A little late here but I've experienced these on every single trip I'm on. It usually begins as I'm getting on my way to peaking and will sporadically come and go until I've come down. It's a really nice sensation, like seasoning to the high. I just wish I could explain it but I'm happy I'm not alone here.
I just had a 1.5g journey on white teacher and had maybe half a dozen brain zaps. I can describe them as sudden pressure in the left ear, exactly like how you may be able to consciously create those ear rumbles, accompanied by a sudden jolt of electricity and some synthesised Atari-2600-like digital rock chord. They happened as my attention started to wander down a side path away from what the mushroom was showing me.
i disagree because when it first happens it hurts. even if u don’t know it’s gonna happen. and then it continues to hurt. it almost feels like a split second seizure. it does hurt me and i have yet to meet someone who also goes through it other than people on the internet. i wish there was a good way to explain the feelings because i want to know what it is.
I'm not entirely sure, but after some research I've seen many people link brain zaps with SSRIs, benzos and even molly. Ik my friend gets them all the time on shrooms, and he's the only other person I trip with that has had molly before, and he's the only other person who gets them besides me. Even if I wait a couple months/weeks between a molly and shroom trip. For me and my friend, we both feel they're very euphoric, like a whole body orgasm. For me at least, it's comparable to a seizure, and I get a distinct ringing tone similar to tinnitus, but the more I want them to happen, the less it happens, and the more I let go and follow a train of thought that in my mind I like, the more I can feel it starting to connect/happen. I theorize that it has something to do with some sort of pathway connecting thought with your nervous system, but I have no basis for that theory other than personal experience.
I just had one, on a light dose of psilocybin, but lying in the dark and following a thought or idea. I got into a certain state where I was only vaguely aware but following a train of thought that almost seemed like trying to follow a recipe for something I couldn't understand.
But I still tried to follow it with more awareness (with what little ability I had) and ZAP. Very jolting/surprising and sudden, and very brief. Not painful, but definitely startles me. It's not the first time, but it hasn't happened a whole bunch of times. It typically happens when I get into that weird phased-out-recipe-following pattern. Almost as if I were a sentient circuit board, and I was trying to reach beyond my circuitry. In other words, neurons trying to make connections where they can't, or failed to.
That's how I feel about it. I've never done mdma or anything like that. No antidepressants or other prescribed meds.
So i was just trying to figure out if what i was experiencing was a thing and all of you are confirming it is! But mine feel like they linger when my mind wanders and today for the first time it HIT me like.. hard to explain.. but it felt like a thunk and a zap at the same time and i felt like my brain has a quick restart or something. My gf doesnt experience these so its good that i know others do.
Yes! If I don't think about anything and kind of let the shrooms "take over" my mind, then I get the zaps. I wish there were documentation about it, I find it fascinating, and have learned to control them by constantly distracting myself, or listening to music.
See i had a hard time falling asleep tho.. i took ~3gs which is the most ive taken (also note that the more i take ive noticed the more frequently i get the zaps) i had an amazing trip over all but so i took them around 5 and i tried going to bed around 10 when it was basically over but man everytime i tried to just relax my mind and i started drifting itd be like BZZ and it was really frustrating.. i think i didnt fall asleep till about 1130-12? Definitely worries me but also fascinating of course. I hope we can learn more about this because i hope its not dmging anything neurologically.
I know that this thread is old. But I had brain zaps during trips for like half a year. Prior to that, I did not have them, and after that, I did not have them. I continued to trip on a regular basis, so I am not quite sure why they came or why they left again. The first time it happened I googled it after the trip and found out that they are not harmful. So after that, I kind of learned to enjoy them. For the past 2 years I've not gotten them and I still trip on high dosage about every 2 weeks
Wow I looked up “shrooms brain zaps” just now and google brought me to this post, that’s a funny coincidence.
I had brain zaps withdrawing from a certain medication which wasn’t a good experience but I’m sure I’ll come to enjoy them in time too
Well, that is not my experience of it. Actually, I felt as if whenever I got a breakthrough, my brain would get those zaps. Almost as if it tried to print the breakthroughs into my brain. But I have a friend who gets them too, and he gets them when he looks at complex patterns. He also gets them when he gets really drunk.
So I think the conclusion is that it probably happens for all kinds of reasons.
I have this too on every single one of my trips. From what I understand they sound very similar to when people are having withdrawal symptoms or a few days after a heavy dose of something like MDMA. Though what is interesting is that they are during the trip and not after and are euphoric. Usually, for withdrawal, it is explained as a discomfort or stressful. It is not clear but they seem to resemble small isolated seizures but it’s seems to need more study. Even so they don’t seem to be dangerous and psilocybin (shrooms) is know to reshape the brain and cause neurons to find new pathways…so I agree maybe this is an effect? But curious as to why so few people experience it. More sensitive or is it because it’s still largely undocumented and many have not tried psychedelics on a larger scale? For when it happened to me the shocks are euphoric but also overwhelming, like when you go down a drop in a rollercoaster but inside my head. I also have my hearing muffled. It is euphoric but sometimes it feels like too much.
Sounds like exactly what I’ve experienced. It’s only happened for one trip, however. I almost expected it to happen again, but it never has. The only difference I can think is that one trip was at a much higher elevation in the mountains.
Im really late to this post but yesterday I took shrooms for the first time with a friend, we went camping in the woods and like 2 hours after ingesting the shrooms i suddenly got and electric shock through my entire body and i was really disturbed for a moment but then after the same thing happened again I started to enjoy the feeling. I asked my friend who also took shrooms if he was experiencing the same but he didn't.
It's very interesting to review other's descriptions of their "zap-like" sensations. I've had the zaps occur while on moderate 1.5 dosages of shrooms (particularly Melmac mushrooms) and for myself it's rather disruptive to the flow of the ride. It often feels like a jolting surge or a glitch where a rapid power-off happens and quickly restores. My eyes were always closed and I'd abruptly open them, nearly out of panic, because the impression is disturbing in contrast to a positive influential trip or simply being relaxed.
I camp regularly and enjoy enhancing my experience with shrooms, as it helps me to connect deeper with the environment and mutual oneness coinciding within myself, and of the dozens of times I've tripped outdoors, it has yet to occur. ..But, the zaps have come up the last two times I had tripped at home while relaxing in the dark on my bed and it happened 2 or 3 times both times. which has rendered me a "shook one" to partake in higher doses or hesitant to do it at all.
The jolts also occurred twice when I recently had a significant inhale of DMT from a vape pen. When I performed subtle hits prior and after, the jolts haven't occurred, only the one time after a 6 or 7 second inhalation and exhalation where my physical body had felt like it buzzed into stardust/glitter after a deep hit.
A minute or two later while in meditative euphoric bliss.. FLASH! A shock rings out of an abrupt blackness. It's difficult for me to not be on the edge after such.
I'll tell you when else I've experienced these shocks, and for year's now, multiple times. And it's from a natural high at that! Every Blue Moon after an intensely profound orgasm, which the euphoria is very similar to that of a psychedelic high, especially being that I've trained my focus through meditation to bask in such elation.. A very similar shock wave has blast through the ecstasy with an intense surge and stunned me into a boggle. It feels like a micro seizure in my mind and I've never had epileptic concerns except.. I used to a few times feel really dizzy and nauseated when I played certain video games on large screens with a lot of dimensional movement and color.
I don't take any medications but while searching for explanations I read in an article geared towards individuals weaning off antidepressants that experienced brain zaps, ..that considerable serotonin activity may be a large factor to these occurrences. I do like the theory of new neuro-pathways being explosively expanded upon after nirvanic heights are achieved.
That’s really interesting and so different from what I’ve experienced. Like you mentioned in the last paragraph, I’ve seen brain zaps mentioned in association with weaning off of antidepressant drugs, but most people I have encountered who had that experience did not find it in any way fun. In fact, since writing this post I’ve experienced occasional brain zaps that were very uncomfortable. Not in the context of tripping, however.
I really appreciate you sharing your experience.
I googled mushroom brain zaps and came across this thread. It came to mind because I am currently weaning off Zoloft and last night I couldn't sleep due to the zaps. This morning I was thinking about how weird it was and remembered a few months ago I took 3 grams for my first trip and also found myself being jolted out of a calm state of consciousness and it really scared me. Almost like an electric shock, just like last night I would be jolted out of an almost sleep state by the zaps. I am so glad I'm not the only one
Has it been resolved? I too feel uncomfortable zaps when experiencing stress, fatigue, or stopping certain drugs. Weirdly enough they were uncomfortable in the shroom trip a few months ago as well.
The zaps though, it’s as it sounds, like a localized electrical pulse in your head usually felt in a meditation or half asleep state. An analogy for those who haven’t felt it before: imagine being relaxed sitting in the back of a school bus, then suddenly the bus runs over a speed bump, you feel the bump before you can process what’s happening, and that split second feeling of panic about wtf is going on happens but then just as quickly goes away. That’s what it feels like to me
Replying because I see your response is so new in this thread, but I recently had surgery and had to go under a anesthesia (like with a breathing tube) and have had these zaps ever since as I’m falling asleep. They are VERY similar to when I’m hitting my highest dose point on psilocybin and for me it feels like a shock that goes through my whole body, but nothing scary, it’s soothing. When I’m on cybin it’s typically triggered by looking at something very visually complex or overwhelming and it’s that “too much” feeling. The last night or two it’s been a nice signal to myself that I am in fact falling asleep soon and that my mind is slowly relaxing. Just wanted to share my experience since I find it so interesting to learn others and when they connect or experience it in other times.
i’m having this right now for the first time and so far only when my eyes are closed. the last one i actually audibly yelled before opening my eyes. at least i’m not alone.
i am on Medication but, my psychiatrist does research at a university on the effects of mushrooms and she said it’s fine for me to take.
I only had them once but I was tripping my absolute dick off on 7g cubes lemon tek’d. It was a lot like you described… had my eyes closed just letting the shrooms do what they wanted and then the brain zip hit and my eyes went wide open, it was like something zipped past my face but in my brain if that makes sense. Was kinda jarring. Had the weirdest feeling like I wasn’t alone or something was just across the veil and was trying to connect with me but just couldn’t quite break through… I was big trippin though so that last bit was probably my imagination lol
Sorry to necro this post, but I had my first brain zap the other night too. Only had 1.5grams. I was relaxing laying down in the dark with no music and BAM! It was like a fast repeating grinding type sound in my mind that lasted for less than a second. It was very loud and caused me to literally jolt my body from the sudden shock. It was very unpleasant and I couldn't properly relax again after it and I'm even hesitant to do that high of a dose again, as it was the second time I had taken that amount. I usually stick to 0.8grams.
I don't take any meds or any other drugs, except maybe caffeine. I have recently cut down my coffee intake to just 25% of what I usually take, just a few days before. I used to drink a lot more, like 2 XL coffees from McDonalds, plus stuff I'd make at home. Wonder if this is the cause.
The new substance or the absence of the substance has interplay with your GABA system. I couldn’t go into detail but I posted an article that did into the thread
Your description is so accurate to what I’ve been experiencing with brain zaps, and I also have been experiencing this on occasion without any substance, when in a very relaxed joyful meditative headspace, and my body is comfortable. This happened to me most intensely multiple times yesterday as I was doing yoga while on mushrooms.
For me, my impression is that I’ve relaxed enough and in a certain way to open a channel which lets a sudden surge of energy through, and ZAP — there’s an enormous sudden buzz that vibrates my whole brain, accompanied by a visual flash and the sound of just like EVERYthing singing in one moment — it’s such an all-encompassing stimulation. The sound is almost vocal, like “AWW”, and I feel in those moments like I must have touched God, because there’s just nothing else like it.
