• Cannabis Discussion Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules

[Mega] Anxiety and Paranoia Help / Discussion Thread

Well I gave marijuana another attempt with the anxiety its left me and the past experiences..after about a year break my second try(first time ended in anxiety as well).

I took about four pulls off a joint while in the city/ghetto skating, then had to drive home on the interstate after and omfg...anxiety and panic and uncontrollable muscle movements and twitches. I was able to maintain driving, but it was no fun....completely never racking. It mellowed out when I got home, it was kind of a bad trip to begin with but I learned from it...only thing you can do. Just reimposed that I have a lot to deal with and I got some underlying issues.

It wasn't all bad, but it had a lot of anxiety and paranoia.
 
Ha, driving while high for the first time is like relearning how to drive. Set/Setting man, shoulda tried it when you got home!
 
I know...it was horrible.

I have the tolerance of a middle school student high for the first time.

I can't see myself getting back into the habit of smoking everyday of the week, but this was quite a psychedelic experience for me.

Honestly, I think I can learn from this bad experience like some people say about bad trips as something you can learn from.
 
Done With the Herb

Recently i've completely stopped smoking weed due to unexpected anxiety/paranoia that I attribute to a horrible experience I had a few months back. I just can't seem to enjoy smoking weed anymore. I just feel overwhelmed whenever I blaze, and I do miss it. I miss being able to toke up with good friends and just enjoy the general care-free stoner lifestyle. I've recently started using MDMA occasionally (once or twice a month) and enjoy it much more. I'm not sure, but I just feel like i've outgrown weed. Before this strange experience I used to be able to smoke all day without problems. I've also done shrooms many times in the past with no problems regarding anxiety whatsoever. I'm not sure if anyone else has experience something similar, but any input would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,
Refusion
 
I feel the same, gave it a year break after smoking heavily for years...attempted twice in the recent months and its not quite enjoyable.

Probably best without it.
 
Refusion said:
Before this strange experience I used to be able to smoke all day without problems. I've also done shrooms many times in the past with no problems regarding anxiety whatsoever. I'm not sure if anyone else has experience something similar, but any input would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,
Refusion
Click to expand...

There are your problems.

You shouldn't have done shrooms many times already - I'm guessing you're young.

Secondly, smoking all day, this is a recipe for disaster if your brain is still developing and maturing. I'm sure you will find the true merits of weed later when you are old enough and mature enough to treat it (and yourself) right.
 
Welcome to Cannabis Discussion, I can assure you many MANY people have had bouts of anxiety and issues with paranoia while getting high. When you start messing with other drugs which can make subtle changes in your brains chemistry.

Also a very common problem i see with young stoner's is after one bad experience while they were stoned, smoking later on can bring back feelings of fear an anxiety they had before. A lot of times this is completely mental, your just reminding yourself of that past experience and causing current anxiety.

Moving to the Anxiety and Paranoia Mega Thread--->
 
Whoever made up "WTF" It musta been for this very reason...All of ya', just F'ing quit for good.
 
Fire&Water said:
Whoever made up "WTF" It musta been for this very reason...All of ya', just F'ing quit for good.
Click to expand...

um....

Fire&Water said:
I was also prescribed Buspirone for anxiety in my early 20's & although it didnt work as prescribed a triple dose would have some positive affect (mainly in the fact that the affects would take within a minute if chewed) But the third time was obviously a charm because the fourth time had little to no effect on an (my) anxiety attack.
Click to expand...


You might do well to take your own advice concerning your personal drug use. If you had just quit for good you would've never needed to abuse prescribed anxiety medication to treat symptoms likely exacerbated (and maybe even caused) by your habits.
 
The only time I feel anxiety on pot is when I'm exposed to completely new social situations while I'm high, but that's only because I personally place high importance on first impressions. Other people who don't care might not have anxiety.

Unless you are taking a high level dose or strong pot, my feeling is that you are getting anxiety/paranoia due to something to do with you that is being overlooked. Maybe your body doesn't want to be high, but you do it out of habit. Anxiety is a very body-centred experience. Fear really brings energy down and away from being high.

