The State of the World as an Aspect of 'Set and Setting'

If we’re to prioritise ‘set and setting’ (mindset and the physical and social environment) when using psychedelics, then we have to be aware of all the possible aspects of our minds and the world that could influence the experience. Realistically, there are innumerable aspects of set and setting, many of which we won’t be aware of (at least not fully), with others being out of our control (at least somewhat). It’s impossible to create the ‘perfect’ set and setting for this reason, although there is much we can do to create a better context in which psychedelic experiences occur.

Applying some Stoic wisdom here, it’s vital to be aware of what in our lives is (or is not) in our control: what is in our control, we can change to promote our well-being. And this applies to considerations of set and setting.

I think an underdiscussed aspect of set and setting – elements of which are in our control, with others that aren’t – is current affairs. Discussions on set and setting typically focus on things like your current mood or creating a comfortable trip space, but what is happening in the world can be an influencing factor too. World events affect our mindset, and they also contribute to the ‘cultural setting’ or ‘cultural atmosphere’ in which we trip.

The state of the world affects how people feel, carry themselves, and behave (or their ‘vibe’, if we want to be more hippie and colloquial about it). When we trip in public, this vibe can become magnified. Even if the vibe we perceive in others doesn’t reflect how others genuinely feel, that is, it’s more of a projection, this projection can nonetheless come from pre-existing feelings about the state of society.

In this post, I would like to describe the ways in which current affairs can affect the content and quality of a psychedelic experience. Moreover, while much of what’s happening in the world is out of our control (at least to a large extent), our habits of news consumption and social media use are much more controllable.

Some people may avoid the news and social media as much as possible, for the sake of having a better mindset. But there can be drawbacks to this approach too, such as lacking the information that gives one the motivation and knowledge to take meaningful action. Short of giving up news and social media consumption entirely, one can try to change one’s habits so that they are healthier. This is especially important in the run-up to a trip, i.e. the weeks preceding it. Doomscrolling for weeks can create all sorts of negative thoughts and feelings, and you don’t want this to turn an otherwise comfortable experience into a distressing one.

I once had a psychedelic experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic then became a theme during the experience, as the subject was – as it was for most people – very much on my mind. Thinking about the pandemic during the experience didn’t turn it into a negative one. If anything, it was a positive experience (by which I mean, I felt I adopted a meaningful perspective, without feeling negatively overwhelmed by the reality of the situation). I thought about all the worry and nervousness that people all over the world were currently experiencing. I felt compassion for this global suffering, rather than distress or despair. During other psychedelic experiences, thoughts and mental images of animal and human suffering in the world have cropped up, also marked by compassion, and I view these experiences as ‘good’ – in the sense of being valuable and meaningful – rather than negative. They weren’t emotionally distressing experiences.

It is possible, then, for negative world events to lead to (ultimately) positive outcomes in psychedelic experiences. Another example of this sort might be the climate crisis. Awareness of the climate crisis, and its different aspects, can be part of one’s ‘set’, which one carries into the psychedelic experience. As a result, one may have thoughts, feelings, or visions related to the destruction of ecosystems, for instance. Understandably, this can be an experience characterised by intense sadness, grief, or moral condemnation, but it may nonetheless catalyse positive feelings like nature connectedness and biophilia, leading one to become more environmentalist in one’s mindset and behaviour. The setting in which these experiences occur matters too: tripping in nature can enhance nature connectedness, and if those on different sides of the political spectrum or a conflict trip together, this may benefit the peacebuilding process.

On the other hand, it’s possible for global current affairs, such as those mentioned, to feel emotionally overwhelming. When the psychedelic floodgates are open, and thoughts about the sheer amount of human and animal suffering enter our minds, it can feel too much to bear. People who are highly sensitive may be especially prone to this overwhelm since they tend to feel things more intensely. ‘Feeling the pain of the whole world’ can be a positive experience – a bodhisattva-like state of mind – but Buddhists recognise that this level of compassion and kindness can be painful. Similarly, caring about the environment can also translate into climate anxiety.

