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[Mega] Cannabis and Depression

I am writing to point out that weed is a euphoric recreational psychedelic drug that is no way harmless and can induce severe mental health problems in otherwise healthy individuals when abused. Hopefully I will discourage someone, somewhere from smoking too much of this stuff. I really, really regret doing so.

I don't mean to sound too anti-pot. Weed has done a lot of good for me too, it's a near-religious experience, and I love stoners, I vibe really well with them. I love how smoking weed has changed me, but I hate who I am when I'm stoned. And it's not that I react poorly to drugs. It's just that this stuff can clearly fuck with you when you try and stay high all the time. I LOVE the initial high, and I always end up chasing it. No matter how much I smoke, I have realized that it is impossible to be that way all the time. The high changes and a wide variety of side effects set in.

If you're careful to do it in moderation it's certainly beneficial. Relaxing, enlightening, and fun. A great time that helps with depression. In my case of abuse it eventually started making me suicidal. Since I quit it has been a total turnaround. Even my friends who are moderate users (a few bong rips periodically throughout the day) sometimes show problems. That's not to say nobody out there can hit a fat joint at the end of the day without screwing themselves over, some people are totally ok with that. Pay attention though, be aware that side effects are not uncommon, especially if you've been doing it for like a decade or so.

And yo, cannabis IS a causer in my case. Simply put, burning all day depletes serotonin. I am NOT all that depressed normally, at all. However I am lonely. Smoking it turns my little bit of loneliness into a catastrophic life ruining problem to perpetually dwell on, but that is not to say I was depressed because I am lonely. I am still lonely and I am no longer depressed, it was 100% the weed turning a chill happy man into a total freak. And I am lonely in the first place because of the personality disorders this drug induces in me.

These days I'll enjoy the odd candy or hippie flip, lol, so it's not so big a deal that I can't burn anymore. To those who never developed an addiction, burn on, light that shit up for me, haha, cause I can't do it anymore. I wish I could, I love weed, but it has gone too far. My experiences with weed have shaped who I am though, I will always be a stoner at heart.
 
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There are some nights when I've got nothing to do and I feel a bit of depression creeping back in (I used to have it severely about 2 years ago), and smoking a bowl always helps me through it. Also, the feeling I get the next morning from smoking before I go to sleep always puts me in a good mood for the whole rest of the day. Even if I just smoke JWH before I sleep (which often works better, because shorter high = less damage to sleep quality).

Also most people I've talked to say that weed + adderall (or other low doses of amphetamines) is a really uncomfortable combination, but a very very low dose of adderall plus a normal amount of weed actually puts me in a very good and creative mood. It's like an energetic, active high, as opposed to the way just weed alone often makes me just want to chill and listen to music. That kind of high really helps with depression.
 
Low dose smoked cannabis gives me good AD results, but being "burned out" by smoking large amounts all day, every day, makes my mood really shitty after a while. This manifests as a dissociative disconnection from reality, which can be really counter-productive. Some stoners don't realize how negatively overusing cannabis affects their mood until they quit for at least a few days.

I posted in the last weed/depression thread a study that shows that low doses increase serotonin levels, while high doses decrease serotonin.
 
Using any substance on a daily basis, sets peoples moods to go up and down or get depressed easily. I find cannabis something that if you smoke it and your in a good mood your good times are increased. If you smoke it when your in a bad mood, the bad times are increased. Using it a lot as well definatley makes people more spacy / dissociated so that can definatley make some people more depressed, me included.
 
In all honesty, I don't think this question can even be answered properly. Depression is a very loose term and just like with any other psychiatric condition, it is merely something used to describe certain symptoms. Even though depression has been strongly linked to serotonin, we don't know what causes it. If being depressed meant you're simply deficient in serotonin, supplementing the brain with extra serotonin should fix all depression. The brain is a complex motherfucker though, a simple imbalance in dopamine could eventually lead to an imbalance of serotonin ultimately leading to depression. Depending on your individual brain chemistry, marijuana might help you or make your issue worse, possibly depending on dosage. I recommend abstaining from cannabis for atleast 2 months before you make any conclusions.
 