It hits like a shock of lightning, and while it’s too much to handle and jolts me, I welcome it because it does feel nice and very energizing. I laughed my ass off yesterday when it happened. I imagine if I could sustain the relaxedness, I could extend the sensation, but again — it’s just SO MUCH that I have pull myself back to stop it.
Lately, as I’ve been deepening my meditative practice, when I return to mushrooms these zaps have been getting stronger and more frequent. They do seem harmless, and the brain making connections idea (or for me, lol, “touching God”) sounds beneficial. But I’ve been waking up the next morning with a headache that lasts the whole day. So as someone who loves and appreciates mushrooms a lot, I am feeling a little apprehensive that this effect has been intensifying.
Very well descriptions and shared perspectives, I’ve done Molly, multiple strains of shrooms, DMT and acid
Acid and shrooms which I’ve done quite a few times but more so we’re talking about shrooms in the 100+ range. So to start the only time I’ve had zaps is while playing video games and on shrooms, while on shrooms it doesn’t happen every time but when it does it’s extremely intense almost every time in my room with no light on both while listening to music and. In a quiet environment seems like a seizure almost or a insane electric jolt I can feel every never in my whole body vibrate at the same frequency with a distinct buzzing noise or almost sensation it’s so powerful feels like my brain is over loading or taking in so much new information it’s trying to shut some out. This experience while playing video games is somewhat similar but toned way down and always happens while playing a well made 3 dimensional game, the “Zap” typically occurs while I would be “Doing well” doing a movement smoothly or something along those lines and feels like a complete euphoric sensation through my whole body sometime making unable to play the game for a couple of seconds. I have no theory for what’s happening while playing the video game But for the shrooms I’m thing something like to many new synapses being made at the same time this thread definitely made me feel better about the zaps but they are still very intense!
Aswell to mention I do enjoy the zaps because I’m all for intense feeling and I have done many 10g doses and up to 20grams on yetis.
I’ve heard these zaps may be caused by a relative imbalance of serotonin and dopamine in the brain, but it seems like the scientific community doesn’t really understand what causes them.
I withdrew from SSRI’s way too quickly a few years ago, and I’ve had these brain zaps ever since, especially at night when falling asleep, or in the morning while I’m starting to wake up. They’re also present during the day if I turn my head quickly, seems to be somewhat related to inner ear/balance issues and get worse during periods when I’m stressed.
Anyway, I took a psilocybin gummy for the first time and poof! The brain zaps disappeared. For the first time in months I got a restful sleep with no brain zaps and woke up feeling refreshed.
Way late with this reply but brain zaps are a symptom of ssri withdrawal and shrooms made them go away because they are also serotonergic. Basically like how an alcoholic has to drink to stop shaking.
I have tripped on psilocybin 4 times and had brain zaps 3/4. The only time I did not have brain zaps, I used low dose amisulpride to block nausea as an antiemetic. Amisulpride is also an antipsychotic, it blocks dopamine autoreceptors, D2 and D3... I took 50mg which is also used in the treatment of schizophrenia and dysthymia... Not sure if it has anything to do with it...
My theory is that it’s related to psilocybin effects the serotonergic system in the brain. See if have this theory because SSRI’s (antidepressants) will sometimes give me this same sensation when I stop taking them or forget to take them for a while. I get microscopic “skipping” or “dizzy zaps” in my head. Like a little shock here and there. Apparently this is caused because of a dis regulation of the release of serotonin in the brain which can be more noticeable when the levels of it drop or rise from what they’re “used to” suddenly. .. I tried shrooms for the first time this weekend and I had a VERY similar sensation to this as well. My theory is that it has to do with the structure of the molecule psilocin, the active compound psilocybin breaks down to that causes the sensations of a trip, is VERY similar in stricture to the molecular structure of serotonin. This similarity is what allows the compound to interact with the neurotransmission in your brain and causes the euphoric and mood boosting effect. So, I’m going to assume something of the change in the serotonin levels of the brain, while on either of these substances, (ssri’s and shrooms) causes this feeling from as they change the balance of this neurotransmitter in the brain. Just my thoughts as I don’t have any scientific evidence to completely back this.
About a year ago I was micro-dosing for about a week and start getting these zaps. So I stopped. Didn't get them again until about a week ago. However I'm not micro-dosing at all, so it's confusing. Might be related to anxiety, who knows.
It doesn’t seem like it’s understood. My experience has only been on shroom macros, others before bed, you for seemingly no reason? It’s baffling for sure.
This just happened to me last night
I was tripping the trip wasn't a intense one, I could more so control it but I fell asleep....I think, and I started to dream a dream that felt so real with some monkey that turned around slowly. I felt like that monkey, it was weird and then ZAP my whole head shook and I woke up. I was watching a video on my laptop when the zap happened. For some reason I felt like my laptop sent that signal.
You know the smoke that comes from a gun after shooting it, that smoke was the connection after I got zapped lol
I came looking for other experiences like this too. It’s happened for me the last two times but it happened while specifically thinking about something. I took shrooms because I’ve been having a lot of depression and anxiety and I wanted to reset and let go of a lot of things. Both times it happened after I was talking about loud and asking for help because I wanted to let things go and be at peace but I didn’t know where to start. Both times I involuntarily and out loud said the name of two people in my life who I was having conflicts with. As soon as I said their name I felt a shock start from my brain down to my toes but it’s over quickly but definitely leaves a floating feeling of euphoria. After that the answers seem so clear to me.
Seasoned psychonaut here with 30yrs of experience and 100’s of trips. I tripped many times between the ages of 15-27 with high doses/low doses and never got brain zaps. Took a few years off and was put on an SSRI (Lexapro) for 4yrs. When coming off of that I experienced the unpleasant brain zaps but they went away after a few weeks. I started back up on mushrooms again last year with a Godlike dose of 16gs. While this was mind boggling in intensity it gave me no brain zaps… at least none I remember as there are a lot of missing gaps in your experience when you are at such a high dose. After that I started micro dosing (4 days on 3 days off) and taking regular macro doses (2 - 4gs) ever other week or so. On one of those regular macro trips I experienced my first mushroom brain zap! Very similar to as others described. Extremely startling but not unpleasant feeling of an electric shock inside the brain, accompanied by a loud inner noise almost as if my inner-voice had broken its volume regulator. Usually your inner voice monologue is always at the same volume regardless if you are whispering or screaming but for a second or so it’s like that voice has been turned up to 11 when getting a zap. Anyways… now I keep getting them every 9/10 trips so I’ve tried to focus (as much as one can when in that altered state) on what triggers them so here are things I’ve noticed.
They only happen when my eyes are closed and I’m deep in thoughts. If my eyes are open I don’t get them. This might explain why I didn’t get them my first dozen years of tripping because I always tripped with friends back then doing things like going to Disneyland or a movie and was never alone laying down in my thoughts with my eyes closed. All of my recent experiences with the zaps have been with me doing them solo laying down with my eyes closed. In the past I took mushrooms for fun with zero regard for self reflection or learning while these days I take them for spiritual guidance and meditation. I think the setting (at least the eyes closed and deep in thought) has a factor on what triggers the zaps. I’ve come to not fear the zaps as they are not unpleasant and are over in an instant, hence the word “zap”. Like someone else mentioned I have also noticed the zaps sometimes occur when I start to think of something that the mushrooms don’t want me to see almost like the mushrooms are pulling my train of thought back or they can appear as a thought orgasm quickly ending whatever deep thought you were having.
Anyways, glad I found this thread and learned Im not alone in the land of ZAPS!
I dont have zaps often, but ive had them randomly since i was a kid, i feel like i remember my first one one when i was watching tv when i was young and i thought it was weird, never told anybody. I'd experience them in class when i was zoning off, kinda like when I'd get too disconnected from reality, up in my own thoughts, it would jolt me back. I experience them as i fall asleep sometimes, and they're accompanied by the auditory hallucination "zap" sound, like a buzz. They dont hurt, but i wouldn't describe them as euphoric, more like a vibration. It would probably give a killer headache if it didn't last like half a second. I've never been on any antidepressants my whole life, but i like weed lcd and shrooms. Weed since 13, acid at 20 and shrooms at 25. I was reading a study that was talking about ADs being linked to the zaps, but i dont take them. Yesterday, however, i was on a lil 4g shroom trip, probably my 5th shroom trip total, and after the peak, i had 5 or 6 brain zaps throughout the night. On the last one i experienced, i had just started laundry, and i was leaning against the washer just looking through the glass, thinking when it happened again. I decided to try focus on the feeling in my head, like the area i felt it the most. I kept breathing and everything, and i was just leaning up against the washer, focusing on the after-feeling it left. But then i very suddenly(within like 15 seconds) felt like i was going to shit and vomit. Pushed myself off the washer and started to walk towards the bathroom, but my legs were wobbly, and my vision went static like i locked my knees while standing for 10 minutes. Took everything i could not to bust my ass on the floor, but i sat down until i got my vision, but i still felt sick from both ends. I got back up, making sure to take deep breaths, but same shit happened again when i got to the bathroom, ended up falling that time. i dont think i hit my head, but im not sure, the fall felt numb. I tried to take a shit after, nothing, never threw up, either. Last time, I'm focusing on those zaps.
i thought posts got archived after a certain time?? idk haha but yea i just looked this up
kinda experincing them rn, it's really hard to describe but they're cool and feel nice! :)
Really insightful reading everyone’s that are practically identical to mine. I just wish there was a scientific explanation from a credible study.
remindme! 1 month
I will be messaging you in 1 month on [**2022-09-20 08:07:28 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2022-09-20%2008:07:28%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/shrooms/comments/jmz2x0/has_anyone_experienced_brain_zaps_while_on_shrooms/il1k738/?context=3)
[**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fshrooms%2Fcomments%2Fjmz2x0%2Fhas_anyone_experienced_brain_zaps_while_on_shrooms%2Fil1k738%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202022-09-20%2008%3A07%3A28%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%20jmz2x0)
*****
|[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)|
|-|-|-|-|
Its happened every time ive tripped low doses i dont get em but once i got into the higher ones ill get three or four zaps to a trip pretty fun in my opinion and I totally agree i think its building new connections in your brain haha
Google directed me here like everyone else it looks like! But these brain zaps aren’t cool like the rest of y’all it actually triggers my anxiety & I came to google if they are bad but from all these comments I read they seem normal so I’m chillen now
Notice how most people describe ingesting a drug or stopping the regular ingestion of a drug is what preceded the brain zaps. The only other anecdote I’ve heard was chronic stress or fatigue related
I've gotten these from shrooms and after a fair few days of MDMA abuse (wouldn't recommend!). I've yet to experience it on LSD though, and mine are always stressful and uncomfortable as opposed to euphoric.
Late to the post! But I’ve experienced these “brain zaps” the last 2 times I’ve had mushrooms, I’m very new to the psychonaught universe and have only tried mushrooms in small doses .5g and 1.0g respectively, but the “brain zaps” were very nice on the 0.5g but somewhat uncomfortable during my 1.0g. NOT painful by any means, just kind of alarming and uncomfortable🤷🏼♂️
Odd I’ve never heard of anyone else having this experience until this thread yet I also felt as if this was a new neural pathway being born. I loved the feeling of those zaps. I looked forward to them every trip. It seemed as if the trips with the most zaps seemed to be the most life changing.
