Anxiety from marijuana?

[DamnAnxiety2hell]

I'm 16, my anxiety started from a panic attack I got while I was high. It's been two months and just last month I've been experiencing anxiety. I don't have panic attacks though.

My anxiety is a lot better now but I was wondering wether this is a chemical problem caused by the weed? I never had any stress or anything like that to give me a disorder. I've lived a pretty fun and easy life up till now.

If it is a chemical problem, can it be fixed?

[Olive Yew]

If it's chemical, you'll have it forever but with treatment (be it chemical, therapeutic, or lifestyle change) you can conquer it and get a sort of "remission" period but it can come back at any time. If it's due to the fact that you're a marijuana user, then you just gotta quit the drugs and you'll be right as rain....
If it's chemical, you doing drugs will only make worse x5. Even alcohol.... Especially alcohol. Anything that screws with your brain chemicals will make your anxiety give you hell.

There's a lot of research out there about the effects of drugs on anxiety. Just google some stuff.... Either way, the marijuana isnt helping your case.

[sazco]

i get attacks when i smoke. so i just stopped smoking all together.

[DamnAnxiety2hell]

Of course I don't smoke it anymore, it's been two months since I've last smoked and there anxiety just started a month ago

[Olive Yew]

Of course I don't smoke it anymore, it's been two months since I've last smoked and there anxiety just started a month ago

Then It could be a combination of both the drugs and a brain chemical imbalance

[jayj404]

Marijuana cannot cause anxiety disorder, only trigger it. You already had it but it was dormant. It's been 8 months sense I stopped smoking marijuana and my anxiety has gotten way better. It does get better, it just takes a bit. Anything that alters the mind can trigger it, so stay away from any drug of any kind. That includes caffeine and nicotine.

Good luck!

[sweetypie]

Marijuana cannot cause anxiety disorder, only trigger it. You already had it but it was dormant. It's been 8 months sense I stopped smoking marijuana and my anxiety has gotten way better. It does get better, it just takes a bit. Anything that alters the mind can trigger it, so stay away from any drug of any kind. That includes caffeine and nicotine.

Good luck!

I agree with this post completely. =)

[Ahlstrom]

Well said jayj; my anxiety disorder first appeared after I drank way too much on a drug I was not supposed to drink with. I smoked a joint with my friends and 30 minutes later my heart was going berserk. I was rushed to the hospital and later let out when I puked. I've had it ever since that day, I sometimes really want to toke again but there just no telling if it could set my progress back a year if I smoke.

[Ritch]

I'm 16, my anxiety started from a panic attack I got while I was high. It's been two months and just last month I've been experiencing anxiety. I don't have panic attacks though.

My anxiety is a lot better now but I was wondering wether this is a chemical problem caused by the weed? I never had any stress or anything like that to give me a disorder. I've lived a pretty fun and easy life up till now.

If it is a chemical problem, can it be fixed?

I do hope that your anxiety was a result of the cannabis and that it does stop troubling you. It could prove to be a valuable lesson, adding exogenous chemicals into your body can have adverse on people of all ages. But In my opinion think it is incredibly dangerous to add exogenous chemicals into the body especially at your age when your brain has not yet fully matured.

[jayj404]

I know how you feel, Ahlstrom. I always think about smoking again. I just think, it will only last for a few hours, and it will probably make my anxiety worse for a while. Just weighs the pros and the cons.

[DamnAnxiety2hell]

Well I went to the doctors today and jay, you're correct, the weed just surfaced out the anxiety I already had. Good news is I have very mild anxiety, going for treatment next week. I shouldn't blame this on the weed haha

[Chris80]

Yeah, when I was a teenager I had s few panic attacks from smoking - only realized what they were now in retrospect though :-)

[Sarah_1292]

I had my first panic attack about a month or 2 after trying marijuana for the first time when I was 16...and I think thats what triggered me off. been having anxiety on and off since and im 21 now

[skimordiegirl]

Usually drugs are what bring out underlying anxiety in people. If it runs in the family then there is a genetic component for anxiety. Drugs can turn these genes on. Def. stop doing drugs and get on the right track whether it's medicine or some other treatment and you will get better.

[faultandfracture]

***************NOT A DOCTOR*****************

Marijuana has done that to many people. Unfortunately, once you have experienced panic attacks while under this influence, it's hard to ever smoke again without it returning on some level. For some, marijuana results in relaxation and levity from external stressors while others experience a heightened awareness of altered perception and thoughts that spiral out of control. Due to the cognitive impairment of being "high" on marijuana, reasoning skills, logic and adaptive measures are weakened, even for those who have been dealing with anxiety and panic for a long time and are well equipped with therapy techniques and interventions. Since many sufferers deal with problems like hypochondria, being out of control and the feeling that "something's wrong," marijuana just makes things worse.

