Guide to Dealing with Anxiety/Panic Attacks, and Paranoia

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[quote name='"silvera26"']okay here's the thing I've never had a panic attack in my life I've smoked marijuana for 15 years plus in a really enjoyed it so few months ago some friends and I were hanging out and we decided that we were going to smoke some synthetic marijuana the first few hits we're fine the high was really intense we did it a few times in that week and I was fine. one night we were out smokin some of the synthetic and I just went into a full blown panic attack feel like like my chest was going to burst my heart was beating so fast I couldn't control my breathing left arm was hurting I thought I was having a heart attack at the time I think I passed out needless to say my friends got freaked out called the ambulance went to the emergency room the doctor said I was fine no heart problems but that I had overdosed on weed which I know cant be done and cuz I had smoke synthetic not real weed. now the problem is I can't smoke real weed without getting a panic attack tried a few times and its is the same each time. Is thier a way to controle this reaction ? I think most of it is mental and.im just scared but how do you get over it ? The ones I get now are not as bad as that first but still the physical reactions are bad. I really miss my smoke....[/quote]

trust me. your anxiety was always there, even if it just started now.

 

when it comes to anxiety for me it does the opposite. I have been smoking for many years and most deff am a seasoned smoker, I have my 215 in California, and anxiety is one of the things I got it for. I a nice strong idica always helps me through my axiety/panic attacks. I do remember being a first time smoker and really trippin out from bud. t

 

I find that my anxiety/panic attacks come from the fact that marijuana still has a negative connotation overall. Due to this, the law is after these kinds of people. This is what worries me and causes my anxiety. Hopefully one day, our generation can fix this so we don't have to be harassed.

 

When I feel myself getting paranoid or something, I always remind myself I am fine.

Mostly I get paranoid when I smoke outside late at night.. the sounds are scary as fuck lol

But I am mostly a sativa smoker.

 

Do you think Cannabis could be anti-parasitic like the Chinese used to use it for?

Using the Cannabis would cause die off. Which would release ammonia.

Increased ammonia levels would attribute to anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc.

If that is the case. Take L-Ornithine and L-Aspartate (Magnesium Pottasium is good)..

These are free form amino acids that remove ammonia from the body.

I swear to god I feel parasites acting up when I toke after a t break.

Really bad anxiety. Could be Hypoglycemia too.

 

Solution, smoke in your house. The government had given us freedom, the freedom to do what you please in your house lol. They give you the freedom to do whatever you want, so use it to enjoy instead of trying to Dodge cops while your smoking a blunt. Leads to massive heart racing and just a bad situation.

Pittsburgh 412

 

