Introducing the Psychedelic Experience Wheel: A Tool for Recollecting Your Trips

Words cannot fully capture human experience—it surpasses description with concepts and terms. This fact might be particularly apparent with psychedelic experiences.

I can distinctly recall the feelings of frustration trying to journal during and after my first psychedelic journeys. Nothing I wrote seemed to capture my experiences when the medicine temporarily unleashed my consciousness beyond the confines of language.

Over decades of supporting folks with psychedelic integration, I've noticed many people, especially after their first medicine session, are challenged to put their experience into words. Many therapists have created and used some version of the emotions wheel, or feelings wheel, to help people more clearly recognize their feelings. Searching around the web, I was surprised I couldn't find any such wheel geared specifically toward psychedelic experience, so I created one.

Use this wheel as a tool to revisit and reflect on your experience. Recollect part of your psychedelic experience you struggle to put to words. Start from the center and move out to the 2nd or 3rd ring of the circle. Which of these words resonates with what you felt? "Was it apprehension, or was it distraction?" As you consider the nuances between these words, revisiting and recollecting your experience, your memory of the experience will become clearer. Go to the next rung of the circle. What resonates there? You can gain insight into your experience by identifying which parts of the wheel do or don’t resonate with your experience. Then explore the feelings and emotions underlying the words.

I encourage you to keep an integration journal to reflect on your experience over time, as integration is an ongoing process. Integration can be further supported by discussing your experience with others who understand psychedelic journeys and can add invaluable perspective. As an experienced guide, I offer private integration sessions and coaching specific to your situation. Personalized guidance with integration can bring lasting change.