Cannabis use linked to anxiety diagnoses, worsened anxiety disorders

Just some guesses.

Someone who has never taken cannabis before, accidentally not realizing they've consumed too much, not knowing how to handle it, and wondering if they're okay, and calling 911 or going to the ER, is not an unfamiliar story.

- psychosis

- green out/being absolutely ripped, and found by others, who in turn will take you to the ER.

Also the ER is the first line of treatment for many individuals.

A more accurate headline might read: People with anxiety disorders who take cannabis may unnecessarily visit the ER.

It’s called self medication, and people have a sense of when something is wrong with them without a doctor telling them (or for that matter, believing them). Neurodivergent people know this especially well, since “all in your head” was the ultimate dismissal of medical complaints up until the last decade.

Might as well study hospitalizations for stimulants and tendency to impulsiveness and intrusive thoughts. People with ADHD have been self-medicating with stimulants since the trade routes brought tea and coffee ( and probably with beer and wine before that).

I maintain that the original motto for Coca Cola (with real coca leaves) was a nod to high functioning ADHD customers. The Thinking Man’s Drink. Most measurable gains in cognitive ability from mild stimulants are enjoyed by the neurodivergent. But if we are 10% of the human population, that’s a demographic even Apple could love.

Anecdotally, the only people I know that ended up in ED due to weed either took it unknowingly or have Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome from heavy heavy usage. Surely someone with a tendency for anxiety is more likely to seek medical help.

I know cannabis smokers who have anxiety issues, but it isn't obvious whether their tendency for anxiety leads them to smoking. I'm ignoring temporary anxiety. Disclosure: not a pot smoker.

I suffer from bouts of anxiety and depression. I also like to partake in cannabis. If I'm feeling depressed, anxious, sad - WARNING - don't do cannabis!! It amplifies the feeling. I would never use it for an escape from bad stuff. If I'm feeling good, then go for it!

It's a mind altering substance. If your mind isn't in a great place to begin with, what do people think cannabis is going to do?

And yeah, cut down on caffeine and sleep some more.

Oh, that's the flavor of anxiety I get too! That's a very precise description.

~100% THC, no CBD, is objectively wrong for almost all uses of cannabis.

The market is morally bankrupt, ran by non-cannabis people, and prioritizing addiction over wellness.

- ignorance of what the different compounds are capable of, especially when isolated and concentrated.

- thinking all cannabis consumers light it on fire.

- more

Contaminants are still very common, and so is not having broad or full spectrum of compounds.

If you're interested in a great recommendation, happy to help.

The best I can describe is: pretend there's a murderer right outside of your window, he's coming to kill you and tapping on the glass. Your heart rate is spiked, your body is flooding you with adrenaline, fight or flight is in full kickoff mode; you need to either *run* away, or fight.

But now imagine you get all of those physical sensations, but there is no killer outside and you know it. You feel the fight or flight, but you don't have any idea what it is in response to.

Trying to slow down is difficult, and you can feel sortof uncoordinated when walking around (your body is screaming to run, so walking feels off somehow).

Unfortunately it's hard to describe. It is definitely not psychological concern about something, though, and this is where some frustration when talking about it comes from. There's nothing to reassure yourself of or calm down from, because you're not having the psychological effects of anxiety, just the physical ones.

Healthy people have heart attacks. Healthy people can mistake depression or budding mental issues as "work stress" or the pressures of life.

You're essentially saying "yeah cannabis can cause issues but it's your fault for not knowing your in a 100% happy place" which is dismissive on several levels.

I say this as someone who likes THC edibles and also can see how it causes anxiety for people prone to it. I also think age can be a factor, anecdotally. Alcohol was something easy for me to overconsume, and now my hangovers cause nebulous anxiety the next day which cannot be explained by any specific thing.

Not saying cannabis can't be an issue, however i'd imagine a LOT of these reports of "cannabis made me anxious", are actually "i was anxious, tried cannabis, and now i'm just even more anxious", the fact is a lot of medical especially mental situations are under or NOT diagnosed and people attribute the feels to the last thing they did.

As someone younger than you quite possibly suffering with the same thing, that’s saddening to hear. Is there anything you did that you wish you’d done sooner? Have you tried any (pharmaceutical) medication?

