I would endorse this 100%. From personal experience. Enough said.
Weed and Anxiety/Panic Attacks
Re: Weed and Anxiety/Panic Attacks
Over four years on ACD and none the wiser…
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Raoul_Duke
- Posts: 32
- Joined: Tue 24th Jan 2023 08:46 pm
Re: Weed and Anxiety/Panic Attacks
Great thread as I don't see this topic discussed that often amongst fellow tokers.
First time I had the 'I feel like I am dieing' moment was when me and few friends decided to make the longest joint we've tried then drip drops of 'poppers' over it. If anyone has seen the film 'Get Him to the Greek' when he's tried Jethro then that was like my experience except there was no furry wall to stroke
My first ever A'Dam visit was in 2013 with my GF at the time who'd have the odd toke once or twice a year - whereas I was usually having 1 or 2 joints a night. She didn't enjoy sitting in the coffeeshops too much so we usually went to Smoke Bars so she could drink and I could smoke except I was drinking too - and a had a huge panic/anxiety attack.
I worked in Vape shops in the UK for years and everyone I worked with were stoners and we'd try the vaporisers we sold out the back all the time. Yet, my colleagues always seemed happy and composed with their high whereas I would be off to space mountain tripping my balls off. THC effects me differently from most people but rather than be scared of this I wanted to explore it more.
1. Detoxing - Since I was at Uni I had been a regular stoner up until my early 30s. I lived with someone for 3 years who was also a daily stoner and we both became really fiendish with our use. When one of us tried to 'detox' the other would be the temptation. I think this stems from it being sometimes hard to get if you don't have good contacts. Also it can be used as an escapism for many people like video games or alcohol etc. My first detox was 8 months after I left the vape industry. It was hard at first but after a few months you just develop new habits. The good thing about detoxing I found is that when you go back to having weed again you have a new appreciation for it. I feel I connect with it more than if I was using it on a daily basis. So I regularly detox or fast and I found that really helped control the anxiety or panic attacks.
2. Lifestyle choices - Eating crap and not doing any exercise or socialising and having THC is probably going to be a bad idea. If I've been living negatively then I usually have a bad high. If I've been exercising regularly, connecting with people and feeling good about myself I've never had any anxiety or panic attacks when high. On the contrast to this however, weed has pulled me out of so many ruts and depressions too - but I found in those times it is best to use it at home with a close friend(s) or on your own.
3. Setting - kinda related to my last point but if you are in a busy environment that you are not used to then it might influence your experience. Having lived in flatshares with random strangers in UK, smoking is usually prohibited in the house at all nevermind weed so I'd go walk the streets to blaze which made me more anxious and ruined the high compared to if I could just blaze a joint laying in bed - I'd feel fine.
To add to this further, when I did magic mushrooms for the first time with 2 friends in Amsterdam we ate them about 4pm and 'came up' about 5pm/6pm but we hadn't chosen a good place. I think we were in one of the Bulldogs then decided to move on (before we could feel it) 2 of us had them the other friend wasn't into drugs. When we 'came up' we were wandering the streets of the Red Light District on a random Wednesday evening and we kept on getting spooked. The other friend who took them went back to his Hostel and wouldn't come out again. I found Kokopeli's and chilled in their trip area looking at the canal having a fantastic shroom experience whilst my friend (not on shrooms) was consoling the other friend at his hostel
4. Other additions - As been mentioned before smelling black pepper can help, also drinking good Mango juice I found can make the high more strong but actually helps reduce the anxiety, maybe too high to even be anxious. Pineapple juice and orange juice I found can lessen the high or having some CBD. Caffeine isn't a great combo for the strong strains I found. Especially in the A'Dam CS I used to always order a coffee or two during my visits then leave wondering why my heart is racing because I'm smoking potent bud and downed a few coffees! DUR!
5. Anything else - Lastly, controlling your breath helps if you are having a panic attack. A GF had a bad trip after we ate 'too many' weed brownies I had made and was crying out in panic for me to call an ambulance. Before this moment I was having an epic euphoric trip but this brought me right down to reality as I had to help her. I didn't call an ambulance because I had helped people in these situations before. Got her to focus on her breath. Got her to start noticing things around her using her 5 senses. Got her to drink a glass of orange juice. After awhile she was giggling and fine.
Hope this helps anyone who has bad experiences but also for anyone who's friend is going through a bad trip. Be kind to each other!
First time I had the 'I feel like I am dieing' moment was when me and few friends decided to make the longest joint we've tried then drip drops of 'poppers' over it. If anyone has seen the film 'Get Him to the Greek' when he's tried Jethro then that was like my experience except there was no furry wall to stroke
My first ever A'Dam visit was in 2013 with my GF at the time who'd have the odd toke once or twice a year - whereas I was usually having 1 or 2 joints a night. She didn't enjoy sitting in the coffeeshops too much so we usually went to Smoke Bars so she could drink and I could smoke except I was drinking too - and a had a huge panic/anxiety attack.
