Paranoia on THC

[Mehdi_adi.moada]

Since ten years ago smoking cannabis makes me extremely paranoid. Is there an explanation for that ? I don't know anyone else with the same problem. I'm 30 and I started cannabinol when i was 19.help?

 

[ImagineBetter]

Well I don't smoke marijuana anymore as it causes me to become paranoid as well. I smoked for years whi;e experimenting with (and abusing) many drugs during this time paranoia wasn't a problem until around a year ago.

 

[Freon]

I was wondering about this the other day. I've been smoking for almost 15 years or so and I still get paranoid off it. Nothing debilitating or anything, just a general uneasy feeling. It's funny cuz I never get paranoid off methamphetamine or other stims yet marijuana can still pull one on me even after all these years. Probably cuz I only smoke occasionally nowadays so I get real stoned plus my hppd makes me hallucinate.

 

[camjua]

I smoked heavily for about 3 years. I then tried shrooms and had a horrendous trip. From that day forward I couldn't smoke weed ever again because it would send me immediately into panic attacks. Many of the people I know personally who cannot smoke weed anymore.. this occurred after trying a hallucinogen. Just a personal observation. It could very easily be coincidence.

However I will say, I am able to smoke weed again.. but it took a 4 year break and now I can only smoke a little. If I get too high I get paranoid and panicky. I honestly think a lot of what makes me panic when too high is feeling "out of control". Feeling like people around me are judging me.. feeling unable to handle certain situations or anticipating negative things.

 

[Jibult]

Is there an explanation for that ? I don't know anyone else with the same problem. I'm 30 and I started cannabinol when i was 19.help?

Specifically? Nope, can't explain it. I'm no biochemist.

In a much more broader sense, I can tell you that this is a fairly common situation smokers find themselves in. I'm a paranoid, anxious little weedhead, man, and I've found that the weed-related paranoia really amps up when I smoke to try and alleviate anxiety that's gotten so bad it's about to give me a panic attack.

The weed is able to circumvent the panic attack in those cases, but then I get shifty-eyed and start thinking everyone in the house is focused on what I'm doing. Like I'm the god damn center of the world and I can't even come around a corner without 6 sets of eyes staring holes through me (ridiculous, I know... but so is paranoia). And then I start to think about what they're thinking about as they stare me down, and then I start to get angry that they just peaked my anxious thought processes simply by looking at me in unison, and now I'm mad at all of my roommates and don't want to be around them for a couple days because I expect the situation to repeat every time I see them.



Basically? This comes down to set, setting, and current state of mind whenever you sit down to smoke. Just my $0.02.

 

[aberod]

hi. i've been smoking for the last 10 years or so, and at first paranoia attacked me so badly that even thought that i was going to die of a heart attack.

In my case it was because all that misinformation about cannabis use. I was told since a kid that only bad people (murderers, thieves) used cannabis and that if you smoked a joint you'd end up prostituting yourself to get your next fix and living in the streets.

all that terrorism was causing me a bad trip.

There is physical reality though and is that your heart rate changes during cannabis use. Dont be afraid of it. if you feel its too fast or too slow, just breathe and calm yourself. You are not the first guy feeling that.

Use your will power to make the drug hallucination a beautiful peaceful trip. If you believe in some sort of god, ask him or her to accompany you on your trip.

I think cannabis is like a magnifying glass. If you feel anxious, nervous or scared, that feeling grows and you get to know hell. But if you relax and focus on good things, it becomes a beautiful, really beautiful experience.

That, and check the quality of the cannabis you are buying. If it smells other than plant-like, dont use it.

 

[VitamaN]

Weed does this to more people than you might think. I started at age 13, im 32 and if I smoke without a benzo its bad news.
Even the best most relaxing strains will give me shortness of breath and anxiety .
I have friends who experience the same thing. They smoke and it ruins their good time.

 

[Dimitrius2912]

I smoke no more than at weekends and then not every weekend. Occasionally I can experience paranoia and tend to combat it with a low dose of Pyrazolam or Etizolam. This will always remove any paranoid thoughts and allow me to enjoy the evening. As I'm smoking fairly infrequently, using something like Etizolam would seem to be fine. On the other hand, if I was smoking daily I would be reluctant to use this strategy as I'd be afraid of benzo addiction, seizures etc.