^^^^depression is used loosely, in my case ,im very depressed(at lest according to doctors) and it started after smoking pot 24/7 for 3 years, but ive gone through very serious situations during that time. it was probably the combo of both. its not that marijuana caused it, it was me abusing to the point where i couldnt live without it. so when i wasnt blazed, life would suck
 
Depression?

I have suffered from severe depression on and off my entire life. I have read various theories about links between chronic smoking and depression.I guess what I'm asking is this : Do you think chronic usage can cause or worsen symptoms of depression? I was a depressed child (obviously wasn't smoking then) so I know that my usage was not the "source" of the problem. My shrink tells me that smoking worsens my depression. What are some of your thoughts?
 
It think it was making my depression worse after chronic use. Although when i first started smoking it completely cured my depression. That phase probably lasted 4 or 5 years. There are too many factors in my life to easily identify if cannabis was the cause for me but now that i've quit for over a month i feel better mood wise, certainly less anxious. I don't think chronic use will cause a clinical case of depression, but i do think it could worsen it. For others though, even chronic users, it seems to keep them happy, so i don't think it is clear one way or the other.
 
As soon as I stopped smoking , my severe depression basically dissapeared , right when I stopped was when I was at my very worst and I was very suicidal . It would have had to do with my lack of motivation too , which was also caused by weed . Now I have a full time job and haven't been as happy as this since I was about 10 .
 
RobotRipping said:
It think it was making my depression worse after chronic use. Although when i first started smoking it completely cured my depression. That phase probably lasted 4 or 5 years. There are too many factors in my life to easily identify if cannabis was the cause for me but now that i've quit for over a month i feel better mood wise, certainly less anxious. I don't think chronic use will cause a clinical case of depression, but i do think it could worsen it. For others though, even chronic users, it seems to keep them happy, so i don't think it is clear one way or the other.
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Thanks so much for you input.:)
 
PeacePipeChief said:
As soon as I stopped smoking , my severe depression basically dissapeared , right when I stopped was when I was at my very worst and I was very suicidal . It would have had to do with my lack of motivation too , which was also caused by weed . Now I have a full time job and haven't been as happy as this since I was about 10 .
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I actually quit last year for almost a month and I did see some improvement, but the thought of giving it up now puts me into a complete panic. I also take antidepressants, benzos for anxiety, and almost anything else that makes me feel good aside from meth and coke. Opiates are another love and not just in the form of pills. I guess the obvious thing to do would be to stop everything and start over, but I'm not ready to do that. Thanks so much for caring enough to respond.
 
Weed can both help and hurt one's depression. Its really up to you though and also up to you to judge, for yourself, if smoking is only making it worse.

There have been times when Smoking has helped me let go of the things that were bothering me, allowed me to relax, so on. But in times where a more severe depression is coming over me than just the normal bit of depression reality causes me than its very easy for me to cover up that depression with being stoned.

This is unhealthy behavior, it causes one to sit in a daze and forget about your problems with out actually doing anything to make your situation in life better. I have done this to myself before, and no it isnt a healthy way to deal with depression. It doesnt always make it worse directly, but putting off your problems, not dealing with them because you would rtaher stay stoned can EASILY cause things to build up, and before you know it you are left with more problems than you started with.

Not smoking weed wont cure your depression either though...not necessarily. Your still gonna have to put forth the mental effort to deal with what ever caused your depression in the first place. its a cycle many people face when they are prone to using drugs.
 
nekointheclouds said:
Weed can both help and hurt one's depression. Its really up to you though and also up to you to judge, for yourself, if smoking is only making it worse.

There have been times when Smoking has helped me let go of the things that were bothering me, allowed me to relax, so on. But in times where a more severe depression is coming over me than just the normal bit of depression reality causes me than its very easy for me to cover up that depression with being stoned.

This is unhealthy behavior, it causes one to sit in a daze and forget about your problems with out actually doing anything to make your situation in life better. I have done this to myself before, and no it isnt a healthy way to deal with depression. It doesnt always make it worse directly, but putting off your problems, not dealing with them because you would rtaher stay stoned can EASILY cause things to build up, and before you know it you are left with more problems than you started with.

