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Time distortion

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Time distortion is an effect that makes the passage of time difficult to keep track of and wildly distorted. It is usually felt in two different forms: time expansion and time compression. It can, however, also be experienced through forms of perceived repetition which result in what are known as time loops.

Time expansion

The most common of these is time expansion. Time expansion can be described as the feeling that time has slowed down. This seems to stem from the fact that during an intense hallucinogenic trip, abnormally large amounts of experience are felt in very short periods of time. This creates the illusion that more time has passed than actually has. For example, at the end of certain experiences one may feel that they have undergone any number of days, weeks, months, years or even eternal and infinite periods of time.

In some less common scenarios this can result in the concept of time itself no longer making any plausible sense to the individual. In these cases the user’s mind typically cannot grasp or consciously process simple everyday concepts. As some describe it the effect can feel as though linear time or the subjectively perceived temporal laws of the universe have undergone some kind of metaphysical inflation or ineffable transformation but these results are rare and inconsistent.

Though the effect of time expansion in general can be felt with virtually any hallucinogen it is often experienced most consistently and profoundly with the tryptamine psychedelics such as psilocin and DMT. Studies have demonstrated that psilocin the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms significantly impairs subjects' ability to gauge time intervals longer than 2.5 seconds, impairs their ability to synchronize to inter-beat intervals longer than 2 seconds, and reduces their "preferred" tapping rate. These results are consistent with the drug's role in affecting prefrontal cortex activity, and the role that the prefrontal cortex is known to play in time perception.

Time compression

The second form, time compression, is more common within stimulating substances than hallucinogens. It can be described as the experience of time speeding up and passing much quicker than it usually would within everyday life.

Time loops

The third and most inconsistent form, time loops, is more common with LSD than that of any other traditional or commonly used psychedelic. This can be described as feeling as though time and real life events are repeating themselves often in a continuous cyclic rhythm. This usually feels like time is no longer being perceived in a linear fashion so real life scenarios that only physically occurred once can appear to occur multiples times in a row when the user is having this experience. This particular form of time distortion often leads to confusion and is most of the time only temporary.

Psychoactive substances

Compounds within our psychoactive substance index which may cause this effect include:

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Experience reports

Anecdotal reports which describe this effect within our experience index include:

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See also

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