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Comment by caiocaiocaio | Hacker News Reader

I guess I have a crappy brain, then, because it just makes me paranoid and depressed.

Huge stoner here. I quit for a few years, recently moved to Portland, Oregon and have started smoking again. I'm REALLY enjoying it, especially as someone who has appetite issues.

1. Smoke less. I had the paranoia and uncomfortable feeling problem for a long time and eventually I learned to just know when to say enough. In a group setting people tend to smoke a LOT, because some people have really high tolerance. I usually do a few puffs and then I'm good for a few hours... and then I eat some food, pass out, and sleep like the dead until morning. It is GREAT.

2. Go for strains with lower THC and higher CBD content. CBD is what produced the relaxed feeling and is in some clinically-approved drugs.

OR, don't smoke! I personally enjoy it but to each their own.

I think CBD will be the future. I love high CBD content things because I still get the, "good" feeling without the, "high" feeling.

> Smoke less

This. Seriously. Being just a little high can be really fun!

It’s so easy to just keep smoking until you’re a fucking mess, especially if you’re someone who used to smoke more. I feel like smoking all the time is very unhelpful for me, so I smoke rarely these days, and when I do I just smoke a tiiiny bit.

I think this may be a much, much more mild version of the phenomenon where opiate users who get used to a particular dose, quit for a while, relapse, use their prior dose, and die. You get a “serving size” in your head, and for those of us who have smoked quite a bit of weed in the past it’s easy to be like yeah sure I’ll go ahead and smoke this half gram joint and then I’m fucking ruined and not happy about anything.

But overall I’m with the grandparent; habitual smoking feels like a terrible habit to me and does NOT correlate with me reaching my goals. It most certainly does not help with my depression — quite the opposite.

I used to smoke a lot when I was younger (16 to 22), then quit. Now I am 36 and have started smoking again, this time using a vaporiser which is more gentle to the throat and supposedly less harmful to your lungs. I find cannabis to be quite safe. It's true that it makes some people feel nervous or paranoid, but from my experience these symptoms are probably the result of some sort of autosuggestion rather than caused by the drug itself. Usually I smoke at home when I'm alone, maybe 3 or 4 times a month, and I mostly just talk to myself, trying to be honest and to speak my mind. I reflect on my life, make plans, think of things I'd like to say to certain people. Psychologically I think it's highly beneficial, and I have fun as well. Then again, this is how I use it, other people use it differently, so I'm not trying to be categorical here.

When I first started smoking, it was hugely beneficial. I grew up in a high-stress environment, and while art and philosophy helped me cope on an intellectual level, it wasn't until I started smoking that I believed in a physical way many of the things I understood intellectually. When I had to quit for a couple months, it was very difficult, though, because I was still very much a work in progress. I recently quit again (temporarily) for a little over a month, and it's been much, much easier. I was worried that I might be psychologically dependent, because I smoked pretty much every day, and while I felt great, and am generally very happy, I was concerned that sense of well-being would go away when I quit again. Thankfully, I don't really miss it overall, and I feel great - just like when I was smoking regularly (same but different). I do miss it at specific times for specific activities, though.

I've been trying to quit for months but having a really hard time. It helps me with my anxiety and negative ruminations but now I feel too dependent on it.

My advice, unasked for, is threefold. First, accept that st first it’s going to be a little messy. Your sleep might get wonky, you might feel a bit depressed or “blank” and you might even have hot flashes. It will pass, and little tokes here and there don’t so much help as reset the clock. Second, your appetite might take a hit, but it’s important to eat well. Finally, keep yourself occupied with something low-effort that you enjoy, preferably something that makes you smile. If you find yourself ruminating don’t dive deep into it, just quietly say “no” and move on. When you slide back into rumination, same thing, no big production, just “no” and think about something else.

Accept that this will take time, and you won’t feel really normal for a while, but you will feel OK again.

Thank you.

Everyone is different, and I can only speak to my experience, but here's what worked for me:

I meditated on the differences I felt when high and not. Getting beyond the physical sensations, which are very nice, the biggest difference was that I was able to relax my mind and enjoy things when high. When I was high, I was not eating an apple and worrying about my daily/weekly/big-picture stresses. I was just eating an apple. I already knew that this was preferable on an intellectual level, but getting high allowed me to feel it - to know that it was actually like.

The first time I quit, I had not practiced enough to enact this in my non-high state. Even though I knew I wanted it, I let my thoughts hurt me. This last time, I had practiced/meditated enough to naturally be in the state of just enjoying an apple (btw - I don't just eat apples all day). Enjoying nature, taking walks, and my interests/passions also help a lot.

I don't know if that will be helpful to you, but I hope it is :^)

Thank you.

caiocaiocaio, it does the same to me. I think it's because I'm introspective by nature and it just intensifies that affect.

But no worries, there's always booze!

I get full-blown panic attacks for up to two weeks after a single drag. It's a very rare, but known, side-effect that follows from a long period of heavy usage (2 years in my case, during which time it vastly improved my life). If you're not comfortable taking it then don't, you don't owe it to society to use it: it's just a recreational drug. There's nothing wrong with your brain.

I'm sure you're experienced enough to know this but a single drag off of a joint can be an excessive amount of THC, especially considering the current strains and potency. Too many people don't realize how little they actually need or how much better the experience could be with what seems like a minuscule amount. Small drags from a vape pen are much less excessive than a joint or bowl.

Bad Advice: "Small drags from a vape pen are much less excessive than a joint or bowl."

I guess it depends on what's in the pen. That being said, I have tried an indica pen in WA after being assured I was being silly and two weeks of sensations of impending death followed.

I don't understand why "potsplaining" is so prevalent: whenever I indicate that I can't have marijuana, I'm told I'm being stupid, that it's all in my head and it's due to a wide sample of armchair diagnoses of a psychological state on my behalf.

Telling people that they have to, or should, smoke marijuana is on exactly the same intellectual footing as telling people that they can't - sans medical reasons on both ends of that spectrum.

read up on the CBD/THC dynamic, the CBD counterbalances THC. Thats why I smoke hashish, no paranoia.

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