 

[Jibult]

This will always remove any paranoid thoughts and allow me to enjoy the evening. As I'm smoking fairly infrequently, using something like Etizolam would seem to be fine. On the other hand, if I was smoking daily I would be reluctant to use this strategy as I'd be afraid of benzo addiction, seizures etc.

Thanks for adding that caveat. I get so angry when I see people give a blanket recommendation of taking a benzo' whenever you smoke for anxiety. Moderation and self-control is vital to maintaining your physical and mental health when you employ this kind of strategy to deal with drug-related anxiety.

 

[Mehdi_adi.moada]

So it seems there's no explanation

 

[Jibult]

So it seems there's no explanation

We could just simplify it and say there's something in your head that's kind of fucked, which causes you to react differently to marijuana than the average person. I dunno, I just figured you wouldn't appreciate that for some reason.

 

[Dystopia35]

I smoked all day everyday from the time I was 14 until my early twenties. I am now 35. Around my early twenties I had my first kid and started taking on many more important responsibilities. This is when the herb bagan to turn on me. Slowly it began making me more and more anxious.

I would smoke and I would immediately feel guilty like I was doing something wrong. What used to relax me was now causing me too obsess about bills,work and other responsibilities. So I quit smoking it.

I was wondering if anyone thought this may have something to do with chemistry changing in your body as you get older.

 

[dankplantgrower]

Are you guys talking about the classic "I feel like everyones looking at me" paranoia? Or more serious ideas like imagining people are out to get you and worrying about tapped phone lines and stuff?

I had a very similar experience as the poster above me. Around my early 20s cannabis started giving me anxiety pretty bad. I dont recall it being brought on by abstinence or tolerance like most people though. I was very depressed and I sort of just stayed in my room watching movies and shit and unconsciously secluded myself for almost a year. During that time I somehow developed permanent anxiety even when Im sober. I have had panic attacks in crowded places too. I cant help but feel like cannabis was responsible im some way. I wasnt even drinking alcohol during that time. As anyone who has permanent anxiety knows, it sucks big time.

 

[ebola?]

Biochemistry and neurology are not yet sufficiently advanced to provide a physiological explanation of this reaction.

ebola

 

[Jibult]

Are you guys talking about the classic "I feel like everyones looking at me" paranoia?

When it happens, yeah, most of the time. It's gone past that before but it's generally related to anxiety, not a sense of danger or anything.

 

[Thomas Davie]

I've been smoking since 1984. Infrequently from then until October/2009. Say once a week; sometimes going long periods of time without smoking anything, and the times smoking 4-6 times in one day. The latter frequency of use was very uncommon though; the paranoia and uncomfortable anxiety made it....not pleasant. And yes, it was all social smoking.

In October/2009 I went medical because I'm not allowed to use painkillers known as NSAIDs for arthritis. It caused a bit of anxiety at first. but when you're waiting 12 hours to get home from work just tot take a bong rip so you can move without pain, well the anxiety becomes secondary to the relief that I got from MJ. I did learn that taking small bong rips (say 0.1g) 10-15 times a day was far better for controlling pain than 3 bong rips of 0.5g, Paranoia and anxiety just kind of disappeared.

As a result of constant use I find I no longer have pot paranoia, and can smoke larger amounts, around people or concentrates without freaking out.

Talking to the people while high was something that I had to learn being comfortable with. I mostly smoke in my own house, and people know that if they come over there is going to be pot around.

However, I still get twinges of 'what the fuck did I do' if I smoke a strong Sativa.

Tom

 

[Boognish]

Yes weed can induce panic sometimes, but submit to it like you would a psychedelic and you will work though your anxiety! For years I had bad anxiety from a bad ayahuasca trip. Every time I would smoke I would full on panic, I quit for a while and ran to benzos and booze, but they fucked me everytime! Years went by and eventually I went back to cannabis, and rode out those tough feelings of paranoia and panic. You know what? Eventually (not quickly) I worked through my panic attacks, I would even intentionally exacerbate a panic attack by hitting dank in the middle of it, sometimes it helped other times not, but eventually I got rid of these panic attacks. Im sick of all these mj causes anxiety threads in a way because it's helped me so much. Only downside was being a pothead, but I'll take it over benzodiazepines any day!