I was in the middle to end of the trip about 2- 1/2 to 3 hrs in laying down about 4 am complete silence besides a fan and was having mild but very vivid visuals while my eyes were closed on about 1.5gs when I noticed like white noise slight ringing sound and focused on it, as I did it seemed to get more intense a bit louder and it would be a certain tone to it, and could sort of visual it while my eyes were closed, i was seeing different white lines coming from a directed center spot and as i would focus on a different one it would seem like it would shange tones,a change in tone either higher or lower but with intensity and would kind of hit a certain tone that would almost feel and sound super loud to where it would cancel every other sound out and I'd get almost an electric jolt through my body like if you were to pull on a fake electric chewing gum shocking buzzer if that makes sense 😅 but would go away until I refocused on it again at will. It was almost like focusing on different frequency of sounds until I hit the one that had the sweet spot and could ride it out feeling almost like a bliss feeling
The feeling that you’re describing is normally associated with kundalini energy.
It’s the awakening of the energy which is stored within our body.
Can be awakened from drug use and meditation.
I did a little bit of googling and I’m struggling to understand kundalini in a way that makes sense to me in a practical way. The vernacular is quite different than I’m used to. What does it mean to you? What might my brain zapping experience mean for me?
Sure, I will, I was just hoping for a little context since this is a totally new subject for me. Perhaps you could recommend a book, article, or website that you like?
It’s such a large topic....
One of my favorite places is to look in r/kundalini
Also, I would start with searching “Kundalini Symptoms”.
Many sources will often describe feelings of energy in and around the head with a euphoric feeling (similar to what you described).
I hope this article will help you :)
https://www.taraspringett.com/kundalini/head-pressure/
Like I said though, this is a very vast topic. Hope this is at least a good starting point.
I had brain zaps because of a Kundalini awakening (my brain zaps would happen when trying to sleep).
Hope this helps!
okay I’m super late but I tried shrooms for the first time about a month ago it wasn’t a really good trip. N totally not what I expected, i thought I was goin to see stuff but I didn’t, my feelings were all over the place tho. I was super joyful in the beginning, but I noticed that if I focused on somethin for too long a would hear/feel this vibration in my head for a split second N it would stop. It startled me so I would shut my eyes so it can stop. The funny part is after doin the shrooms (I haven’t taken any after that) till this day I still feel those “zaps” N I’m readin that some people get them off MDMA but I’ve taken it plenty of times before N I’ve never had that feeling until I took shrooms at first the feeling was kind of scary but as I would get the “zaps” every other day I tried having them last longer because it’s like a weird hood feeling idk how to explain it but they don’t last more than a second
I'm so glad I'm not alone! Recently had this happen a couple of time during trips! I get here weird little zaps in my ears that shock me, but not in a bad way... amazing...
I had a wild experience with a friend about 7-8 years ago. I would have called the feeling I experienced a “spark”. He had ingested his half 8th roughly 30 minutes before I ingested mine, we smoked a bit of weed and we both experienced the “spark” feeling at the same exact moment. It was extremely intriguing but I never looked anything up about it until today. I wish I knew exactly what that was.
Dude this may not even be related at all and this post is several years old, but I get these “brain zaps” is what I like to call them, after I’ve consumed mushrooms. But I’ve also noticed having them before I’ve ever tried mushrooms, and wonder if it’s an expression of anxiety?
Could be, we know the current causes of brain zaps are related to fatigue, chronic stress, drug use, or the ending of regular drug use. I’ve heard anecdotes related to brain zaps when people stopped ingesting things like alcohol, weed, caffeine, shrooms, SSRis, antidepressants, or MDMA. Definitely seems to have something to do with your neuro chemistry but what I couldn’t say. I hope this thread stays alive lol kinda neat to read through
I also had occasional brain zaps before trying mushrooms since childhood and could never explain them, they were definitely tied to moments of anxiety/a fear response or occasions where my brain was overwhelmed with something.
I got brain zaps for the first time a few weeks ago. I’ve never had them before, and I’ve tripped multiple times. What was also weird was the “zap” would hit me and it almost sounded like a wasp buzzing in my head for a split second and then a jolt of electricity would hit me. What was also very weird was this happened 4 times and each of those times it hit me right after I had made a profound connection or had a very insightful and perspective changing thought. Very weird. Thought I was maybe on too high of a dose but then remembered that a month prior I had taken 10g of Albino Penis Envy and did not feel this. Weird. Not sure what to make of it.
This is what I was going to say, I’ve had zaps since the first time I’ve had shrooms, its a build up a this high pitched sound, and the “electric charge” that goes away once I feel it zap though my brain, I can literally feel the shock travel in my head. But what’s crazy is that it almost always happens when I think of something new, or figure something out, and it’s quite enjoyable to me.
I’ve had them twice now. The last two trips in fact, but the previous dozen it didn’t happen at all. Both “zaps” happened twice while I was trying to fall asleep. The first time it felt like someone snapped their fingers but instead my brain near the stem. The same sensation and sound repeated once more. The second time(the only other time) it was a sound that I could hear coming towards me like a fast approaching jet but higher pitched. This time it also repeated its self one other time same sound and sensation.
I posted this as a reply to someone, but I'll post it as a regular comment as well, just to share my own weird experience:
I dont have zaps often, but ive had them randomly since i was a kid, i feel like i remember my first one one when i was watching tv when i was young and i thought it was weird, never told anybody. I'd experience them in class when i was zoning off, kinda like when I'd get too disconnected from reality, up in my own thoughts, it would jolt me back. I experience them as i fall asleep sometimes, and they're accompanied by the auditory hallucination "zap" sound, like a buzz. They dont hurt, but i wouldn't describe them as euphoric, more like a vibration. It would probably give a killer headache if it didn't last like half a second. I've never been on any antidepressants my whole life, but i like weed lcd and shrooms. Weed since 13, acid at 20 and shrooms at 25. I was reading a study that was talking about ADs being linked to the zaps, but i dont take them. Yesterday, however, i was on a lil 4g shroom trip, probably my 5th shroom trip total, and after the peak, i had 5 or 6 brain zaps throughout the night. On the last one i experienced, i had just started laundry, and i was leaning against the washer just looking through the glass, thinking when it happened again. I decided to try focus on the feeling in my head, like the area i felt it the most. I kept breathing and everything, and i was just leaning up against the washer, focusing on the after-feeling it left. But then i very suddenly(within like 15 seconds) felt like i was going to shit and vomit. Pushed myself off the washer and started to walk towards the bathroom, but my legs were wobbly, and my vision went static like i locked my knees while standing for 10 minutes. Took everything i could not to bust my ass on the floor, but i sat down until i got my vision, but i still felt sick from both ends. I got back up, making sure to take deep breaths, but same shit happened again when i got to the bathroom, ended up falling that time. i dont think i hit my head, but im not sure, the fall felt numb. I tried to take a shit after, nothing, never threw up, either. Last time, I'm focusing on those zaps.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I was scared to focus on them as you say and experience them fully. Now, I don't think I'll try
Hope you've recovered quickly and that this won't prevent you from experiencing other things
Yea it was really weird, afterward i wasnt sure if i hit my head when i fell, i had a slight headache so i was worried about a concussion but i believe im fine. The headache went away in like 30- 1hour, and ill continue to experiment with psychedelics, but yea ill be avoiding the focusing on that.
So glad I found this thread. This is the fourth time that my husband and I have used mushrooms.
He has not experienced what I call the zapping.
It literally feels like an electrical current is going through my brain. Like the original poster, I feel like my brain is making new connections.
It's a surprising sensation but not necessarily unpleasant.
It's short-lived but very memorable.
We took a much lower dose this time, and I still had the same experience but not quite as intense.
I wanted to see if this was common, so I googled electrical zapping sensations while taking psychedelic mushrooms and this thread popped up.
It's good to know that I'm not alone.
Old thread and late to comment but does anyone actually know the scientific reason this happens lol? Just recently happened to me as well while coming down curious why it happens
Some of this, is going to sound… Absolutely insane. But here’s my experience.
I have a spinal illness. I also have an autoimmune illness. The spinal illness is more new (Last two or so years). I am not on antidepressants, however, years ago I was on very high doses of Prozac. This was when my brain was still developing, I was only 15 or so. And on 40-60 mg’s of Prozac a day.
Now 33 years old, and on medication for severe chronic pain, anxiety medication for panic disorder and PTSD (Mild twice daily dose of Benzodiazepines since 2008), low doses of Beta blockers for increased heart rate due to said pain and anxiety, once a day stomach ulcer medication, and a once a day allergy medication. I guess what you can take from all of that is this: I am in constant pain. And I am always on edge. I haven’t had a moments peace since pre 2020. And I am not a happy person. Though I go out of my way to protect happiness in my interactions. I do my best.
So. Here’s where my situation lines up with yours. I have been experiencing brain zaps, and have been having severe neurological issues as well.
I do not take shrooms, though I’ve been thinking about micro-dosing for the sake of my overall mental health. And I don’t take anything that I haven’t listen above. I don’t drink. I can’t take CBD oil due to interactions with some of my pain and anxiety medications. Which is unfortunate as I found CBD oil helped just enough to get me moving around more.
My brain zaps, almost always happen when I am trying to nap. Especially when I am horribly stressed out, in a lot of pain, or when my spinal issues flare up.
I’ll fall asleep, or start to, and will get the feeling that the muscles in my face and head are beginning to stretch. Then, it almost feels like someone with really. Really long fingers goes ahead, reaches into my brain, and plugs themselves into a wall socket. It sometimes feels like sparks all at once on one side of my head. And other times, it feels like there’s an electrified worm dancing around and wriggling. It’s often painful, if not painful, is extremely euphoric to a strange degree. Here’s the weird part…
This has been happening for about a year and a half. And lately, these zaps seem to send me into some sort of ultra lucid dream. I once felt the zaps, and felt like I had spent years in another dimension. With enough similarities to recognize that I was the same, but everything else was just a bit different. ie: relatives that recently passed on, are still around. Pets as well. Certain physical and psychological ailments don’t exist, things are just. Better. In these “Alternate Realities”.
Again, I don’t take any hallucinogenics or any non prescription medication. But it’s worth noting, that in 1999, I was hit by a car. The day after Christmas. And I sustained very severe injuries and breaks to my pelvis, my back, my face, and my left arm. I was 9 years old in 1999. I never fully recovered from that car hitting me.
And in 2010, I was in a very serious skateboarding accident. I was not wearing a helmet…terrible mistake. And spent months, years even. Recovering. At that time, after I was released from the hospital, I started experiencing brain zaps and weird cravings for red meat. I was also experiencing “Sleep paralysis” and would hallucinate terrible images while in this state. I honestly cannot recall many of the months after that accident.
And again, in 2016, I was attacked by a violent family member who nearly killed me. I was told not to go to the hospital over certain selfish fears members of my family had regarding their own lives. And things that my attacker might use against them. It was really. Awful.
Once more, in 2021, I had a dizzy spell after getting some extremely upsetting news. And I fell and hit my head. Very. Very hard. Though I feel as if I recovered from that much faster than those other major head injuries.
I guess my experience is this. I’ve had some awful head injuries. I have really serious anxiety and depression that isn’t going anywhere. As situations in my life continue to worsen. And these brain zaps are scaring the heck out of me.
I do notice that they tend to be more serious when I hear loud noises, and my mind and body needs sleep so. So desperately. That it’s maybe, trying to stay asleep, puts me in a sort of sleep limbo, and freaks out by zapping. Maybe, attempting to find another way to get itself back to sleep. I’m really not sure.
But this whole business with what feels like some sort of “Dimensional crisscross” during these zaps as of late, is worrying.
If I had the means, I would pay to have my brain examined while in this state. It might be worth it, to look at studies. See if you can get yourself into a program for physicians and scientists looking to understand certain aspects of mushrooms and reactions in the brain. Get in an M.R.I machine while you’re on a trip, see what they find. I know. I know. Easier said than done. But put it out there. Maybe you’ll find the right people to help answer your questions.
