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How long does Cannabis induced Derealization last?

Jets

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May 22, 2012
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I am a 19 year old male and recently developed Marijuana induced derealization. I have been sober for 3 weeks but the feelings are still here.

The environment feels fake and my memory and concentration is non existent. I do not have any symptoms of physical anxiety but rather my perception of the world is distorted.

This all happened randomly when I was smoking a joint last week. I had been smoking for 3 years before with no problems.

I have heard that this can last a life time in some people and personally that scares the crap out of me. Avoiding smoking does not seem to make me feel normal again. I have been taking vitamins such as Magnesium, B12, and B complex so I can feel better but nothing is working.

For those who developed Cannabis Derealization/Depersonalization, is there a possibility that it stays permanently or does it eventually go away? How long does it usually take?

Thank you guys and this forum is nice.

-Jets.
 
Exactly 8.6743 weeks and 3 and half days. Psyc.

What you should do is condition disconnected feelings or visual sensations to something literal like a chakra hand position, then you'll feel like your astral projecting or meditating instead of being anxious. Turn it into a positive. Or try 5-htp.

http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/open.php
 
It lasted 9 months for me. Don't let that scare you. Get engaged in life. I'm not sure if you are or not but I was not. I'd go to shows and shit but I would also be so out there, in a dream like state.

Things that worked for me:

Forcing social interaction
Eating Better
Meditation
Exercise
Realizing I no longer wanted to be a shell of who I use to be
Writing also helped me work through a lot of emotions I covered up.
 
It varies, LogicSoDeveloped wrote an excellent post. I had it where it lasted for awhile but I'd have days when I was perfectly fine and other days where it would happen frequently and last awhile. I didn't get it from smoking herb but smoking herb didn't help so I stopped that completely temporarily.

Again don't let it scare you, there are more than a few people who've had this sort of thing happen and it can happen to people when they're completely sober and when they haven't taken drugs for a long time or have never ever taken any illegal drugs at all.

There are also people who have had the same thing happen and I'm pretty sure there's a thread or two about sober and drug induced DR/DP in the dark side forum: http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/forums/47-The-Dark-Side
 
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I don't think it'll ever fully go. But for me, as time has gone on, it definitely has gotten better :)
I've stopped smoking mj near enough completely.
I started exercising too, meditation and yoga, and changed my diet to a much healthier, greener one. I feel all that's helped tremendously :)
 
I've had it and it does fade, but it is a part of life.

Depersonalization/derealization is normal, its something a lot of us go through.

I just think weed brings it to attention and it may make you obsess on it but dwelling on it really doesn't help.

Try to get out, exercise, eat good, take vitamins, and do what you can for yourself.
 
I've had it and it does fade, but it is a part of life.

Depersonalization/derealization is normal, its something a lot of us go through.

I just think weed brings it to attention and it may make you obsess on it but dwelling on it really doesn't help.

Try to get out, exercise, eat good, take vitamins, and do what you can for yourself.

I don't think it is normal. I never got it until I smoked too much about 3 weeks ago. I have been sober for 3 weeks and I literally feel stoned 24/7 in my life. My vision is messed up and blurry, my memory and concentration are terrible, and my head feels hazy and foggy. I feel as though I am trapped behind a glass wall .

How long did it take for it to pass? Like I said I have been sober for 3 weeks, swimming and running, going to school, taking vitamins etc. It is not getting any better, makes me never want to smoke again as this never happened to me in my life except when I smoked my brain out 3 weeks ago.
 
I don't think it is normal. I never got it until I smoked too much about 3 weeks ago. I have been sober for 3 weeks and I literally feel stoned 24/7 in my life. My vision is messed up and blurry, my memory and concentration are terrible, and my head feels hazy and foggy. I feel as though I am trapped behind a glass wall .

How long did it take for it to pass? Like I said I have been sober for 3 weeks, swimming and running, going to school, taking vitamins etc. It is not getting any better, makes me never want to smoke again as this never happened to me in my life except when I smoked my brain out 3 weeks ago.

