic Use Become a Form of Escapism?

Psychedelics are often touted as being not only non-addictive but anti-addictive. And both claims are true. Psychedelics do not reliably or generally lead to addiction because they have a different mechanism of action in the brain compared to drugs associated with addiction, such as cocaine, opiates, and nicotine. Growing research also indicates that various psychedelics can be helpful in treating addiction: they can help people kick ingrained drug habits as well as avoid relapse.

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However, the writer Ed Prideaux suggested in a piece for Ecstatic Integration that psychedelics may be more addictive than we think. He points to the problem of hallucinogen use disorder (HUD), which, like other addictions, involves difficulty stopping use despite negative consequences. The prevalence of HUD is low among psychedelic users (although it’s also uncertain given the data available), but problematic psychedelic use is nonetheless real.

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I bring up this topic not to create a fear mongering narrative about psychedelics. It is still true that psychedelics don’t lead to physical dependence, and they often help many people overcome addiction when no other treatment works. I wanted to bring attention to (the overlooked) issue of psychedelics leading to psychological addiction because it underscores that there are unhealthy ways to use these substances. Whether clinically defined addiction is present or not, it is possible for psychedelic use to become a form of escapism. Users should be aware of this kind of use so that they can recognize when they or someone else needs help and support.

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Before addressing the key signs of escapist use of psychedelics, we first need to define what we mean by ‘escapism.’

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What Exactly is Escapism?

Some forms of escapism can be healthy. This might include ‘escaping’ to somewhere or something (a holiday destination, a video game, or a book) to de-stress and relax. This kind of escapism, in moderation, offers us breaks from routine and everyday worries. But this is not the escapism I have in mind when I refer to problematic psychedelic use. Unhealthy escapism is when we engage in behaviours that allow us to avoid facing and resolving life problems. Patterns of psychedelic use can certainly fit this model of unhealthy escapism.

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Psychedelics and Psychological Addiction

In the case of HUD, like any other addiction, this can be an instance when psychedelics are used to escape negative feelings. Many people use psychedelics precisely to deal with troubling states of mind – such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem – but there is always a risk of getting attached to the temporary relief of these problems in the psychedelic state. While these experiences can offer lasting relief from emotional distress, particularly through the integration of psychedelic insights, it is also possible to get attached to the positive emotional states induced by psychedelics.

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This attachment can lead one to repeat the experiences, without working on personal or emotional issues, which might involve changes to one’s work, relationships, lifestyle, or diet. The therapeutic benefits of psychedelics tend to be heightened when combined with psychotherapy because this facilitates the processing and integration of psychedelic insights. 

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So what does being psychologically addicted to psychedelics look like? Here are some key indicators:

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• Strong cravings to reuse

• Compulsive seeking and consumption

• Unsuccessful attempts to stop or cut down on use

• Difficulty managing doses

• Continued use despite negative consequences (to yourself or others)

• A negative state when deprived of the drug

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‘Psychedelic exceptionalism’ may encourage psychonauts and plant medicine enthusiasts to separate these compounds from other ‘dirtier’ drugs that lead to addiction. But psychedelics can indeed induce many pleasurable feelings: euphoria (both mental and physical), peacefulness, contentment, joy, bliss, giddiness, and laughter. With psychedelics, in particular, these feelings can reach a maximal point, inducing an unmatched level of euphoria. Coming down from the experience can be difficult because these kinds of emotional states disappear as well (although there may be an ‘afterglow’, which one can also become attached to).

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A clear sign of someone using psychedelics to escape, consistent with a pattern of addiction, would be continued use despite negative effects. If someone is showing signs of heavy or regular use and they are increasingly becoming detached from reality – and experiencing paranoia, delusions, or a messiah complex – then this could be a form of escapism. It calls for cessation of use.

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Constantly Thinking About Tripping

As already stated, becoming addicted to psychedelics is uncommon. But becoming obsessed with them, it seems, is much more common. The late spiritual teacher Ram Dass warned about this. It was something he experienced himself. He kept returning to the psychedelic state in an attempt to achieve permanent enlightenment. But it didn’t work. He (and his fellow trippers) kept coming down. 

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Ram Dass’ solution, like many other psychonauts, was to pursue a spiritual path – such as a regular practice of meditation or being part of a spiritual community – as a way to live more joyfully in the present moment, without feeling the need to chase emotional or spiritual highs. A sure sign that one is seeking fulfilment through highs, rather than contentment in the present moment, is constantly thinking about tripping.

