Post trip anxiety & paranoia

[Trate]

Hi guys,

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but judging from others it seemed the right place for such a topic.

Approximately 2 weeks ago my girlfriend and myself dosed on acid, starting with a half and then having the other half.

Hours went by and all was fine, it then started to head into a mind loop. The constantly thoughtful, uncomfortable trip stage (this has happened a few times in the past, although not for such a long period of time). This involved an overwhelming sensation that everything was wrong, feeling uncomfortable with constant concern in the back of my mind, all fairly common symptoms of anxiety & a bad trip.

Since then, nothing has felt "normal" 90% of the time I am completely on edge, and unlike my anxiety before said trip, I'm finding it more and more difficult to shut the voice off and relax.

A little history: I have a generalised anxiety disorder, depression, and have been prone to panic attacks and the like, although not for some time now.

I have been a daily pot smoker for the past 5 or so years, and whilst in the past it used to help me, lately it can really go either way. Certain times it will relax me, others it will make it worse; occasionally a combination of the two.

I've done as much research on it as I possibly can, and from what I've come up with I don't think that it is permanent, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to function, and it is starting to effect my everyday life; sleep, appetite, etc.

Being the Dark Side, I was hoping for a little advice that I can take on for the next couple of weeks/months to try and get my head back on my shoulders, I've already substantially cut back on pot, should I stop all together? This concern me also, as that, in the past, has often raised anxiety levels.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me, I trust this site a lot and its one of the first times I've had to use it for such a purpose.

 

[mgmt&mdma]

im sorry to hear that you have to go through all of this!!

The best thing i thinnk would to be and try and tough it out. time heals alllll

just eat healthy, make sure you get enough sleep, maybe hit the gym once in awhile, and avoid stress.

as for the weed- i rarely smoke so idk what to tell you on that one. if it was me i'd give it a break til i felt better.

but yeah it'll go away, dont stress it bra

PLUR- Nick

 

[Trate]

Thanks for the kind words.
Eating and sleeping is by far the most difficult thing about this, if I'm lucky I'll get a couple of hours sleep a night, eating is even harder.
The weed thing is a hard one to call, because going without causes stress, insomnia and the lovely lack of appetite to boot, but I'm sure it isn't helping me too much mentally.
I've made an appointment with my GP to talk about a few different options, like maybe the possibility of a mood stabiliser. I've always been against them, but when needs must right?

 

[Material541]

Same thing happened to me a year ago.

Best thing to do is to try and get your mind off this experience as much as possible. Go out with friends, find a new hobby, things like that. The anxiety you are experiencing is a product of itself. The more you think about it, the worse it gets.

As for weed, I would personally lay off it for awhile until you feel you are mentally more stable. I was a chronic smoker when my bad trip happened and sometimes I would have mini panic attacks on weed after but continued smoking. Only when I stopped it was I able to make real progress. That's just me, though.

So yeah, just keep in mind that you didn't mess your brain up permanently or anything. That was my biggest fear for the longest time. Keep your mind busy and you'll be back to normal in no time!

 

[cheezychips]

why do people always think drugs are the answer to drug induced problems?
sorry if it sounds harsh but it's true, prescribed drugs should only be considered if absolutely needed to live a normal life, this is coming from someone who's mum dad and step dad all abused drugs and now thanks to drug abuse(heroin amphetamines you fucking name it) my mum is on permanent anti psychotics, trust me stay away from prescribed drugs unless you are absolutely certain it's the only solution.
if you have some history of anxiety and what not then i'd recommend not taking acid ever again, period. it could have triggered unwanted reactions in relation to your past condition, it's nothing to worry about or be ashamed of though so you should be honest about how you feel to people who are close to you especially your girlfriend, does she know you had a bad trip? if not you should talk to her, i've met quite a few people who said they can't take lsd for one reason or another or they just don't like it, i've also seen people who use it allot have some bad acid and totally lose the plot for a few hours one guy i know ended up in hospital for the night and they had to give him an antidote, the girl who sold it to him was in the bed next to him lol, i've had bad experiences with lsd too and i can assure you it is only temporary, drugs can induce temporary psychosis which can last for weeks, really heavy abuse can cause permanant problems but if you had that you'd know because you wouldn't be straight enough to post this thread i was a very nervous teenager(probably largely because of my fucked up domestic situation) and that was before i started to experiment with drugs, i also smoked weed for years and in the end it started having a bad effect on me so i quit and i have to say it's one of the best things i ever did. it sounds like you have a classic case of paranoia mate, honestly weed and psychedelics won't do that condition allot of good, my advice is to pack weed on the head for a while perhaps even for good as it's not helpfull and considering it's something people tend to do on a daily basis it's only going to slow down your getting back to feeling normal, and look for different things to amuse you socially.
also if you have trouble sleeping crush a few cardamon pods and heat some milk up with the cardamon in add honey and you'll feel very relaxed afterwards.
a splash of whisky before bed always helps me if i'm having trouble sleeping.
i really hope this helps and trust me when i say you'll be ok.

 

[Legerity]

I would probably take a break from the weed. I've also gone from loving weed at first, to hating it, to having a mixed relationship with it. I really can't predict what sort of effect it will have on me, except that it will tend to be negative. If you're already feeling shaky then it probably won't help.

You have not done any sort of physiological harm with the trip, it may just have got you caught in some negative thought loops that you have not shaken. Give it some time and try to use rationality to argue against any irrational thoughts that come up.

It seems like the anxiety was just there in the first place. The pot sometimes keeps it at bay and the acid just brought it all out. Therapy and meditation can both be helpful for getting at the root of anxiety. Don't get discouraged

 

[Trate]

A few days along now.
Starting to feel a lot better, much like what Legerity said, I feel it was just a case of being stuck in a weird though loop for a couple of weeks.
I stopped drinking, reduced my weed intake substantially & switched from bongs to weaker intake methods.
That combined with a few decent nights sleep, B vitamins, exercise and a regular routine, I feel in a much better place than a week ago.
I still get drips and drabs of it here and there, but I'm starting to wrap my head around it; and hopefully it will only get better from here.
I can't thank everyone enough for the support, it helped considerably.

 

[Legerity]

Great man...glad to hear that

 

[brasil]

Keep going this path. Healthy diet, exercise, and good sleep. glad to know you're better.