haze hybrids are my go to daytime smoke.
I guess everyone is different.
I guess everyone is different.
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Do you have experience with anxiety and depression?
- Thread starter CannaBunkerMan
- Start date
I get anxiety attacks in the cold months and suffered from clinical depression for years. Never taken medications because I've gotten so used to being in this state that I can usually just press through.
With my anxiety there are no psychological factors at play - I'm the happiest, chillest guy who has the most amazing stress free life. But every once in a while I get that rising anxiety feeling, which escalates into a 2-3 week full on sweating, confused, panic attack. I know there is no reason for them, but they ride an adrenalin wave which ultimately tires me out. Minor stress seems to be my trigger.
Now the first time these happened I hadn't been smoking weed for about 6 months. I thought, ah, all i need is some weed. But now i'm regularly smoking again I notice a lot of strains actually exacerbate the panic. A lot of strains now have a slight edge to them that makes them a bit unpleasant for me. Indicas, providing i've been smoking them for a few days, seem to make me less anxious and make me less likely to stress about trivial things. But none really cure it for me.
One thing that really really helps me for 1 or 2 days at a time is to do hard exercise. Run until you're a shaking mess, get out on your bike and find somewhere new. Something that totally wears you out. For some reason this works for me. Worth a try.
With my anxiety there are no psychological factors at play - I'm the happiest, chillest guy who has the most amazing stress free life. But every once in a while I get that rising anxiety feeling, which escalates into a 2-3 week full on sweating, confused, panic attack. I know there is no reason for them, but they ride an adrenalin wave which ultimately tires me out. Minor stress seems to be my trigger.
Now the first time these happened I hadn't been smoking weed for about 6 months. I thought, ah, all i need is some weed. But now i'm regularly smoking again I notice a lot of strains actually exacerbate the panic. A lot of strains now have a slight edge to them that makes them a bit unpleasant for me. Indicas, providing i've been smoking them for a few days, seem to make me less anxious and make me less likely to stress about trivial things. But none really cure it for me.
One thing that really really helps me for 1 or 2 days at a time is to do hard exercise. Run until you're a shaking mess, get out on your bike and find somewhere new. Something that totally wears you out. For some reason this works for me. Worth a try.
D
DeftoneSmoker
I am on prozac and valium. When I harvest I stop taking both of them until im out of green again and need them. I have found that indicas are alot better on my nerves and sativas cause me to have anxiety attacks. hope this helps man
OvergrowingKiwi
Active member
Strength my Brothers & Sisters
Arm yourself with all the tools you have available to you(Drugs & CBT).
Breath deep. Exhale slow. We are all in this together.
Never give up hope.
Hot showers & keeping hydrated have gotten me through the worst. Serious diaphragmatic breathing control helps bring blood oxygen, sugar and adrenaline levels under control.
I've kept things relatively under control for the last 5 years with pharmaceutical drugs & homegrown indica varieties combined with some cognitive behavioral therapy. I also take a vitamin B12 supplements & aim for a hypoglycemic diet to replace whats zapped by the panic attacks. Thats what works for me.
My personal belief is the more we suffer; the more we can appreciate the sustained periods of happiness gifted upon us by mother nature.
Suffer the bad times for the good times. Every summer has a winter. Every cold dark night has it's glorious dawn.
Arm yourself with all the tools you have available to you(Drugs & CBT).
Breath deep. Exhale slow. We are all in this together.
Never give up hope.
Hot showers & keeping hydrated have gotten me through the worst. Serious diaphragmatic breathing control helps bring blood oxygen, sugar and adrenaline levels under control.
I've kept things relatively under control for the last 5 years with pharmaceutical drugs & homegrown indica varieties combined with some cognitive behavioral therapy. I also take a vitamin B12 supplements & aim for a hypoglycemic diet to replace whats zapped by the panic attacks. Thats what works for me.
My personal belief is the more we suffer; the more we can appreciate the sustained periods of happiness gifted upon us by mother nature.
Suffer the bad times for the good times. Every summer has a winter. Every cold dark night has it's glorious dawn.
Strains play some part, early picked especially and they might just have the compounds that
could trigger a high with more introspective properties.
But it's most importantly a sign to start clearing your conscience and face those demons and fears of yours, as others stated.
We all have'em..
could trigger a high with more introspective properties.
But it's most importantly a sign to start clearing your conscience and face those demons and fears of yours, as others stated.
We all have'em..
The funniest thing to me as a person who suffers SEVERELY from anxiety. So much so I gave myself shingles when I was younger. That resulted in some pretty bad permanent nerve damage which is a constant annoyance but is paired with fibro symptoms.
