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Matt77
06-07-2010, 02:24 AM
Hi everyone!
My name is Matt and I am a psychology student at the University of New England (Australia). I am currently doing a study investigating the relationship between cannabis use and anxiety for my Honours degree in psychology. At the moment I am looking for participants to complete an online survey. The survey is completely anonymous, and takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. It does not matter whether you have tried cannabis before.

If you are interested you can email me at [email protected]. I would really appreciate your help. For those who are interested I have included some information about my study below.

Thanks for your time.
Matt

Study investigation: The relationship between cannabis use and anxiety

What effect does cannabis use have on anxiety? Although cannabis users frequently report higher levels of anxiety than non users, the nature of the association between cannabis use and anxiety is not well understood. While clinical studies have shown that cannabis can induce symptoms of anxiety in high doses, current research also suggests that cannabis may help relieve stress and tension. Accordingly, recent studies have shown that individuals who experience symptoms of anxiety often report very different effects of use. While some individuals report feeling anxious while intoxicated, others report using cannabis to relieve symptoms of anxiety.

A number of theories have been proposed to explain the high rates of anxiety among cannabis users, including genetic vulnerability, pattern and history of use, potency of cannabis used and the presence of preexisting anxiety disorders. However, due to the contradictory findings of previous research, scientists are still uncertain about the effect that cannabis use has on anxiety. While cannabis appears to induce anxiety in certain individuals, it also appears to help other people relax.

The objective of this study is to explore the differences between users who report cannabis induced anxiety, and those who report using it to relieve symptoms of anxiety. It is hoped that the information you provide will help improve our understanding of the relationship between cannabis use and anxiety. This information will be useful for identifying people who may be more vulnerable to adverse outcomes of use, and help in the development of evidenced-based harm minimisation strategies. Thank you for your time.

Exiled
06-15-2010, 02:31 PM
I can put an end to your survey right here and now; Pot doesn't help.....if anything it can have a negative affect. I tried it to no avail.

Matt77
06-15-2010, 10:40 PM
In general I would have to agree with you, however current research suggests that the most reported reason given for using cannabis is to relieve stress and anxiety.
cheers,
Matt

Matt77
07-05-2010, 12:11 AM
Hi everyone,
I am just about finished collecting the data for my study. At the moment I have 233 completed surveys, but I still need 46 more participants and I really need them by the end of this week. If I don't reach my quota I can still write my thesis but my results will not be scientifically credible. So this is a last call for participants.

If you haven't already participated in my study could you please, please consider helping me out (pretty please with sugar on top). Your response to my survey may help promote much needed awareness about the anxiety related effects of cannabis use. If my research can prevent one person from experiencing cannabis induced anxiety then all of our effort will be worth it.

If you are interested in participating you can email me at [email protected]
cheers,
Matt :)

panicsucks
07-05-2010, 02:20 AM
my use of canabis was what brought on my panic attacks, i was highly anxious before but once i touched that stuff it got alot lot worse

Matt77
07-05-2010, 05:29 AM
Yeah it does seem like cannabis use tends to exacerbate symptoms of anxiety. However, many people who don't suffer from anxiety claim that they use it to relax. This is why I have tried to explore the differences between these types of users (ie. are those people who have a family history of anxiety/depression more susceptible to feelings of anxiety while stoned, or is it what type of cannabis they smoke or how much they smoke etc.)
cheers,
Matt

panicsucks
07-05-2010, 05:33 AM
well for me i smoked it for many years then once i did it and it made my heart race all night this then lead to health anxiety (which i had before but it was not so bad in recent times up til this point) i then left the stuff alone and after time decided id had another go i did so and this lead me to have my first panic attack, havn't touched the stuff since