How to Deal With Anxiety Caused By Marijuana
- 1. What is anxiety?
- 1. a. What are the symptoms of anxiety?
- 2. What is cannabis anxiety like?
- 3. Reasons why cannabis is causing you anxiety
- 3. a. You were already anxious and won't stop thinking about it
- 3. b. The amounts of thc and tolerance
- 3. c. The method of administration
- 4. How to relieve cannabis-induced anxiety
- 5. The bottom line
Anxiety is a normal emotion and every person has felt it at least a couple of times in their lives, it's just as normal as feeling sad or happy or nervous, and so on. But just like with almost everything, when it comes to excesses, nothing in excess is good, and anxiety in excess can be a serious bad trip.
In the medical field, cannabis is normally prescribed as a treatment for anxiety. However, not every person in this world is the same, so not everything works the same way for everyone. And this is also the case for marijuana and anxiety.
Several frequent cannabis users have reported that consuming marijuana led them to feel really anxious and even to have panic attacks. If this is the case for you then let's try to help you find ways to cope with these upsetting side effects cannabis is giving you.
1. What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety is the human body's natural reaction to stressful situations, which can vary in shape and form. When we feel anxiety, we get feelings of fear or worry about what's to come or not knowing what's coming. It's normal to feel anxiety before starting something new, like a job or school, speaking in front of other people and other situations.
And while feeling anxiety is completely normal and a part of human life, when anxiety starts to interfere with your daily life, keeping you from doing certain things you should typically be able to do, it's a sign that your anxiety has gotten out of hand and needs intervention.
What Are The Symptoms of Anxiety?
Some of the signs of general anxiety are:
- Rapid heart rate;
- Fast breathing;
- Restlessness or insomnia;
- Having trouble concentrating, and more.
At the same time, anxiety sometimes cause attacks, which signs include:
- Dizziness or lightheadedness;
- Running out of breath;
- Sweating;
- Mouth dryness;
- Hot flashes or chills;
- Insomnia or restlessness;
- Extreme distress, fear and worry;
- And numbness or tingling feelings.
Sometimes, cannabis causes such symptoms in people, usually in those who already tend to anxiety in their normal life, let's go through the signs of marijuana-induced anxiety.
2. What Is Cannabis Anxiety Like?
We'd be safe to affirm that almost everyone has felt a little paranoid after having consumed marijuana. It's no big stranger, even more when you're still young and new in the world of cannabis and worry about getting busted for smoking or something.
However, with certain people, this can get out of hand and escalate quickly, up to unhealthy levels. Some people may even describe it as panic attacks, their body tenses, the heartbeat has gone wild, sweating and trembling may start to take place, and so on.
This happens due to the cannabinoids present in the weed family, you know, THC and CBD. These guys which give us their amazing effects of marijuana do it by binding with the receptors in the endocannabinoid system in our brains.
For instance, when THC reaches the brain, it can also cause an effect on the amygdala, the part of the brain that's in charge of controlling fear, stress, and other emotions. When overstimulation takes place in the amygdala, feelings of fear, anxiety, or stress may be produced.
3. Reasons Why Cannabis Is Causing You Anxiety
Now, since not everyone is the same, you might want to know the answer to why cannabis is causing you these feelings of anxiety while you're friends are having a great time. There are many possible things this could be attributed to.
You Were Already Anxious and Won't Stop Thinking About It
If you're feeling too anxious after you smoked a joint or hit your bong, then it is most likely that you were already an anxious person in general. If you can recognize that you had indeed been feeling slightly off during the past time, then this could be the reason why you got cannabis anxiety.
But shouldn't cannabis help you release this anxiety and relax? Well, this works for many people, but sadly it doesn't for others. The essential part is knowing yourself enough to identify when smoking cannabis will be counteractive for your mental state, or not. The thing with cannabis is that, it naturally boosts any emotions we might come across. For example, if you bump into something that triggers sadness, then it is likely that this sadness will be much enhanced. The same goes for anxiety.
The trick is convincing yourself that you have the power and control over the effects this substance gives you because it sort of is like that for real. So if you or a friend is struggling with an intense cannabis high, before things get out of hand, remind them, perhaps in a joking way to relieve the air, that if they choose to feel alright again, they will.
The Amounts of THC And Tolerance
Another common reason for cannabis to cause you anxiety is simply due to THC, your tolerance to it, or the amounts you had consumed. Perhaps you hadn't realized that this time you had smoked slightly more than your usual doses, or the buds were especially potent and high on THC levels.
Tolerance varies a lot from person to person, depending on things such as gender, body contexture, and frequency of use. And while no one has ever died from consuming too much marijuana, hear that, science?, you'll enjoy it more when you don't overpass your own limits.
The Method Of Administration
Sometimes anxiety induced by cannabis can take place when we try new methods of administration. For example, the effects of edibles tend to be quite much stronger than those produced by smoking.
First-time cannabis edible eaters often will be surprised when the high feeling starts to kick in, and this could cause them to feel anxious about it, feeling scared when the effects become too overwhelming for them.
At the same time, edible eaters tend to underestimate the importance of calculating the right doses of weed edibles they should eat, which leads to the problem listed before, involving THC tolerance or too high THC levels.
Baby steps with edibles, baaaby steps guys.
4. How To Relieve Cannabis-Induced Anxiety
To your relief, we hope, cannabis anxiety can be quite easy to calm down. The first step is to recognize the feelings of anxiety before they start to aggravate.
Once you've successfully asserted your emotions, the next step is telling yourself that everything will be alright or perhaps calling out a friend who can help you by talking things out. Sometimes company in these times of struggle is all you need.
It's important that you don't feel rushed to sort things out, with general emotions, not only with cannabis anxiety. Feeling upset isn't wrong, it isn't a crime, and you should allow yourself the time to transit these feelings.
So now that you're aware, keep in mind that you are absolutely always in control, as we've mentioned before. Therefore, try to take your mind off things by doing activities that free up your mind, and even more when you know that you normally love performing these things while you're high.
What we're trying to say is, get distracted! We know it's no mission impossible to fall for distractions when you're super stoned, so go for it! Talk with someone, watch a movie, play some music, go for a walk, play with your dog (!), anything that gets you entertained. Before you know it you'll be like "anxiety who?".
Now if the symptoms persist, try to focus on your breath, breathing in and out slowly and deeply, all while being conscious about it. Another great option is taking a shower, or washing your face with cold water.
Eating something is also a good idea to relieve the stress you're feeling. Food will not only be so enjoyable due to the famous munchies, but it also helps to make the high effects fade faster.
Lastly, if all else fails, which we trust it won't, one infallible resource is taking a nap.
You'll likely fall asleep before the first sheep jumps over the fence, and it'll all be gone the next morning or a couple of hours later when you wake up.
5. The Bottom Line
Anxiety can be slightly frightening because it's kind of a double-edged sword, the more you try to get rid of it, the more it builds up. Our best advice is to try to flow through the emotion, not to stress about it, and get distracted! And remember, smoking cannabis will never harm you, so just trash this fear. The chances are that you'll laugh at the memory of your cannabis anxiety in the near future so there really is nothing to worry about.
And, in any case, if the anxiety persists, perhaps it's time to take a break from weed, *sound of a heart breaking*, get some external help to understand where all of this is coming from, and maybe return to smoking when you feel better.
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