Any time I get stressed out or my blood pressure rises or I start to feel anxious...it triggers the fibro...my brain freaks out chemically telling it the symptoms are back for the shingles and BOOM...instant, miserable pain. Like someone is ripping the flesh from your body with a jagged glass shard...but only if you touch your skin...or a shirt or the wind blows or....
grinding teeth...TMJ, sore nail beds from biting...ohhhh how I know
So I ABSOLUTELY love it when someone can come in here and simply say life is a merry go round, take a jog, eat better, get some sun shine.
Such all those things, I KNOW SHOULD, put me at ease and work the negative energies out and yadda yadda...
But all the jedi mind tricks in the world do not change or fix brain chemistry.
When I went the Rx route...all I got was a bunch of pills that addressed the symptoms being caused by the fibro. Pain pills for the nerve damage, blood pressure meds, anti-anxiety, anti-depressants, pills for the liver b/c of the combination of pills....lmao...
Or I can use cannabis and treat the underlying CAUSE.
For me personally, this is why I am passionate about cannabis. It LITERALLY has given me the ability to live my life again. Many people focus on different aspects of their garden and mine has always been cannabinoid profile. For me, it has never really been about relieving the anxiety - as much as it is getting back to that place where there is no anxiety. It is about those brief moments where I feel all is well in the world and I am in my right place in the universe...centered...focused...stress free....happy. It is about constantly walking in that state of being for me...and eliminating things in my life - whether it be a habit, food, or even a person - that prevents me from maintaining that sort of zen state of mind. Cannabis, as a whole, has been very enriching in that regard. It is this state of mind that I realize and begin to understand the complexities of my situations and the different avenues at which they can be resolved. It is in this state of mind that the thoughts of a world so beyond my control is not intimidating and tiresome but rather awe inspiring and provocative.
It is this changed mental state ... I should be in at all times ... that is the end goal of ALL treatments.
One of the biggest problems in my world - the man wants to take my medicine and lock me away for FINALLY finding away to be a contributing member of ITS society...
And for the record...there is nothing more frustrating than having the mental capacity to KNOW something should not be affecting you in the way it is...and yet have no ability to change or alter your bodies mental or physical response. You have no idea how many times I've snapped at people when in my own mind I ATTEMPTED and FORCED what I thought was going to come out as a respectful/polite response only for people to tell me to calm down and take it easy. The mind is a powerful thing...for me that is one of the MOST frustrating and stressful parts of it all. Knowing better and STILL not having control. It isn't always as easy as an apple a day and some exercise...lol...I wish it was!!!
To all of CHRONIC suffers of anxiety and depression...(I won't even discuss those moments in my life. I LIKE being depressed. It's one of the few times I'm not anxious...as I simply don't give a fuck at that point. I tend to embrace what is initially a sense of letting go and that lightness is addictive and does suck me in. Then talk about stress when one day you realize you haven't seen your face in the mirror for 3 weeks and suddenly the world sinks back in and feels 1000x heavier than it ever could have before and you begin to get angry and beat yourself up for letting it get to this...AGAIN...)
Whoever it was whose wife said it is a terribly vicious cycle was exactly right.
ANYWAY....time to go puff...this conversation kinda put me on edge....
dank.Frank
Any time I get stressed out or my blood pressure rises or I start to feel anxious...it triggers the fibro...my brain freaks out chemically telling it the symptoms are back for the shingles and BOOM...instant, miserable pain. Like someone is ripping the flesh from your body with a jagged glass shard...but only if you touch your skin...or a shirt or the wind blows or....
grinding teeth...TMJ, sore nail beds from biting...ohhhh how I know
So I ABSOLUTELY love it when someone can come in here and simply say life is a merry go round, take a jog, eat better, get some sun shine.
Such all those things, I KNOW SHOULD, put me at ease and work the negative energies out and yadda yadda...
But all the jedi mind tricks in the world do not change or fix brain chemistry.
When I went the Rx route...all I got was a bunch of pills that addressed the symptoms being caused by the fibro. Pain pills for the nerve damage, blood pressure meds, anti-anxiety, anti-depressants, pills for the liver b/c of the combination of pills....lmao...
Or I can use cannabis and treat the underlying CAUSE.
For me personally, this is why I am passionate about cannabis. It LITERALLY has given me the ability to live my life again. Many people focus on different aspects of their garden and mine has always been cannabinoid profile. For me, it has never really been about relieving the anxiety - as much as it is getting back to that place where there is no anxiety. It is about those brief moments where I feel all is well in the world and I am in my right place in the universe...centered...focused...stress free....happy. It is about constantly walking in that state of being for me...and eliminating things in my life - whether it be a habit, food, or even a person - that prevents me from maintaining that sort of zen state of mind. Cannabis, as a whole, has been very enriching in that regard. It is this state of mind that I realize and begin to understand the complexities of my situations and the different avenues at which they can be resolved. It is in this state of mind that the thoughts of a world so beyond my control is not intimidating and tiresome but rather awe inspiring and provocative.