Depersonalization is normal, maybe not having it 24/7 but still its a normal human experience...telling yourself its not normal isn't going to help. I think marijuana just brought it to surface and you got scared by it, your realization of the element of depersonalization can be kinda traumatic and its easy to get caught up in it.

Take in stride and try to say fuck it, even if it hard as hell.

Do you have anxiety?

Are you obsessing over it?

Live life on life's terms, as hard as it may be but dwelling on it and going on the internet for it(been there and done that)...leads to nothing but a further fascination with it being problematic and it further reemphasizes the negative aspect of it.
 
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Been smoking for 7 years never heard of that...try working 75 hours a week and see if things still seem unreal...or run till you puke, that should snap you out of it
 
I'm 14 and had it for a yearish now along with visual snow and depersonification... have to put forth much more effort than I usually do to get decent grades. To be honest, I don't this ever completely leaves you, but meditation really does help-thought it was stupid at first, but it really has helped in the long run. Hope you get better bro.
 
Hi, I know this thread is kinda old.. but anyway!

I'm a 17yo old boy, and about a year and a half ago (maybe more) I was at a friends house and I smoked a joint of cannabis...My last. I had a bad trip!!! For the context: I was pretty tired (partys the nights before, so smoking, etc), and that one joint suddenly destroyed me. I fell unconscious for a couple of minutes w/o noticing it because I can only remember lighting the joint, then waking up on the floor, with cold sweat. I remember looking at my friends talking, while my heart was racing, and i was grabbing onto the nearest table cuz i felt like i was leaving my body, leaving reality. My mind was like confused of its own existance and fonction. I really felt like I was going to die, or at least leave my body, and live in a 3rd person like way, or something like that. I dont know i was scared and high. mybe a bit too "high"..
Anyway, i went back home and went to bed (alone in house, paranoid, and had a lot of trouble falling asleep). The next morning i woke up, and actually didn't "feel awake". It was th first time i felt that. And ever since, I've never felt a "real" waking up, as i felt before. Probably just paranoia or something, i dont know.
For about a month or two after that night, I was in a bad state. No concentration, no appetite, paranoia, anxiety, blurry and distorted vision of the world around me, i felt like there was a glass wall in front of me too, like my life was a film that i was watching on a screen, like i could see the same things as everyone else, i lived the same things, etc, but it just didnt feel 100% real. LIKE I'M IN A DREAM..
Those feelings are still there, but much less. I can cope with them basically. At the start i just felt i was going to die, or that i was really high and thought i would never ever come down.
I still feel like i'm still a bit up there, that my brain is missing a thing that made me live life and think sincerely "Yes! This is reality!". I still feel like my mind has got cotton wool in it, preventing the full fonction of my senses and having a clear mind, a free mind, not gasping for air in a pool of negative/paranoia-like/reality doubting thoughts and feelings. In other words, I've always kept in me, somewhere, a kinda doubt of my life, of reality, of my existance, and I constantly (often, not on purpose) check if i'm not in a dream.. I wish, i wish hard, that one morning I'll "wake up", I'll feel the difference, and I'll say to myself "Finally.. !"
My life is an everyday struggle in my subconscious negative thoughts. But like i said, i do feel better than a year ago! Well, i don't know if the derealization has gradually left, or if I've just gotten used to it..
Anyway, it's a long story, a very long struggle (I'm not wining, believe me), and a part from that my life hasn't fallen to pieces (socially). I do wish i could go back in time and not smoke that one joint, but then maybe it was going to happen one day or the other. And maybe it has opened me up to myself and made me think more (existanciel thoughts, etc).. Maybe a bit to much sometimes (sometimes ive gotten anxiety waves, and an even stronger "lost in the clouds" feeling..).

