# social anxiety and marijuana



## zzzBrian (Dec 29, 2008)

I smoke marijuana as a hobby. If you have a problem with that, stop reading this post.

Marijuana helps me be aware of how crippled my self confidence is. It's helped me realize who I am. I've realized, however, that I am not comfortable sharing myself with others. When I'm sober and in public, I tell myself that I am in control - that it's stupid to talk to strangers, or that I just don't want to. What marijuana has taught me is that I'm afraid. It has helped me accept my fear and it has made my thoughts and emotions real for me so that I may deal with them. It makes things simple and easy to understand, instead of a mental roadblock that tells me not to talk to other people. If I can not accept my fears, how in the hell can I ever learn to deal with them?

I'm wondering if any of you have had similar experiences and would like to share them here? Let's not make this a debate on morals or anything, but an intelligent discussion on marijuana and social anxiety.


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## CrumbsInTheBed (Dec 28, 2008)

As a psychedelic drug, smoking cannabis often materializes for me as a sort of mild trip (ala LSD, mushrooms, etc.). Depending on how high I get and what my current life and mental situation is, it can lead to deep introspection and hyper-awareness, becoming a very intimate and sometimes very unpleasant experience. Cannabis can be a great tool, and even though I may sometimes be scared of where in my mind it will take me, deep down I will always love it. I do however believe that because it serves to amplify personality traits and feelings, it at times may be counter productive (i.e. someone whose thoughts already revolve around beating themselves up and focusing on flaws and negativity may not be best served with a joint). At the same time, because of it's ability to peel back the layers of avoidance and denial it can be very beneficial in learning acceptance and surrender. I could write pages and pages about thoughts on cannabis and heavier psychedelics, but these are just some quick thoughts.


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## Bob Slydell (Oct 23, 2008)

I plan on using Medical Cannabis as my only treatment if I ever get a medical card or live in a medical state. 

What people dont realize is that although it can make you go nuts and freak out, it can also do amazing things. 

In addition to the short term anxiolytic effects it produces for me, I have also received long term benefits as well. 

Stuff like introspection and deep thinking have helped myself realize more of who I am. I have also used it to recognize my maladaptive thought patterns that lead to the cycle of anxiety. 

It is not like alcohol where you can drink and forget until the morning. Smoking reefer puts all of those problems that I have shoved into the back of my mind and makes me conscious of them so it forces me to deal with them somehow. The good thing about reefer is im also aware of solutions to my problems for the most part.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Because of my SA, I don't know very many people. Even if I wanted marijuana, I would have a hard time finding it. People at my high school used to accuse me of using drugs. They must have had more confidence in my networking skills than I deserved. A friend once offered to smoke some with me, but I wasn't really interested. Who knows though, I might try it someday. I like to experience as many things as I can. As far as other people using it, I don't really care. I believe in the freedom to live your life as you choose.


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## screwjack (Dec 19, 2008)

It just makes me think of all my problems and of course I don't know how to deal with them so I freak out. It's nice to smoke a ton and feel good as an occasional hobby, a mini vacation. Maybe like smoking once a month or something. I think a lot of the medical marijuana aspects are just from people that want to smoke it. It can be a useful tool for a lot of people but it's not totally the miracle drug it's presented as.


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

Ditto to everything CrumbsInTheBed said.


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## Mr Deuce (Nov 14, 2008)

I used to smoke every day and enjoyed it but then started to get paranoid and depressed when I smoked so I don't do it anymore. You're state of mind is very important with cannabis. And back when I was doing it everyday (around 1999-2003) I was in a better state of mind then I am now. Maybe one day I'll be able to enjoy it again like I used to. :b:b


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## flapjacker (Nov 30, 2008)

I don't think I can vote because I've only quit for about 4 months so far. :b

I smoked almost daily for about 10 years. As a teenager, it was very relaxing. As I get older, I guess the burden of responsibility kicks in, and it just makes me paranoid. I kept smoking for years. It turned into an anti-social habit. I don't like smoking in public, and I don't like doing things in public while stoned. It became more of a setback for me, and it's also taken it's toll on my memory and concentration.