It is this changed mental state ... I should be in at all times ... that is the end goal of ALL treatments.
One of the biggest problems in my world - the man wants to take my medicine and lock me away for FINALLY finding away to be a contributing member of ITS society...
And for the record...there is nothing more frustrating than having the mental capacity to KNOW something should not be affecting you in the way it is...and yet have no ability to change or alter your bodies mental or physical response. You have no idea how many times I've snapped at people when in my own mind I ATTEMPTED and FORCED what I thought was going to come out as a respectful/polite response only for people to tell me to calm down and take it easy. The mind is a powerful thing...for me that is one of the MOST frustrating and stressful parts of it all. Knowing better and STILL not having control. It isn't always as easy as an apple a day and some exercise...lol...I wish it was!!!
To all of CHRONIC suffers of anxiety and depression...(I won't even discuss those moments in my life. I LIKE being depressed. It's one of the few times I'm not anxious...as I simply don't give a fuck at that point. I tend to embrace what is initially a sense of letting go and that lightness is addictive and does suck me in. Then talk about stress when one day you realize you haven't seen your face in the mirror for 3 weeks and suddenly the world sinks back in and feels 1000x heavier than it ever could have before and you begin to get angry and beat yourself up for letting it get to this...AGAIN...)
Whoever it was whose wife said it is a terribly vicious cycle was exactly right.
ANYWAY....time to go puff...this conversation kinda put me on edge....
dank.Frank
I won't lie...there are often times where I read some of the responses in these types of threads and with a couple of you I don't see anxiety / depression. I see MANIA and depression. There are very important subtleties in the differences between the two, but the treatments and underlying neurological issues are MUCH different.
Some of you should look into bi polar disorder, perhaps...I know I had to take a walk down that direction just to be certain that wasn't the case with myself...
dank.Frank
Some of you should look into bi polar disorder, perhaps...I know I had to take a walk down that direction just to be certain that wasn't the case with myself...
dank.Frank
One of the most significant things you can do to ease both anxiety and depression.....?
Stop eating all processed foods.
No hydrogenated oils (crisco), artificial flavors and sweeteners, no "Natural" flavors (because if they were 'natural' they would say the fruit or food that was added, not the 'flavor' of it), no tocopherols or sorbates or sulfites..... no 'modified' or adulterated foods of any kind.
Don't think so? Quit them all for 2 months.... then start introducing each 'fake/processed' food back into your diet. The results are criminal.
Oh... good luck quitting the processed foods for 2 months as well. You think tobacco is addictive?? You better hope you've already quit crack..... you're going to need the willpower you gained.
Yes... I've dealt with anxiety and mood control my whole life. The last 6 months have been absolutely mind boggling... since I quit the processed crap.
Eye opening doesn't even begin to describe it.
Stay Safe!
Stop eating all processed foods.
No hydrogenated oils (crisco), artificial flavors and sweeteners, no "Natural" flavors (because if they were 'natural' they would say the fruit or food that was added, not the 'flavor' of it), no tocopherols or sorbates or sulfites..... no 'modified' or adulterated foods of any kind.
Don't think so? Quit them all for 2 months.... then start introducing each 'fake/processed' food back into your diet. The results are criminal.
Oh... good luck quitting the processed foods for 2 months as well. You think tobacco is addictive?? You better hope you've already quit crack..... you're going to need the willpower you gained.
Yes... I've dealt with anxiety and mood control my whole life. The last 6 months have been absolutely mind boggling... since I quit the processed crap.
Eye opening doesn't even begin to describe it. Stay Safe!
ZoSo
Member
The same thing happened to me. When I quit hard drugs I went completely sober for three months before I started smoking again (and I got the AA chip to prove it!).