Hey all,
This is my first time posting, however I'm by no means new to this forum. I've used this forum and others tons of times to answer all my questions about my girl Mary Jane, and I think I finally have something worth sharing that might be interesting to veteran tokers and beginners alike.
I've lived the majority of this year as a daily toker, and have reached the point where I am completely comfortable at all times when I'm stoned. I think there's a comfort level that as stoners we reach where you can be high and no one notices but you can still enjoy being stoned for all the awesomeness it is. So the furthest thing from my mind was that I'd ever have a "bad trip" so to speak. However, much to my surprise, I recently had the biggest shock my calm stoner life has ever encountered, a real weed fueled freak out.
And I know experienced tokers will say, just as I would, that weed alone doesn't cause anxiety attacks. And would-be tokers who experienced anxiety on their first few times toking may think they have a predisposition towards a bad reaction.
But hear me out.
I've met many people who have told me about the time they had a panic attack when they got stoned, and I'm sure there are a few of us who frequent this site that remember a time that they got too stoned at highschool or something and were paranoid and had a rough time. But, we know better now. We know we just smoked a little too much weed and had we put mind over matter, those rough times we had could have been avoided. I got the opportunity, if you can call it that, to try this in practice.
A little more background; although I've been smoking daily for about 8 months now, the time has come that I had to put the bong away to make sure I don't run into a problem applying for a job in the summer (piss test). So I did some research into drug testing methods to see what I was up against, and learned a couple interesting facts.
Exhibit A: THC-COOH
THC-COOH is the metabolite that THC naturally decomposes to in your body and is the chemical commonly tested for in laboratory tests.It has a half life of 5-6 days, which just means that every 5-6 days, half of the THC-COOH will have further metabolized and left your system. What is interesting about this chemical is that there is evidence that it actually stabilizes the effects that THC has on your body.
The half life of THC is actually quite variable depending on the person, but wikipedia tells me it ranges from .8 - 9.2 days or something. So, THC-COOH takes anywhere in that range of time to build up in your system as the THC is metabolized.
So, back to my panic moment. I had quit smoking weed for exactly one week, and figured that half of that large amount of THC-COOH that had been building up as a buffer in my system over daily smoking for so long would have metabolized, and I should be able to enjoy getting much more stoned off much less herb. And it definitely worked. The weed I smoked honestly wasn't great weed either, it had been harvested three or four weeks early and didn't seem to have much lung punch at all. So my roommate(who had not stopped smoking and had no issues) and I smoked the same amount of weed that we do all the time, plus a little more to make up for the lack of potency and everything was ok. Until out of no where I was sweating too much and my heart was beating too fast. But I told myself I was just a little too high and to just deal with it and let it pass like it always does; words echoed in many a sesh I've been apart of before.
But this was real, and different, and not cool. It wasn't weed like I knew her to be. I was reacting the way I had seen people who were inexperienced and pushed the envelope too far had reacted, and that's what was so crazy and panicky about it. I had 100% faith that weed couldn't do that to me. And I wish I could say I took it like a champ, but it was so shocking to my normal stoner routine that the classic beginner toker fear of laced weed popped into my head. But I did something I have always heard talked about, but never seen done. After about 15 minutes of real fear and anxiety, I regained control slowly and thought my way through it. If you've been with someone that is tripping out hard, you know its like you're talking to a child. They're so wrapped up in the most irrational fears that you continually tell them they don't have to worry about (the cops aren't coming, you aren't dying etc...) but they wont listen. But I knew weed would never do me like that, so much so that it became an opportunity for me to do some first hand research on people that have a bad time on weed.
Now the point of this post isn't a warning to people that this can happen. I just have a theory that THC-COOH is a buffer that builds up in our systems as tokers and allows us to never be at risk of feeling the effects that unregulated THC might have on us at very high levels.
I personally know a couple of my friends that don't smoke weed because they get too paranoid and panicky, and I would always say they just need to get used to it because weed isn't scary; it's so awesome and chill. However I think it is possible for THC at high enough levels to become a big enough shock to the system of someone who doesn't have a solid THC-COOH base level; possibly leading to severe anxiety. Keep in mind I would classify myself as someone who had a lot of THC-COOH in my system from prolonged daily smoking, and when I lost 50% of it due to it's half life that's a bigger change than if someone was a casual toker and stopped for the same amount of time(i.e.50% of 800 is 400, but 50% of 80 is 40). If any experienced daily tokers are brave enough to let one or two 6 day half life periods go by without smoking any weed and then smoke the amount you would normally smoke to get decently high, it would be interesting to see if you would be able to go through what I just did with this theory in mind.
The scariest thing about a panic attack is the uncertainty of what is happening to you, so any uncertainty that can be eliminated for new tokers is gonna get more people toking; and everyone is happy when they're toking.
Legalize!

 

I'm just posting a bit so I can make my own thread.

 

