Sadly, i think weed has...

[KMK0420]

....thrown me into a depression.

..again.

This was talked about before shortly in various other threads, but I think I want to mention this incase there are people out there stuck wondering why they are feeling the way they do.


First..marijuana is a miracle plant (we all know this)...i LOVE it's effects, and enjoy smoking/vaporizing, and the whole social culture around it.

BUT. here's where i went wrong...i'm a huge fan of the Kottonmouth Kings, and in their songs they clearly sing about smoking tons, tons of weed all day every day. Now..this is where I screwed up. Everyone who smokes weed CANNOT smoke every day large amounts; some people can pull this off and be fully functional and have no side effected, but here's what i notice.

When i'm "always high" and "never come down", my head becomes very, VERY foggy, i can't think straight half the time, i forget things frequently, and my sex drive is decreased dramatically. not my ability, just the drive...like i dont WANT to go out and get laid as often as i normally would. I tested this by quitting smoking for 2 months solid - and guess what - all my negative symptoms went away, and i felt AMAZING.

Needless to say in the interim i tried Wellbutrin (antidepressant) to see if that helped me while i smoked. It made things worse...i felt like a fucking ZOMBIE.

Breaks are KEY with frequent marijuana usage...right now i've probably been smoking daily for a good year or 8 months since my last break. I'm out of weed, and don't get paid till friday, so i'm stopping for a few days then when i get more, cutting down dramatically to only a few times per week.

It's fucked up though. I know for a fact the amount of weed i'm ingesting is directly causing these symptoms in me, but i love it so much. I love doing anything high, it makes work fly by (and i have a very stressful job)...and without it...it's like i'm lost. But i have to weigh the pros/cons...do i want these depression symptoms, or do i want to be normal again?

Those of you who smoke regularly and feel the same way (or think you may be depressed or have a lot of anxiety) - before you try medication or anything else, quit smoking for at LEAST 2 weeks, if not a month or 2. The first week-week and a half is almost detox, and you won't sleep/have nightmares/be very irritable. After that though, seriously, you feel like a million bucks.

 

[Bobby Stainless]

Good luck.

However, I smoke all day everyday, and have never had a problem.

Different strokes, for different folks.

 

[tree d]

From your mouth to God's ears!

Really, I couldn't have said it better myself.
I am/was exactly the same:

blaze all day everyday = foggy and forgetful (I was an honor student and track star long ago)
take some time off and only smoke at the end of day = cheerful and squared away

I go in cycles where I do really well being 'Good', then slowly and almost without realizing it, I drift back into wake and bake and top offs every few hours.....Then I catch myself and cut back again.
It's a double edged sword for sure.

 

[jefff]

Smoke 24/7 here! Some times feel like I'm getting used to it and realize I'd gotten weak smoke. Doesn't happen that often, as far as the complete fucked up state of mind you talk about, it's why I smoke!!!!

 

[illnillinois]

I feel your pain. I use MJ as meds and when I run out (and its often) it puts me into a real depressive low. Its passes, but I shouldn't have to fight to feel Norml.
There are hundreds of strains that have different effects, there is many different ways for your body to use THC with different effects.. People need to have the right and the choice to discuss with a Doctor and find one that works.
Fight for reform.

 

[Kizzattack]

I get a bit foggy and down if I smoke 24/7. Moderation is the key. I smoke every day, but only in the evenings. Keep a healthy diet, moderate your smoking and you should be fine. Also make sure you rotate strains frequently.

 

[smokesalot420]

Hope this helps you, everyone is different!

 

[PrimoVG]

Just a thought

Monotony might be what's bringing back your depression. At least for me it does...i need to break up my daily, weeky, monthly routines.

I find that every 3 months a nice 4 or 5 day break from everything does me wonders. Shut the phone off, get away from the places you spend most of your time.

Doing the same thing (whatever it is) on a daily basis leads to boredom, and that leads to anxiety, which leads to depression. Don't toke for the sake of toking; toke 'cuz you want to get high...I see too many smokers that smoke because it's part of their daily; it loses appeal.

Hope everything turns out great
peace

 

[Euphrates]

Personally, I think we can not say one way, or the other, that cannabis causes/induces' depression. I personally think your just covering up your depression ( whether it be minor or major) with the use of cannabis, and when your tolerance builds, your depression resurfaces. That being said, Depression (depending on the level) does seem to come and go through out one's life, weaving and endless web of fate, not that its fate that you or anyone has depression, I just like that saying.

I highly agree though, that most recreational cannabis user's are better off not smoking everyday. I haven’t toked in a little bit more than a month and half, and I enjoy being able to sleep easily, and dream beautifully. An after that amount of time of absence, I feel a bit more clear ( note, before I too was a daily user for a very short period of time), an better at articulating how I feel. It so easy to get sucked into the daily cycle of smoking. It is better to use cannabis when your happy and doing something exciting, rather than just using it to feel better from a bad day, learn how to deal with your problems sober.

Use it as an award system, like only toking on the weekend’s, after a weeks work; I’ve been looking into what kind of cycle of toking would I have to take, in order to keep things relatively normal, example. Being able to sleep with out being high, and being able to continue my nightly dreams. Maybe making sure you don’t toke right before sleep would help.