It wasn't a matter of tolerance either. It took a year for me to get back to normal. Sorry I can't offer any advice about the depression besides some form of recreation. My motorcycle keeps me sane.
well said man...alot of my stress and panic attacks are directly due to the path in life i have taken..i love growing and smoking weed, but the fact its illegal and that my entire life revolves around illegal shit...with the constant threat of jailtime and everything coming down, weighs alot on my head. especially seeing so many friends get busted and catch cases....
my most recent panic attacks were definately CAUSED by the smoking, each case was due to smoking too much BHO...mine are very minor, no where near what some people describe, but its a shitty feeling whatever it is..
i was recently reading the NORML website, and looking at all the med patients who are facing 5-10 years in prison for growing pot, most of whom have legit medical reasons, and it made me pretty depressed the other day.....FUCK THE GOVERNMENT. seriously, most of my stress is directly due to jack booted police thugs, and the state this country is heading in, where the feds will stomp all over our constitutional freedoms and imprison or kill those who dont comply....having police on every other corner in my city doesnt help my mental state either. city life in general just burns me out, i feel anxious, impatient, and angry most of the time when im running around the city.....i feel much more at peace when im up north in the woods at my outdoor spot..
end rant..
L
longearedfriend
Watching a movie can sometimes leave me with a fresh perspective on life
just watched one and the positive and surprising ending left me feeling good
just watched one and the positive and surprising ending left me feeling good
I personally don't take any antidepressants or mood elevators. I believe that pharmaceutical companies would like everyone to think they are clinically depressed and therefor on their medications, but who knows maybe the way most of us live the dull nine to five life our bodies and subconscious have no alternative to releasing pent up anxiousness and depression, cause the state of human beings today given all this knowledge and advancement is pretty utterly fucking depressing.
I never really feel to depressed about anything, and even when i do feel helpless in a given situation its easy to see so many other positive things that it becomes difficult to dwell on the negatives... though that only works if you can only focus on being in your own bubble and not concern yourself with to many of the worlds problems
as far as the LSD and psychedelics...
SSRI is a class of medications called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, where the molecules block the presynaptic neuron from reabsorbing the serotonin not initially absorbed by the postsynaptic neuron... just like LSD; and in fact thats how they learned about serotonin reuptake inhibition, by studying the behaviorally changes of individuals on LSD!SSRI <-- click link
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors are another class of antidepressant/anxiety/obsessive behavior medication, that along with Dimethyltryptamine (a serotonin agonist), is naturally present in the Ayahuasca tea MAOI <-- click link
4sure,
living the life of the oppressed is depressing, even more so when everyone in the city feels privileged to scrape to make ends meat and will stab you in the back to get it.
average people need to see cannabis users and growers and dealers as oppressed people instead of criminals, then your anxiety should diminish Y4P.
peace,
Infi
I conquered mine about 2 years ago fully, was battling it for another 2 before that gradually improved over time.. Now that I'm free of it I'd say the most important part is just reinforcing certain behaviors in yourself. If theres something that you know for a fact that makes you anxious go out of your way to experience it, and while you are simply realize that that which you have built up in your mind to be a tremendous difficulty is actually a simple facet of reality.. Especially if its something as simple as going outside or talking to another person, those were the kinds of things which used to set me off (I had pretty severe anxiety at one point).. Face your triggers every day, eventually you'll forget about feeling anxious completely and be able to exist casually.
Some excellent posts I've read so far OP, read them and take from them what you will but remember you are the one who must put into action this knowledge and advice.. Listen, practice and you will be rewarded. Good luck.
Some excellent posts I've read so far OP, read them and take from them what you will but remember you are the one who must put into action this knowledge and advice.. Listen, practice and you will be rewarded. Good luck.
When I get depressed I scratch my dog.
He's deaf, needs glasses and he ain't got no balls. He's truly fucked.
A good ass scratching makes him hum and he's happy as a dog can be.
His sheer delight in a good ass scratching cheers me up.
Not only that but it reminds me that at least I still have my balls, so it ain't as bad as he's got it.
Plus I don't have to shit outside when it's freezing.
He's deaf, needs glasses and he ain't got no balls. He's truly fucked.
A good ass scratching makes him hum and he's happy as a dog can be.
His sheer delight in a good ass scratching cheers me up.
Not only that but it reminds me that at least I still have my balls, so it ain't as bad as he's got it.
Plus I don't have to shit outside when it's freezing.
stc9357
Member
A question for you were most of the people over the 99 plant count limit or were they under?
I read through all of these posts a few times, trying to get as much help out of them as I could. I couldn't believe how many people responded. I guess that I'm not alone, which helps me a lot. Many of the suggestions here are things that I am actively working on. I love my dog, she's helped me through a lot of tough times. Dogs are so good at living in the moment, I'm constantly in awe of that ability.