Hi guys,I've been reading this topic along with other maybe hundreds and books about the paranoia,anxiety and panic attacks.
I smoked first time when I was 16-17 I think and I felt a slight panic attack because I didn't know what to expect from pot,I thought it was hallucinogenic and fun back then but I got overwhelmed with all the body sensations and strange thoughts.So I said to myself I will never do it again.
Later on my 20 birthday party I smoked again,this time with a large group of people,just one was my friend,at their house,they were all new to me but they seemed cool.This time I experienced the couch lock,I couldn't move so I didn't even try.I smoked a lot,drank a lot that night,I did everything wrong,and I think I was dehydrated and hungry also.So I just sat on that couch all evening watching a buddy playing soccer on playstation and the other guys were sitting at a table about 20 feets from me but it seemed like they are far away,I couldn't even see them well,only hear when they were laughing,so I thought they are laughing of me,because I'm stoned...because I can't talk...bla bla bla social anxiety.
Then I don't know how I just knew they lit a second joint so I made a huuuge effort to get there and I was like 'you're smoking without me bastards' I wanted to smoke it so bad even if I felt weird,so I hit it a couple of times and again on the couch.After a few minutes the guy next to me invites me to play soccer and I say 'don't you see I'm playing already?' but the controller was laying next to me ahaha and we all started to laugh,I fell on my knees and I couldn't stop laughing till I forgot what I was laughing about.I think I was hallucinating because I have seen thiose soccer players run next to me,I was on the field.
Later that night I woke up alone on the couch,it was dark I couldn't see anything so I thought I died.I couldn't hear anything,disoriented,didn't know what was happening and I remember talking to some divinity to make it end.I don't know if I was crying and screaming loud or it was only in my head because my thoughts were loud like my voice.It felt horrible,it was like an eternity till I saw the light in the window and I remembered averything,I just wanted to go home.Still confused I opened all the doors in that apartment till I got the exit one ) I went home and slept like 2 days,couldn't even wake to drink some water even I was thirsty.
From that experience I believe my mind linked weed with panic.I smoked again after a few months and it felt the same and even stronger,really weird and powerful thoughts,a negative spiral and all other bad sensations like heart racing,sweating,lightheaded,weak legs,I don't know if this ever happend to anyone but I had to keep my tongue tight with my teeths because I was afraid I will swallow it and die )
The comedown felt incredibly awsome,creative thoughts,enhanced lights and colors,music sounded divine,food was great too.I played a silly game on my laptop and it seemed so cool.
So I miss that feeling,I want it again.I want to be able to enjoy myself with weed,I also started my career in illustration and I feel there will be so much potential if I use it,I'm really good at illustrating.
So I ordered myself some samples of Super Lemon Haze (Hybrid high grade) White Widow(Hybrid strong also),Sensi Star (Indica 20% Thc) and Critical Mass (Indica 20-22% Thc) and some other strains.
I can Imagine how many of you would like to be me,but you wouldn't...trust me,I AM AFRAID TO SMOKE IT.So silly,two days ago I rolled a joint with 0.10g Critical Mass and about half a cigarette tobacco and just when I thought I was ready it all started,I just lit it,took my first small hit and my brain was like DANGER!DANGER! drug inside you,it will make you feel bad again bla bla,all the simptoms,heart racing,I started shaking and everything so I didn't even hold the smoke,I exhaled it imediatelly,started moving a lot and it was goine in 2 minutes.
What the fuck,now I can clearly see that weed doesn't produce panic but it triggers it.I know I have been an anxious person since ever,overthinking everything.Some specialists say that a trigger is almost impossible to erase because this is how our system works,linking situations with danger in order to avoid them for the rest of life.
So what should I do now?I became an expert on the subject,I know how to control myself while I'm high but I can't get there,I am afraid to smoke it.
At first the smeel made me get a mini panic,but it doesn't anymore.I smell it everyday and I kinda like the smell now.I roll joints and pretend I'm smoking them with closed eyes,then I put it back haha.Sometimes I take a little and light it and watch it burn closely avoiding inhalation.Maybe one day I will be stronger than my fear and smoke it,starting small.
HELP!What sould I do now?
Will therapy work?
Like I see some people get panic after years of smoking and then they quit because they are afraid to experience it again.
So I feel like I started this race from Finish to Start somehow,I imagine if I can overcome my fear I will enjoy the weed for the rest of my life without problems and even help those who struggle.
I will be looking forward to see some more replies and will let you know how it goes for me.
All the best

 

This thread is just fantastic. I never, ever endorse stickys but this could be quite useful as one in Apprentice Tokers because a good majority of the posts in that section are regarding anxiety or paranoia.

 

Really good thread. 

 

Good guide, though I probably wouldn't find the first paranoia section that helpful if I was someone who had severe issues with that. I thought I'd mention some stuff that has helped me in the past when it comes to just relaxing and not letting bullshit thoughts get in the way.
 