My advice would be to take a break from the pot so that you can centre yourself and maybe hone in on what the problem is. Anxiety means that something is wrong (or is being perceived as such), and if you aren't able to figure it out while high then the logical course of action would be to investigate when you're sober.

Also, more medically, nervous anxiety can be triggered by a deficiency of calcium, magnesium or phosphorous. How has your diet been? Has it been balanced? When you get the munches, do you reach for junk food? Being high all the time might not cause the anxiety, but it can cause the secondary neglect that can lead to anxiety. I personally don't think anxiousness or paranoia are for no reason - there is usually a reason. Your body (or consciousness) are telling you to pay attention to something. Fear is an emotion that's hard to push away so it's the one that will get through to you the loudest.

Having said that, the simplest explanation may just be that you are getting too high, too often. Only one way to find out.
 
Jibult said:
um....




You might do well to take your own advice concerning your personal drug use. If you had just quit for good you would've never needed to abuse prescribed anxiety medication to treat symptoms likely exacerbated (and maybe even caused) by your habits.
Click to expand...

My panic attacks/anxiety have nothing to do w/ cannabis, as my first Doc' appointment for anxiety was when I was 13-14 years of age
This whole Sativa causing "major panic/anxiety disorders is complete bullshit, within 3 years of diagnosed
with anxiety/panic attacks I started smoking pure sativa's (Jamaican sinsemilia, Acapulco gold, Panama red) Though, not the strongest, but by far some of the best ever...with very positive anti-anxiety results !

It may be that cannabis in general is causing these symptoms, because as we all know "everyone is different" But there is boatloads of "different" smokers out there now, in comparison if I was at a party 30 years ago & almost everybody had some amount of some beautiful red buds because a bail just came to town, if there were say, 50 people at this party maybe 2 or 3 had to leave/go outside because they looked scared or were having bad reactions to smoking...
I feel a lot of these "different" people have these subcontious thoughts/sights of "drugs er' bad & smoking pot is a gateway drug thats gonna' make you a loser" being unlocked when they smoke.
Only one of a few aspects.
 
Fire&Water said:
My panic attacks/anxiety have nothing to do w/ cannabis
Click to expand...



Which is why I used the much more vague term "drug use."

As for everything else you wrote, most people are well aware that marijuana is a catalyst to their mental issues and not a cause. The only reason I posted what I did was because I caught a bit of a judgemental, condescending tone from you. After you broke it down a bit I think I was just jumping the gun a bit. My B.
 
Jibult said:
Which is why I used the much more vague term "drug use."

As for everything else you wrote, most people are well aware that marijuana is a catalyst to their mental issues and not a cause. The only reason I posted what I did was because I caught a bit of a judgemental, condescending tone from you. After you broke it down a bit I think I was just jumping the gun a bit. My B.
Click to expand...

No Problem Mon...I might have been feeling a little condescending, I dont know if "most (smokers) are well aware it is a catalyst to mental issues" I think thats one of the problems. It's most definately a different world out there now, after 8 years of "weed will kill ya' propaganda on tv & in the media every day 30 years ago, smoking is going to unlock that thought in alot of people (around) ages of 20-35.
 
I think the problem is the fact (in my experience) that whether it's a cause or a catalyst doesn't matter to someone who's experiencing a panic attack-- all they know is they smoked some weed, their heart started racing and they couldn't get control of their thoughts. In retrospect, that person is likely to blame the catalyst as the cause even if they already know better, and the propaganda they've been force-fed for the past 30 years certainly doesn't help calm them down.

I'll be honest, I agree with you on the whole "just quit smoking" advice to people who experience any negatives that outweigh the positives they get from smoking weed. I just don't think that it's necessary they all quit for good. Set, setting, and prior mindstate have a whole lot to do with the cannabis experience, and if one is smoking high-grade weed those three factors play an even more integral role. The key is knowing yourself-- what makes you tick, what makes you anxious and paranoid, even what makes you happy and relaxed-- and using drugs to optimize your positive experiences instead of trying to soothe your negative ones.

That's just my opinion. I understand wanting to escape certain things, but when being high is a person's main (or only) coping mechanism then they're bound to start having less positive highs/trips.... and, honestly, I'm not sure why I started talking about that. I'm definitely not accusing anybody in this thread or its predecessor of that... it was just kind of my natural thought process being written down.
 