I've been on Lexapro for the better part of the last 10 years. It took me 6 months to feel normal after getting off of it last year. The "Head zaps", were very unpleasant. I only want to use the SSRI's (Lexapro) as a last resort. Ativan (benzos) really helps in the moment, but whenever I ask for a perscription, I get the, "it's just a band-aid" stick, with the disapproving look. It seems that lately, doctors have been more likely to flat out refuse to prescribe them to me, even though all anti-depressants are bandaids, and I don't have anything else that works. I've been prescribed Aderall before, and that at least gave me some much needed euphoria, but that's even harder (impossible) to get from a doctor now. Forget that I could go down the street and score 200 oxys in half an hour. So fucked up.
I see a CBT therapist when I have bouts of depression, I had an appointment last week, and have another one scheduled for next week. I'm really frustrated with CBT, as it doesn't seem to work in the least. I could be miles from people in the middle of nature with nothing to do on a beautiful day, and I'd still feel like the world is coming to an end. It feels like life is something to be endured, not lived, and it gets exhausting.
Often times, doing anything is a monumental task. Even getting around to writing this was a sizable hurdle. I wanted to write a few times before, but my apathy is a powerful force. Tonight I had an emotional cataclysm, and 2mg of ativan is only now starting to take the edge off.
Part of me thinks that being on the SSRI's have made me less able to deal with stress that life can dish out. I miss the days when I had a larger family, and people who I could rely on to help me through tough times. I don't feel like I'm in a state to go looking for companionship, either.
Ugh, I'm exhausted, I'll write more later, I'm going to go and scratch my dogs butt.
I've been on Lexapro for the better part of the last 10 years. It took me 6 months to feel normal after getting off of it last year. The "Head zaps", were very unpleasant. I only want to use the SSRI's (Lexapro) as a last resort. Ativan (benzos) really helps in the moment, but whenever I ask for a perscription, I get the, "it's just a band-aid" stick, with the disapproving look. It seems that lately, doctors have been more likely to flat out refuse to prescribe them to me, even though all anti-depressants are bandaids, and I don't have anything else that works. I've been prescribed Aderall before, and that at least gave me some much needed euphoria, but that's even harder (impossible) to get from a doctor now. Forget that I could go down the street and score 200 oxys in half an hour. So fucked up.
I see a CBT therapist when I have bouts of depression, I had an appointment last week, and have another one scheduled for next week. I'm really frustrated with CBT, as it doesn't seem to work in the least. I could be miles from people in the middle of nature with nothing to do on a beautiful day, and I'd still feel like the world is coming to an end. It feels like life is something to be endured, not lived, and it gets exhausting.
Often times, doing anything is a monumental task. Even getting around to writing this was a sizable hurdle. I wanted to write a few times before, but my apathy is a powerful force. Tonight I had an emotional cataclysm, and 2mg of ativan is only now starting to take the edge off.
Part of me thinks that being on the SSRI's have made me less able to deal with stress that life can dish out. I miss the days when I had a larger family, and people who I could rely on to help me through tough times. I don't feel like I'm in a state to go looking for companionship, either.
Ugh, I'm exhausted, I'll write more later, I'm going to go and scratch my dogs butt.
L
longearedfriend
I'm not too fond of CBT
only just about everyday of my life as long as i can remember, and i can remember a really long time. always had anxiety (shyness as they call it) the depression came on when i hit puberty.
cannabunker man it seems like you've built up a tolerance. you should try either stopping for a month or more if possible, if not then take smaller doses. like very light doses. try not to smoke for the high feeling that you know. instead just take a single hit and wait on it. if im correct you will notice that you aren't even noticing not being high. you will still feel the effects and you won't be numbing your senses in the process. i think it's that too much of a good thing syndrome. you can't even feel it anymore because you were basing your relief on other factors that are alongside what you are trying to relieve.
also by one hit i mean a small hit, not like a bonghit lung exploder. just one puff like from a joint or a pipe.
cannabunker man it seems like you've built up a tolerance. you should try either stopping for a month or more if possible, if not then take smaller doses. like very light doses. try not to smoke for the high feeling that you know. instead just take a single hit and wait on it. if im correct you will notice that you aren't even noticing not being high. you will still feel the effects and you won't be numbing your senses in the process. i think it's that too much of a good thing syndrome. you can't even feel it anymore because you were basing your relief on other factors that are alongside what you are trying to relieve.
also by one hit i mean a small hit, not like a bonghit lung exploder. just one puff like from a joint or a pipe.
had a girlfriend who used to smoke a LOT with her ex, no problem for the longest time, then suddenly one day it hit her with really big time paranoia, happened a few more times and she called it quits (she was no pushover when she made up her mind). she did no other drugs. i only toked with her once, she knew i did all the time and she had no probs with it, one day we were strolling in a quiet area, she said gimme a toke, had a couple and said nope, not touching it again. only time i've heard of a sudden reversal like that, but it was up close and personal.
