Marijuana Use and Depression

[Derin105]

about 50 days ago I quit marijuana after a year long habit of smoking regularly everyday. At first, weed was great and was great for a long time. Towards the end of that year I started losing motivation and was starting to get paranoid, so I figured it was time to give it up. However, I was under the impression that it would be a simple transition back to my normal self. Keep in mind I've never been depressed, but have had some minor issues with anxiety but never really required meds for it. I am 23 years old and am in good shape.

Since I quit, I've been depressed, and my anxious thinking takes over me. The first 30 days were hell, literally....

I just want to know if Ive somehow developed depression or if it's going to take a few more months to allow my brain to readjust to normalcy?

I just want to wake up feeling good about the day again. Instead of thinking. "Dam another day of feeling like shi*".

Any comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[neurotic]

it sure can happen, weed is a very weird drug. i know if i smoke too much for some time it makes me feel completely apathetic and empty, like i have no soul

you sure there are no events and things that might be causing this to you? depression ime is mostly in our head, caused by our own thoughts, but some things can affect us and make us depressed

anyway, if you wake up feeling tired and physically unwell, my guess would be try to eat well and sleep well. exercising would be a great idea too, lots of people say it does wonders for depression. if it resists then may be it's time to identify specifically what triggers these bad feelings (usually some specifics things or thoughts) and try to change it. understanding what causes your depression and anxiety is the best way to deal and conquer it, at least for me.

good luck

 

[mabzie55]

Pretty much happened to me any of the times I've quit pot, weirdly it wasn't as bad this time maybe because this is the time it's for good and I no longer have desire to smoke.

But it most certainly made me depressed. Sleeping most of the day, not having the will to get out of bed, literally not wanting to do anything, no interest in fun, boredom, etc.

It will subside in time.

If you give in and smoke, the inevitable depression of when you don't will just be worse.

 

[Foreigner]

After 5 years of smoking pot regularly, I quit last year cold turkey and the first 30 days were hell. My sleep was garbage and I felt a mind fog every day.

I did get depressed after that. Some of it is surely biochemistry, but I also feel that long-term cannabis use is a numbing agent that's no different than an SSRI. On the one hand it can help with self-reflection if taken moderately, but when used regularly it can suppress personal issues and distract a person from looking at themselves clearly. I support pot legalization but I think in some ways it's the new opiate for the masses.

On a personal level, pot helped my depression while I was high. The next day I'd always have a hangover and feel like crap. (Since then I've learned I'm really sensitive to THC and the high yield strains are prob not best for me.)

 

[Jerzey]

Everyone is different, but here is my story. I was a heavy smoker for 20+ years. I quit for a bunch of reasons about 200 days ago.

I was anxious before, but never depressed. Didn't really know what depression was in fact. When I stopped this is what I experienced.

1-5 days in. Mostly acute anxiety. Sleeplessness. Loss of appetite. A few full panic attacks. Degraded as time went on.

6-10 days in. Major anxiety attacks. Emotionally unstable. Would burst into tears. Still sleepless and no appetite.

11-15 days in. Started to feel despondent and helpless. Lost interest in all things. Could not find the will to get out of my room. Cried a lot and started to feel I might hurt myself. Realized I was entering a depressive state.

16 days in. Ready to hurt myself. Drove myself to my local er. Was admitted to the psych ward.

17-22 days in. In the ward. Unexplainable experience. Was put on some meds. Called major depressive on my chart. Meet with dr. Went to groups. Watched bad tv and walked halls. Depression slowly lifted. Felt shame.

23 days in. Discharged from the ward. Went home. Still a hard time sleeping. Some anxiety still. Saw my kids for the first time in 6 days. Slept with my son for the next 3 nights. Didn't really sleep though. Appetite at about 50%. Dropped from 155lbs to 140 by then.

24-30 days in. Started intensive outpatient therapy. Lots of group therapy with my recovering addicts. Prob the only one who was set off by pot. Felt ashamed.

30-35 days in. My appetite returned. Started putting on some lbs again. Still did not sleep well.

36 days in. Returned to work for the first time in 25 days. Longest I've gone without working in 20 years. Scared as hell.

37-50 days in. Started doing things I did before for the first time without smoking. Going to work, the park, store, walking my dog, pretty much everything. Cause I got high before I did anything.

Things began to normalize from there to now. Little bit at a time. My experience was extreme. No doubt. Smoking just doesn't work for me anymore. Maybe someday it will again. But that's prob not the case. For me it was my everything. Like Alcohol to a alcoholic. Most can take it or leave it. I envy most. I have vivid dreams now. Didn't remember a dream for 20 years. This is my experience. I don't know why it happened, but it did. Maybe I was always depressed or something else. I don't know. But it was a crazy crazy month. So, yeah. I was depressed when I quit but not anymore.

 

[ChipTrippyFox]

I started using it again after I becane depressed and personally its helped alot.

 

[FEDOR85]

I started using it again after I becane depressed and personally its helped alot.

Same here. Its also helped great with my insomnia, not so much my anxiety though so I try to just smoke it at night and have nowhere to go

 

[Mysterie]

basically if u smoked weed for a year theres a good chance you were self-medicating

so now you have less stuff to distract you from looking in the mirror/

just 'not smoking pot', is not enough to get you out of depression, you need to be proactive about self-improvement.

it takes hard work and effort in order for people to get through depression and maintain a healthy lifestyle consistantly

keep working at it, don't go back to smoking weed like people suggested. make wellbeing ur new addiction.

 

[dbc_pierre]

not sure what everybody else has said because I haven't read the thread yet, just wanted to jump right in and reply to the OP.

A few years ago I was diagnosed with depression and put on anti depressants (20mg Prozac, and 20mg Aripaprozole [cos the prozac brought mania out]). Was on them for about six months but couldn't stand how they made me feel. So I quit. I'd started smoking marijuana recreationally, over the weekend with friends and at parties and the like, but began smoking at least three times a week, I found this to be better at aiding me than the pills were.

I was on and off anti depressants a few more times, the doc trying to "find the right balance" instead of accepting that I hated how they made me feel, until I finally said "no. enough is enough. these aren't working for me." And he stopped them, and I told the counsellor to "do one" as well, I didn't want their help anymore. This was summer last year.

from Oct 2013 to Sep 2014, I was smoking every night, and most weekend afternoons too. My mood was generally a bit more stable, I wasn't having any trouble getting to sleep at night, all was good.

I moved out of my hometown in September and haven't been able to find a reliable dealer down here, and my anxiety and depression and insomnia have slowly started creeping back in. Over winter break I'm gonna be stocking up and blazing away. If it helps, it helps, and marijuana is definitely not as harmful as those pills that the professionals prescribe.

 

[moneyboy]

yes, feelings of depression, lowered drive and so on can one of the consequences after quitting the weed. In the beginning it may even seem kind of really bad, I felt that depression too. but you can help yourself with other stuff to motivate yourself and brighten up your mood, you need to have patience though, your brain and body-chemistry is re-adjusting, it may take several moths depending on how heavily and how long you've consumed the stuff.

instead of puffing weed you can use nutrition supplements like MACA root powder oder Ginseng to increase your bodyload, also you should try to get yourself excercising, because the cannabinoids stored inside your body will be broken down faster if you sweat a lot/do lots of sports. and your mood will get better too when you excercise regularly.