Is weed the problem with my mental health? Bad withdrawal.

Yo dude...I was kinda the same way for a while. I was a daily smoker (every day from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep) for about 7 years whose preferred method was my good ol' bong. I would smoke to the point that I would get a rush/wave simliar to siezure almost that would make me roll my eyes back.....anyhow, I had to stop smoking for a bit when I moved back to the East. And that's really when I saw a drawback from the ganja, which is contrary to what the popular opinion of the stuff states.

I would not say that its a full on withdrawl like one has with alcohol or crack, but its def a combo of mental/psychological addiction and physical as well. Best way I can explain it is although weed is not really habit forming, for me, it did become a part of daily routine. From running, to eating, to just going to sleep, I made the green a part of my daily routine, much like smokers and alcoholics do. Point is, when I stopped, my body was used to the routine of the THC coursing through my system....and wanted to react as it normally did.

For about the first month or so I too had severe issues sleeping, eating, and just really 'existing.' I had a lot of depressive episodes, a lot of downer sort of thoughts and even things that I knew I enjoyed simply did not vibe with me anymore. I would literally go for days without eating evening though I knew I was, or should, be hungry. But even trying to eat was serious task...forcing myself to eat the stuff I used to completely dig was like shoveling ash down my throat. I was frankly completely miserable. And then to top it all of was the issue with sleep....I could not get to sleep to save my life. And when I did, it def was not a quality 8hr session...more like 3hrs max and that's after lying in bed for a few hours before just tossing and turning.

I am an avid runner, def stay in shape, eat well and all that fun stuff. Only way I found myself getting better was doing a lot, and I mean A LOT of exercise. Sweating out years worth of the stuff and getting my body used to a new routine of 'sober' activities. First few weeks kinda helped, but after that, def helped a bunch. By the 2mos mark I was back to normal and sleeping/eating/operating like a balanced dude should.

I can not say how to address your anxiety, but for the withdrawl aspect all I can say is that the best approach is to stick to the cold turkey until you no longer feel off...def takes some time depending on how long you have smoked and how intense of you blazer you are/were. Once you get there, then I would say if you still need it, talk to a doc about the social anxiety stuff. But right now, its easy to confuse the two with just the normal withdrawl aspect. my .02

 

I was in a pretty similar situation as yours, and I started taking an SSRI, helped a lot but made me like a zombie. 2 years later, started acupuncture, has helped tremendously

 

OP i think you have some issues that are unrelated to the weed. it's not really normal to undergo panics every time you smoke, and if you are feeling depressed and stuff without being able to smoke, you may have been subconsciously medicating with marijuana in the past. if you want to take the route of using benzo's or other help that's up to you. personally i've heard a lot of negative stuff, and i found my own way of managing my stress, depression, anxiety, etc etc etc, with or without weed. but just because i found ways to help myself, doesn't mean it's gonna work for you too. experiment, be safe, keep a positive outlook, have goals, and don't blame the weed.