It was fun though.


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## Kush (Nov 29, 2008)

it helps me go 2 school, eyedrops+axe+blunt=getting through the day


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## zzzBrian (Dec 29, 2008)

love the responses.

So a couple people have mentioned that marijuana amplifies negative thought. I've found that if I'm with other people - then yes, absolutely 100% true. I start thinking negative and paranoid thoughts that get so bad that I start shivering and ****. Not a pretty sight.


During the summer I smoked with a friend who had a lot of the same sentiments as I do - but without the social anxiety. At first, it was really nerve-racking to be high around somebody else. But the more we smoked, the more relaxed i was. i was even able to present myself to his parents in a relaxed manner. the end of that summer was probably the happiest i've been in a long time.

However, if I'm alone, I become hyper aware of those negative thoughts and I'm able to turn them around into positive thoughts. So "nobody likes me" turns into "I have close friends" or "I'm a nobody who doesn't exist" turns into "i like myself and my personality". It's really good for my self-esteem. I have a journal to help me sort out of my thoughts, and when I look at entries i wrote when i was high, i can tell that i was really relaxed and copacetic.


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## Shauna The Dead (Jun 16, 2005)

no but I did in the past.


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## BeNice (Jan 2, 2004)

It tends to make me more freaked out in social settings. Not to say I don't like to smoke weed sometimes, but it's not something I want to do every time I hang out with people anymore. I much prefer to do it by myself, play some guitar, and at the most do it with people that I won't be too nervous around.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Never tried it, then again i hate smoke from anything.


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## WineKitty (Nov 26, 2004)

I used to smoke it in my younger days but I got a lot of paranoia from it so I no longer would smoke it, havent for a long time. I have no problem or issue with others smoking it. I strongly advocate the legalization of it also.


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## seanybhoy (Mar 2, 2008)

Each to their own i guess.


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## Drella (Dec 4, 2004)

I haven't smoked it in years. It amplified my anxiety tenfold, so it's probably in my best interest to never have any again.


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## whiterabbit (Jan 20, 2006)

slylikeafox said:


> Because of my SA, I don't know very many people. Even if I wanted marijuana, I would have a hard time finding it.


Yeah, me too. Where do you actually get marijuana from? I'm so naive and socially isolated I wouldn't be able to go out and find any if somebody held a gun to my head. So no I've never tried it.


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## snowfly (Dec 14, 2008)

> I start shivering and ****.


 I start shivering really badly and chattering my teeth after I do it.. does marijuana make you cold (dumb question)? or is this some weird form of anxiety?


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## VCL XI (Jan 19, 2004)

Nah, doesn't do anything for me.


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## zzzBrian (Dec 29, 2008)

snowfly said:


> I start shivering really badly and chattering my teeth after I do it.. does marijuana make you cold (dumb question)? or is this some weird form of anxiety?


it certainly feels like i'm cold... but no, it's just anxiety. once the high wears off, however, i'm oddly relaxed and confident. it's weird.


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## milo001 (Nov 26, 2008)

no.


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## panda (Oct 26, 2008)

Not currently, but if it was legalized & regulated or I really, really trusted the source I would.


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## Gerard (Feb 3, 2004)

No. I wish I tried it when I was offered at times to experience what it's like.

Anyway, I was thinking of this catchy song reading this thread.

Ben Harper "Burn One Down"


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## BeNice (Jan 2, 2004)

I need some marijuana. I worked all day, my back hurts, beer seems to be making me sick, TV sucks, and the kitty is purring in my lap but you that means he just wants to smoke weed.


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## Roberto (Aug 16, 2004)

The first time I smoked was my best experience with mj - it was a little bit of everything. I didn't know what I was doing and had gotten hold of this stuff with more red hairs than chelsea clinton's *sigh* I smoked three bowls of it while waiting for something to happen...WOW! I freaked out and ran to my room as it started. i held on to the floor while my heart pounded, hoping to god it would all be over soon. I couldn't even get up and walk. Then I calmed down a bit and felt really high and giggly and dreamy and listened to music naked, and then I felt peaceful and relaxed. I don't remember any valuable introspection taken away from that experience, unfortunately. After that everything I tried to smoke has just made me feel tired.