I used to struggle a lot with anxiety/paranoia after smoking but I managed to get somewhat of a grip on that after experiencing it to varying extents for years. Last time I smoked was in late 2012, going to be starting again soon so fingers crossed the little ways I taught myself to deal with the initial wave of anxiety will still work.
 
Reading the book The Power of Now might have something to do with why I eventually learned to have less anxious/paranoid thoughts after getting high. The main point of that book is that time is an illusion, you are not your thoughts, you can be fully conscious without having a single thought in your head, worrying/feeling guilty etc achieves nothing, and it helps to remember all of this after getting high. I would strongly recommend the book to anyone who struggle with anxiety, whether sober/high or both. I just downloaded it as a pdf and read on my computer when I first discovered it a couple of years ago but eventually bought a hard copy once I realized how helpful it was for me. Reading the book after getting high (when you're already in a relaxed/carefree state of mind obviously, not while suffering from anxiety...) can also be a great experience and I find that it sinks in even deeper if read while high, just like music etc can be appreciated on a deeper level when stoned. Same goes for Stillness Speaks, another book by the same author.
 
I found that when the anxiety came on in the last few months I'd been smoking, if I was lucky I'd have my shit together enough to tell myself (in my head) that this has happened to me a million times before, nothing bad ever actually happens etc... think of it like the anxious thoughts are a somewhat "normal" initial reaction for you but you can easily put a stop to them and remind yourself that the thoughts are ultimately harmless and you have no reason to be feeling bad/fearful/guilty/nervous etc, especially if you felt fine prior to smoking.
 
This might not work if you're having a full blown panic attack, but if you try it just as the anxiety is creeping in it may be enough to put an end to those thoughts. Another thing that I'd try and remind myself is that the anxious/paranoid period only ever lasted say 10-25 minutes after getting high and I'd always feel great after it passed, so reminding yourself that it's just a passing phase that will be over before you know it (at least in my case) can be enough to bring an early end to it, as usually when you're in that mindstate it kind of feels "permanent" or like that's all there is even though in reality, relief is usually right around the corner.
 
If you're doing something like listening to music or watching tv/playing a video game and still have those thoughts to the point that they distract you or stop you from enjoying what you're doing, just do something else as that is often enough to help you snap out of that mindstate. Even something mundane or boring like washing the dishes (I know it doesn't sound like the best way to spend your time right after smoking but stuff like this can help and you may only need to do it for a couple of minutes) will bring you back to reality and then once the anxiety is gone, you can go back to what you were doing and actually enjoy it properly.

 

I'm definitely trying to get used to smoking again. I tend to get anxious and feel overwhelmed when I get real high these days which never used to happen.

 

Then my heart starts to race and it ruins the entire high.

 

I really need help getting over the fear of getting super high. I never used to be like this. My buddy and I would purposely smoke until we were too baked to do anything. Now I just rip like .1 out of my pipe and I'm real high but I feel like If someone offered me a million dollars to take 5 big bong hits I'd obviously do it but I'd be really scared to bcuz I know the high would overwhelm me, my heart would race, and I'd have a had panic attack.

How can I get over this and be like I used to?

 

Greetings,
 
I can relate to this thread theme, so I'll share my story.
 
I had never had any trouble with anxiety or panic attacks at all for about 8 months, up until I had my first edible. When we went to pick up, just a routine trip, me and my friend's dealer just said to us "here, take these, it feels like I'm on pills" and handed us a square of shortbread each. He then said that the entire batch he had made had 4 OUNCES of green in it (I'm not sure whether that was true or not, it seems a large amount to me), and when we went to get more money out of our wallets he told us not to bother! Free of charge, he said! So we thanked him a bunch and went back to start the sesh.
 
Because we can't smoke indoors (students living with families), we have a little place down a wooded track that we go chill in, called "The Den". So we walk down to it, about a 7 minute walk (15 for the way home   ), eating our edibles along the way, not really knowing what to expect as it was both of our first times eating edibles. Just to reinforce, they were only 2-3 inches square, 1-2cm deep, so not very much at all. 
 
