Depression

[Graffiti]

i have insomnia. thats why i smoke, i wouldnt say that people who cant go to bed are "upset" with their lives.

Yes sleep disorders are symptons of depression, but that doesn't mean that depression is a symptom of sleep disorders.

Also note what kinderfeld said (imo the best response yet) that there are different types of depression. Journeyquest just asked for a strain to help with depression, then he went on to describe his symptoms, that he is tense and doesn't sleep well. I don't think that he was asking a different question but merely elaborating on the first.

With all due respect I don't mean to pick apart your words, but I just think you're being short with this guy. Either way, no harm intended, I'll off my post if you think Im starting shit.

I also smoke marijuana to help with sleep and pts and I can definitely say that if I didn't have it, I would of offed myself a long long time ago. (yeah, i know, boohoo, pity me)

I've heard two people here mention salvia and one of em mention mushrooms. I have taken a shit ton of psychedelics, kinds that most people have never heard of, and from my extensive experience I would strongly advice you to NOT take psychedelics when depressed. Most of them are emotion enhancers, if you feel good, you'll feel great, if you feel bad, you just might kill yourself.

Only take psychedelics if you are mentally stable and have come to terms with anything from your past.

 

[Guest]

Well you guys are part right and part wrong. There are different kinds of depression. For those telling people to become active, these are not people with a disease. These are people who are not active, and have shut down in a sense and need to be restarted.

This is a fantastic post, I commend you greatly for your complete explanation. Your understanding of depression and its relationship with cannabis is much more mature than mine; I spent a while idly content to smoke and be unproductive and unhappy in my younger days. In this case, cannabis was much more a hindrance than an aid to me, this is why I felt like as the first responder I had to present a caveat more than anything else.

I also have a long family history in this direction, but I am fortunate in that it's pretty clearly confined to one side of my parentage. In this way, I was fortunate; I have been able to overcome much more internally than others have been able to, both within my family and at large.

The major basis for my post was the concept of taking control, refusing to accept despondent feelings. I realize this is limited in scope, and that some need more, but I feel like that attitude is fundamental to rebooting one's perspective.

Crankn:
I agree certainly that a sativa-strong strain is the right direction to go, though I must present my own experience in that regard. Sativas are really what you want to smoke to change and open your mind, to get out and go, but I have been challenged by them at times I have lacked such gumption.

I am a repeatedly-diagnosed insomiac, this is a much more severe problem for me than depression and I have done sleep clinics and all, so when I was really down and idle, smoking sativas wouldn't push me to get out, but rather get me into comfortable cycles of idleness in combination with poor sleep. In this way, they made me feel trapped; I would be interested in everything and in my own mind, but still couldn't muster energy to do the constructive things truly needed to get life going again. I ended up stopping the sativas and smoking less during the day, relying on indicas to ease my mind in the evening such that I could get true rest and have more energy to attack the next day. This is a large part of the warning I tried to convey in my first post.

Certainly, indicas during the day are not the way to go. I think in terms of using MJ to overcome depression less is truly more; use it as a tool rather than a crutch.

Truly, it's very personal. There are many ways a person responds to depression and I encourage you to try to find a cycle best for you. But treat it as medicine if you want it to behave like it, don't let it become dominant, or you'll find yourself in a new rut.

I am really impressed by the breadth and genuineness of ideas presented here. I truly wish you well, Journey, and hope you check back with us again.

A

PS- Graffiti, I agree 100% on your warning about psychedelics. I have too eaten a shitton of psychedelics and think they are great mind-expanders, but don't do much to pull you out of a destructive mindset. They'll highlight your problems and stick you in a loop. Not the answer to change mindset.
Also, out of rep, but owe you one.

 

[Graffiti]

use it as a tool rather than a crutch.

 

[bbing]

I'm tired of ANYONE telling me how or how not to use it. Feels a tad disrespectful to assume we cant figure it out for ourselves. I appreciate those speaking from personal experience; but prescriptive rhetoric has caused us all alot of problems already.

I'm not willing to let the Gov prescribe my relationship with it or judge its efficacy for me....why would I let you?

I'll use whatever the hell I want as a crutch.

 

[Guest 26753]

Strains high in Myrcene are great for depression. One strain that comes to mind that is high in Myrcene is White Widow. It has the highest Myrcene levels of all the GH strains.

 

[stink.whistler]

Depression is a real disease, regardless of what at least one poster here seems to think.

I would sincerely suggest you try more traditional medications first, and honestly - I would stop smoking pot (or any other intoxicant) while you try them (the fewer variables, the better). Doesn't mean you have to stop forever, but I would try traditional medications to see if one helps, then when you are feeling better, reintroduce intoxicants into the mix.

