Using weed and alcohol to cope.

[Marcel]

Hi fellows, I'm a 21 year old uni student and I am finding anxiety such an increasingly difficult problem that I feel like the only things that helps are drugs and alcohol. namely weed (mainly for socializing). I've always been a capable student and sociable but since going through many identity crisis from the age of 17, I feel like I've just switched off as a person. I cannot switch off thoughts like "people I grew up have done so much more with their life than me", to the point of paralysis; I can't get started in anything that seems worthwhile. They say anxiety is something you can manage by telling yourself that the problem is disproportionate to the risk. But... how is this disproportionate? I am losing time, falling behind, not knowing how to catch up to my peers. I'm chaning my mind everyday in terms of what I want to do with my life.. It's ridiculous, I know..

When it comes to socializing, alcohol and weed make me totally uninhibited despite the contradiction. I am more positive, comprehend what people are saying to me and am able to communicate myself better. I attract more people when I'm in a drugged state because I am happy.

In turn I feel despondant because I'm so frustrated that I can't change. I've seen psychiatrists, psychologists, accupuncarists, social workers, you name it.. You can't bother your friends with stuff like this, they'll refer you to look at starving kids in Africa and various patronizing comments.

[scatmantom]

hey Marcel and welcome to the nut house (only kidding :D )

Your story sounds similar to alot of other people on here. I think drinking and smoking weed may cause more harm than good. People like us who use such substances to escape the reality of anxiety are at risk of serious addiction. Im not saying you have a problem but I would just advise you to use those things only when you feel you have to. As for asking friends about it...people just dont understand it. Most people say "snap out of it" or "pull yourself together". That is not what you want to hear!! :D

[gnggingar]

i would talk to your doctor about tying lexapro - i just started it for my anxiety that I had for over 5 years and it started working immediatley. I too have used alcohol to feel more social and happy thinking that I needed it to calm myself and talk to people. I went to a party on saturday which was my fourth day in on the Lexapro and had an awesome time without "binge" drinking like I normally do. Meds were a last resort for me because I have tried everything else but now the starting 10mg dose of lexapro I am taking has made my life sooo much easier and in turn I am much less depressed, much happier!

[Angel]

Yeah, i did this too.

But when i was having an attack one day...out of no where, it skared the shit out of me so much that i didnt want to drink or smoke again, kause i was afraid that next tiem i was out of my mind i was goign to greak out again and have less kontrol.


but then i found out that it was anxiety a month or two later...and i was like "oooh really?" drink drink drink. But i hadnt drank for a few months and it wasnt bad at all. I felt healthier and more stable.


After a while binge drinking (im not saying thats what you are doing) kan kause major damage to your chemikal balance. I mean think about it, you are konstantly out of your mind...and then when you arent, your brain goes into shock.....thus hangovers. Unless you wake up and drink again (another fun thing to do...the good old times....)then you skip this...

As for pot...i dont think i have anything negative to say about that...i smoked pretty konstantly for alot of my high school years...a few periods where it was all day...but then when i started going to kollege i kut back...then stopped eventually...and then only did it when i was really fucking drunk.

but i would imagine the mixture of both pot and alcohol would be worse then the alcohol by itself...


And you need your chemikal balance...believe me...


and for me personally, Fuck Medikation. You might as well smoke pot or drink...its probably cheaper anyway. Unless you kan use it as an aid to get you started on doing it by yourself. But a few people ( and i kongratulate you) kan aktually do that....or CHOOSE to do that.

but then again i got a paranoia with putting things in my body now..after my nervous breakdown. I kant even fucking take sleeping pills.....but hypokritkally...i smoke cigarettes.

[kevin]

Pot just makes things worse.

I've always taken a pride to my academics. I was smart enough to stay away from the bad crowds and managed to go to college. I made a good group of friends while in high school. Among them was one who was SO passionate about his chosen career that I felt that thats how I should be feeling about my career. I put so much pressure on myself to come up with a definite career choice that I will find both fulfilling and satisfying that I drove myself to a breakdown last year. My friends were graduating, getting jobs in their respective careers, making good money, and here I was still undecided. Anxiety attacks drove me from my work and school. I had to move back home because I knew that I had to change my way of thinking. Instead of striving for myself, I was just trying to keep up with the group. I was measuring myself with everyone else and coming up short. The funny thing is that while I had friends who were doing better than me, there were TONS of other ones who were doing worse, some had dropped out because they knocked up their girlfriends, some were in jail because they sold drugs, others were just working minimum wage jobs with no plans for the future. It's like they say, life is just a bunch of choices...so make a decision and dont look back. We still have the rest of our lives ahead of us and whatever you choose to do as a career is not going to define who you are. Just look at Shaq (the basketball player) who would have thought that even after being so succesful and making millions of dollars playing basketball he would still go out and become a cop. Take your time dude...you arent as bad as off as you think you may be.
As for the weed and alcohol. Been there done that. It helps but I stopped doing it because I didn't feel comfortable with the thought of being remembered as the guy who was always high or drunk. I figured that I was better than that and I was sure there was a better way to overcome my anxiety than to become dependent on weed or alcohol. At least you won't go to jail or lose control when you use medication.