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## Gerard (Feb 3, 2004)

I remember few years ago, I was waiting to go to have my jazz piano lessons in this community center waiting upstairs in these comfy chairs, in my session room across the hall was some guy playing an Chopin nocturne and a Beethoven Sonata exquisitely. After he left, I smelled something. When my instructor came in, he said somebody's been hitting here. 

So I was wondering, if it helps with the playing?


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## christ~in~me (Dec 18, 2008)

used to


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## zzzBrian (Dec 29, 2008)

i smoked today with an old friend of mine. It was great - there was no anxiety or anything. I was able to focus completely on what we were talking about instead of worrying about what he thought of me. It was great.


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## Roberto (Aug 16, 2004)

Gerard said:


> So I was wondering, if it helps with the playing?


Everybody uses it differently. Some people are spiritual smokers and they can use their altered perception to gain enlightenment or enrichment to their art or world-view, and others just do it to get messed up and eat all the food in the house. I live with a smoker of the latter type. He definitely plays better when he's not high.


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## IllusionalFate (Sep 10, 2008)

Roberto said:


> The first time I smoked was my best experience with mj - it was a little bit of everything. I didn't know what I was doing and had gotten hold of this stuff with more red hairs than chelsea clinton's *sigh* I smoked three bowls of it while waiting for something to happen...WOW! I freaked out and ran to my room as it started. i held on to the floor while my heart pounded, hoping to god it would all be over soon. I couldn't even get up and walk. Then I calmed down a bit and felt really high and giggly and dreamy and listened to music naked, and then I felt peaceful and relaxed. I don't remember any valuable introspection taken away from that experience, unfortunately. After that everything I tried to smoke has just made me feel tired.


:lol.

But yeah, a similar thing happened to me last night. I smoked a couple bowls out of my bong and 10 minutes later my heart started beating at like 200bpm, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. I'm on tianeptine for SA too and I was freaking out at the thought that the two may be contraindicated.


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## nothing to fear (Mar 23, 2005)

during my worst experiences, weed amplified my anxiety by 100. i used to get high all the time in grade nine and ten and often it was horrible for my anxiety. terrible fear and paranoia but i continued doing it because it was something new and kind of exciting. it was only until this year that i really started loving it.

positive experiences: there were times when i started at 14 where i'd have so much fun with my friends just laughing our asses off. that seems so foreign to me now.
currently, i think i love it best for the body high and for enjoying it with music. during the xmas holidays pretty much every single day i was high (even christmas, ha) and just played NES while listening to new animal collective, fun fun. i cut down since school started.

on how its introspective - i went through a period where i'd eat cookies almost every day which had the best weed ever. they gave me a great, mellow buzz, a nice body high, perfect with music, and during this period while stoned i'd do a lot of deep thinking on myself and the direction my life was going and i really looked at my things objectively and started to analyze myself and i began to piece some things together and it really ended up giving me a positive and motivating perspective.
the great thing about that weed is that it also didn't even affect my memory somehow and i didn't get any annoying physiological effects (dry mouth, fast heart, painful lungs). with the stuff i currently smoke my short-term is ****ing ****e which is why i cut down during school.



Gerard said:


> I remember few years ago, I was waiting to go to have my jazz piano lessons in this community center waiting upstairs in these comfy chairs, in my session room across the hall was some guy playing an Chopin nocturne and a Beethoven Sonata exquisitely. After he left, I smelled something. When my instructor came in, he said somebody's been hitting here.
> 
> So I was wondering, if it helps with the playing?


marijuana goes amazing with music. especially great at concerts. it makes it a bit of a different experience and i find it makes the music more layered and detailed.


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## lindsey (Jan 11, 2009)

i've done it twice.


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## SadRosesAreBeautiful (May 15, 2008)

No.


