LSD and acid: honest help when it’s become a problem

Please read this first

A bad trip can be dangerous. FRANK says people have been known to harm themselves during a bad trip. Call 999 if someone is in extreme distress, at risk of harming themselves or anyone else, has collapsed, or is unconscious or struggling to breathe. FRANK says every time you mix drugs you take on new risks, and that includes alcohol.

Your mental health matters here. FRANK says LSD could make mental health problems worse if you already have them, or if they run in your family, and may set off a problem that had gone unnoticed. If you’ve felt paranoid, very anxious or not like yourself since taking it, please see your GP.

FRANK is confidential and open 24 hours on 0300 123 6600, or text 82111. If you’re feeling hopeless or thinking about ending your life, call Samaritans free on 116 123, any time.

LSD isn’t usually thought of as something you get hooked on, and on that point the evidence agrees. FRANK says there’s no evidence that LSD is addictive. But a drug doesn’t have to be addictive to become a problem. It can start costing you in other ways: trips that went badly, a mood that hasn’t felt right since, flashbacks that unsettle you, or a habit of reaching for it when life gets hard.

Hallucinogens are taken by a small minority. In England and Wales, 1.1% of people aged 16 to 59 used one in the last year, and ONS counts LSD and magic mushrooms together in that figure (ONS, 2025). If you’re here because LSD has stopped feeling like something you choose freely, this page is meant for you.

Signs LSD use has become a problem

Because LSD isn’t addictive in the way some drugs are, the signs are less about physical need and more about what it’s doing to you. Things to look out for include:

  • Bad trips that leave you shaken, or where you or others were at risk
  • Feeling paranoid, anxious or low for days or weeks afterwards
  • Flashbacks or ongoing visual changes that distress you
  • Needing more for the same effect, because FRANK says you can become tolerant
  • Reaching for it to escape problems or difficult feelings
  • Work, study or relationships starting to suffer

LSD flashbacks and bad trips

A bad trip can be frightening and confusing, and FRANK warns that if you take LSD while you’re in a bad mood, worried or depressed, it might make those feelings worse. After the trip ends, some people find the effects linger.

FRANK says flashbacks, or ongoing visual distortions, can occasionally happen and often cause great distress. When they carry on, this is sometimes called Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder, or HPPD. FRANK is honest that little is known about who is vulnerable to it or how best to help. If this is happening to you, your GP is the right first step. Please don’t try to manage it on your own.

Where to get help in the UK

  • Your GP. The best place to start if LSD has affected your mood, sleep or mental health, or if you’re having flashbacks. Being open about the acid helps them make sense of your symptoms.
  • FRANK. Confidential advice 24 hours a day on 0300 123 6600, or text 82111. Read FRANK’s guide to LSD.
  • Local drug services. In England, FRANK says local services give confidential information, advice and support at no cost, and the NHS says you can contact one without a GP referral. Look up services in your area
  • NHS Talking Therapies. In England you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and low mood, without going through your GP.
  • Support groups. If you’d value other people who’ve been there, Narcotics Anonymous holds meetings face to face and online, and its helpline on 0300 999 1212 is open 10am to midnight. SMART Recovery groups are free to join.
  • Family and friends. Addiction Family Support (0300 888 3853) and Adfam both help people worried about a partner, child or friend.

Where hypnotherapy fits

Adam Cox, clinical hypnotherapist

Hypnotherapy is not a treatment for problems with LSD, and I don’t offer it as one. If LSD has affected your mental health, your GP or a drug service needs to be part of your recovery. I won’t claim hypnosis can stop flashbacks either. FRANK says little is known about how to help with them, which is all the more reason to get a proper medical opinion.

Where I can help is alongside that care. If LSD has become a way of stepping out of a life that feels stressful or flat, the work is often about what’s underneath that. In sessions we can focus on stress, sleep and confidence, and on the routines, people and places linked to using. The changes are still yours to make, but sessions can support you while you make them.

Before we work together I’ll ask whether you’re getting support from your GP or a drug service, and how your mental health has been. If I think you need that support first, I’ll tell you honestly.

Common questions

Is LSD addictive?

FRANK says there’s no evidence that LSD is addictive. You can become tolerant to it, so you need more for the same effect. Use can still become a problem without being an addiction, for example when it’s affecting your mental health or the rest of your life.

What should I do after a bad trip?

If you or anyone else is at risk of harm, or someone seems very unwell, call 999. If the trip has passed but you still feel paranoid, anxious or not like yourself, please see your GP and tell them what you took. FRANK is also there to talk to in confidence, 24 hours a day.

Do LSD flashbacks go away?

FRANK says flashbacks or ongoing visual distortions can occasionally happen and often cause great distress, and that little is known about who is vulnerable or how to help. I can’t tell you how it will go for you. Your GP is the right person to talk to.

Is it confidential?

Yes. What you tell me stays between us. As with any therapist, the only exception is if I believed you or someone else were at serious risk of harm.

I’m worried about someone else’s LSD use. What can I do?

If they’re in danger during a trip, or at risk of hurting themselves or someone else, call 999. If you’re worried about their mood or mental health afterwards, encourage them to see their GP. Adfam and Addiction Family Support are there for the people around someone who uses drugs, so you don’t have to carry the worry alone.

Talk it through

If you’re already getting support and want help alongside it, book a £49 consultation call, and we’ll talk about whether sessions would fit with what you’re doing. Sessions are one to one over Zoom, and you’ll have a recording of the hypnosis afterwards. My page on working with me has the details. If you also take magic mushrooms or smoke cannabis, those pages cover the risks and the support available.

Book a consultation (£49)

Written by Adam Cox, clinical hypnotherapist. Sources: FRANK, LSD; ONS, Drug misuse in England and Wales, year ending March 2025; NHS, drug addiction: getting help. Checked October 2026.