Personally the best time to toke, is after or in between exercising, it gives it a real euphoric effect with waves of comfort and coolness surging through out your body and mind. I like to bicycle a bit, then toke, then continue cycling. Making sure your living a healthy life style and eating right helps to. Drinking a lot of water helps me in allot of ways such as appetite reduction when the munchies attack. .

Hope this helps.

 

[BudBo]

Doing the same thing (whatever it is) on a daily basis leads to boredom, and that leads to anxiety, which leads to depression. Don't toke for the sake of toking; toke 'cuz you want to get high...I see too many smokers that smoke because it's part of their daily; it loses appeal.

Truth^^^^^

 

[TwoOhSix!]

It's weird, for me if I stop for a week or two, my lungs really clear out which is nice, but I don't really feel much effect on my mental function. It might be different because on these breaks I'm always on vacation and theres other shit to do...it would be a lot harder to take weed out of my daily routine at home.

When I come back and smoke a bowl, I get super high, but then my tolerance comes back immediately. I never get the "clear headed" thing everyone talks about after taking a break, so I'm guessing I never get too foggy to begin with.

 

[THC123]

if i smoke too much every day , i also become a bit foggy and forgetfull , but for the rest i have no probs.

But for me the best is one or two joints just before bed.

I never manage to pull that off though

 

[Moldy Dreads]

I've cut back to smoking only at night or late afternoons and it helps for sure. Depression affects people who smoke and people who don't. My family all suffers from it and they don't smoke. Smoking to the point of high tolerance is not so productive I agree.

It's all about controlling the habit, I usually smoke alot when I grow and harvest alot, so I'm trying to visit the garden only at night and smoke at night, much better!

oh, and stopping cold-turkey will make you very depressed, you need to cut down gradually...believe me.

 

[Stoner4Life]

Well I'm a medicinal user and so it's all day every day for me when it's accessible.
If I don't have cannabis then I have to take either my oxy contin or the Dilaudid
which is a morhine derivative that's 100 Xs more powerful than straight morhine,
that's the shyt that makes me zombie like or foggy headed, weed keeps my mind
very sharp and focused while lessening my pains and eliminating muscle spasms.

 

[TrainMan]

What is this depression? You think you are alone? Everybody has some sort of gloom and depression. I ask myself this all the time. Nobody really knows to the fullest extent as to what activating these receptors does to the mind. Personally I think it's the 'out there', the city life, the value systems, that are the crazy/depressing part. One has to find a way to separate themselves from that clutter which makes them depressed. Find new hobbies, I'm trying to right now. Get some sun. Travel.

 

[robereno]

I posted this somewhere else but it seems to apply here.

60 years dealing with clinical depression though thankfully it hasn’t been severe. Prozac and currently Effexor are my medications.

Got my referral last year for migraines but surprisingly I’ve had better luck with it helping with the depression. The benefits from the Effexor and Prozac have always been vague and indistinct though the side effects are unmistakable (lack of libido).

Smoking during the past year has done much more to ease my depression and improve my frame of mind. It has also opened avenues of introspection that have been helpful in my understanding of the thought process that leads to depression.

I’m currently cutting back on the Effexor and I’m hopping that I can eliminate it all together. Unfortunately I won’t discuss this with my regular psychiatrist. Not sure but I suspect that most mainstream doctors will have nothing to do with discussions on the benefits of marijuana. They would look at my marijuana use as a problem that needed to be eliminated.

 

[Tropic]

Some great posts in here, I'll be quick but I'll second that taking a break from everything (routine) is needed every once in a while (this applies to smoking too). Also, if you're not into sports, exercising from time to time still helps the body to relieve stress and clears your mind. Not that I exercise often, but even going out for a walk (watching the sunset with the lady, the dog, or alone) is nice, then get home and cook yourself a real dinner... in other words, break that routine and enjoy life... I know everyone's situation is different, but you get the idea.

Peace

 

[PrimoVG]

yeah, i'll second the exercising thought. it's supposed to release some hormones that make you feel good. exercising at least twice a week can go a long way, ime.

you could find anything you like...walk the dog, jogging, biking....it really doesn't have to be a professional routine to do the trick.

 

[johnipedestran]

As a 20+ year daily smoker....I have been thru some ups and downs as far as daily use goes.

Generally speaking, I smoke three times a day now. When I get up, sometime during the day again (usually afternoon) then again in the evening. I do the most rippers in the morning, sometimes up to six. Afternoon stone consists of three bong hits then nighttime again usually round three or four. then bed.

on weekends I will sometimes get up at 2-3 in the morning for another session watch some TV take a Dilantin then back to bed.

This is all balanced by regular cardiovascular exercise of running and hiking in the woods. On days that I do nothing but sit around and smoke of course I feel like shit so too would mood.

as to the OP and his comments I definitely remember that tired totally spaced feeling from when I was in college.

peace
jip

 

[swampdank]

Ya, taking breaks has always been a part of my routine. I might take a few days off from smoking if for no other reason, the pot works better. I get really high again. I got bad one time when I didnt take any breaks for almost 6 months and couldnt get high off of anything from my garden. Not even stuff never smoked with hash on top. So, I took a break and that weekend smoked a fatty and got blazed.

Folks who do smack call it spin drying. I guess that terminology could be applied here too. Essentially, the goal is the same. Leave a the drug alone for a few days so you can once again feel it's effects.