Misc did anyone else's drug use coincide with when they started to drink water?

[foodcrisis]

i never drank water as a kid until i regularly started smoking weed at like 16... i didn't realize until i got water into my regular diet that i'd get a lot of bad dizzy spells and just generally felt bad... i was either really anxious or dizzy and messed up for my previous teenage years. i'm curious if regular water use would've helped my life before i got what i'd consider to be addicted to drugs particularly weed.

weed really stopped a lot of my anxiety. even for a few days after smoking... another thing that changed after i started using weed and psychedelics is that i would get really bad neck cramps at times. like to the point where it was disoriented. i think the weed and starting to drink water really helped with the anxiety. i could sleep with out rolling around in bed for hours and winding up in really awkward positions that hurt my neck and left me unable to breath properly cause my body was so contorted. even with out weed i think i've learned to relax a bit better. i think with out trying drugs it's possible for some people to not realize when they truely feel good in sober situations. i still get anxiety a few days with out weed though. i didn't really get psychologically cured from my anxiety. i'm actually addicted to pot now. it's just a bit more tolerable sober after trying drugs.

i never found water refreshing until i got cotton mouth. no other drink really felt the same. i started to drink water even when i wasn't stoned when i realized how good it was... i don't know if kid's today are pressured to drink water more than i was, but it's kind of a shame, i could've done a lot better or at least felt better as a kid if i wasn't dehydrated all the time. i had a lot of sugar too. it's not like i really need a pack of gummy snacks, a juice box, and a large fruit in my lunch. prob enough sugar in just one of those choices. i ate a lot more sugar than that too.

anyways, i'm not sure if where this thread is posted is even suitable for this forum, but it seems to be alright discussion for this site... pretty obvious drink water, but not always in everyone's routine... seriously though, drug use seemed to stop some really bad neck problems i had.. i've been on a few breaks, like i was in the psychward for three months, and managed to not encounter any problems. a few couple week breaks too... i did a six months break as a teen too, but i wasn't really in a healthy pattern at the time. my body didn't really feel too hot. i was smoking cigarettes a lot of the time.

 

[foodcrisis]

i'm actually kind of curious if water plays a role in helping anxiety... definitely helps with dizzy spells ime... i think the anxiety and dizzy spells were two different things when i was growing up, kind of felt like what i'd imagine bi polar to be. water doesn't really seem to do anything for my anxiety, but i do feel a little better than some of my childhood as an adult so i don't really know.

 

[Keif' Richards]

I want to clarify. Are you saying that previously you were drinking soda/juice pretty much exclusively, then switched to straight water later on?

At any rate, to discuss the impact of hydration on the human body would be infinitely broad in scope. It would also not relate in a very clear way to the Harm Reduction focus of this forum. Water is essential. Every cell needs it. It is present in every part of us. Of course we know that the human body is ~70% composed of H20. To be hydrated is to be healthy and to be dehydrated is to be unhealthy.

Dehydration will cause the rapid breakdown of every organ, system and chemical process of the human body. The effects of dehydration thus can cause anything from physical illness to insanity. Water is life.

If you're drinking stuff like soda/juice/gatorade and not water, you're probably not going to be feeling at your best. Sugary drinks are a major vector for obesity and its associated problems.

You're going to be better not consuming all of that sugar and this is pretty much an objective truth. We can debate and discuss how one or the other might make you feel. At the end of the day, this does not in any way change the objective truth that you will be healthier and likely feel better by hydrating properly.

I hope this helps.

 

[foodcrisis]

I want to clarify. Are you saying that previously you were drinking soda/juice pretty much exclusively, then switched to straight water later on?

yeah that's what i meant...

thanks for the reply. was interesting to read how you put it.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Okay, I see. That's what I had imagined.

When I was growing up, I would always give my mom shit because she wouldn't let us eat Doritos or drink soda. We'd go to Mcdonalds maybe a half-dozen times a year. She basically instilled in us the idea of eating well. At the time, it kind of sucked. Of course I would have had soda with probably every meal if I could have.

Funny story, I went to my first school dance in the sixth grade. I was 10-11. They had a barbecue and serve-yourself coolers of cans of soda. I went fucking crazy in what was a comical prelude to a dark life of slavery to base impulses. I think I drank 8-9 cans of soda in 1.5 hours and puked in the bushes. My point is, I had to be forced into it, but I'm glad I was.

Whatever is in processed foods including fast food, hot pockets and etc. I believe is addictive whether or not by design. I cannot even eat McDonalds food. It does not taste right to me. Now, when I was in college, I went through a phase where I was eating Taco Bell and McDonalds all the time. When I was eating it regularly, I craved it specifically. I would go to Taco Bell over getting a real Burrito at a dope food truck. Now, after not eating it for years and years, the thought of that imitation mexican food makes my stomach turn.

More specifically to your case, sugar is essentially an addictive substance. Perhaps it's not your typical Bluelight-level substance, but I think you'll get the comparison. Sugar causes release of feel-good chemicals through various mechanisms like taste, increased blood sugar etc. We also know that tolerance to sugar's effects develop, requiring more sugar to provide the same amount of perceived benefit.

I had cousins who were quintessential rednecks in every sense. Don't get me wrong, I love these guys and they're both now far more successful than me (Chemical Engineer and Accountant). They would drink Mountain Dew almost exclusively as kids. They had packs and packs of cans and they would just crack a Mountain Dew when they got thirsty. This is the same amount I was drinking at that dance at least, every day.

It would make sense to say a person might experience a subjectively negative mood if they were to abruptly stop sugar. You're probably gonna miss the taste and your body is also gonna miss the sugar. This could possibly lead to a person relying more heavily on alternative ways of activating that reward system.

If this seems exaggerated, it's not. America is struggling with an epidemic of extreme obesity. ~35% of Americans are morbidly obese and ~65% are obese. Sugary drinks actually play a huge role in all of this. I hope this helps somewhat. I'm not sure how many answers you're going to get for this. I'll leave it open though.