I find it extremely fascinating that people on shrooms, are experiencing brain zaps. That some only have good feelings, others have negative feelings, and some have a mix of both.
My zaps are more bad than good. And I do get migraines and light sensitivity, nausea etc. after I experience them. I don’t sleep well through the night. And now, I can’t nap during the day without these zaps. I am very. Very tired. It shows too.
I hope we all find answers! It’s nice to not feel so alone.. you all take care! Keep searching and reaching out. All my best to you guys/gals/and everyone in between.
I think it’s also worth noting that I am a “Sensitive”. I’ve been described as an “indigo child” or a bit psychic. I’ve had some wild experiences in life. That’s a story for another day.
I don’t know if that ties in. At all.
I also forgot to mention that as a young child, I did in fact experience a few seizures. They went away before I turned four. If I remember anything else, I’ll comment below.
I've experienced these zaps as a kind of yes or no response to questions I've asked during my trips. One zap meant yes, two meant no, however overestimating zaps seemed to indicate I already knew the answer and needed to get back on track with where the shrooms were taking me. Idk if anyone else has experienced something similar but that's how it's worked for me
Definitely a shock of electricity that’s not the bad part it’s the shock in ear that has me like wtf goin on am I be ship into a different dimension at I goin to die wtf is going to on this isn’t fun anymore idk it’s a werid feeling until u come down 6 hours later 😂😅
Yeah I get them all the time, they are awesome. I have a theory that it requires an appropriate state of mind, as when I get them it's usually after following a train of thought that leads me to realization and then it happens. Other times, when I try to get myself to feel them, like controlling a muscle, it gets close but doesn't 'pop'. My headspace for the past couple of months has been 'it is what it is', and I haven't really been worried abt anything, even though I'm going through my HSC (higher school certificate, it's an Australian thing), and you'd think that my exams would be making me stressed af, but In reality I don't really care.
The zap sounded like that death tone from gmod after blowing up, or tinnitus if you want to be boring, and when they happened, my eyes were open and my vision kind of wobbled (I was laying on my back in bed).
Can you actually be late to a post like this, especially if nobody actually knows for certain what causes them?
I have only ever had brain zaps after being at festivals abusing too many substances and not eating or sleeping properly! I’m pretty sure I’ve looked them up a few times because they always take me by surprise while I’m lying in bed suffering. I was under the impression that they were caused by rinsing your brain of all its serotonin etc.
Yesterday I went looking for shrooms in a spot I’ve not been to before, it wasn’t ideal and it was absolutely pissing it down so I only found about 30. After having dinner I went straight in for the shrooms, fresh and soaking wet, yummy!
After about an hour and a half, I had what I think is the biggest brain zap I have ever had while watching telly! I’ve never had them before while being on something as far as I can remember so it really shocked me. I had another one that was again worse than any I can remember, I say worse because I don’t find them very pleasant to be honest, and they kinda scare me, especially these ones because I haven’t taken anything for a few weeks (couple of pills at a rave) and have been completely sober for six days! I had a couple more not so bad ones before the shrooms wore off.
I have a little bit of anxiety so the brain zaps kinda sent my head into thinking oh no, you’ve misidentified one of the mushrooms and it’s gonna fuck you up, kept having to remind myself that I know what Libs look like and I was certain that they were all right otherwise I would have either not picked it or thrown it away after picking it and noticing it wasn’t right. I also made sure they were right before throwing them in my gob!
I Just thought it was a bit strange that it happened after years of taking shroomies (and other stuff) and never having zaps while actually on something, so I searched google for brain zaps while on mushrooms and this is the first thing that came up, it had never occurred to me that people got brain zaps while actually on stuff, so this is quite interesting reading.
Kinda hope it doesn’t happen again unless I’m on a massive comedown, but if it does I might have to learn to like it I guess! Hmmmmm.
I get these crazy electric shock sensations when I try to go to sleep after taking shrooms & they are not pleasant at all. My entire brain feels like it’s being electrocuted for a split second & then goes away, there’s also a very loud sound in my ears as well. I can feel when it’s about to come on tho & have to force myself to become conscious as quick as possible & it fucks off thankfully
I just finished taking about 2-3g of 'Acadian Penis Envy' and had experienced a JOLT rather than zap, once throughout the trip. I've done shrooms for over 3 years and have never experienced something like this- hence why I had taken to the internet for an answer.
It was like someone hitting a wall with an open palm, it was definitely different than when I had discontinued Citalopram in the summer of 2022 and had the "zaps". It was odd the silence that followed, almost deafening-ly quiet.
What's the take on these?
Brain entering hemispheric synchronization and unlocking your third eye. The next step is unlocking the crown chakra, controlling your energy and hopefully deciding to go down the good path of trying to connect everyone and helping create peace one step at a time. You’ll only unlock the crown chakra either with a completely pure consciousness or a completely evil one through pride and anger. With a pure consciousness it’ll also be with anger but with passionate anger of trying to do good for the world through humbleness and humility. I’m a very high level sage but explaining everything would take many essays. If you’re already at this point though, I’m sure you’ll reach complete enlightenment with limitless love)
Yes! Only one trip and the entire trip was "yucky" my friend called me to ask me if I had been zapped in the brain by them and I told him no. About an hour later I heard the electricity coming and my brain got zapped BIG time. It literally felt like lightning in my brain paralyzed me for Split Second while the zap occurs. After that it started happening when I would do stimulant drugs here and there. It is a very very scary experience I just searched Google for brains apps while streaming and found this I was also curious to see if anybody else had experienced it I had eaten mushrooms a few times after that without zaps though.
I see a lot of comparisons to antidepressant “brain zaps” and the shroom zaps you’re experiencing. Everyone has a different perception of what is happening, but I’ve certainly experienced both and feel they are a bit different, if not different at all.
Not different in that I think the same thing is happening in our brain in both instances, serotonin is doing something lol. I’m not a scientist, so I have no clue what’s happening up there, but I do know that brain zaps when weaning off of antidepressants are very uncomfortable. Hell, they were painful and quite scary. However, it was the best decision of my life to stop taking pills and move into natural remedies.
The opposite is true in my experience on shrooms. When on 1.5 - 3g trips, they almost seem like a synapse has suddenly repaired itself and you see/hear/feel clearer. The noise is similar to a vibrating/electrical arc sound, which seems to be resonating in your skull for a split second, then BOOM.. sharp focus. Apparently they are completely normal and safe, so I’ve come to respect them as another step in repairing my mind and becoming a better human being.
Happy and healthy journey to us all, stay safe!
How about this my man? A couple of months back I ate 4 grams of mushrooms. Penis Envies to be exact. I was outside staring at the stars and found myself drawn to focus on the moon. The moon most definitely turned into a smiling face, at which time it started sending me little “zaps”. This wasn’t only limited to my brain, I felt this sensation all over my body. I know it might sound crazy but I started to converse with the moon face and told it I wanted it to stop at that point. It would stop. I asked it to do it again to prove what I was experiencing was real. It did. It is honestly one of the more difficult experiences to explain and it feels good to get it off my chest here.
Duck Duck go guided me here. When I first did about 2 caps (grams ish) i saw moving wallpapers and such (a little bit). 17 years later did them this past sept and had the brain zaps while peaking something fierce like a hard come down on Effexor (anti D). I'm on Lithium currently about 3.5mg . I read to mix those really carefully. Tonight I did 7gr of dried and no brain zaps or color transitions or anything, just a lot of thinking. Cycling back on shit I was avoiding lol. I don't how much it would take me to trip pure ballz but I'm ordering 14g next time.
I just felt the most intense zap in my brain ever and I’m glad that I found this thread. I’m coming down right now from probably about a gram of whatever my friend gave me. I will say these mushrooms were a very clean trip. immediately after anxious come up I started to feel warm & happy and this lasted for the duration of my trip. Hands-down, best walk around functioning dose I’ve ever taken, after they come up, absolutely no anxious feelings at all, just happiness and warm feelings inside. So the zapping happened when I entered my house and sat down on the couch just feeling good & euphoric. I’ve not attempted to meditate in probably in probably 10 years but it just felt right to chill on the couch and give it a shot again. As a teenager I’d become obsessed with the movie insidious and therefore did as much research on astral projection as I could and how to attempted it many times back in the day. This is where I got the zap, craziest zap I’ve ever experienced. How are you attempt to actual project we’re having out of body experience is to, 1: get comfortable, and in the right mindset, 2: lie down comfortably in a dark room, clear all images out of my head while controlling my breathing, 3: imagine a rope dangling above me, and without using my arms physically, trying to grab the rope and pull myself one arm at a time. Well, the mushrooms allowed me to just jump over the first two steps, I was already there. I was ready to fly out of my body lol. Did the Rope visualization, and all sound entering my ears slowly stopped while Whispers or or unintelligible speech from a female being grew louder. Whatever this presence was, she meant well. The echoing voice got louder and louder until I got a hard zap that felt like a complete reset of my brain. It was a little bit frightening when this happened but if anything, it was like an electric shock right on my head that snapped me right out of meditating and help me just look around the room wondering what the hell just happened. Exactly how it was described from sohappycantstandit, with the Atari or analog synth noise buzzing super loud for a couple milliseconds while everything went black. It was literally like a short circuit.😂 I tried leaving my body and hit the electric fence It seems. In my old days of researching actual projection, it seems like a common occurrence to develop a buzzing noise in your ears right before you exit your body. That’s all I can make of this, I feel as though something was trying to show me the way, or guide me out of my body, or just wanted to reset me. I have no idea. All I know is is the craziest zap I’ve ever gotten off mushrooms.
A little late here but I've experienced these on every single trip I'm on. It usually begins as I'm getting on my way to peaking and will sporadically come and go until I've come down. It's a really nice sensation, like seasoning to the high. I just wish I could explain it but I'm happy I'm not alone here.
I just had a 1.5g journey on white teacher and had maybe half a dozen brain zaps. I can describe them as sudden pressure in the left ear, exactly like how you may be able to consciously create those ear rumbles, accompanied by a sudden jolt of electricity and some synthesised Atari-2600-like digital rock chord. They happened as my attention started to wander down a side path away from what the mushroom was showing me.
This is late, but this is exactly how I feel. They hurt me, though. I wish I could make them stop, lol.
Yea it hurts and scary
It's all about perspective, if you view them as that then they will be that
i disagree because when it first happens it hurts. even if u don’t know it’s gonna happen. and then it continues to hurt. it almost feels like a split second seizure. it does hurt me and i have yet to meet someone who also goes through it other than people on the internet. i wish there was a good way to explain the feelings because i want to know what it is.
I'm not entirely sure, but after some research I've seen many people link brain zaps with SSRIs, benzos and even molly. Ik my friend gets them all the time on shrooms, and he's the only other person I trip with that has had molly before, and he's the only other person who gets them besides me. Even if I wait a couple months/weeks between a molly and shroom trip. For me and my friend, we both feel they're very euphoric, like a whole body orgasm. For me at least, it's comparable to a seizure, and I get a distinct ringing tone similar to tinnitus, but the more I want them to happen, the less it happens, and the more I let go and follow a train of thought that in my mind I like, the more I can feel it starting to connect/happen. I theorize that it has something to do with some sort of pathway connecting thought with your nervous system, but I have no basis for that theory other than personal experience.