Highly, highly recommend trying it. They say it's for "stage fright", which can be offputting because "stage fright" (at least to me) seems almost wholly unrelated to the type of anxiety I suffer from.

It's a miracle from my perspective. If you suffer from generalized anxiety, please ask your doctor about it.

Just to really hammer this home: I had doctors recommend this drug to me for years, and I always more or less ignored them. I have taken xanax for quite some time, and took this recommendation as them being apprehensive about prescribing it (which i understand, since many people abuse it).

Propanolol seems to have the same type of calming effect, but with none of tired/disassociative feelings that xanax gives (which I don't like). The first time I took it I almost wanted to cry. It really was just like a switch that turned the anxiety off. It does take about 60-90 minutes to fully kick in, though.

When I first started smoking, 0.01g (yes, one hundredth of a gram - a barely visible layer on top of some tobacco) was enough to get a whole room of students incredibly high for a few hours. I used to buy 0.2g and that lasted 5 people the entire weekend.

And that was before all of this lamp-grown craziness with 10% and more THC content. If you used more than 0.1g of these medical dispensary strains, it's really no wonder you had a crazy panic attack. I'd have too and I'm an experienced smoker.

I know some people using weed to treat anxiety. They smoke so little they don't feel high at all. One gram might last them a month.

- psychedelic therapy (1-4 times a year, over 6 years, turned me into a functional person in social contexts)

- strong chammomile flower tea (depresses my nervous system to a normal baseline -- this has been the most dramatic way to ease physiological symptoms of anxiety for me)

Intelligence itself seems to correlate with anxiety, i.e. being able to construct and focus on abstractions, as opposed to your immediate environment, on demand increases likelihood of fixation on abstractions.

Combine that with a lack of forced grounding in computer-based professions, i.e. little human interaction, and you're a heck of a lot more likely to be in your own head, then add weed on top and you're even more likely.

there's no particularly major evidence that it's highly correlated but I've heard anecdotal theories along the line before.

It’s been common in my circles as we have aged. In our now mid 30s most have ceased its usage other for that reason other than myself who took it up following a spinal cord injury. For what it’s worth, it did seem to give me anxiety at first but time (and mixing with a cbd strain) seems to have solved that.

edit

We do all work in IT for the most part so…maybe that is something.

Not all cannabis has THC, high THC (the anxiety-inducing part, for most).

Nor should it!

Now with edibles I can eat a very small dose (2-4mg) and just skate under the threshold for freak-out, but its a far cry from when I used to eat gummies by the mouthful and have goofy fun for hours afterwards.

Regular smokers for years, at some point something changed, after that point almost any amount of smoking caused enough paranoia and anxiety that they decided to stop smoking entirely.

About once a year, I think, "I'll take a quarter of an edible and watch this movie at home". 9 times out of 10 I end up having an awful night due to anxiety.

I feel so much sharper now, and the fog of "war" has cleared. My work output has increased dramatically. I'm waking up earlier and feeling much more confident. I'm not against cannabis, I think in moderation can be nice, relaxing, and of course has valid medical uses.

I never did that. I've always taken tiny puffs because I don't like coughing, so I got called a "buzz kill" quite a few times back then.

I've really never been able to handle it. I've experienced anxiety/paranoia but even in the absence of that, it makes me beyond stupid. My version of a little high is similar to someone knockdown, drag-out drunk.

I live where it's legal and I come in contact with it all the time. I usually regret accepting that gummy. I'm not sure there's anything I can do to better tolerate marijuana or whether the juice would at all be worth the squeeze.

As Bill Murray put it more succinctly: "I find it quite ironic that the most dangerous thing about weed is getting caught with it." which is most definitely the case here.

That's one of the reasons why theres a black box warning for Lexapro about the risk of suicide.

I'm told the reason behind this is a significantly anxious and depressed person may indeed be suicidal, but because of their condition are unable to effectively plan and execute the plan. Once lexapro enters the system, the individual can now plan and execute. This is why lexapro should be paired with close monitoring by a psychatrist, and individuals taking lexapro should be made aware of the risk.

Lexapro has been a life saver for me.