I worked in Vape shops in the UK for years and everyone I worked with were stoners and we'd try the vaporisers we sold out the back all the time. Yet, my colleagues always seemed happy and composed with their high whereas I would be off to space mountain tripping my balls off. THC effects me differently from most people but rather than be scared of this I wanted to explore it more.
1. Detoxing - Since I was at Uni I had been a regular stoner up until my early 30s. I lived with someone for 3 years who was also a daily stoner and we both became really fiendish with our use. When one of us tried to 'detox' the other would be the temptation. I think this stems from it being sometimes hard to get if you don't have good contacts. Also it can be used as an escapism for many people like video games or alcohol etc. My first detox was 8 months after I left the vape industry. It was hard at first but after a few months you just develop new habits. The good thing about detoxing I found is that when you go back to having weed again you have a new appreciation for it. I feel I connect with it more than if I was using it on a daily basis. So I regularly detox or fast and I found that really helped control the anxiety or panic attacks.
2. Lifestyle choices - Eating crap and not doing any exercise or socialising and having THC is probably going to be a bad idea. If I've been living negatively then I usually have a bad high. If I've been exercising regularly, connecting with people and feeling good about myself I've never had any anxiety or panic attacks when high. On the contrast to this however, weed has pulled me out of so many ruts and depressions too - but I found in those times it is best to use it at home with a close friend(s) or on your own.
3. Setting - kinda related to my last point but if you are in a busy environment that you are not used to then it might influence your experience. Having lived in flatshares with random strangers in UK, smoking is usually prohibited in the house at all nevermind weed so I'd go walk the streets to blaze which made me more anxious and ruined the high compared to if I could just blaze a joint laying in bed - I'd feel fine.
To add to this further, when I did magic mushrooms for the first time with 2 friends in Amsterdam we ate them about 4pm and 'came up' about 5pm/6pm but we hadn't chosen a good place. I think we were in one of the Bulldogs then decided to move on (before we could feel it) 2 of us had them the other friend wasn't into drugs. When we 'came up' we were wandering the streets of the Red Light District on a random Wednesday evening and we kept on getting spooked. The other friend who took them went back to his Hostel and wouldn't come out again. I found Kokopeli's and chilled in their trip area looking at the canal having a fantastic shroom experience whilst my friend (not on shrooms) was consoling the other friend at his hostel
4. Other additions - As been mentioned before smelling black pepper can help, also drinking good Mango juice I found can make the high more strong but actually helps reduce the anxiety, maybe too high to even be anxious. Pineapple juice and orange juice I found can lessen the high or having some CBD. Caffeine isn't a great combo for the strong strains I found. Especially in the A'Dam CS I used to always order a coffee or two during my visits then leave wondering why my heart is racing because I'm smoking potent bud and downed a few coffees! DUR!
5. Anything else - Lastly, controlling your breath helps if you are having a panic attack. A GF had a bad trip after we ate 'too many' weed brownies I had made and was crying out in panic for me to call an ambulance. Before this moment I was having an epic euphoric trip but this brought me right down to reality as I had to help her. I didn't call an ambulance because I had helped people in these situations before. Got her to focus on her breath. Got her to start noticing things around her using her 5 senses. Got her to drink a glass of orange juice. After awhile she was giggling and fine.
Hope this helps anyone who has bad experiences but also for anyone who's friend is going through a bad trip. Be kind to each other!
Re: Weed and Anxiety/Panic Attacks
try CBD. It could help in this cases even more than THC weed
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piperblake
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Tue 2nd May 2023 04:11 pm
Re: Weed and Anxiety/Panic Attacks
I had a similar experience. After a bad trip, even occasional smoking felt stressful. When I visited Amsterdam, I started with strains higher in CBD, and it made a difference. Also, staying hydrated and having a good meal before can help. It's all about finding what works for you. I also buy kratom and it helps. So, check it out.
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giabaohome
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Mon 7th Jun 2021 07:41 am
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Taylorsedan
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Sun 16th May 2021 11:33 am
Re: Weed and Anxiety/Panic Attacks
Weed amplifies your state of mind. If you have stuff on your mind that you stress about or that you are constantly fearing that something terrible will happen, THC will amplify that. This is the reason why I don't smoke weed anymore. I have been dealing with some stressful stuff at work, and sometimes, to deal with it, I used to smoke weed after work. But it wasn't helping me. On the contrary, it made me feel paranoid. So, since I could not help myself stress so much, I started to look for an alternative. And I got my eye on the kratom. After I began to buy kratom, I felt less stressed since this plant has similar effects as a weed, but it does not make me feel paranoid. So I suggest you try kratom, too.