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## DeeperUnderstanding (May 19, 2007)

No, I don't.


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## Vine_of_Sodom (Jan 18, 2009)

I have been smoking weed for the past year and a half and sure when you're stoned you don't really notice the anxiety, and for a while that was good enough for me but after smoking for a while u realize when you're sober the weed actually helps in the long run. ( at least for me it hsa been working so far)


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## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

Mr Deuce said:


> I used to smoke every day and enjoyed it but then started to get paranoid and depressed when I smoked so I don't do it anymore. You're state of mind is very important with cannabis.


Marijuana was once a great inspiration and motivator for me but it turned into a trigger for my SA as it developed so now I steer clear of it.


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## Scrub-Zero (Feb 9, 2004)

I don't touch the junk anymore.
It's almost best thing i ever did for myself.
The real best was the day i decided to quit being a damn drunk.

Now my life might not be any better, but at least i'm not a slave to those things and they wont ever rule my life again. Hopefully i can do the same for SA and Depression one day and be free of those too.


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## dyssomnia (Jan 17, 2009)

maryjane and i have a love-hate relationship. of course if i had the choice and unlimited money i would smoke all day and all night. but right now i'm struggling with quitting. smoking almost everyday for about 3 years now has really made my life a blur. i feel like i lose grip with reality being a haze all the time.

but man there is nothing i love more than lying in bed at the end of the day and sparking a bowl :mushy


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

No. But I'm for the legalization of cannabis and hemp. I wouldn't mind attending this school. 
http://www.oaksterdam.com/


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## Phronima (Jan 17, 2009)

Only tried it once but it made me feel like my skin was on fire. It made me really, really paranoid as well. No one could figure out what happened. It's not for me I guess. I'm more of a drink till I black out type.


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## 2Talkative (Nov 1, 2007)

Have in the past.... but I get really paranoid/Anxious.


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## TheRob (Dec 30, 2006)

Weed made me paranoid. Alcohol made me forget.


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## IllusionalFate (Sep 10, 2008)

Phronima said:


> Only tried it once but it made me feel like my skin was on fire.


Same happened to me a few days ago. I thought it was because the weed was interacting with the Paxil I was on -- cannabis makes me such a hypochondriac.


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## sanspants08 (Oct 21, 2008)

Weed is only relaxing for me if I'm in a situation where I won't have to do any tasks that involve focused concentration for a day or so. For me that means "only on vacation," which is like once a year, probably. Otherwise I have to drive a lot...which seems pretty dangerous when I'm high. 

Before I worked a job that involved brainpower and commuting, it was great lol. I made my friends in college through it, basically. The people who smoked were a lot quieter and more contemplative than the obnoxious frat fellas. Since the "basement beer party" thing wasn't my scene, I went the stoner route to fit in. Then I got stoned enough that basement beer parties felt fine...

That had to do with the laid-back people I rolled around with as well. Anyway, smoking weed helped me chill out with already-chill people. With intense people it caused me to be more confused, which heightened the SA. So in conclusion, with me it was all about the pot-smoking situation: What's was on the agenda for the next day, and who I was smoking with.


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## Strange_One (Jan 20, 2009)

used to smoke all day every day. Then I stopped because I started to get realy paranoid whenever I smoked. I don't know what changed. But it just wasn't taht great anymore. Instead of making me happy and relaxed it was making me depressed and panicky. I still smoke once in a while. I feel I need to to clear my head and just get rid of things that are bothering me. But when I smoke I need good music and a calm inviernment or I get paranoid.
I usually put on some almond brothers, greatful dea, keller williams, Tea leaf green, or slightly stoopid. I find if I've got calm music and noones around I'm great. But not everyday.


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## BeNice (Jan 2, 2004)

I have pot. :boogie Yay to being able to deal with not having anything to do.


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## yellowpaper (Nov 13, 2007)

First time I tried it I had some kind of LONG anxiety attack/trippish thing... hallucinations and hardly remember anything, and my friend was actually pretty worried. =/

I used it quite a bit that year... and was always pretty anxious, never relaxed. When I'd be at home around my family, I'd have panic attacks or something in my room.