Good luck.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

I suffer periotic chronic depression. Have been taking Wellbutrin sr and this helps but i build up a tolerance. Any strains that are known to help depression?

Definitely look into developing 'active' activities. If you're capable of physical activity, definitely incorporate it into your daily routine. It will go a long way towards making those 'episodes' fewer and further between.

For those times when it's just too much, try a little Ice Princess X Sour Diesel. Super Happy upbeat sativa. The kind of stuff that glues an unconscious smile to your face.

 

[messn'n'gommin']

I suffer periotic chronic depression. Have been taking Wellbutrin sr and this helps but i build up a tolerance. Any strains that are known to help depression?

First off, love the nick.

Secondly, for those who do not understand, no explanation is possible and for those who do none is necessary.

Hang tough gentle friend, there are those in your life who do give a damn!

Namaste, mess

 

[BeanDip]

I will second some other folks input here. Attack the root of your depression. I tend to try to keep a journal when I'm in a deep depression. I also find that avoiding any couch-lock strains help to combat depression. If you want to use mmj to help you in that sense then stick to sativas with a high mota-vational factor (pun most definitely intended). Sativas that get you off your arse and get you wanting to do things are awesome. My favorites are usually haze strains for that wonderful frankinsence aroma/taste and the soaring high that makes me want to work on a hobby or go outdoors.
Raising a playful puppy helps too.

 

[reefa cheefa]

AesNewGrower great post

if your depressed smoke some salvia dom. once you go there mayb then can you seek some enlightment. i dont like people saying that depression is a disease, if it were so i would clearly have it. depression is a made up condition IMO that people develope through the difficulties of life, more often then not people who dont believe in "GOD", atheists- have shown to develope depression more than others because they dnt believe in the same things and when u dont believe that things happen for a reason or there is someone of a greater power watching over you, given you some kind of hope-then some get depressed bc they cant make sense on whats goin on in there lives.

ive gone through some bad shit in my life to where i shouldnt be the person i am today. i think through my love for cannabis and growing in general (garden, veggies, etc) has put some calmness in my life along with good people in my life so where i dont "suffer" from depression, but in my opinion i wouldnt treat your condition with weed.

everyone does it for a reason but i dont think it will serve well for despression. I take a hard indica for insomnia and relaxation, oh and pain relief (not too much of that).

Sorry to all with diagnosised (sp?) with depression...i just dont believe in alot of what physcolgysts says and tell people they have.

Suck a fat one dbfr3sh. i dont care if i get banned for saying this. u dont kno the first thing about depression kid. no the doctors dont know a damn thing. and neither do dumbasses like you who Google things and believe all they real^read. oh damn i feel like stabbing someone in the face. sorry guys this hit a real button

 

[dkmonk]

I suffer from depression, anxiety, and insomnia as well and i find the best is to smoke sativa dominant hybrids, alot of dj shorts strains are good for having a clear head and great outlook for the day when smoked. At night i try to smoke more indica to help me go to sleep but even sativa dominant hybrids help me if i smoke in abundance, because i literally can't sleep w/o smoking and never have been able to.

Hope you find something that will help you out.

 

[Guest 26753]

Well said Reefer Cheefa. Anyone who says depression is not a real illness needs a good ass reaming!!!!!!!
dbfr3sh just got a neg rep!

 

[DoobieDuck]

Helping Hand

Helping Hand

there isnt a plant that helps depression unless you want some that completly knocks u out to sleep....thats a little different then something that helps w/ depression.

dbf...interesting.. but did you research that before sharing it with us and could you post that research, or at least a link to it? I am a patient..long, long time, and my treating physician tells me my sleep issues may directly influence, increase, my depression problems. So..getting more quality sleep, for me, in return helps me aliviate some of my depression. How do I do that..I smoke pot, just a little, to get a better nights sleep. So friend, as a sufferer, I'd like you to consider my real life situation and the facts contained with-in that are real, honest, and sincere. Maybe you just needed to hear from someone who has been helped by medical marijuana to help you better understand this? DD

 

[dkmonk]

Yes it does help literally being an insomniac like I am tonight because i could only smoke a bowl w/ a friend, now tomorrow i am going to be tired and feel even worse, having insomnia alone is enough to give you depression, because it is miserable.

Depression is real, it isnt caused just by bad things, i used to have a shit load of money weed, and everything i could want when i was dealing but still somedays i would wake up and not want to live for no reason this would last weeks. It is real and a serious issue.