Skipping ahead. We've had our smoke sesh, been out for a good couple of hours, nearly home time. This is when they start to kick in. It was quite overwhelming, I was expecting to be coming down as I'd thought that the edibles must've kicked in at some point already. Interesting to note, my friend was experiencing the edible kick at the same time I was (interesting to me anyway), and all the way home I was feeling higher, and higher, and higher, and higher. I got in, went into the downstairs toilet, and was immediately hit by a wall of pure terror. I was mostly scared of "pulling a whitey" or "greening out" as I have emetophobia, but the terror was like nothing I've experienced before. I felt unable to move, I thought I would surely vomit if i did. Eventually, after an hour or so of being foetal position in the tiny 3x2m bathroom, I managed to make it upstairs. I then sat on the edge of my bed for another hour, head suspended over a bucket waiting for what I thought was the inevitable vomit. Thankfully it never came, and I passed out. The next day I woke up and immediately realised I was still absolutely blasted, I hadn't come down hardly at all. I can't really remember much of that day, just disconnected snippets of memory, like I was fading in and out of reality.
 
Ever since then, even before I start a sesh, my only thought is "I hope I don't have a panic attack". Simple thought. Who would want a panic attack? I sure as hell don't. But that triggers my panic attacks, because then I'm thinking "Am I panicking? No. Maybe? I'm not sure. Oh god I hope I'm not." and I can feel it building. I'm pretty good at rationalising, keeping a lid on it, but I would rather not worry at all. The high is still enjoyable for the most part, but the underlying fear is still there, even if it's only background.
 
It's been like that until now. Since December 2013, I've been having CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) for my social anxiety, and there's a technique that really gels with me which my therapist uses, called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). My basic understanding is that it works on the theory that when you experience a traumatic event, your brain panics and just shoves it away in your memory, unprocessed. You haven't thought about it, rationalised it, you just know it was terrifying and would rather not relive it. So you give your brain a menial task to do, such as following a dot/light from side to side. Simple as that. This simple task is enough for you to think about the traumatic memory without any distraction, without any emotion. Just think about it, every aspect of it, until you rationalise it, make sense of it, and don't fear it. Best of all, you can do it from home (LINK). Here were my steps for my situation:
 
Select an unpleasant or traumatic memory: Panic attacks/anxiety/etc. while high/stoned.
 
Rate the unpleasantness of the memory on a scale of 1-10, 1 being no emotional response, 10 being the worst a memory could feel.
 
Select a negative emotion/feeling which summarizes how you feel about it: I can't handle it.
 
Select a positive emotion/feeling you would like to believe about yourself in that situation: I CAN handle it (in my case I also thought about all the 8 months prior to The Event where there was no problem and how I felt back then/how there's no actual difference between then and now, other than in my head)
 
Now relive the memory along with the positive emotion/feeling, and let your brain do the work while you watch the dot moving from side to side.
 
How you do this bit is crucial. You have to really put yourself in the memory. Imagine it as realistically as you can. Relive it, however unpleasant. If it gets too much, emotional release is not discouraged, but you shouldn't force it either.
 
After about 45 seconds, stop the moving dot and rate the unpleasantness of the memory again. Rinse and repeat.
 
Now when you think about the memory each successive time, the rating should go from, let's say 10, to perhaps 5, to perhaps 2. How fast it progresses depends on how well you did with my sub-par instruction!
 
Using this method, I have more or less removed panic attacks and anxiety from the equation. I am free once more.
 
Happy to answer any questions!
 
Boodie
 
Edit: Preferred settings for the LINK are Speed: 16, Colour: Blue, Background colour: White, Shape: Circle, leave Distance and Size as they are.

 

the other day I smoked but before I even started smoking I was having chest pains. When I smoked (it was from a bong) I took 3 hits pretty much in a row and I don't ever smoke, I looked at my hands and I felt the chest pains even more then before I felt my whole body tingling and I had pressure on side of my head I was going from cold to hot I couldn't breath at all I was so scared I kept going in and out so I went to bed high because I thought I would wake up and it will all be better, but now I feel dizzy I still have some pressure and I'm groggy I'm extremely nervous but I don't want to tell a doctor is this normal? I still feel kinda high and I'm worried

 

thank you . this post has been very helpful. i read this like everyday