Basically, it intensified my anxiety a LOT. I honestly think that it may have contributed to my extra anxiety problems now maybe... idk. 

Coupled with alcohol and i'm fine  But, no, probably never again.


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## Wirt (Jan 16, 2009)

when i smoked with my friend(s) and we would just stay home and relax, it was great

but for whatever reason, they like to smoke and go out so my SA would go into hyperspeed. id even voice what i was thinking and what i was afraid of. in retrospect the stuff i get paranoid about is kind of funny since it's ludicrous. But i havent hung out with them in a while.

so if im just relaxing with friends ill endulge. 

never own any myself though


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## its_Rob (Oct 20, 2008)

No I don't smoke weed. I know I don't need drugs or alcohol to make me feel better. Having friends is the only thing I need to feel happy.


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## Halfie (Dec 29, 2007)

I smoke a few times a month. I have a childhood friend who's smoked almost every day for years and I know when I visit there's a very good chance he'll offer me some. It has never made me more thoughtful or aware about anything, it just makes me retarded and messes with my sense of balance. I can smoke too much, and then I feel physically sick and even nauseated. It feels like my brain is literally being fried. (Yes, I know the brain doesn't "feel" anything, but that's the best way I know of describing it.) My friend only buys the best weed--heddes--so maybe that's why the experience can get too intense. But it's never made me paranoid. Maybe because I only do it with friends I've known since I was five, and because I never had negative preconceptions about marijuana use before I did it.

Except for those rare occasions when I smoked too much, it's pleasant, but I still think I prefer getting drunk.


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## TinaB (Jan 31, 2009)

I loooooooove pot. I have a medical marijuana card in CA and it actually does help with being able to make important phone calls or going out. It keeps me from getting panic attacks when I'm like grocery shopping or doing other errands. 
I had something of an alcohol problem during college and I haven't been drunk once since discovering pot and I couldn't be happier for it. My grades even improved in college once I started smoking. (Probably because I wasn't panicking and ducking into alcoves to avoid talking to people I had a clearer head) I was able to participate in class more as pot tends to make me more talkative. 

Also, I met my fiancee over a bowl two years ago. You could sort of say I wouldn't have the best thing in my life were it not for pot.


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## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

I could never get into pot. I hate interacting with dealers and the smoke always choked me.

But now I have my Djarum Blacks, and the world is right.


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## aloss4words (Jul 17, 2007)

I used to think pot helped my anxiety. But sometimes it seems like it just makes me more anxious and say stupid things.


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## hyacinth_dragon (Dec 28, 2008)

Nah. Its not really my thing.


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## VCL XI (Jan 19, 2004)

bezoomny said:


> I hate interacting with dealers


Yep, I'm surprised so many on here apparently can...? I wouldn't even be able to find one if I wanted to. Then again, I've been asked twice by random degenerates for drugs, so I guess I'd just search the city squats for my dope-peddling doppelganger.


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## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

Not only can't you drive stoned without hitting something, but people can rob you and assault you and chances are you wouldn't do nothing. Being too passive has problems. I don't need to be any more of a wussie cat than I am, thank you.


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## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

Well it helps me "quiet my mind down" with racing thoughts at the end of the day. I certainly wouldn't like to go to work like this though. BTW, I have access to the medical stuff so at least I know that it's quality. It's up in the air if you buy from a dealer.


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## nothing to fear (Mar 23, 2005)

VCL XI said:


> Yep, I'm surprised so many on here apparently can...? I wouldn't even be able to find one if I wanted to. Then again, I've been asked twice by random degenerates for drugs, so I guess I'd just search the city squats for my dope-peddling doppelganger.


the dealer i go to is in a store that sells incense and other Rastafarian-related stuff (books, movies). usually i'd just go in and hand him the money and say hi then walk away, thats what i really liked about going there instead of some random kid in an alley since it feels a bit more like a "reputable" business. i went there today actually and he said they don't keep the stuff on the premise and now i have to call in advance which might cause problems for me but the guys really friendly, called me "love" as i left.

ohh and its ****ing great weed too. i hope they don't get busted haha.