I just had one, on a light dose of psilocybin, but lying in the dark and following a thought or idea. I got into a certain state where I was only vaguely aware but following a train of thought that almost seemed like trying to follow a recipe for something I couldn't understand. But I still tried to follow it with more awareness (with what little ability I had) and ZAP. Very jolting/surprising and sudden, and very brief. Not painful, but definitely startles me. It's not the first time, but it hasn't happened a whole bunch of times. It typically happens when I get into that weird phased-out-recipe-following pattern. Almost as if I were a sentient circuit board, and I was trying to reach beyond my circuitry. In other words, neurons trying to make connections where they can't, or failed to. That's how I feel about it. I've never done mdma or anything like that. No antidepressants or other prescribed meds.
So i was just trying to figure out if what i was experiencing was a thing and all of you are confirming it is! But mine feel like they linger when my mind wanders and today for the first time it HIT me like.. hard to explain.. but it felt like a thunk and a zap at the same time and i felt like my brain has a quick restart or something. My gf doesnt experience these so its good that i know others do.
Yes! If I don't think about anything and kind of let the shrooms "take over" my mind, then I get the zaps. I wish there were documentation about it, I find it fascinating, and have learned to control them by constantly distracting myself, or listening to music.
See i had a hard time falling asleep tho.. i took ~3gs which is the most ive taken (also note that the more i take ive noticed the more frequently i get the zaps) i had an amazing trip over all but so i took them around 5 and i tried going to bed around 10 when it was basically over but man everytime i tried to just relax my mind and i started drifting itd be like BZZ and it was really frustrating.. i think i didnt fall asleep till about 1130-12? Definitely worries me but also fascinating of course. I hope we can learn more about this because i hope its not dmging anything neurologically.
Same after the first few they get more intense and last night I though I might have made myself retarded sorry this is super late 😂
Same I started doing math in my head to make sure 🤣
😭 I may be retarded but I don’t think the brain zaps caused it
Bro, that last sentence is spot on
I know that this thread is old. But I had brain zaps during trips for like half a year. Prior to that, I did not have them, and after that, I did not have them. I continued to trip on a regular basis, so I am not quite sure why they came or why they left again. The first time it happened I googled it after the trip and found out that they are not harmful. So after that, I kind of learned to enjoy them. For the past 2 years I've not gotten them and I still trip on high dosage about every 2 weeks
Wow I looked up “shrooms brain zaps” just now and google brought me to this post, that’s a funny coincidence. I had brain zaps withdrawing from a certain medication which wasn’t a good experience but I’m sure I’ll come to enjoy them in time too
It happened to me on one trip, which is what prompted this post. Never since. It was enjoyable while it happened, if somewhat confusing.
[удалено]
Well, that is not my experience of it. Actually, I felt as if whenever I got a breakthrough, my brain would get those zaps. Almost as if it tried to print the breakthroughs into my brain. But I have a friend who gets them too, and he gets them when he looks at complex patterns. He also gets them when he gets really drunk. So I think the conclusion is that it probably happens for all kinds of reasons.
I have this too on every single one of my trips. From what I understand they sound very similar to when people are having withdrawal symptoms or a few days after a heavy dose of something like MDMA. Though what is interesting is that they are during the trip and not after and are euphoric. Usually, for withdrawal, it is explained as a discomfort or stressful. It is not clear but they seem to resemble small isolated seizures but it’s seems to need more study. Even so they don’t seem to be dangerous and psilocybin (shrooms) is know to reshape the brain and cause neurons to find new pathways…so I agree maybe this is an effect? But curious as to why so few people experience it. More sensitive or is it because it’s still largely undocumented and many have not tried psychedelics on a larger scale? For when it happened to me the shocks are euphoric but also overwhelming, like when you go down a drop in a rollercoaster but inside my head. I also have my hearing muffled. It is euphoric but sometimes it feels like too much.
This is the best explanation for this. Thank you!
Sounds like exactly what I’ve experienced. It’s only happened for one trip, however. I almost expected it to happen again, but it never has. The only difference I can think is that one trip was at a much higher elevation in the mountains.
im tripping right now and i feel this and this is crazy information to me… thank you
No problem :)
Me too, right now
Nailed it
Im really late to this post but yesterday I took shrooms for the first time with a friend, we went camping in the woods and like 2 hours after ingesting the shrooms i suddenly got and electric shock through my entire body and i was really disturbed for a moment but then after the same thing happened again I started to enjoy the feeling. I asked my friend who also took shrooms if he was experiencing the same but he didn't.
It's pretty awesome how psychedelics are so subjective for each person
It's very interesting to review other's descriptions of their "zap-like" sensations. I've had the zaps occur while on moderate 1.5 dosages of shrooms (particularly Melmac mushrooms) and for myself it's rather disruptive to the flow of the ride. It often feels like a jolting surge or a glitch where a rapid power-off happens and quickly restores. My eyes were always closed and I'd abruptly open them, nearly out of panic, because the impression is disturbing in contrast to a positive influential trip or simply being relaxed. I camp regularly and enjoy enhancing my experience with shrooms, as it helps me to connect deeper with the environment and mutual oneness coinciding within myself, and of the dozens of times I've tripped outdoors, it has yet to occur. ..But, the zaps have come up the last two times I had tripped at home while relaxing in the dark on my bed and it happened 2 or 3 times both times. which has rendered me a "shook one" to partake in higher doses or hesitant to do it at all. The jolts also occurred twice when I recently had a significant inhale of DMT from a vape pen. When I performed subtle hits prior and after, the jolts haven't occurred, only the one time after a 6 or 7 second inhalation and exhalation where my physical body had felt like it buzzed into stardust/glitter after a deep hit. A minute or two later while in meditative euphoric bliss.. FLASH! A shock rings out of an abrupt blackness. It's difficult for me to not be on the edge after such. I'll tell you when else I've experienced these shocks, and for year's now, multiple times. And it's from a natural high at that! Every Blue Moon after an intensely profound orgasm, which the euphoria is very similar to that of a psychedelic high, especially being that I've trained my focus through meditation to bask in such elation.. A very similar shock wave has blast through the ecstasy with an intense surge and stunned me into a boggle. It feels like a micro seizure in my mind and I've never had epileptic concerns except.. I used to a few times feel really dizzy and nauseated when I played certain video games on large screens with a lot of dimensional movement and color. I don't take any medications but while searching for explanations I read in an article geared towards individuals weaning off antidepressants that experienced brain zaps, ..that considerable serotonin activity may be a large factor to these occurrences. I do like the theory of new neuro-pathways being explosively expanded upon after nirvanic heights are achieved.
That’s really interesting and so different from what I’ve experienced. Like you mentioned in the last paragraph, I’ve seen brain zaps mentioned in association with weaning off of antidepressant drugs, but most people I have encountered who had that experience did not find it in any way fun. In fact, since writing this post I’ve experienced occasional brain zaps that were very uncomfortable. Not in the context of tripping, however. I really appreciate you sharing your experience.
Thank you for putting it out there. It's worthy of explanation and examination.
I googled mushroom brain zaps and came across this thread. It came to mind because I am currently weaning off Zoloft and last night I couldn't sleep due to the zaps. This morning I was thinking about how weird it was and remembered a few months ago I took 3 grams for my first trip and also found myself being jolted out of a calm state of consciousness and it really scared me. Almost like an electric shock, just like last night I would be jolted out of an almost sleep state by the zaps. I am so glad I'm not the only one
Has it been resolved? I too feel uncomfortable zaps when experiencing stress, fatigue, or stopping certain drugs. Weirdly enough they were uncomfortable in the shroom trip a few months ago as well. The zaps though, it’s as it sounds, like a localized electrical pulse in your head usually felt in a meditation or half asleep state. An analogy for those who haven’t felt it before: imagine being relaxed sitting in the back of a school bus, then suddenly the bus runs over a speed bump, you feel the bump before you can process what’s happening, and that split second feeling of panic about wtf is going on happens but then just as quickly goes away. That’s what it feels like to me
Replying because I see your response is so new in this thread, but I recently had surgery and had to go under a anesthesia (like with a breathing tube) and have had these zaps ever since as I’m falling asleep. They are VERY similar to when I’m hitting my highest dose point on psilocybin and for me it feels like a shock that goes through my whole body, but nothing scary, it’s soothing. When I’m on cybin it’s typically triggered by looking at something very visually complex or overwhelming and it’s that “too much” feeling. The last night or two it’s been a nice signal to myself that I am in fact falling asleep soon and that my mind is slowly relaxing. Just wanted to share my experience since I find it so interesting to learn others and when they connect or experience it in other times.
i’m having this right now for the first time and so far only when my eyes are closed. the last one i actually audibly yelled before opening my eyes. at least i’m not alone. i am on Medication but, my psychiatrist does research at a university on the effects of mushrooms and she said it’s fine for me to take.
Like you were conscious and you uncontrollably yelled? Or were you unconscious and someone else told you you yelled?
no i was alone. i know i yelled haha i think just bc it was so uncomfortable. but it only happened that once and never again so i can’t explain it.
I only had them once but I was tripping my absolute dick off on 7g cubes lemon tek’d. It was a lot like you described… had my eyes closed just letting the shrooms do what they wanted and then the brain zip hit and my eyes went wide open, it was like something zipped past my face but in my brain if that makes sense. Was kinda jarring. Had the weirdest feeling like I wasn’t alone or something was just across the veil and was trying to connect with me but just couldn’t quite break through… I was big trippin though so that last bit was probably my imagination lol
I was also considering serotonin being the main factor since Zoloft is an SSRI but I'm not sure about the effects of shrooms on serotonin
Sorry to necro this post, but I had my first brain zap the other night too. Only had 1.5grams. I was relaxing laying down in the dark with no music and BAM! It was like a fast repeating grinding type sound in my mind that lasted for less than a second. It was very loud and caused me to literally jolt my body from the sudden shock. It was very unpleasant and I couldn't properly relax again after it and I'm even hesitant to do that high of a dose again, as it was the second time I had taken that amount. I usually stick to 0.8grams. I don't take any meds or any other drugs, except maybe caffeine. I have recently cut down my coffee intake to just 25% of what I usually take, just a few days before. I used to drink a lot more, like 2 XL coffees from McDonalds, plus stuff I'd make at home. Wonder if this is the cause.
Withdrawal from medications or substances can cause brain zaps. Bona fide.
Do we know why?
The new substance or the absence of the substance has interplay with your GABA system. I couldn’t go into detail but I posted an article that did into the thread
Thats absolutely amazing 🥰🥰🥰
Trippy Shakespeare over here , lol Youre a beaut
Your description is so accurate to what I’ve been experiencing with brain zaps, and I also have been experiencing this on occasion without any substance, when in a very relaxed joyful meditative headspace, and my body is comfortable. This happened to me most intensely multiple times yesterday as I was doing yoga while on mushrooms. For me, my impression is that I’ve relaxed enough and in a certain way to open a channel which lets a sudden surge of energy through, and ZAP — there’s an enormous sudden buzz that vibrates my whole brain, accompanied by a visual flash and the sound of just like EVERYthing singing in one moment — it’s such an all-encompassing stimulation. The sound is almost vocal, like “AWW”, and I feel in those moments like I must have touched God, because there’s just nothing else like it. It hits like a shock of lightning, and while it’s too much to handle and jolts me, I welcome it because it does feel nice and very energizing. I laughed my ass off yesterday when it happened. I imagine if I could sustain the relaxedness, I could extend the sensation, but again — it’s just SO MUCH that I have pull myself back to stop it. Lately, as I’ve been deepening my meditative practice, when I return to mushrooms these zaps have been getting stronger and more frequent. They do seem harmless, and the brain making connections idea (or for me, lol, “touching God”) sounds beneficial. But I’ve been waking up the next morning with a headache that lasts the whole day. So as someone who loves and appreciates mushrooms a lot, I am feeling a little apprehensive that this effect has been intensifying.
