what type of anxiety does cannabis sometimes cause I.Y.E.

[Smiley91]

I am a cigarette smoker, but I don't smoke spliffs if that's what you mean. I've tried many different strains, different methods of consumption (vaping, edibles, ...) but no matter what I always end up in this intense state of panic & severe paranoia. It sucks =(

Yeah that's what I was referring to originally. That does suck man. I know the feeling but it's not overwhelming enough for me but I if it were to get worse I would have to quit too.

I'm gonna make some mars bar cakes tomorrow, edibles make me hit the giggles.

 

[Lafemmejdm]

It's particularly shitty because I have unrestricted access to edibles & smoke at all times

 

[Smiley91]

It's particularly shitty because I have unrestricted access to edibles & smoke at all times

Send them my way haha jk. That does suck man, but if it's not worth it what can u do. No point in putting yourself in to a paranoid state, unless it's enjoyable.

 

[BlueBull]

I too feel physical symptoms from smoking, usually in the realm of muscle tension & twitches

This is actually what worries me the most. Because I recognize them from MDMA. They feel exactly the same, starting as a small shiver with a sort of tickly feeling in the muscle and right after that the muscle tenses up a few times in short succession, again accompanied by a tickly feeling in the muscle. It's not painful, it's actually quite a pleasant feeling I think, but that exact same pleasant feeling is found right after an MDMA roll as well. That doesn't mean they're caused by stimulant use, but it does mean that they could have the same physical cause. In case of MDMA I believe it's caused by higher acetylcholine levels, not entirely sure though, the available research is limited. In case of cannabis, the fact that you're more likely to forget things is caused by its dampening influence on acetylcholine in the brain, but I don't know if it's the same for in the body where acetylcholine plays a crucially different role than in the brain. There it serves to contract en relax skeletal muscles, potentially explaining the twitches

I'm a bit high here so I might just be talking out of my ass, it just sounds logical :D

On-topic: I know more people for whom cannabis has started to cause anxiety after years of (ab)use and its mostly social anxiety, sometimes coupled with physical symptoms of anxiety and in rare cases panic disorders. So far I haven't met anyone that has general anxiety caused by weed though, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible. All of the people I have in mind have been very heavy smokers for years by the way

 

[neurotic]

weed actually smothers social anxiety for me

the only situation where it makes me anxious is if i have to deal with something that requires elaborate thinking. anything more complex than to go or not to go for milkshake becomes too hard and i just can't deal with it.

this and also if i start to wonder if i'm going crazy i easily fall into thought loops that make me depressed

 

[Smiley91]

weed actually smothers social anxiety for me

the only situation where it makes me anxious is if i have to deal with something that requires elaborate thinking. anything more complex than to go or not to go for milkshake becomes too hard and i just can't deal with it.

this and also if i start to wonder if i'm going crazy i easily fall into thought loops that make me depressed

aye, a think it smothers some of my social anxiety too e.g. with strangers. But if there's something specific (for me that usually involves people I know) then I can fall in to a negative thinking pattern I cant snap out of e.g. "they think I'm stupid", "I look a mess" etc or just a general heightened feeling of unease and overthinking.

 

[neurotic]

Yep mj can easily trick you into thinking patterns impossible to snap out of when high... Thats why for me set and setting are very importante regarding weed

 

[4meSM]

I actually only get social anxiety from cannabis when i'm alone with people i don't feel confident with, be it strangers or people who don't know i smoke, but its not often.

I just smoke to go with the flow, i like the abstract thinking it produces but from time to time when i'm stoned alone i get stuck into a negative thought loop like others have said, mostly involving health related things (like the thought of having testicular cancer, a heart attack or some kind of unknown thing happening in my body) or personal issues. It's mostly irrational thinking because i'm young and in good health but you never know, i've had accidents in the past.

I just think cannabis amplifies our emotions so if you're normally anxious cannabis could have a negative impact but its completely dependent on the set/setting and your particular mindset (as well as the strain). It's just an extremely versatile high.

I personally smoke everyday and enjoy it like 90% of the time, even if i'm stressed or whatever

 

[CrypticArc]

For me, if I ever do get anxiety from weed (which is never any more but used to happen once in a blue moon), it's similar to ego death anxiety. THC does still occasionally make me a bit paranoid though.

 

[PotatoMan]

The paranoia and freeze up anxiety is what it causes for me sometimes. Im good these days though. Only when I smoke alone I get bad paranoia

From high sativa strains I get uncomfortably overstimulated and it gives me "freeze up" anxiety where talking to people and especially girls is much harder. I hate it.

Otherwise just the anxiety from noticing tachycardia is all I receive and I've read noradrenaline at a certain level is euphoric.

And usually after the initial buzz I'm stoned and the anxiolytic effects kick in and it works like a low dose benzo IME.

 

[Wonka]

To me when i smoked about an 8th ever 2-3 days of the best in the land i would start to think people would be sneaking up to my house trying to break in......so i would stay up stoned to the boned still smoking watching with a shotgun around just in case they broke in.....although iw as more just worried about who might be doing then anything....i was younger back then though now my tolerance is out of this world....to this day i still get the feeling people are out to get me...being hunted so to speak

 

[ManRider]

sometimes anxiety is due to nutritional deficiencies. as a solution to this kind of anxiety, there's a supplement for anxiety and mood that can also reduce the anxiety caused by cannabis: www.green-calm.com.

it worked for me. i enjoy weed a lot more now, like i used to when i was younger.

 

[AKA Randy Travis]

I usually experience panic attacks(definitely not the motivating kind) lol when smoking herb, but I can usually talk myself out of them and enjoy that wonderful experience. I'm not sure if this has been said, but I have found that if I smoke on an empty stomach my anxiety is often more prevalent. I always try to eat something with some carbs and sugar. Seems to help me quite a bit.

 

[12monkeysnyc]

I have social anxiety which is exacerbated to unmanagable proportions when I smoke. It's shitty, when I was younger I really enjoyed smoking, and if anything it enhanced social situations for me. Currently if I smoke, its pretty much guaranteed that I'm going to end up in bed, alone, having severe panic & anxiety.

This is pretty much the exact same situation for me. When I was in high school I smoked multiple times daily and it definitely helped with my social anxiety. I am thinking now that maybe that was because it was something everyone was doing so it gave me common ground with people. Now, I still have the social anxiety, and it is much worse than it used to be, maybe from years of "hard" drug use. Now, I smoke occasionally, maybe 3-5 times a week and it basically takes away my social skills when i go out. I am awkward and can't hold a conversation. I don't have as severe a reaction as Lafemmejdm described but it does make me very anxious in social situations so similar situation. Because of this I only really smoke when I am at home and just chilling.

 

[just say know]

alright; i have some information about how to prevent paranoia. combine your weed with hops. not only that; but it adds benefits as hops is neuroprotective, anti alchoholic, and potentiates the positive aspects of the cannabis high greatly. i wonder what other herbs would be good for combining with cannabis?