But what about more political current affairs? As an example, a lot of the news I’ve consumed lately has been centred around Elon Musk and how he continually lies, embarrasses himself, and makes hypocritical statements and decisions. Admittedly, I’ve been bingeing on anti-Elon/Elon hate content lately, so that’s what the YouTube algorithms feed me. I just find it satisfying to see a man so clearly desperate for attention and validation – who wants to be perceived as a super genius and saviour of humankind – exposed as being foolish, cringeworthy, greedy, uncaring, and petulant. (It’s hard to pick out the most pathetic thing he’s done: Is it him getting salty that a diver didn’t accept his help for a rescue mission and then calling the diver a “pedo”, lying about being a top video game player, or saying “I am become meme” as a man in his 50s?) However, Musk is dominating the news landscape irrespective of YouTube and social media algorithms. (And this is precisely what he wants.)

I’m not sure these hate content binges are ideal in terms of preparing one’s mindset for a psychedelic trip. (I recognise I should probably stop bingeing on anti-Musk and anti-Joe Rogan content; while it’s satisfying, it also makes me feel irritated – especially towards all of Musk’s sycophants and idolisers, including Rogan.) Musk would probably love it – given how attention-hungry he is – if thoughts about him entered people’s psychedelic experiences. But what kind of trip would this be? I can imagine a kind of cringedelic experience: visions of Musk’s most cringeworthy moments, repeating ad nauseam.

Yet perhaps, like other negative current affairs, the outcome could be more positive. I find it difficult to feel warmth and kindness towards Musk – the schadenfreude and fremdscham (secondhand embarrassment) come much more naturally. But Musk’s undying need for validation no doubt originates in feelings of insecurity, an unmet (human) need he has. It may seem wrong to feel and direct compassion towards him, but it’s probably what he needs; if he wasn’t so insecure in himself, he would likely be less annoying and power-hungry.

Additionally, feeling compassion towards difficult people, or bad actors on the world stage, can lessen one’s own mental unease. Stewing in anti-Musk rage doesn’t make me feel great. This hatred can be entertaining, but it doesn’t put me in the best mood. Also, freudenschade offers a limited kind of joy. Maybe this politically-focused kind of news consumption, based on negative feelings, might lead to more helpful perspectives in a psychedelic state of mind. However, it’s also possible that these negative feelings would just become magnified.

We know that the news landscape can negatively impact our mental health: excessive news consumption can promote feelings like anxiety, depression, overwhelm, hopelessness, apathy, and compassion fatigue. Hence, you don’t want to be stuck in an addictive pattern of doomscrolling before a psychedelic experience, as this can colour what the experience is like. You don’t want to magnify feelings of doom and dread.

It’s also important to be aware of the fact that the news landscape has a negative bias. ‘If it bleeds, it leads’, as the saying in journalism goes. This reflects the negativity bias that humans have: we are more likely to give our attention to negative events than positive ones, as the former are more relevant to our survival. One can therefore consume news with this point in mind, recognising that a lot of good occurs in the world, which is not reported in the news but which one can observe in everyday life. It’s important to not let current affairs dictate one’s view of people and the world as a whole.

At the same time, other kinds of news consumption are available. Solutions-focused journalism, for instance, is a more accurate picture of world affairs, and it can also offer people a greater sense of efficacy (one’s ability to enact change). So if you curate your news consumption and social media feeds so that they are more solutions-focused, this can create a more optimistic mindset (in a way that’s realistic). For the sake of one’s mental health, one can also consume the news less, ignore the more fear-mongering and doom-ridden news sources and social media accounts, and pay closer attention to the types of social media accounts one follows.

Digital consumption should be framed in terms of digital hygiene: this means thinking about the time we spend online, how this time is spent online, the kinds of online interactions we see and engage in, and how all these factors affect our mental well-being. This kind of activity affects our mood, as well as the world we perceive ourselves living in, so it is very much an aspect of set and setting. For this reason, digital hygiene should be taken into account when using psychedelics, not just before the experience but in the post-trip (integration) phase as well. After all, doomscrolling in the days and weeks following a psychedelic experience is not going to be a helpful way to cultivate and maintain the benefits of the experience.