Harm reduction VS paranoia. how to overcome anxety about taking substances?

[PsychedelicWizard]

I remember before I ever spent much time researching drugs I never had any anxiety about taking them and things went smoothly.

I would of course check dosages online and interactions, but aside from that, I was pretty chill about it and it made trips better.

Spending a lot of time lurking here has created an anxiety within me about taking drugs, much more than is rational.

I mean sure there are risks, but these are vastly overstated, and with the right dose, setting, and interaction awareness, they are really safe for the most part.

It is like you feel that snorting a single line of coke will give you a heart attack, trying some down will make you stop breathing, or a psychedelic trip will render you psychotic, which of course is nonsense.

My question then is... how to overcome the irrational paranoia that I've gotten from reading this and other forums like it?

I'm aware of safe and unsafe doses, interactions, settings, side effects, etc, so that doesn't really reassure me. It is like I've developed a phobia towards drugs, not unlike social anixety that some experience.

Anyone else like this? How do you overcome this fear?

 

[XANAX XR]

If you're doing it for recreational purposes, any (relatively) low-dose of opiates, benzodiazepines, or stimulants can be a pretty nice thing if you've never touched a substance, I do not recommend you try any stimulants w/ anxiety though...

As long as you don't take these long enough to go into withdrawal, you're set.

 

[lazylazyjoe]

Sounds like you might have a legitimate psychological disorder. (NOT a dr. and cannot diagnose, nor will anyone on these forums)
Are you the type who normally experiences irrational fear? Like, worrying when a news report comes out about a disease?

I always tell myself during moments of very intense highs, like peaking on acid or intense moments where it feels like my heart will jump thru my chest, that I will be ok and repeat it until I'm ok.

My first ever drug experience was a horrible overdose, resulting in a 15 hour blackout during which time my heart and breathing had stopped. At the time, I didn't know anything was wrong as I had never done any drugs before, but I use it as a baseline of when I should worry.

BTW: This might do better in TDS so you could get some better support.

 

[Drybone]

You are not being paranoid. You brain is highly sophisticated and has been trained through hundreds of thousands of years of evolutionary trial and error to ensure your survival .

You are being cautious . Everyone has fears of the unknown. The greatest fear humans ever face is not knowing what lies around the corner.

The campaign to show you that you could croak on the spot on your first hit is real, but unlikely. We could all get hit my a meteor too. There could be a nuclear armageddon 3 minutes from now. We know it can happen but the odds are less than a trillion to one.

I would tell everyone to skip the hard drugs. They aint worth it. The reason is you might get caught up in addiction which affects 15% of those who try it.

Sure, 85% chance you wont become a full blown addict is good, but are those odds good enough considering you will go down a road few recover from and those who do waste decades of their life fighting the addiction?

Stick to pot and moderate drinking.

If you must 'try everything once' , make sure you do as little as possible. If in doubt, do less, not more. Be with people you trust. Stay safe, and most of all....................have fun

 

[Screaming_Skull]

Agree with the above poster. Luckily I lurked on bluelight in High School well it's been like ten years since I started coming here. It definately educated me and made me far more less wreckless than I would have been, thats for sure. Thank you bluelight! I hear some of the things people do and I'm just like jesus christ just two examples from recently 1. Some dude took 8 somas and also got shitfaced drunk 2. Somebody telling me not to filter Morphine 30's ER, just crush and put in spoon and suck into syringe(no cotton). How she has veins, I have no idea...

Edit: The only thing I do that I wish I did was have Micron filters and new needles every time, as in if I didnt get it on the first one squirt it out then suck it up into a new syringe.

 

[ParappaTheRapper]

Reading and participating on this site makes me wonder how i didn't die in the past almost daily.

I think i got away with a lot though.

I've gotten older as Ive used this so that is the reason for being more careful.

Age kills immortality.

 

[ParappaTheRapper]

for example, a very vivid memory comes to mind of taking 3 klonopin, 3 tylenol 3's, 2 ativan, 2 cyclobenzeprine drinking heavily, and smoking joints outside running around in college. Maybe four days in a row.

now though, im googling klonopin and beer. Reading the warning labels etc.

who knows.

 

[black kat]

Op i made a very similar thread recently-in my 7 years of active heroin addiction ive done really stupid stuff,mixing stuff i shouldnt,taking huge amounts of drugs combined,very risky behaviour for which im not proud and made a point to stop the excessive abuse.

Although it seems like ive fallen to the complete opposite side,being afraid and paranoid to take one extra pill,even though i know its completely safe and would give me a little buzz.I was wondering too for the reason i react like that,most ppl told me that my thought process was just fine,and that i should continue practicing "harm reduction" anyway i can.

Idk man,maybe survival insticts caught up with us..

 

[Treefa]

Get off the goddamn internet, turn off your TV, and enjoy your trip.

We only get 1 chance in this life you know, no need to waste it, on the internet reading about drugs (which, in the long run, won't help you at all!) and then being too scared to take them...

If you really want to do drugs, then by all means, be safe and have fun,...sheeeeit I WISH I had a phobia of drugs!

 

[Treefa]

Fear of using drugs isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you’re younger than 25 and your life revolves around drugs, there are real opportunity costs that can’t be compensated for later in life. If you’re going to get high and are apprehensive about what’s going to happen, taking half a dose to get a feel for the effects may mitigate some discomfort. Better to under than over dose, and the nervousness from trying new drugs goes away after you’ve done them a couple times. Once the novelty is gone and you know what to expect, drugs become less exciting and more mundane.

This man speaks the truth....he really don't bullshit ya!

Don't waste your time with drugs, if you can help it..

Anybody that tells you otherwise is too stupid to listen to anyway...