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This obsession can take the form of not being satisfied with sober experiences. For instance, you could be relaxing or hiking in a beautiful natural setting, and you might not be satisfied with the scenery as it is. You might think to yourself, I wish I was tripping right now or this would be amazing if I were tripping. This form of thinking is escapist: it takes one out of the present moment to an imagined situation that one prefers. It ultimately leads to dissatisfaction with the present moment. Sober reality after psychedelics starts to feel not good enough: not beautiful enough, not joyful enough, not interesting enough, and so on and so forth.

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So, if you find yourself always wishing sober reality was altered by psychedelics or thinking about the next trip, then it might be time to evaluate what you’re hoping to get out of psychedelics. If you’re looking to escape this world and find lasting contentment in the psychedelic state, then that’s doomed to fail. However, it’s also possible to use psychedelics in a way that enhances sober reality. This is not escapist; it is a way of bringing important features of the world to the forefront of one’s awareness, rather than failing to appreciate them out of the belief that the psychedelically altered world is a better one.

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Continued Psychedelic Use Without Sustained Benefits

For many people, benefits from psychedelics accrue with additional experiences. Healing from trauma or ingrained patterns of thought – present for decades – can be a difficult and long process. Psychedelics may be part of that process. If they are, it would be unrealistic to expect a single psychedelic journey to resolve trauma and deep-seated emotional issues once and for all. Further journeys, however, can lead to additional benefits. They can also help clarify previous journeys and solidify the insights and lessons gained from them.

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With all that said, there is also a danger in pursuing regular psychedelic use with the hope of this happening. There is no guarantee that continued psychedelic use in and of itself will lead to sustained benefits. An escapist tendency may manifest if one tries to seek lasting contentment through repeated psychedelic sessions, without focusing on what needs to be solved in the reality of everyday life. In this way, one is hoping that continual psychedelic ‘resets’ or ‘reboots’ are the answer to persistent feelings of dissatisfaction, disconnection, and anxiety.

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Sometimes, psychedelic insights – if integrated – can alleviate these persistent feelings of distress. But this requires applying those insights to one’s life, such as changing habitual patterns of thinking, as well as how one reacts to stresses and difficulties. According to the philosophers Chris Letheby and Philip Gerrans, the therapeutic benefits stem from their ability to alter our sense of self, but this requires work on our part. Psychedelics can show us alternative ways of thinking about who we are, but this doesn’t mean they give us a permanent, new shiny sense of self and delete the old one. Letheby and Gerrans write that

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“change can still be very hard. Imagine trying not to hear speech in your native language as meaningful: it’s almost impossible. Better to learn another language, with all the effort that entails, rather than try to temporarily ‘forget’ your own. So too with the self... Whether you want to learn another language of selfhood is up to you.”

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If you don’t focus on post-psychedelic processing, learning, and integration – and instead only focus on trying to repeat a joyful experience – then you may not experience lasting benefits. Moreover, if you notice a lack of lasting benefits but still jump in those psychedelic waters again and again, this would appear to be a sign of escapism.

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This is not a reason to feel despondent, however. Everyone is different: every individual carries their own set of problems, and each has a different psychological makeup. For this reason, each person’s healing journey will look different. While some people might be able to achieve the healing they desire after a single psychedelic session, others might need one or more psychedelic journeys with continued support and personal work. Psychedelics should perhaps be viewed as catalysts, rather than a quick fix. They can catalyse insights and the beginning of a healing journey, but it would be a mistake to treat them as a reliable fix for complex emotional distress. 

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It is also important to recognise when psychedelics are (and aren’t) relevant to a particular life issue. Feelings of distress and dissatisfaction can be related to factors that won’t be solved by enhanced neuroplasticity or new perspectives offered by psychedelics. Distress related to work, money, housing, discrimination, the climate, and lack of community requires different solutions than simply changing one’s mindset through psychedelic experiences.

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About the Author: Sam Woolfe is a freelance writer and blogger specialising in philosophy, psychedelics, psychology, and mental health. He is the author of Altered Perspectives: Critical Essays on Psychedelic Consciousness. His work has been published by the Institute of Art and Ideas, Philosophy Now, Psychedelic Press, Psychedelic Support, Third Wave, and Lucid News. You can read more of his work at samwoolfe.com. He lives in London, UK.