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## Taboo710 (Feb 15, 2009)

arMarijuana does the opposite of what alcohol does to me. With alcohol, I can forget all my problems and be in a fantasy land for a couple hours. It makes me more confident and less anxious. With pot however, it's like a veil is lifted between my mind and all the mental blocks I have. When stoned, I find it impossible to put on any fronts in social settings or ignore my problems. It's like it shows me all the dark corners and hallways of my mind i never knew existed. It also makes me think alot and does enhance my creativity. But if I am not in a great, relaxed mood I will freak out and get totally paranoid. That is why I have had alot of bad experiences with pot when I was depressed or in periods of self loathing, or in groups of people I didn't know well. I bet some of you know the downward spiral it takes you on when you start thinking negative thoughts. The only good experiences I've ever had with pot were when i was with one or two close friends in a comfortable, intimate setting. Especially if i've had a few xanax. Going to school stoned in highschool was a nightmare. I would walk down the halls and everyone was moving so fast. I would hear their conversations and it was like everyone was making some inside joke behind my back. One other creepy thing it does is it makes me realize my mortality which can actually be liberating, but very scary. I have this habit of getting high, freaking out and promising myself never to do it again. But countless times i've come back to it as everytime I do I get a little bit of a new perspective on my life, my outlook and my mind. I like the idea of marijuana more than the drug itself. There's something romantic about it to me. I guess I just wish I could get that feeling I had the first time I ever got stoned. Now that was awesome. Like I was a kid again.


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## Taboo710 (Feb 15, 2009)

Phronima said:


> Only tried it once but it made me feel like my skin was on fire. It made me really, really paranoid as well. No one could figure out what happened. It's not for me I guess. I'm more of a drink till I black out type.


Whoa you had the skin thing happen to you too? Yeah I've gotten that before it's a pretty hellish feeling.


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## SilentLoner (Jan 30, 2006)

Haven't and don't want to. I could get it easily, my old roommate's boyfriend sells it for a living. But I've just never been interested.

Strangely though I'd likely be willing to try something stronger.


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## BeNice (Jan 2, 2004)

VCL XI said:


> Yep, I'm surprised so many on here apparently can...? I wouldn't even be able to find one if I wanted to. Then again, I've been asked twice by random degenerates for drugs, so I guess I'd just search the city squats for my dope-peddling doppelganger.


I don't smoke weed nearly as much as I used to, but I haven't had anything to do with a "dealer" in a long time, even when I was using it more often. No dark alleys, sketchy locations or meet ups, pick up and go type of thing. Not for me. I'm used to there being different distributors, people that buy it and sell it at a no-profit price to their _friends_, and maybe make profit off of people who they don't know as well. It's usually just a matter of getting it through someone else with no middleman profits being made, though.

I remember the days of going through the endless process of obtaining it.. friends of friends of friends, people making all kinds of phone calls, waiting outside some person's house. Never again.


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## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

Sativas are more likely to make me freak out, but the high is better than with indicas. More laughing, motivation and more intense euphoria and contemplation. I don't smoke around people unless I know them well because of paranoia.


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## nothing to fear (Mar 23, 2005)

i find when i am stoned one negative thought can really make me feel horrible and really awful, way more than i would when sober. it's kind of like i feel the emotion (whether it's sadness or fear) in my whole body and can't get the thought away.

for example i just got high an hour or two ago with my brother and was feeling pretty good and as we were walking in the house he said "oh yeah, and [so-and-so]'s brother told him how you didn't say ONE word while you were at his house the whole time!" (i was with my brother and his friends at their house for twenty minutes at like 3:30am after a night of drinking/benzos/uppers... wasn't feeling great). well that immediately made me feel _horrible _since i've been having more confidence lately and thought i was doing okay in terms of socializing. but i just distracted myself by blasting and singing along with the talking heads and relaxing alone and i feel better now. =)


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## CrystalBear (Feb 19, 2009)

It made me act stupid.


