Cannabis & Paranoia

[iShouldCoCo]

There's a lot of good advice here. Here's my thoughts:

 

Edibles are really hard to titrate, especially if you are buying them in and have no idea of the potency - have you tried vaping?

 

I am prescribed medical cannabis and also have anxiety. Paranoia not so much, but what is that anyway? Amplified 'What if...'? is what I think it is, the flip side of the hilarous stoner convos with friends that are basically nonsense but funny as fuck. If you put too much energy into playing out the unlikely 'What ifs' then you start to think in leaps and it makes you feel physical symptoms, which makes you panic more (feel anxious), which makes your thoughts more frenetic and it goes around in a loop. Take a break and look closely at something interesting. Preferably in nature! That works for me. Or do some boring physical labour - stacking logs I noticed calmed me right down. I did go through a phase where I stopped THC for a about 6 months but it wasn't that. I got diagnosed with Bipolar III a year and a half later. Sometimes weed isn't the problem!

 

So back to medical cannabis, sounds like you'd qualify if you've tried a few different NHS prescribed meds. I'd say look into that - there's a wiki site called Medbud that is very informative. There are legal implications for growing your own meds of course, so being a CBPM might be helpful if you get the knock.

I like balanced weed for daytime use - around 1:1 THC/CBD but I also have some Royal Moby that I can get on with in the day also but I tend to go in hard on the THC indica in the evening. I also vaped excursively CBD weed during my THC break and that's nice and chill but didn't really have the medical effects I needed.

 

TLDR;

 

Vape instead, try some higher CBD or balanced weed, look into medical cannabis, try distraction.

[Hashslag]

Try vaping. Edibles are all well and good but if you get it wrong or overdo it, yeesh. I vape exclusively and it's so easy to regulate.

[DeltaMelter]

What @Davey Jones said, I use it for work too - if I have a difficult coding problem to work out I have a good smoke, shower, and a walk and it helps me work it all out. Different mental state and FLOW is what I mean I guess.

 

If you don't smoke much though then it will obviously hit you hard. I wish I had strains strong enough (and my tolerance was low enough) for red-eye never mind paranoia. I haven't had anxiety from cannabis for over 20 years.

[sweettooth]

no paranoia here just acting like a prick and not happy unless Im high. Time to have a break

[catweazle1]

On 04/11/2023 at 10:26 AM, DeltaMelter said:

What @Davey Jones said, I use it for work too - if I have a difficult coding problem to work out I have a good smoke, shower, and a walk and it helps me work it all out. Different mental state and FLOW is what I mean I guess.

 

If you don't smoke much though then it will obviously hit you hard. I wish I had strains strong enough (and my tolerance was low enough) for red-eye never mind paranoia. I haven't had anxiety from cannabis for over 20 years.

Yeah, I can't get there anymore. I can get OTT twice on the trot then I have to have a break for 3 days.

[MindSoup]

It's a shame that so many newcomers get the impression that edibles are somehow the best/most approachable way to try cannabis. When you eat cannabis the THC is broken down into a smaller metabolite called 11-hydroxy-THC which is a totally different animal, I've seen ounce a week smokers pale sweaty and begging for their mum off quite mild doses in the past. 

 

I seem to be one of the lucky ones, I've never really suffered from paranoia, still have vivid dreams that I can remember clearly, can go without with no noticeable "withdrawal" etc and that's after near on daily smoking from the ripe old age of 12 to 33. Anyway, now I'm done gloating I'll finally say what I was going to in the first place . 

 

The most anxiety/paranoia inducing thing about weed is the fact it's illegal. I've spoken to a lot of people over in the US who realised the paranoia that was once part and parcel of being a regular smoker dissolved almost entirely once they didn't have to criminalise themselves in order to enjoy getting high. It's the (perceived) stigma around it, coupled with the fact that cannabis get the thoughts going in your head (not all but most, especially the real knock out commercial strains IME), not a great combination and no wonder people experience such side effects.  

 

I'm not saying that's the only cause by any means, but I have noticed a distinct correlation between mates who are worried about the illegality/other people finding out they're a stoner and the suffering of cannabis induced paranoia.

[Boojum]

Totally agree on the legal status being a significant contributory factor to anxiety/the fear for me at least. When I get the fear (always the result of too much, too fast, a strain I'm not used to getting me far higher than I expected kinda thing that sends my mind into panic mode) it's pretty much always centered on thoughts about getting my door kicked in, either by the bizzies or rippers after my grow, if I get it when I'm out it's always centered on "Oh, shit, I'm so wasted and everyone can tell." and that kind of shit, all stuff related to having had to hide the fact that I smoke weed for well over 30 years. Secrecy breeds anxiety. Not saying that I wouldn't get it if it was legal, but it gives the mind something negative to dwell on, which is the basis of the fear for me, fixating on something negative, without the negative there's nothing threatening to fixate on so the mind can move on to better thoughts.

Edited November 22, 2023 by Boojum

[ratdog]

my underlying personality is pretty anxious tbh, i blame genetics and my upbringing in equal measure, and weed without a glass of wine or a beer will let my mind go crazy. oddly enough a few people have told me how laid back they think i am, since having the pupper and generally i agree, but i feel angry sometimes that weed flicks a switch in my mind after about ten minutes of coming up from a vape and leaves a lot of lucky people feeling just mellow.

 

i don't get pissed, but they go well together and stop me feeling crazy. i need that at the end of most days

[Yosser Hughes]

Oh BTW  if it Wernt for my circumstances I'd still be growing the blues ugorg full melt  I loved dope wether I had episodes of paranoia or not tbh my dog days are over and I feel sad  but life sometimes throws a curve ball   dope free now 7.5 months and my overhaul mind set is mellow first time I've actually chilled rite out in over 42 years   but the dreams are wicked sometimes very bad wake me up feeling scared   oh the head is a powerful thing aye 

[Lubdub]

Same here with a general anxiety but I haven't had any paranoia for a few years.. I think it's down to smoking less in a day though can't be too sure. What I have been having lately is a reoccurring dream that my grow tent is sitting on the pavement outside my home, plants in and light on and all.. Very weird, there's no fear of being caught in the dream but there is an accompanying fear of someone taking it all