 

[LEOBABY]

Exercise and proper diet will do wonders for depression. The doctors had me on different pills for years and years. Nothing really helped. Started jogging in the mornings and doing a light workout routine and i havent had any problems for over 2 years now.

You have to work at being happy....sadness, anger, depression come easy...

 

[ureapwhatusow]

while some depression is behaviorial IMO its ALL about the seratonin

thats why pschadelics can make it worse for some

for me my natural seratonin system is so defective that I was diagnosed with a bottomless depression at 13, basically no amount of medicine put me in a non critical state

Now over my years I have learned many drugs, such as taking to many seratonin effecting drugs over a period of time, impair and even destroy the bodies natural ability to deliver seratonin

Not saying that you cant, through behavoir modification, battle depression

but if for one minute you thinks its not a biological issue I can help you destroy that mechanism in your body so you can know what hell on earth is like

so many ppl are opiated addcited cause they cant take the emotional discomfort (anxiety depe woe ect) of withdrawl yet that was teh NORM for me as a kid. so to the naysayer who think depression is a choice

truth is ignorance is a decision not depression

 

[dkmonk]

I exercise everyday or at least every other day before i go to work were im on my feet the whole time, and I hate junk food and usually drink nothing but water, I like to eat very well and take vitamins too.

Serious depression there really is no being happy no matter how hard you try, it comes in spells ill be fine for a month and then horribly depressed for a week or two.

edit speaking of psychodelics, shrooms help a lot i say about 4 times a year although ive only done them once and after i did them my outlook on life was much brighter for a couple of months

you may say im ignorant, and im not an opiate addict anymore was for about a couple of months because i had way too much money than i could handle, there is nothing you can do about severe depression when it hits you there is hardly anything you can do, i dont care if i won 200 million dollars if im in a period of depression it may as well be grass clippings

 

[love?]

Red Diesel from Barney's Farm was pretty much a perfect anti-depressant for me. It didn't get me high or stoned almost at all (so for recreational users I would recommend something else) but eased my depression a lot. I would say I felt "normal" after smoking it.

However, it needs to be said that I only had a small sample (~5g of it) and therefore have no info about phenotype variation or tolerance buildup with the strain. I don't even know how early the plant was cut. So don't please put too much hope into it... but it's certainly worth trying out.

 

[horror business]

love?, I've also had strains that did not get me high or stoned, but made me feel normal. I know they exist, I just have to find them.

 

[catman]

Great posts everyone.. I'll share my story in hopes it might help some one out and venting has always done its part in helping me as well.

Mental Health is heavily undervalued in our Western society and a it is almost taboo to even seek help. For anyone to say that depression or ADD is made is to disprove the work of thousands of scientific studies. Whenever someone tries to pitch me this story they always cite one of their reasons as doctors are just itching to shove throats down your throats and I have to agree. The distinction must be drawn between the issue of the disease itself and the treatment of it. I have issues with how it is treated in our society, but that does not dismiss that there does exists a condition.

Genetics.. My grand father was a WW2 veteran and suffered depression throughout most of his life. He received electro-therapy where they would strap him to a table, run electricity through his body, and hope it would somehow help his condition. Grand pa's medicine was alcohol and keeping busy on the farm. The alcohol made have got him through a couple day to days, but it did its damages. Grand pa became sick a couple of years ago and lost his will to live after being in the hospital for so long. I'll forever be bitter that Cannabis was not considered as a treatment as I suspect it would have improved his quality of life as it has done for me.

My father is a text book case of depression and is a worse alcoholic than my grand father. He doesn't whole heartily believe in treatment, but the mere thought that he has sought help is evidence enough for me at least to say it is real depression. His drunkess has resulted in great damages stowed upon our family and the divorce of my parents, verbal and physical abuse, DUIs, and suicide attempts. I had to pick my father up from jail after he had driven a car through peoples lawns and eventually got out into the country. There he went to a farm in the middle of nowhere with a shotgun and thanks to a hunch a police officer was able to find him out there before it was to late. He did this because of the pain the divorce put him through. I will never cease to wonder how much better of a father and a person he could have been or could be with the use of medical Cannabis. He has tried some prescription medication, but nothing has allowed him to put the bottle down for even a single night.