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## Guest (Apr 23, 2009)

I'm high right now. :mushy Sometimes it helps with my anxiety, sometimes it doesn't. I have a medical problem that causes a great deal of pain at times. Pot helps and I could get a medical marijuana license(my friend has one for his "crippling migraines") but I refuse because of the cost. Also, I don't enjoy being a pothead so I don't smoke much anymore and I don't want to rely on it too much for pain managment. When I go without marijuana I tend to be a little bit more productive/motivated(of course). However, certain Sativa strains have helped a considerable amount in the past with productivity, creativity, sexual enjoyment, and of course.. the consumption of very tasty vegan food that would otherwise not be very tasty; just tasty.

I should also note that smoking would be an extremely rare occasion if I actually had to pay for it. It flows freely over here at my friend's house and I have gotten a considerable amount in the past through the labor of trimming.

:cig


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## morning_glory (Mar 13, 2009)

I smoke pot and I like it

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10096

:b


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## EagerMinnow84 (Sep 1, 2007)

I do not smoke pot. I have anxiety and mild paranoia issues issues to begin with.


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## huh (Mar 19, 2007)

Nope, I don't smoke it. I could care less if other people do. I've been asked by two complete strangers if I was selling any though. Apparently I look like someone who sells marijuana :stu


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## Hippo (May 10, 2009)

Marijuana doesn't help me in social situations, actually kind of makes things worse, I get more paranoid that the person i'm talking to doesn't like me, and I start to read sinister subtexts into what they are saying.

I enjoy smoking marijuana by myself. it makes music sound amazing, and it helps me write poems. i don't like to smoke with others.


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

huh said:


> Nope, I don't smoke it. I could care less if other people do. I've been asked by two complete strangers if I was selling any though. Apparently I look like someone who sells marijuana :stu


Yeah, you kinda do hahahaha.


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## imt (Sep 22, 2008)

I want some Marijane very bad.


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## TeenyBeany (Sep 3, 2008)

i hear it is used medically for anxiety, however, I would never not be interested in trying it due to the smell... to me personally, the smell does not outweigh the benefits! lol


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## Clax (May 24, 2009)

Snuck out and smoked a little bowl before work today and was having an amazing time. Was entirely anxiety free talking to people, even having conversations with them not worried about what they thought of me. 

Normally i smoke alone but after the experience today i think ill have to mix it up a bit more. And most importantly i can confidently say that after this high completely wears off i will not forget what i have learned about human interaction and my own mental function, unlike the feeling of drinking alcohol.

I think the world would be a much better place if alcohol was illegal and marijuana wasn't.


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## QuackQuack (Mar 18, 2008)

I've tried it several times and it did nothing but make me cough.  I think the last two times it made me a little bit high and silly, but it's more embarassing than fun.


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## Omnium11 (Feb 11, 2009)

Marijuana contributed to my Social Anxiety as well as Depersonalization Syndrome. Evil drug for me. Really bizarre destructive thoughts.


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## Hippo (May 10, 2009)

I smoked it in high school and college. It didn't help me to be more sociable. It made being alone more fun. I wrote lots of poems and song lyrics and stuff during that time.

I went ten years without smoking it, and recently started again. 

Sometimes when i smoke and I'm around people, I can get really weirded out and paranoid over things people say. Like if they make a joke, I think "Are they making an oblique criticism of ME by way of that joke?" 

Also when i smoke around people i start seeing people's facial expressions in a different way. Like it seems I can see their hidden feelings and intent. I don't know if I am really more perceptive after smoking or if it is just my imagination.


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## Ericisme (May 8, 2009)

I wish I could smoke pot, or even drink. Not for the anxiety, just to get my mind off anything and maybe feel happier than usual.


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## sssig (Mar 2, 2009)

Pot is awesome . Seriously it makes everything funner but when your not high it sucks more.


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## Alone42Long (Apr 23, 2009)

sssig said:


> Pot is awesome . Seriously it makes everything funner but when your not high it sucks more.