ANYWAY! I came here mainly to ask a question... I havent touched cannabis ever since the incident. I'm scared that if i smoke again i'll have another bad trip and be thrown back in the derealisation (as like at the begginning!), but I still am tempted. More and more. I also feel more and more confident and in control of myself. My friends all smoke, and so : I was wondering what you all think about smoking again? Of course, not regularly like before. just everynow and then (like at a party or so). Do you think it's harmfull in my case? Do you think it'll just be fine (if i dont panic) and might even help my case? (I read once that a schizophrenia developing boy, smoked some after bad experience and it actually helped). I was thinking maybe the "coming down" from being high, would help me see the contrast between "being in the clouds" and reality for real (as i consider myself already kinda in the clouds); is that possible?
Basically, is it wise, not wise or "neutral" for me to try smoking weed again ? Just a bit, slowly, with the right people... (Some blueberry. Not too cerebral, more physical high/stone).

That's it. I really hope someone can help. Really.
Thank you for whoever managed to read my post, and sorry for the bad writing.
Peace, and good vibes to all those suffering from derealization!

If you want to contact me via email, here: [email protected]
 
I'd say go ahead and try giving smoking a try. Take one puff, and wait a few minutes, repeat. If you find yourself liking it, then that's great, if not stop. Just relax, don't do it at a party, do it at a friends house, or somewhere you feel comfortable and don't have to worry about anything. Have a clear mind, a positive attitude, and no responsibilities. Try some of your favourite music, and happy tokings.
 
honestly, iv had it for a year and a half, and still have it, cause i continue to smoke pot, idk if thats good but i do it
 
Lol omg i am 19 too and i just smoked last week and went to the hospital to just be told i needed to sleep it off but next thing u know im still TASTING THE WEED in my mouth and its blue cheese and its disgusting plus i got to sleep and wake up feeling feeling the same way i did that day and have head aches plus i feel like i died and im just living in what i think could be if i survived tht day and i could end up back were it started. And hearing the fact that it can last for years scares me cause this feeling is horrblie and i qish it on know one. My friends tell me if i smoke again i can face what ever it is and stop it from affecting me but im stuck thinking if that can happon and be my only hope or it might lead to my doom so what should i do. Plus i dont have any knowledge in this area of weed or drugs so anything would be helpful.
 
That happened to me about 8 years ago, along with hppd symptoms (weed is more hallucinogenic for me than most.) And it took over a year of no drugs except an SSRI antidepressant. But it DID go away.

Derealization can be really scary but any way of calming your anxiety should help. I would suggest meditation. I liked to listen to bineaural beats and sit totally still it would put me in a zen like state and helped me get through it.

Also keep taking those supplements, I would also recommend lecithin and as someone else said 5-htp. Fish oil and ginko biloba I would also reccomend.

I hope you recover soon, I believe you will return to your normal self soon enough, but staying away from weed and hallucinogenics is a must. I hope you feel better soon living with dp can be terrible.
 
You went to the hospital because of marijuana? LOL. This is why not all 50 states are legalizing it.
 
I literally made an account just to reply to this ^^ it literally feels like you're going crazy. I had it pretty bad for about 2 weeks. Felt like i was in a horror movie, i would constantly have panic attacks which would only make it worse and when those happen u literally want to kill yourself because it feels like its not worth living. It honestly doesnt feel like ur living, when u close ur eyes it feels like ur just staring into a dark room which made it hard to sleep. It got so bad that even someone looking at me would scare me, feels like ur talking to a stranger. Feels like literal hell. I still get those odd moments when it hits me but controllable. Just dont think about it. I went to the hospital 4 times in a week because i knew there was something wrong with me but they just sent me home...they eventually told me it was derealization. Dont judge if u havent been through it.
 
I know this reply is very late but hopefully if anyone comes looking for answers they can read my reply. I experience this a long time ago and thought I was going crazy. Unfortunately back when I experienced it the medical marijuana industry wasn't anywhere near what it is today. If anyone ever experienced is this then I would highly recommend taking CBD. From what I read derealization is your brain kind of going into standby mode because the THC in the marijuana kind of made your brain freak out and it does not know how to respond. CBD is the ultimate cure for too much THC. Another thing I found that works, but it is a very slippery slope, is stimulants. I'd try CBD (pure) first and if it doesn't help for some reason then please go see a doctor.
 
my perception has never returned to normal after smoking marijuana but ive gotten used to seeing life differently, ive also done tons of other drugs including high doses of psychedelics so i cant really expect to see things the same.
 
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