Myself. For the most part i was a normal child, but with a few stand out exceptions. I had contemplated suicide at such a young age I thought a BB gun would have done the deed. I always excelled at school, but got very little positive support from my family in certain areas and I believe the environment which I was raised created my low-self esteem. I've found one of the things that has helped me come to terms in life is strengthening my value of education to myself without considering what other people might think. As a teen in a rural school it was very tough for me to enjoy my education when being smart was not cool. I was, dear I say, hated to an extend because of my interest in computers and electronics. This was just a phase and overall I would say my teen years where plenty normal. I was popular and had many friends by most peoples standards, but I wasn't always happy with having only skin deep friends. I wanted to be able to sleep better and focus more in the day to help with my classes so my mother took me to the doctor. I was prescribed SSRIs and they seemed to work for a while before it became a task to switch to different medicines to weed out side effects. I have recently disclosed my cannabis use to my mother and although she worries about it for the legal sake, I believe I answered a very important question she had asked. She asked, "Do you plan on doing this the rest of your life?" My reply was that the doctor told me at an age of 15 that it would have been typical for me to continue taking the SSRI drugs for the rest of my life, so why not cannabis? After all, he is a doctor. During my later teens years I became depressed after the end of my first love relationship. The more I cared for her, the sadder I would get. At times it would drive me to rage, this is when I and my mother knew I needed help again as I had drop my medication when things where good. At the beginning of college I entered the same cycle. I have since been able to diagnosed the differences in depression and anxiety. I tried two last anti-depressants/anxiety before I made the switch to cannabis. Welubutrin XL had the lowest amount of side effects, but it simply just wasn't effective enough. Effexor numbed my emotions. It was after a couple of months that I had noticed that I had not cried once despite that it would probably have been perfectly healthy to do so. It did not seem to help me focus in school and therefore was of little use to me. The withdrawal of Effexor was terrible. I don't know how to explain it better than little jolts or jerks in my brain that occurred every minute. Amongst the zaps was just an overall sickness feeling. The more I began to read online the more I found other people with similar stories.

I started to suspect that I wasn't crazy and that science would be my guiding light. Ironically, the more I knew about the science the more I realized that scientist themselves did not under these conditions in respect to the most important parts such as serotonin. If you research serotonin you will only find more yourself asking more questions. The one very important that I did learn was how the medications work over periods of time. It takes several weeks before our brains adapt and I experienced this first hand every time I changed medication. This was one of the biggest clues to concluding cannabis helps me. I started experimenting with cannabis in my early teens for just recreational reasons. I still do not understand the stigma behind it in my home town community where getting skunk drunk is perfectly okay, but smoking pot and everything associated with it is evil. This phase passed as soon as my parents found out and I too had my suspicions that what I did was wrong. It wasn't till years later in college that I experimented again. I had become a little familiar with medicinal uses thanks to the freedom of information on the internet so I decided to give consuming cannabis daily a try.

Like most people, I enjoy the initial effect that is called high, but I found that 4-6 hours after that faded that I still had a better sense of well being with no impairment or side effects. After a couple weeks I began to notice that my dosage needed to be increased. Some people will jump to the conclusion that this is an addictive behavior, but it is not. It is the same thing that happens with prescription anti-depression/anxiety medication. My tolerance had increased, because my body and mind had adapted. I have developed some confidence in this theory because I have tested it time and time again because of times with no access to cannabis. I have gone months on end with daily use followed by 2-6 weeks period of none and it always go through the same cycle. During the start after a drought the dosage required is much less and if I use too much I do notice an change of short term memory, but it has never amounted more to anything that I haven't done more times while not under the influence of cannabis. This fades after a couple weeks of use and after the only side effect I experience is coughing from inhaling plant matter. When in my medication cycles I do not have to consume throughout the day. I feel that I still feel benefit while I work a 8 hour work day or attend an evening full of classes. I found something that helped me treat my anxiety and I finally noticed a real improvement with my focus in school. Through out the entire mess I had almost forgotten the main reason I had gone to the doctors in the first place, but alas finally received results.

To the people who offer advice with respect to getting medicating and just reflecting on your life.. I'm not dismissing the advice as helpful under the right circumstances, but this is not where the benefit of cannabis comes from as far real depression in my opinion. This might help you come to gripes with what in your environment is causing you anxiety/sadness. And this is very important because we change our environment! Do not except limitations! You only get one life. I would rather homeless with the promises of happiness than live another way without happiness personally. The real disease of depression is an issue with our minds and scientists around the world are riddled over it. For whatever reason that might exists, cannabis works with depression/anxiety and science has not conclusively answered it. The other side of depression related to environmental causes isn't real in the sense that we can change our environment (therefore it is not a disease), but let me just that for whatever reason when depression/anxiety control my life, I am partially blind to my environment. How are you suppose to change what you can't see!?

I still deal with anxiety, but my depression has ceased to be an issue. My next battle is dealing with the oppression faced under our current legislation and the widespread misinformation of a simple plant that will have forever changed my life for the better.