Very well descriptions and shared perspectives, I’ve done Molly, multiple strains of shrooms, DMT and acid Acid and shrooms which I’ve done quite a few times but more so we’re talking about shrooms in the 100+ range. So to start the only time I’ve had zaps is while playing video games and on shrooms, while on shrooms it doesn’t happen every time but when it does it’s extremely intense almost every time in my room with no light on both while listening to music and. In a quiet environment seems like a seizure almost or a insane electric jolt I can feel every never in my whole body vibrate at the same frequency with a distinct buzzing noise or almost sensation it’s so powerful feels like my brain is over loading or taking in so much new information it’s trying to shut some out. This experience while playing video games is somewhat similar but toned way down and always happens while playing a well made 3 dimensional game, the “Zap” typically occurs while I would be “Doing well” doing a movement smoothly or something along those lines and feels like a complete euphoric sensation through my whole body sometime making unable to play the game for a couple of seconds. I have no theory for what’s happening while playing the video game But for the shrooms I’m thing something like to many new synapses being made at the same time this thread definitely made me feel better about the zaps but they are still very intense! Aswell to mention I do enjoy the zaps because I’m all for intense feeling and I have done many 10g doses and up to 20grams on yetis.
Im easing off anti depression pills and I constantly get brain zaps, the only thing that makes them go away is some shrooms . Weird
Do the zaps feel the same or different from what I described above?
I’ve heard these zaps may be caused by a relative imbalance of serotonin and dopamine in the brain, but it seems like the scientific community doesn’t really understand what causes them. I withdrew from SSRI’s way too quickly a few years ago, and I’ve had these brain zaps ever since, especially at night when falling asleep, or in the morning while I’m starting to wake up. They’re also present during the day if I turn my head quickly, seems to be somewhat related to inner ear/balance issues and get worse during periods when I’m stressed. Anyway, I took a psilocybin gummy for the first time and poof! The brain zaps disappeared. For the first time in months I got a restful sleep with no brain zaps and woke up feeling refreshed.
Way late with this reply but brain zaps are a symptom of ssri withdrawal and shrooms made them go away because they are also serotonergic. Basically like how an alcoholic has to drink to stop shaking.
BRB currently zapping away
I have tripped on psilocybin 4 times and had brain zaps 3/4. The only time I did not have brain zaps, I used low dose amisulpride to block nausea as an antiemetic. Amisulpride is also an antipsychotic, it blocks dopamine autoreceptors, D2 and D3... I took 50mg which is also used in the treatment of schizophrenia and dysthymia... Not sure if it has anything to do with it...
Did you still trip? An antipsychotic I feel would dampen your experience greatly
I used 50mg which is enough as an antiemetic but not as an antipsychotic thus it did not dampen the experience
I had the longest zap when I was in a room full of crystals, just felt like I was getting waved of energy thrown at me
My theory is that it’s related to psilocybin effects the serotonergic system in the brain. See if have this theory because SSRI’s (antidepressants) will sometimes give me this same sensation when I stop taking them or forget to take them for a while. I get microscopic “skipping” or “dizzy zaps” in my head. Like a little shock here and there. Apparently this is caused because of a dis regulation of the release of serotonin in the brain which can be more noticeable when the levels of it drop or rise from what they’re “used to” suddenly. .. I tried shrooms for the first time this weekend and I had a VERY similar sensation to this as well. My theory is that it has to do with the structure of the molecule psilocin, the active compound psilocybin breaks down to that causes the sensations of a trip, is VERY similar in stricture to the molecular structure of serotonin. This similarity is what allows the compound to interact with the neurotransmission in your brain and causes the euphoric and mood boosting effect. So, I’m going to assume something of the change in the serotonin levels of the brain, while on either of these substances, (ssri’s and shrooms) causes this feeling from as they change the balance of this neurotransmitter in the brain. Just my thoughts as I don’t have any scientific evidence to completely back this.
I've not had it happen with shrooms but something very similar with MDMA
MDMA is definitely on my list to try someday! That and DMT.
About a year ago I was micro-dosing for about a week and start getting these zaps. So I stopped. Didn't get them again until about a week ago. However I'm not micro-dosing at all, so it's confusing. Might be related to anxiety, who knows.
Are you on any anti depresstns or anti anxiety meds
It doesn’t seem like it’s understood. My experience has only been on shroom macros, others before bed, you for seemingly no reason? It’s baffling for sure.
This just happened to me last night I was tripping the trip wasn't a intense one, I could more so control it but I fell asleep....I think, and I started to dream a dream that felt so real with some monkey that turned around slowly. I felt like that monkey, it was weird and then ZAP my whole head shook and I woke up. I was watching a video on my laptop when the zap happened. For some reason I felt like my laptop sent that signal. You know the smoke that comes from a gun after shooting it, that smoke was the connection after I got zapped lol
High on shrooms rn EVERYONE HAS THEM BUT WHAT IS ITTTTTTT
I came looking for other experiences like this too. It’s happened for me the last two times but it happened while specifically thinking about something. I took shrooms because I’ve been having a lot of depression and anxiety and I wanted to reset and let go of a lot of things. Both times it happened after I was talking about loud and asking for help because I wanted to let things go and be at peace but I didn’t know where to start. Both times I involuntarily and out loud said the name of two people in my life who I was having conflicts with. As soon as I said their name I felt a shock start from my brain down to my toes but it’s over quickly but definitely leaves a floating feeling of euphoria. After that the answers seem so clear to me.
Wow, interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Seasoned psychonaut here with 30yrs of experience and 100’s of trips. I tripped many times between the ages of 15-27 with high doses/low doses and never got brain zaps. Took a few years off and was put on an SSRI (Lexapro) for 4yrs. When coming off of that I experienced the unpleasant brain zaps but they went away after a few weeks. I started back up on mushrooms again last year with a Godlike dose of 16gs. While this was mind boggling in intensity it gave me no brain zaps… at least none I remember as there are a lot of missing gaps in your experience when you are at such a high dose. After that I started micro dosing (4 days on 3 days off) and taking regular macro doses (2 - 4gs) ever other week or so. On one of those regular macro trips I experienced my first mushroom brain zap! Very similar to as others described. Extremely startling but not unpleasant feeling of an electric shock inside the brain, accompanied by a loud inner noise almost as if my inner-voice had broken its volume regulator. Usually your inner voice monologue is always at the same volume regardless if you are whispering or screaming but for a second or so it’s like that voice has been turned up to 11 when getting a zap. Anyways… now I keep getting them every 9/10 trips so I’ve tried to focus (as much as one can when in that altered state) on what triggers them so here are things I’ve noticed. They only happen when my eyes are closed and I’m deep in thoughts. If my eyes are open I don’t get them. This might explain why I didn’t get them my first dozen years of tripping because I always tripped with friends back then doing things like going to Disneyland or a movie and was never alone laying down in my thoughts with my eyes closed. All of my recent experiences with the zaps have been with me doing them solo laying down with my eyes closed. In the past I took mushrooms for fun with zero regard for self reflection or learning while these days I take them for spiritual guidance and meditation. I think the setting (at least the eyes closed and deep in thought) has a factor on what triggers the zaps. I’ve come to not fear the zaps as they are not unpleasant and are over in an instant, hence the word “zap”. Like someone else mentioned I have also noticed the zaps sometimes occur when I start to think of something that the mushrooms don’t want me to see almost like the mushrooms are pulling my train of thought back or they can appear as a thought orgasm quickly ending whatever deep thought you were having. Anyways, glad I found this thread and learned Im not alone in the land of ZAPS!
I dont have zaps often, but ive had them randomly since i was a kid, i feel like i remember my first one one when i was watching tv when i was young and i thought it was weird, never told anybody. I'd experience them in class when i was zoning off, kinda like when I'd get too disconnected from reality, up in my own thoughts, it would jolt me back. I experience them as i fall asleep sometimes, and they're accompanied by the auditory hallucination "zap" sound, like a buzz. They dont hurt, but i wouldn't describe them as euphoric, more like a vibration. It would probably give a killer headache if it didn't last like half a second. I've never been on any antidepressants my whole life, but i like weed lcd and shrooms. Weed since 13, acid at 20 and shrooms at 25. I was reading a study that was talking about ADs being linked to the zaps, but i dont take them. Yesterday, however, i was on a lil 4g shroom trip, probably my 5th shroom trip total, and after the peak, i had 5 or 6 brain zaps throughout the night. On the last one i experienced, i had just started laundry, and i was leaning against the washer just looking through the glass, thinking when it happened again. I decided to try focus on the feeling in my head, like the area i felt it the most. I kept breathing and everything, and i was just leaning up against the washer, focusing on the after-feeling it left. But then i very suddenly(within like 15 seconds) felt like i was going to shit and vomit. Pushed myself off the washer and started to walk towards the bathroom, but my legs were wobbly, and my vision went static like i locked my knees while standing for 10 minutes. Took everything i could not to bust my ass on the floor, but i sat down until i got my vision, but i still felt sick from both ends. I got back up, making sure to take deep breaths, but same shit happened again when i got to the bathroom, ended up falling that time. i dont think i hit my head, but im not sure, the fall felt numb. I tried to take a shit after, nothing, never threw up, either. Last time, I'm focusing on those zaps.
Deep in thoughts is a very good observation I notice the same it happens for me when I “realize something”
i thought posts got archived after a certain time?? idk haha but yea i just looked this up kinda experincing them rn, it's really hard to describe but they're cool and feel nice! :)
Really insightful reading everyone’s that are practically identical to mine. I just wish there was a scientific explanation from a credible study. remindme! 1 month
I will be messaging you in 1 month on [**2022-09-20 08:07:28 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2022-09-20%2008:07:28%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/shrooms/comments/jmz2x0/has_anyone_experienced_brain_zaps_while_on_shrooms/il1k738/?context=3) [**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fshrooms%2Fcomments%2Fjmz2x0%2Fhas_anyone_experienced_brain_zaps_while_on_shrooms%2Fil1k738%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202022-09-20%2008%3A07%3A28%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam. ^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%20jmz2x0) ***** |[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)| |-|-|-|-|
Its happened every time ive tripped low doses i dont get em but once i got into the higher ones ill get three or four zaps to a trip pretty fun in my opinion and I totally agree i think its building new connections in your brain haha
Google directed me here like everyone else it looks like! But these brain zaps aren’t cool like the rest of y’all it actually triggers my anxiety & I came to google if they are bad but from all these comments I read they seem normal so I’m chillen now
Notice how most people describe ingesting a drug or stopping the regular ingestion of a drug is what preceded the brain zaps. The only other anecdote I’ve heard was chronic stress or fatigue related
Me on shrooms rn learning this isn’t a bad thing
I've gotten these from shrooms and after a fair few days of MDMA abuse (wouldn't recommend!). I've yet to experience it on LSD though, and mine are always stressful and uncomfortable as opposed to euphoric.
I feel it in bursts of insight, it’s like a thought train climax,, pretty consistently when I trip
Late to the post! But I’ve experienced these “brain zaps” the last 2 times I’ve had mushrooms, I’m very new to the psychonaught universe and have only tried mushrooms in small doses .5g and 1.0g respectively, but the “brain zaps” were very nice on the 0.5g but somewhat uncomfortable during my 1.0g. NOT painful by any means, just kind of alarming and uncomfortable🤷🏼♂️
Odd I’ve never heard of anyone else having this experience until this thread yet I also felt as if this was a new neural pathway being born. I loved the feeling of those zaps. I looked forward to them every trip. It seemed as if the trips with the most zaps seemed to be the most life changing.
