Route planner Sitter and hard stretches
Sitting a Hollandia trip, and getting through the steep stretches
A route card for the sober sitter of a strong truffle trip: what to do before the start, at each stage, when the trip turns hard, and when to call 112.
A sitter is the sober person who stays for the whole Hollandia trip, keeps the setting calm and safe, and knows when to get help. Dutch public health information advises having one, someone who has not taken anything (DRUGSinfo). With a strong truffle the sitter matters more, because the person on the trip has less room to steer once the summit arrives.
The evidence points the same way. In a survey of 1,993 people about their most difficult mushroom experience, risky behaviour was more likely at higher doses and when physical comfort and social support were missing (Carbonaro et al., 2016). Research guidelines for psychedelic studies name trust between the person and their monitors, careful preparation, a safe physical environment and interpersonal support during the session as the main safeguards (Johnson et al., 2008).
The sitter's route card
| Stage | What the sitter does |
|---|---|
| Before the start | Agree on the dose, the room, how long you stay and what happens if it gets hard. Ask about medication. Keep the rest of the pack yourself. |
| Trailhead, 0:00 | Note the time and the amount. Phone charged, address written down, water and a blanket within reach. |
| The wait, to about 0:45 | Keep it relaxed. If they say nothing is happening, remind them of the agreement: no second portion. |
| The ascent | Lower the light, keep the music calm, handle the door and phones. Short sentences, no long discussions. |
| The summit | Stay in the room. Check in every half hour with a simple question. Let them be quiet if they want to be. |
| The descent | Offer water and something to eat. Keep them inside and away from traffic, even if they feel ready to go out. |
| Base camp | Make sure they eat, get home without driving and are not alone for the rest of the evening. |
What a good sitter does, and leaves alone
A good sitter talks little and calmly, and does not try to interpret, analyse or fix the experience. Most people on a strong trip need reassurance and a quiet room more than conversation. Stay sober yourself for the whole route, including the descent, and do not leave the person alone, not even for a short errand, unless someone else takes over.
If several people take Hollandia together, at least one person takes nothing. Several people peaking at the same time can easily unsettle each other.
When the route turns steep
Most difficult stretches on a strong trip come during the ascent or at the summit. They can look like fear that something is wrong with the body, a feeling of losing control or going mad, confusion about where you are, or waves of sadness. In most reports they pass, and they pass faster when nobody fights them.
What helps, in roughly this order:
- Name it. Say calmly that this is the truffles, that it is temporary, and how long ago they were eaten. The time you noted at the trailhead is useful here.
- Change one thing. Another room, less light, different music, a window opened for fresh air. Small changes in the setting often break a loop of anxious thoughts.
- Slow the breath. Sit or lie down together and breathe slowly, with the out-breath longer than the in-breath.
- Ground the body. A blanket, a glass of water, something sweet to eat. None of this ends the trip; it gives the body something familiar.
- Keep it small. No crowds, no outings, no phone calls with people who are not present.
Do not add other substances on the way. Alcohol and cannabis in particular tend to make a hard stretch harder.
When to call for help
Call 112 if the person has trouble breathing, has a seizure, loses consciousness, is injured, or becomes a danger to themselves or others, for example by trying to run into traffic or water. Tell the emergency services what was taken, how much and when.
For questions that are not an emergency, the Drugs Infolijn of the Trimbos Institute can be reached on 0900-1995 within the Netherlands.
Before you agree to sit
Sitting a strong trip is a real commitment of six hours or more, plus the evening. Agree to it only if you can stay sober for the whole time, know the address, and are willing to call for help if needed. Read the stages together beforehand, so you both know what the wait, the ascent and the summit tend to look like.
