Weed and Anxiety.

Agreed. Try somethin else like art or music or anything you think is cool to do. Your bod is communicating with you. I went thru this. Once you get that way it don't go away. Maybe try it again in a few years.

 

Herb was great to me for a whole 4 years. "Just putting the pipe down" is bad advice. I just need to fix some things in my life and try to become more content with myself. I've decided to go to college part-time in January and possibly get a job at a game store(I'm into computers/games) and see how that goes. I know the more I keep myself busy the more my mind is on other things and not dwelling on my own health all the time and stuff. I've been pretty idle the past few months, out of work and not going to college, which I'm sure is a large part of the problem. There seems to be a direct correllation to weed in terms of how happy I really am with my day to day life. The better things are going, the less bad reactions I get with bud for the most part. I'm taking a break from smoking for a while but I don't see myself ever quitting for good. I'm confident somewhere down the road I'll have good reactions to MJ again, as long as I'm happy inside and don't over-use it like I did before.

 

i agree 100% and i have been experiencing the exact same for a while now. if it is destructive for you then there is no reason to keep toking.

 

Yeah. I think the use of mary may actually help when we're not making progress in our life. It allows you to really see your psyche and conscience clearly, and it sort of either propels you to change or you can allow it to immobilize you and feel like there's no way out. And it's really up to you to make the choice. (by you i'm not directly speaking to YOU, just a proverbial you)

I'm very very glad I stumbled upon this thread. I really thought I was the only person who got this reaction.

 

I have had some very intense panic attacks from being too stoned. My heart starts to race and it causes me to panic and I eventually fall to the ground and start having convulsions because my heart is racing so fast and I am panicking. It's just a chain reaction; my heart starts to race, then I panic, and that makes my heart race even faster.

The point is.....you just gotta stay calm and realize your limits. I have learned when I need to stop toking and I haven't had a panic attack for a few years now.

 

I have had one panic attack sober, and one panic attack stoned. Neither one is fun. I think really the best way to prevent panic attacks while high is to really just pace your hits, and take it slow.

Another reason I think I had my panic attack while high was that it was the fastest and largest amount I ever smoked. I just got so high I got scared, and it snowballed from there.

TopNotch said it best stay calm and realize your limits. What ever your limits may be

 

Yeah I remember your thread.

Good advice man. Also, never be embarassed to bow out of the circle. If people call you a pussy for leaving the sessions early, just ignore them. Don't keep smoking just because you don't want to look weak. It's not worth having a panic attack just to impress your friends.

 

Two of my friends, who were really new to the effects of cannabis, hit up the gravity bong with us. One of them was sitting in a chair silently and then started freaking out and going "OH MY GOD!!!! IM SHRINKING!!!! AHHHH!!!" I had to calm him down, and for the rest of the night he kept having panic attacks and hallucinations, thinking he was at his grandmas house and such, and hated to be touched because it "felt wierd", and while he's normally quiet, he talked a lot to people he normally wouldn't talk to. He hasn't smoked since.

My other friend would just close his eyes and space out, drifting into the matrix or something. At one point he started rolling side to side on the ground, seemingly enjoying himself. Then he started to panic and was crying and getting out of control. I just went up to him and told him who he was and asked him where he was, and it brought him back. He then described to me that he was the wheels of a fast race car going down a track, then the car crashed and he flew out, and was then in a stretcher in an ambulance, rocking from side to side violently (which he was really doing on the floor), then he said he fell out of the stretcher and the back of the ambulance opened and he fell out in to the highway, right when we woke him up. Pretty hilarious, he was fine right away and seemingly unphazed and soon found interest in other things.

I'm posting these because I think they are good representations of how your brain can be so unreasonable while under the influence, and you really need to pace yourself so that you realize what's real and what you're imagining; either physically shrinking or having bad anxiety, the latter being more difficult to deal with.

 

People who get panic attacks regularly from smoking weed were never "meant" to smoke it, at least consistently. The only thing that will help these types of people is serious cognitive therapy and benzodiazapines, anything else just won't work, nothing.