I'll agree w/ that. I think I just had the "more for me" (un)rational going on...kinda' tounge n cheek.
 
The type of weed/cannabis you smoke and quantity will reflect the amount of paranoia you may experience (this will of course exclude those lucky users who don't get paranoid at all).

I've always found grass to give the most paranoia, with of course hydroponic strains giving more paranoia side effects. However, I've found certain strains to increase/decrease paranoia. I always felt the more 'heavy' indica types were worst, whereas more sativa based strains were less crazy.

Recently I've switch back to 3-4% thc hash and the difference is quite incredible, I don't get paranoid at all really tbh and I've always found hash to be a less paranoia inducing option than grass.
 
Anybody that's had to take Benzos due to Anxiety gotten better??

So the title pretty much says it all... I'm just wondering are there people here who have had panic attacks from smoking weed (either anxiety that creeped up on long-term smokers or just panic from smoking way too much at once), started taking benzos for anxiety, and eventually gotten better?

I've seen so many posts on here from people that have been driven to Xanax, Valium, etc. because of weed, and I gotta wonder what happens to these people? Cause I'm one of them. I smoked for a solid 2 years everyday, and eventually started having terrible panic attacks, had to quit, became dependent on Xanax for about a year, and am now tapering off that addiction with Valium. And honestly, I still feel just as bad as I did when I started taking Xanax, maybe a little better, and it's been over a year since I've gone anywhere near weed.

As I'm starting to get closer to the end of my Valium taper, I can't help but wonder what the hell is the solution to this? I mean I know a TON of the anxiety I'm feeling now is from the horrible benzo taper, but other than that I don't know what could possibly be stopping me from making some kind of progress... :?
I don't drink anymore, only taken Ecstasy a few times (last time was well over 3 years ago), exercise daily, eat somewhat healthy... just taking Valium right now.

I refuse to believe that people in my situation (which apparently is quite a lot of people on here) have no other option than to stay on benzos for the rest of their lives. Sorry for the long post, I just don't know what the fuck to do anymore. Thanks
 
I know a lot of people bash antidepressants, but have you ever considered giving them a go? They might not work as well as benzos do initially, but could be a better longer term solution. I personally have had success with mirtazapine, which is an atypical antidepressant that has sedative qualities.
 
How bad is your anxiety or your issues with panic/stress?

I've had issues with anxiety/panic attacks and I've never taken benzos since the doctors I saw would never let me take them. That is probably a good thing since I hear they are highly addictive and not a drug you want to just stop taking or quit cold turkey, and I know I would have drank on them or taken them while drunk which is dangerous.

Taking an anti-depressant did help me but I took the lowest dose, and at the time I was majorly depressed, having lots of anxiety, and having daily panic attacks while completely sober. I had stopped using drugs then since I was in a bad state of mind and I knew that using drugs wouldn't help. All of the issues I had did not come from using drugs at all but happened because of other reasons.

No you don't have to take benzos just because you have anxiety/panic attacks or PTSD if you have it. Do you see a therapist at all, or have you? Does the doctor who prescribed the benzos to you know you're quitting or tapering off of them? What did he/she say about benzos and why you're taking them?
 
Try to address why you are having anxiety in the first place, aside from being on a benzo taper. I got better but only after I was done the benzo withdrawal. The solution is to wait for your gaba system to get back to normal and to make changes in your life that will reduce your anxiety.

There must be some reason why you started having panic attacks while smoking. Sometimes i end up associating cannabis with anxiety and when i smoke it gets stuck in my head that i'm going to panic, so i had to learn to reassociate cannabis with a calm and relaxed state.

It would definitely help to learn some techniques to deal with anxiety as well as look at everything in your diet and see if anything could be contributing to it. I had to stop drinking anything with caffeine in it and started to deal with the problems in my life that cause anxiety and things seem to be getting better. I've also been off benzos since September and I can smoke like i used to again. So don't worry, i think you will be able to smoke again. When you try it, try to avoid thinking that it will definitely give you a panic attack, take it slow and smoke very little.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top