Now that you've been exposed to this anxiety of marijuana use, it's hard to become "unexposed" and forget what you dealt with before; and also because you'll be thinking about it quite a bit before you start smoking.

The best thing is to cut it out immediately and save yourself the trouble and anxiety. It might also make things worse in your sober, day to day life.

[DamnAnxiety2hell]

Yeah is have quit, a few hours of happiness isn't worth the trouble.

[blondieqtpie]

For me pot make my anxiety go up most of the time so I normally stay away. If I have a teeny weeny puff I MAY be ok but more I'm anxious, can't sleep, paranoid--- so yeah it doesn't work with me.
Another note here for anyone with anxiety/panic as well as mood disorders or bipolar, schizophrenia--- countless studies show that marijuana can actually trigger them, if your pre disposed to them, and can make those conditions worse. My sister has mental health issues and has not really resolved them or gotten proper diagnosis or treatment and is a chronic pot smoker and her behavior keeps getting more erratic, and she has huge fits- like where she scream and yells over small things and goes into hysterics. She says she has chronic back pain from a past work injury and over a year ago ODed in pain meds and her liver and kidneys are very weak so she can't take pain meds. But Although studies do show marijuana is good for chronic pain, others show it is not good for those with certain mental health issues. And she smokes it. Many pain and anxiety sufferers with legal scripted marijuana ingest it. Anything you smoke natural or not is not good for your lungs.

[faultandfracture]

For me pot make my anxiety go up most of the time so I normally stay away. If I have a teeny weeny puff I MAY be ok but more I'm anxious, can't sleep, paranoid--- so yeah it doesn't work with me.
Another note here for anyone with anxiety/panic as well as mood disorders or bipolar, schizophrenia--- countless studies show that marijuana can actually trigger them, if your pre disposed to them, and can make those conditions worse. My sister has mental health issues and has not really resolved them or gotten proper diagnosis or treatment and is a chronic pot smoker and her behavior keeps getting more erratic, and she has huge fits- like where she scream and yells over small things and goes into hysterics. She says she has chronic back pain from a past work injury and over a year ago ODed in pain meds and her liver and kidneys are very weak so she can't take pain meds. But Although studies do show marijuana is good for chronic pain, others show it is not good for those with certain mental health issues. And she smokes it. Many pain and anxiety sufferers with legal scripted marijuana ingest it. Anything you smoke natural or not is not good for your lungs.


This is true. Anything that burns has tar, which is carcinogenic. Actually, nicotine tar and marijuana tar aren't all that different. Hydrocarbons are hydrocarbons.

[rabbritt]

Hey there.
I also used to smoke. I actually smoked a LOT for two years. Out of no where I started feeling anxious, then suddenly full blow anxiety attacks.
There is a chemical in the drug that causes this. I didn't know it back then, so I though something was wrong with me health wise, but it raises your blood pressure.
I have spoken to many people about this, and its not uncommon. Most people do feel the effects (racing heart, feeling sensitive) but if you continue to feel panicked, its best to stop all together. That's what I had to do. It was too much for me to handle. You can very slowly pick it back up if you like, but be cautious about it. but don't over -think it and stay calm.

What I believe has happened is you may have created a "trigger." And since you had a panic attack, if you are in a same or similar situation, your mind remembers how you felt back then, and will possibly respond the same way. Thus, having attacks every time you smoke again.

[HealthAnxNut]

I smoked occasionally for YEARS, and never had an issue. But started having a panic attack after a very stressful day at work, and had taken a single puff just prior. It just happened. I have never blamed the weed, because I was diagnosed with anxiety not too long beforehand. But I was able to smoke it many times after that and actually still feel relaxed and ok, as long as I didn't smoke too much. The thing is, I didn't look for a "high" as much as I wanted so desperately to be relaxed and feel sedated so I wouldn't feel anxious. A lot of people turn to alcohol, but I didn't like drinking much. In retrospect, occasional smoking was better for me in pretty much every regard, in terms of the "escapes" I could have chosen. I stopped smoking completely when I got pregnant, and haven't gone back. I still think about it sometimes, mostly when I'm wishing I could just RELAX. But I'm working on other ways to do that. I hope you can do the same!