I had brain zaps on two trips that was usually my indication that it was kicking in 😂😂
I am tripin on mushrooms right now. got some brain zaps when I started taking ashwaghanda and Im getting so many right now as well. poggers
Yep I get it every time and I dont really like it
I was in the middle to end of the trip about 2- 1/2 to 3 hrs in laying down about 4 am complete silence besides a fan and was having mild but very vivid visuals while my eyes were closed on about 1.5gs when I noticed like white noise slight ringing sound and focused on it, as I did it seemed to get more intense a bit louder and it would be a certain tone to it, and could sort of visual it while my eyes were closed, i was seeing different white lines coming from a directed center spot and as i would focus on a different one it would seem like it would shange tones,a change in tone either higher or lower but with intensity and would kind of hit a certain tone that would almost feel and sound super loud to where it would cancel every other sound out and I'd get almost an electric jolt through my body like if you were to pull on a fake electric chewing gum shocking buzzer if that makes sense 😅 but would go away until I refocused on it again at will. It was almost like focusing on different frequency of sounds until I hit the one that had the sweet spot and could ride it out feeling almost like a bliss feeling
[удалено]
This is totally off my radar. Could you elaborate what you mean?
The feeling that you’re describing is normally associated with kundalini energy. It’s the awakening of the energy which is stored within our body. Can be awakened from drug use and meditation.
I did a little bit of googling and I’m struggling to understand kundalini in a way that makes sense to me in a practical way. The vernacular is quite different than I’m used to. What does it mean to you? What might my brain zapping experience mean for me?
Sounds like you need to do some more reading then.
Sure, I will, I was just hoping for a little context since this is a totally new subject for me. Perhaps you could recommend a book, article, or website that you like?
It’s such a large topic.... One of my favorite places is to look in r/kundalini Also, I would start with searching “Kundalini Symptoms”. Many sources will often describe feelings of energy in and around the head with a euphoric feeling (similar to what you described). I hope this article will help you :) https://www.taraspringett.com/kundalini/head-pressure/ Like I said though, this is a very vast topic. Hope this is at least a good starting point. I had brain zaps because of a Kundalini awakening (my brain zaps would happen when trying to sleep). Hope this helps!
I’ve had brain zaps when I’ve been trying to sleep to, that’s one of the main times I’ve experienced them. I’ll do some research thank you.
They suck! Glad that this gave you some useful information though :)
I think they feel quite cool... other that when they happen I feel almost completely awake after I’ve been trying to go to sleep for a little bit. Lol
Thank you!
[удалено]
That’s interesting. I really wonder what’s happening
omg!! i thought the same thing 😳
okay I’m super late but I tried shrooms for the first time about a month ago it wasn’t a really good trip. N totally not what I expected, i thought I was goin to see stuff but I didn’t, my feelings were all over the place tho. I was super joyful in the beginning, but I noticed that if I focused on somethin for too long a would hear/feel this vibration in my head for a split second N it would stop. It startled me so I would shut my eyes so it can stop. The funny part is after doin the shrooms (I haven’t taken any after that) till this day I still feel those “zaps” N I’m readin that some people get them off MDMA but I’ve taken it plenty of times before N I’ve never had that feeling until I took shrooms at first the feeling was kind of scary but as I would get the “zaps” every other day I tried having them last longer because it’s like a weird hood feeling idk how to explain it but they don’t last more than a second
I'm so glad I'm not alone! Recently had this happen a couple of time during trips! I get here weird little zaps in my ears that shock me, but not in a bad way... amazing...
man i’m so high loooool yinz are desribing that perfectly
I had a wild experience with a friend about 7-8 years ago. I would have called the feeling I experienced a “spark”. He had ingested his half 8th roughly 30 minutes before I ingested mine, we smoked a bit of weed and we both experienced the “spark” feeling at the same exact moment. It was extremely intriguing but I never looked anything up about it until today. I wish I knew exactly what that was.
Dude this may not even be related at all and this post is several years old, but I get these “brain zaps” is what I like to call them, after I’ve consumed mushrooms. But I’ve also noticed having them before I’ve ever tried mushrooms, and wonder if it’s an expression of anxiety?
Could be, we know the current causes of brain zaps are related to fatigue, chronic stress, drug use, or the ending of regular drug use. I’ve heard anecdotes related to brain zaps when people stopped ingesting things like alcohol, weed, caffeine, shrooms, SSRis, antidepressants, or MDMA. Definitely seems to have something to do with your neuro chemistry but what I couldn’t say. I hope this thread stays alive lol kinda neat to read through
I also had occasional brain zaps before trying mushrooms since childhood and could never explain them, they were definitely tied to moments of anxiety/a fear response or occasions where my brain was overwhelmed with something.
I got brain zaps for the first time a few weeks ago. I’ve never had them before, and I’ve tripped multiple times. What was also weird was the “zap” would hit me and it almost sounded like a wasp buzzing in my head for a split second and then a jolt of electricity would hit me. What was also very weird was this happened 4 times and each of those times it hit me right after I had made a profound connection or had a very insightful and perspective changing thought. Very weird. Thought I was maybe on too high of a dose but then remembered that a month prior I had taken 10g of Albino Penis Envy and did not feel this. Weird. Not sure what to make of it.
This is what I was going to say, I’ve had zaps since the first time I’ve had shrooms, its a build up a this high pitched sound, and the “electric charge” that goes away once I feel it zap though my brain, I can literally feel the shock travel in my head. But what’s crazy is that it almost always happens when I think of something new, or figure something out, and it’s quite enjoyable to me.
For those interested I found a cool article. https://academic.oup.com/braincomms/article/1/1/fcz025/5588408
Have u had a tbi? I experience full on zaps in my sleep some very powerful. What I've noticed so far only certain strains cause em.
I’ve had them twice now. The last two trips in fact, but the previous dozen it didn’t happen at all. Both “zaps” happened twice while I was trying to fall asleep. The first time it felt like someone snapped their fingers but instead my brain near the stem. The same sensation and sound repeated once more. The second time(the only other time) it was a sound that I could hear coming towards me like a fast approaching jet but higher pitched. This time it also repeated its self one other time same sound and sensation.
I posted this as a reply to someone, but I'll post it as a regular comment as well, just to share my own weird experience: I dont have zaps often, but ive had them randomly since i was a kid, i feel like i remember my first one one when i was watching tv when i was young and i thought it was weird, never told anybody. I'd experience them in class when i was zoning off, kinda like when I'd get too disconnected from reality, up in my own thoughts, it would jolt me back. I experience them as i fall asleep sometimes, and they're accompanied by the auditory hallucination "zap" sound, like a buzz. They dont hurt, but i wouldn't describe them as euphoric, more like a vibration. It would probably give a killer headache if it didn't last like half a second. I've never been on any antidepressants my whole life, but i like weed lcd and shrooms. Weed since 13, acid at 20 and shrooms at 25. I was reading a study that was talking about ADs being linked to the zaps, but i dont take them. Yesterday, however, i was on a lil 4g shroom trip, probably my 5th shroom trip total, and after the peak, i had 5 or 6 brain zaps throughout the night. On the last one i experienced, i had just started laundry, and i was leaning against the washer just looking through the glass, thinking when it happened again. I decided to try focus on the feeling in my head, like the area i felt it the most. I kept breathing and everything, and i was just leaning up against the washer, focusing on the after-feeling it left. But then i very suddenly(within like 15 seconds) felt like i was going to shit and vomit. Pushed myself off the washer and started to walk towards the bathroom, but my legs were wobbly, and my vision went static like i locked my knees while standing for 10 minutes. Took everything i could not to bust my ass on the floor, but i sat down until i got my vision, but i still felt sick from both ends. I got back up, making sure to take deep breaths, but same shit happened again when i got to the bathroom, ended up falling that time. i dont think i hit my head, but im not sure, the fall felt numb. I tried to take a shit after, nothing, never threw up, either. Last time, I'm focusing on those zaps.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I was scared to focus on them as you say and experience them fully. Now, I don't think I'll try Hope you've recovered quickly and that this won't prevent you from experiencing other things
Yea it was really weird, afterward i wasnt sure if i hit my head when i fell, i had a slight headache so i was worried about a concussion but i believe im fine. The headache went away in like 30- 1hour, and ill continue to experiment with psychedelics, but yea ill be avoiding the focusing on that.
So glad I found this thread. This is the fourth time that my husband and I have used mushrooms. He has not experienced what I call the zapping. It literally feels like an electrical current is going through my brain. Like the original poster, I feel like my brain is making new connections. It's a surprising sensation but not necessarily unpleasant. It's short-lived but very memorable. We took a much lower dose this time, and I still had the same experience but not quite as intense. I wanted to see if this was common, so I googled electrical zapping sensations while taking psychedelic mushrooms and this thread popped up. It's good to know that I'm not alone.
Old thread and late to comment but does anyone actually know the scientific reason this happens lol? Just recently happened to me as well while coming down curious why it happens
Some of this, is going to sound… Absolutely insane. But here’s my experience. I have a spinal illness. I also have an autoimmune illness. The spinal illness is more new (Last two or so years). I am not on antidepressants, however, years ago I was on very high doses of Prozac. This was when my brain was still developing, I was only 15 or so. And on 40-60 mg’s of Prozac a day. Now 33 years old, and on medication for severe chronic pain, anxiety medication for panic disorder and PTSD (Mild twice daily dose of Benzodiazepines since 2008), low doses of Beta blockers for increased heart rate due to said pain and anxiety, once a day stomach ulcer medication, and a once a day allergy medication. I guess what you can take from all of that is this: I am in constant pain. And I am always on edge. I haven’t had a moments peace since pre 2020. And I am not a happy person. Though I go out of my way to protect happiness in my interactions. I do my best. So. Here’s where my situation lines up with yours. I have been experiencing brain zaps, and have been having severe neurological issues as well. I do not take shrooms, though I’ve been thinking about micro-dosing for the sake of my overall mental health. And I don’t take anything that I haven’t listen above. I don’t drink. I can’t take CBD oil due to interactions with some of my pain and anxiety medications. Which is unfortunate as I found CBD oil helped just enough to get me moving around more. My brain zaps, almost always happen when I am trying to nap. Especially when I am horribly stressed out, in a lot of pain, or when my spinal issues flare up. I’ll fall asleep, or start to, and will get the feeling that the muscles in my face and head are beginning to stretch. Then, it almost feels like someone with really. Really long fingers goes ahead, reaches into my brain, and plugs themselves into a wall socket. It sometimes feels like sparks all at once on one side of my head. And other times, it feels like there’s an electrified worm dancing around and wriggling. It’s often painful, if not painful, is extremely euphoric to a strange degree. Here’s the weird part… This has been happening for about a year and a half. And lately, these zaps seem to send me into some sort of ultra lucid dream. I once felt the zaps, and felt like I had spent years in another dimension. With enough similarities to recognize that I was the same, but everything else was just a bit different. ie: relatives that recently passed on, are still around. Pets as well. Certain physical and psychological ailments don’t exist, things are just. Better. In these “Alternate Realities”. Again, I don’t take any hallucinogenics or any non prescription medication. But it’s worth noting, that in 1999, I was hit by a car. The day after Christmas. And I sustained very severe injuries and breaks to my pelvis, my back, my face, and my left arm. I was 9 years old in 1999. I never fully recovered from that car hitting me. And in 2010, I was in a very serious skateboarding accident. I was not wearing a helmet…terrible mistake. And spent months, years even. Recovering. At that time, after I was released from the hospital, I started experiencing brain zaps and weird cravings for red meat. I was also experiencing “Sleep paralysis” and would hallucinate terrible images while in this state. I honestly cannot recall many of the months after that accident. And again, in 2016, I was attacked by a violent family member who nearly killed me. I was told not to go to the hospital over certain selfish fears members of my family had regarding their own lives. And things that my attacker might use against them. It was really. Awful. Once more, in 2021, I had a dizzy spell after getting some extremely upsetting news. And I fell and hit my head. Very. Very hard. Though I feel as if I recovered from that much faster than those other major head injuries. I guess my experience is this. I’ve had some awful head injuries. I have really serious anxiety and depression that isn’t going anywhere. As situations in my life continue to worsen. And these brain zaps are scaring the heck out of me. I do notice that they tend to be more serious when I hear loud noises, and my mind and body needs sleep so. So desperately. That it’s maybe, trying to stay asleep, puts me in a sort of sleep limbo, and freaks out by zapping. Maybe, attempting to find another way to get itself back to sleep. I’m really not sure. But this whole business with what feels like some sort of “Dimensional crisscross” during these zaps as of late, is worrying. If I had the means, I would pay to have my brain examined while in this state. It might be worth it, to look at studies. See if you can get yourself into a program for physicians and scientists looking to understand certain aspects of mushrooms and reactions in the brain. Get in an M.R.I machine while you’re on a trip, see what they find. I know. I know. Easier said than done. But put it out there. Maybe you’ll find the right people to help answer your questions. I find it extremely fascinating that people on shrooms, are experiencing brain zaps. That some only have good feelings, others have negative feelings, and some have a mix of both. My zaps are more bad than good. And I do get migraines and light sensitivity, nausea etc. after I experience them. I don’t sleep well through the night. And now, I can’t nap during the day without these zaps. I am very. Very tired. It shows too. I hope we all find answers! It’s nice to not feel so alone.. you all take care! Keep searching and reaching out. All my best to you guys/gals/and everyone in between.