You can't sit there and calm down when it happens because its your body telling you that you can't handle pot and should quit. You can try and calm yourself down but it really won't help much at all.

 

That's bullshit. People have told me that I don't need to smoke, numerous times, but all you have to do is know your limits and don't overdo it.

 

I consider myself an anxious person and usually if I'm feeling anxious, after I've smoked a blunt, all of it goes away and I just feel calm.

The only time I've bugged out/had an anxiety attack was when I've taken some pills and then smoked a blunt. When I just smoke a blunt it calms me down.

 

What kind of pills?

 

I'm sick of everyone who posts that mentions Panic attacks and thinks they're an expert, so I am going to post and set the record straight. I am lifting these facts right out of my Psychology notes.

What is a Panic attack?

A Panic Attack is a trigger of your Sympathetic Nervous System. It is where the 'fight or flight' response is processed. Your SNS turns on fear full blast, and everything accompanying it at once.

What happens?

Heart beats faster, breathing becomes heavy, eyes dilate, sweating, dizzy, light headed, confusion and disorientation, stomach cramps, blood rushes away from stomach and brain. Sexual organs lose blood.

What are the different types of Panic Attacks?

Un-Cued Panic Attack - Which is out of the blue, is referred to as an unconditioned stimulus.

Cued Panic Attack - Is a Panic attack that is caused by a conditioned stimulus.

How do I know if Panic Attacks are a problem?

When Panic attacks occur so often that they interrupt your life, it is diagnosed as Panic disorder. Meaning multiple attacks a day, which is usually caused over the anxiety of having another attack!

Now that you have the basics, lets continue::

I agree 100% that if you smoke, and regularly have Panic attacks, meaning like every time / every other time it's probably not for you, honestly. Having one once or twice, can mean something as simple as you over-did it on the herb, or first time fear can trigger your sympathetic nervous system, and boom you have one. Any number of a million things can cause one.

I've had one Un-Cued Panic attack and it was before I started smoking. I've also had one when high, that was caused by me smoking far more then I could handle which got me super stoned, and really really scared. Making it a Cued Panic Attack.

"These types of people" ?? More then half of the population will have at least one Panic attack in their life. Many people don't even know what a Panic Attack is, and call for help getting rushed to hospitals assuming they are having heart attacks. Panic attacks are nothing more serious then a case of hiccups. They don't need any medication or treatment, unless the person having them decides they want treatment.

That's not true either, trying to calm yourself down is the best thing you can do for yourself. If you are having a Panic Attack, listening to relaxing music, taking deep slow breaths, and trying to calm yourself is the best thing you can do. Most people during a Panic attack, obviously, Panic which makes the attack last longer, and feel much worse. Like I said before, Panic disorder is CAUSED by people not being able to calm themselves down, the fear of having another attack creates enough stress to have another, and it repeats.

I don’t agree 100% dude, I must say if someone smokes and has a Panic Attack almost every time, it’s probably not worth it for them to smoke.

 

First off panic attacks are not healthy in any way and they shouldn't be even mentioned with a hiccup at all because hiccups are a natural occurance, panic attacks are not.

 

No dude. It doesn't happen almost everytime I smoke.....not anymore. It used to, but like I said, I have learned my limits and learned when to stop, so as to avoid the panic attack and just be nice and stoned. It hasen't happened for a couple of years, so I'm straight. It is not gonna be the same for everyone. Different tokes for different folks.

 

That's what I was trying to say although it was admittedly, poorly worded. If it gets to the point where you can't enjoy it then you stop.

About the other guy saying panic attacks are unhealthy, I dont remember saying you should have a couple a day because they are great. Panic Attacks are what they are, and need to be taken lightly unless they occur on a regular basis, or are cued by something in your environment.

They need to be treated if and when they affect your life to the point where you can't function. A few isolated attacks is no big deal.

 

Klonopins or Coricidins.

 

Dude, klonopins is an ANTI-anxiety benzodiazepine, kinda like xanax, but not quite. Very unlikely that you had anxiety problems as a result of klonopins.

 

I like your attitude