Not smoking weed wont cure your depression either though...not necessarily. Your still gonna have to put forth the mental effort to deal with what ever caused your depression in the first place. its a cycle many people face when they are prone to using drugs.
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Thank you, I am experiencing all the above and you are right. I know its unhealthy behavior. I like the bluntness of your response.
 
RobotRipping said:
It think it was making my depression worse after chronic use. Although when i first started smoking it completely cured my depression. That phase probably lasted 4 or 5 years. There are too many factors in my life to easily identify if cannabis was the cause for me but now that i've quit for over a month i feel better mood wise, certainly less anxious. I don't think chronic use will cause a clinical case of depression, but i do think it could worsen it. For others though, even chronic users, it seems to keep them happy, so i don't think it is clear one way or the other.
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Similar situation to mine, when I first started smoking Cannabis, it helped me accept myself an I saw a lot of positive benefits. Now after years of every day abuse it has led me down a path that hasn't really helped my life very much at all.. The main problems being motivation issues and also economic issues, caused by not wanting to do anything but sit around stoned.. spending all my money just to stay stoned 24/7, which then led to worse depression than I ever had before, increased anxiety and paranoia (which I have always suffered from) and generally a negative outlook on life which kept me in a vicious cycle.

It is only recently that I have really noticed the negative effects and have desired change, only to be sucked into the cycle even more by the continuation of my bad smoking habits, but I think the biggest step for me is actually wanting to change. As I said before now all I actually wanted to do was be stoned 24/7 an because of the problems that come from that was causing my life to go down hill. Now a lot of people at this stage would be blaming the Cannabis for their problems, to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions which really winds me up. At the end of the day it is your choice what you put in your own body and you should take full responsibility for your own actions. Now there are many other factors that come into play such as obsessive / addictive personalities and other underlying mental disorders that make quitting hard but it always comes down to your body, your choice imo. If you're unable to control your own substance use and it gets to the stage where it is affecting other people then you really need to take a look at yourself and ask the question, is this really how I want to be?

Now as for where to begin on how to change your life for the better, I believe the first steps should be living a healthy balanced lifestyle. This includes diet, exercise and sleep.. looking after and respecting your body, keeping your body fuelled as best you can which in turn will help keep your mind in check and prepare yourself for the struggles of life. You don't have to look far these days for information on how to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle and this really is the first step on how to make it as easy as possible for you to break a bad Cannabis habit. Imo this should be tried before taking medication that you may not even need to cure the problems you are facing from Cannabis induced depression, and any other problems that are caused by Cannabis abuse. A good quote that has always stuck in my head is "Healthy body, healthy mind." which really does make a lot of sense when depression is involved.

These are my own personal views on the subject of Cannabis abuse which I have experienced myself over the past few years and am only now beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Would be nice to hear what anyone else thinks on my views and I hope this can be of help to someone experiencing the same problems as me.
 
Chainer said:
abusing any drug recreationally will worsen depression in the long run.
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I believe you are def right. Now I have to "want" to quit again. Happened last year and I did it successfully for a period of time so I know I can do it. I've been to re-hab but never stayed longer than a few days, when I stopped I was at home and going to NA meetings daily. I guess I just wanted to hear it from fellow users who suffer from depression instead of my shrink.:)
 
I find that when I start smoking in excess of 3 days in a row I get more depressed. Just last night was my first night after three nights straight of smoking and I was feeling suicidal for the first time in a while. Case in point, regulate your use and you'll be fine.
 
If I smoke regularly for too long I do start to get depressed. I used to think it was a side effect of too much weed but after better analysis I think the problem is that I get so used to getting stoned that I get depressed because I am just doing the same thing all the time and getting bored with it. I will quit smoking for at least a few weeks to a month a couple times a year just to get it out of my system for awhile. When I start back up again I am in a better mood, the novelty is back and my tolerance is much lower so I get more out of it. This has been my smoking cycle for the last several years and I find as long as I take a break when I start to get bored or depressed it goes away quickly. I guess it is just my body telling me its time to take a break.
 
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