Help: Is this what I think it is? share your similar stories please! :)

[bon]

This has been on my mind for the past week (it all started on 4/20) so please please please read. It means a lot for someone to listen to me since I think you all will understand the most.

To start off, I'm a 17 year old girl. On 4/20 (about a week ago) I smoked too much weed which led me to get too high. This feeling scared me, because I had never been so high before and I wasn't ready for it. (It was my 4th time smoking). I pledge to never smoke again, but this scared me so much. I didn't have a full blown panic attack, but my heart started beating and I had so many deep thoughts and it just freaked me out, so I fell asleep.

The next day I felt odd and not like myself, so I googled around and lookup up my symptoms. I think it is anxiety and "depersonalization", but the thought of having "depersonalization" scares me even more. This past week has been complete hell for me - I have been overthinking absolutely everything (our existance, every move I make thinking 'how did I just do this?' idk it's hard to explain) and my thoughts are just racing. I've always been a person with deep thoughts but now it's gotten worse.

My question is, those who have gone through a similar experience how have you dealt with this and cured it? I'm looking for a cure and would give anything to get to my normal self again. Do anxiety meds cure what I have?

This might also be of importance - I never eat meat and I think I have vitamin deficiency. Could this have added to the fact of me getting "Depersonalized" ? I read on another forum that people with low magnesium and amino acid levels in the body are more prone to anxiety and taking supplements have helped them tremendously. Should I talk to my doctor on wednesday about taking these supplements instead of anti anxiety meds? I'm afraid that meds will do more harm than good. I just want to be healthy and myself again. My mom suffered from anxiety and depression and was on meds for a year, but before that she quit them and fell into a deeper depression and I dont want this to happen to me.

Thanks so much for reading, it means a lot.

[anxiousmess]

hiya and welcome to the forum :)

well, smoking cannabis doesn't seem to help people with anxiety. it sometimes creates it!
especially since your mother has suffered from it in the past, you have a higher chance of suffering with it.
of course, anxiety is normal to everyone. it's only when it has an affect on your life that it becomes a problem!

no meds can cure anxiety, they can simply help you.
the lack of meat should really be being replaced by vitamins and supplements that you can only get through eating meat.
depriving your body of any vitamin isn't good.

definitely have a word with the doctor. get him to check you for vitamin deficiency, and your thyroids.

changing your diet can help you alot to help ease anxiety :)


forgot to add: depersonalisation is a common symptom of anxiety. the amount of symptoms anxiety has is unreal!

[alankay]

Pot made me anxious....or I should say pot exposed my anxious tendencies. Since then, no pot and that was years ago but it did, in hindsight, make me realize I was an anxious person before pot ever bothered me as many of my friends smoked with no anxiety included.:
Skip the hemp. Alankay

[bon]

Thanks for the replies. To anyone else reading this, do you know any more tips on how to overcome it?

[bhamlaxy]

The EXACT same thing happened to me.

I smoked weed for many years. But as I've grown older I have smoked less and less. I was working an INCREDIBLY stressful job, and one night I came home and decided to smoke marijuana. Just a tiny amount. It set off a massive panic attack. 2 hours of hell. Racing thoughts, thinking I was going to die. I paced around my apartment splashing water on my face, tried to take a shower, slamming glasses of water. It was horrific.

I finally came down and went to sleep, thinking it was over. But starting the next morning, I experienced the EXACT same feelings you describe- depersonalization and derealization. I struggled through the last week of work (my job ended the next week). I had the same thought patterns as you- questioning how we are here, etc. Everything felt extremely fucked up. I don't know about you, but for me this caused some additional anxiety, and I had a couple smaller panic attacks.

The scientific explanation is pretty simple. Our experience with weed created a change in the way our mind works. Don't be scared- it didn't chemically alter our brain or damage it, it is more of a "learned" shift. It's almost as though our nervous system says "Wow! That was an intense experience. I guess I need to be on high alert from now on!"

This increased sensitivity of the nervous system can have unexpected consequences- namely the derealization and depersonalization. Your nervous system being a bit on edge all the time just makes you feel off. It's draining. It affects how you perceive things and how you think. It can certainly be disturbing and scary, but your not going crazy and it's not going to hurt you. It's just your body's self defense system a bit out of whack.

Now- my personal experience and how I've dealt with it. Like I said, it caused some bad panic attacks for me. I went to an urgent care clinic and got a prescription for Ativan, which is in the benzodiazepene class of drugs. Along with others in the class (like xanax and klonopin), these are fast acting drugs meant to be used when things get overwhelming or to cut off a panic attack. I took a small amount of ativan (.5mg) when the derealization started to make me panicky, and it worked WONDERS. Often I would still feel slight derealization when on it, but wouldn't care at all. Total calm.

After seeing a therapist I started working on the issues I had. She noted that Ativan isn't a solution, and shouldn't be used all the time or for long periods of time and recommended I see a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist prescribed me a low dose of an antidepressant (10mg lexapro). Antidepressants are often used to treat anxiety (and the derealization/depersonalization) since they kind of level you out. They take weeks to build up in your system and have an effect. I was instructed to continue to use the ativan as needed until the antidepressant kicked in, which I have been doing.

It's been almost 6 weeks since that panic attack. I am continuing therapy and have been on the lexapro for about 10 days. Some days are tougher than others, but today was INCREDIBLE! No anxiety when I woke up (which is usually a problem), and I feel the weird feelings slipping away. Maybe just a good day, or maybe the lexapro is kicking in. But I'm slowly getting better.

So I'm not sure what you need to do to get better. If you aren't having legit panic attacks then you may be good to take supplements and try and work on it that way. If you are having attacks, medication, at least in the short term may be helpful. The tiniest bit of a benzo can bring you back from hell. Let me know if you have any questions.

[PanicCured]

Don't worry! You got really stoned, and you got scared and the weed brought on a panic attack. Very normal. You are ok. Weed affects different people differently. Many people get paranoid or panic on it. Many people it makes them relaxed. Some people it relaxes them and years later makes them panic.

Marijuana is not a drug like cocaine or heroine where it's so bad for you and can kill you. Don't think you did some crazy drug that made your heart beat so fast. Your heart beat fast because you panicked. If you didn't panic, you would not have had these symptoms. Do you see what I mean? Maybe elevated heart rate somewhat, but not what you are talking about.

You can continue to smoke weed and work through it if you want, or you can decide it's not for you, and just don't do it anymore. Either way, I suggest not going to doctors or freaking out about all this, and just chalk it up as you got way baked and had an anxiety attack. Laugh at it. You didn't damage your body or heart or anything. Anxiety meds do not cure you, only help with symptoms and you need to keep on them. You don't need them.

I'll smoke a bong load for you!

cheers!