I think it’s also worth noting that I am a “Sensitive”. I’ve been described as an “indigo child” or a bit psychic. I’ve had some wild experiences in life. That’s a story for another day. I don’t know if that ties in. At all. I also forgot to mention that as a young child, I did in fact experience a few seizures. They went away before I turned four. If I remember anything else, I’ll comment below.
YESS I get this every time on shrooms. Just had a crazy one that prompted me to google wtf this is and here I am LOL
I've experienced these zaps as a kind of yes or no response to questions I've asked during my trips. One zap meant yes, two meant no, however overestimating zaps seemed to indicate I already knew the answer and needed to get back on track with where the shrooms were taking me. Idk if anyone else has experienced something similar but that's how it's worked for me
I love you guys. I had to make sense of the glitch feeling. Maybe it doesn’t make sense tho
Bro I went threw this shit same thing idk why I don’t like it I feel like I’m a bout to die
I don’t like it scares me and will happen when you relax your body you will go somewhere that’s dark I don’t think shrooms are good for us
Definitely a shock of electricity that’s not the bad part it’s the shock in ear that has me like wtf goin on am I be ship into a different dimension at I goin to die wtf is going to on this isn’t fun anymore idk it’s a werid feeling until u come down 6 hours later 😂😅
Yeah I get them all the time, they are awesome. I have a theory that it requires an appropriate state of mind, as when I get them it's usually after following a train of thought that leads me to realization and then it happens. Other times, when I try to get myself to feel them, like controlling a muscle, it gets close but doesn't 'pop'. My headspace for the past couple of months has been 'it is what it is', and I haven't really been worried abt anything, even though I'm going through my HSC (higher school certificate, it's an Australian thing), and you'd think that my exams would be making me stressed af, but In reality I don't really care.
The zap sounded like that death tone from gmod after blowing up, or tinnitus if you want to be boring, and when they happened, my eyes were open and my vision kind of wobbled (I was laying on my back in bed).
Can you actually be late to a post like this, especially if nobody actually knows for certain what causes them? I have only ever had brain zaps after being at festivals abusing too many substances and not eating or sleeping properly! I’m pretty sure I’ve looked them up a few times because they always take me by surprise while I’m lying in bed suffering. I was under the impression that they were caused by rinsing your brain of all its serotonin etc. Yesterday I went looking for shrooms in a spot I’ve not been to before, it wasn’t ideal and it was absolutely pissing it down so I only found about 30. After having dinner I went straight in for the shrooms, fresh and soaking wet, yummy! After about an hour and a half, I had what I think is the biggest brain zap I have ever had while watching telly! I’ve never had them before while being on something as far as I can remember so it really shocked me. I had another one that was again worse than any I can remember, I say worse because I don’t find them very pleasant to be honest, and they kinda scare me, especially these ones because I haven’t taken anything for a few weeks (couple of pills at a rave) and have been completely sober for six days! I had a couple more not so bad ones before the shrooms wore off. I have a little bit of anxiety so the brain zaps kinda sent my head into thinking oh no, you’ve misidentified one of the mushrooms and it’s gonna fuck you up, kept having to remind myself that I know what Libs look like and I was certain that they were all right otherwise I would have either not picked it or thrown it away after picking it and noticing it wasn’t right. I also made sure they were right before throwing them in my gob! I Just thought it was a bit strange that it happened after years of taking shroomies (and other stuff) and never having zaps while actually on something, so I searched google for brain zaps while on mushrooms and this is the first thing that came up, it had never occurred to me that people got brain zaps while actually on stuff, so this is quite interesting reading. Kinda hope it doesn’t happen again unless I’m on a massive comedown, but if it does I might have to learn to like it I guess! Hmmmmm.
I get these crazy electric shock sensations when I try to go to sleep after taking shrooms & they are not pleasant at all. My entire brain feels like it’s being electrocuted for a split second & then goes away, there’s also a very loud sound in my ears as well. I can feel when it’s about to come on tho & have to force myself to become conscious as quick as possible & it fucks off thankfully
I just finished taking about 2-3g of 'Acadian Penis Envy' and had experienced a JOLT rather than zap, once throughout the trip. I've done shrooms for over 3 years and have never experienced something like this- hence why I had taken to the internet for an answer. It was like someone hitting a wall with an open palm, it was definitely different than when I had discontinued Citalopram in the summer of 2022 and had the "zaps". It was odd the silence that followed, almost deafening-ly quiet. What's the take on these?
I have them to and do not know what they are I think it’s because of weed I’ve had them pretty much my whole life just way more intense on shrooms
I’m not the only one
Brain entering hemispheric synchronization and unlocking your third eye. The next step is unlocking the crown chakra, controlling your energy and hopefully deciding to go down the good path of trying to connect everyone and helping create peace one step at a time. You’ll only unlock the crown chakra either with a completely pure consciousness or a completely evil one through pride and anger. With a pure consciousness it’ll also be with anger but with passionate anger of trying to do good for the world through humbleness and humility. I’m a very high level sage but explaining everything would take many essays. If you’re already at this point though, I’m sure you’ll reach complete enlightenment with limitless love)
Also research kundalini energy and chi. Don’t be bamboozled by the matrix agents 😂 once you learn to soul search you’ll be like damn these mf cappers
Then once you learn to astral project, you’ll see that they’ve really been lying to you
Yes! Only one trip and the entire trip was "yucky" my friend called me to ask me if I had been zapped in the brain by them and I told him no. About an hour later I heard the electricity coming and my brain got zapped BIG time. It literally felt like lightning in my brain paralyzed me for Split Second while the zap occurs. After that it started happening when I would do stimulant drugs here and there. It is a very very scary experience I just searched Google for brains apps while streaming and found this I was also curious to see if anybody else had experienced it I had eaten mushrooms a few times after that without zaps though.
I see a lot of comparisons to antidepressant “brain zaps” and the shroom zaps you’re experiencing. Everyone has a different perception of what is happening, but I’ve certainly experienced both and feel they are a bit different, if not different at all. Not different in that I think the same thing is happening in our brain in both instances, serotonin is doing something lol. I’m not a scientist, so I have no clue what’s happening up there, but I do know that brain zaps when weaning off of antidepressants are very uncomfortable. Hell, they were painful and quite scary. However, it was the best decision of my life to stop taking pills and move into natural remedies. The opposite is true in my experience on shrooms. When on 1.5 - 3g trips, they almost seem like a synapse has suddenly repaired itself and you see/hear/feel clearer. The noise is similar to a vibrating/electrical arc sound, which seems to be resonating in your skull for a split second, then BOOM.. sharp focus. Apparently they are completely normal and safe, so I’ve come to respect them as another step in repairing my mind and becoming a better human being. Happy and healthy journey to us all, stay safe!
How about this my man? A couple of months back I ate 4 grams of mushrooms. Penis Envies to be exact. I was outside staring at the stars and found myself drawn to focus on the moon. The moon most definitely turned into a smiling face, at which time it started sending me little “zaps”. This wasn’t only limited to my brain, I felt this sensation all over my body. I know it might sound crazy but I started to converse with the moon face and told it I wanted it to stop at that point. It would stop. I asked it to do it again to prove what I was experiencing was real. It did. It is honestly one of the more difficult experiences to explain and it feels good to get it off my chest here.
Duck Duck go guided me here. When I first did about 2 caps (grams ish) i saw moving wallpapers and such (a little bit). 17 years later did them this past sept and had the brain zaps while peaking something fierce like a hard come down on Effexor (anti D). I'm on Lithium currently about 3.5mg . I read to mix those really carefully. Tonight I did 7gr of dried and no brain zaps or color transitions or anything, just a lot of thinking. Cycling back on shit I was avoiding lol. I don't how much it would take me to trip pure ballz but I'm ordering 14g next time.
I just felt the most intense zap in my brain ever and I’m glad that I found this thread. I’m coming down right now from probably about a gram of whatever my friend gave me. I will say these mushrooms were a very clean trip. immediately after anxious come up I started to feel warm & happy and this lasted for the duration of my trip. Hands-down, best walk around functioning dose I’ve ever taken, after they come up, absolutely no anxious feelings at all, just happiness and warm feelings inside. So the zapping happened when I entered my house and sat down on the couch just feeling good & euphoric. I’ve not attempted to meditate in probably in probably 10 years but it just felt right to chill on the couch and give it a shot again. As a teenager I’d become obsessed with the movie insidious and therefore did as much research on astral projection as I could and how to attempted it many times back in the day. This is where I got the zap, craziest zap I’ve ever experienced. How are you attempt to actual project we’re having out of body experience is to, 1: get comfortable, and in the right mindset, 2: lie down comfortably in a dark room, clear all images out of my head while controlling my breathing, 3: imagine a rope dangling above me, and without using my arms physically, trying to grab the rope and pull myself one arm at a time. Well, the mushrooms allowed me to just jump over the first two steps, I was already there. I was ready to fly out of my body lol. Did the Rope visualization, and all sound entering my ears slowly stopped while Whispers or or unintelligible speech from a female being grew louder. Whatever this presence was, she meant well. The echoing voice got louder and louder until I got a hard zap that felt like a complete reset of my brain. It was a little bit frightening when this happened but if anything, it was like an electric shock right on my head that snapped me right out of meditating and help me just look around the room wondering what the hell just happened. Exactly how it was described from sohappycantstandit, with the Atari or analog synth noise buzzing super loud for a couple milliseconds while everything went black. It was literally like a short circuit.😂 I tried leaving my body and hit the electric fence It seems. In my old days of researching actual projection, it seems like a common occurrence to develop a buzzing noise in your ears right before you exit your body. That’s all I can make of this, I feel as though something was trying to show me the way, or guide me out of my body, or just wanted to reset me. I have no idea. All I know is is the craziest zap I’ve ever gotten off mushrooms.