Agreed. I've gone years smoking. I've gone years not. The only difference was I was more relaxed with less worries/more fun when I was smoking. That is except the worry of some ******* coming & carting me off because he really really cares and knows whats best.

I really get tired of some Johnny Joe's & Sally Sue's of yesteryear deciding what I should & can do with my body & in the privacy of my own home.

I still was safe at & maintained my job I've been at for 23 years. I still fed the cats & paid the bills. I didn't go on a crazed rampage or robbery spree. It didn't gateway me into being a crack or heroine or anything else non functioning addict of any sort & I spent all the 90's smoking 3-4 joints a day of some primo ****.

I'll be glad for America to become the land of the free.

*Although you might be refering to a thought of only so much happiness kind of chemical in the brain & that you use it up. Later without it you are not as happy as you would have been.
Perhaps that is true ... I'll still take the joint & freedom to choose though. Either way.


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## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

I start obsessively listening to classical music when I'm high. I can "feel" the music. It's wonderful. It doesn't really have to be classical, but because of the different layers and complexity of it, it feels better.


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## Alone42Long (Apr 23, 2009)

sanspants08 said:


> Weed is only relaxing for me if I'm in a situation where I won't have to do any tasks that involve focused concentration for a day or so. For me that means "only on vacation," which is like once a year, probably. Otherwise I have to drive a lot...which seems pretty dangerous when I'm high.
> 
> Before I worked a job that involved brainpower and commuting, it was great lol. ...QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## IllusionalFate (Sep 10, 2008)

bezoomny said:


> I start obsessively listening to classical music when I'm high. I can "feel" the music. It's wonderful. It doesn't really have to be classical, but because of the different layers and complexity of it, it feels better.


Yay, someone else who gets music euphoria from weed. When I listen to music high, it escalates to a completely new level. The tones and melodies just sound so much richer and atmospheric.


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## blockhead (May 23, 2009)

I started smoking pot when I was in grade 7 and smoked pretty much daily since then up until about a month ago(over 6 years). It became a deeply ingrained habit, for which I am both thankful and ungrateful for. It gave me a close group of friends, some very happy experiences and the love of my life, music. I eventually became dependent on smoking and it became the only place I could escape from the anxiety and just relax. Moreover it made me feel like the only time I could ever think straight and see clearly was when I was high. But I was never comfortable being in public when high due to paranoia, which I'm sure has had an effect on my SA. I would say marajuana defiantly helped my SA in the short-term but was hurting it in the long-term, which is why I have stopped. But I am still a strong advocate for the decriminalization and legalization of marajuana.


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## Maiketh (May 7, 2009)

I smoked pot for 16 years, almost daily but i quit 6 years ago and now that i don't hang out with anyone who either sells or knows people then i wouldn't know how to get it again.
It calmed me down and helped the anxiety and would talk to pretty much anyone.


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## bbarn (Dec 22, 2007)

it just helped me relax a bit more, i only tend to smoke in social settings. I wouldn't say it contributed to any awkwardness at all or any special social initiatives.


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## Zam (Nov 17, 2008)

snowfly said:


> I start shivering really badly and chattering my teeth after I do it.. does marijuana make you cold (dumb question)? or is this some weird form of anxiety?


Your body/brain probably having a bad time coping with the drug... human brain cells are not made the same.

Anyway very good insight provided by some of you. Glad to know more about marijuana and why some people doing this. The emotional, psychological and pyshical influences and inflictions. Never tried it myself.

Wonder if there is any book written about this topic. I mean authored by those who are not prejudiced against marijuana?


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## endtroducing (Jan 6, 2008)

Marijuana is a love-hate situation for me. When I'm alone, I just like to relax and chill. Music is amazing, either listening to or playing it. Movies are 10x better, food tastes awesome, and everything is a source of humor. 

But when I'm around other people...oh god. If I have any ounce of negative thinking or anxiety, it will completely consume me when I'm high. The only two times I've posted threads here on SAS were when I was high and felt like I blew a social situation. The combination of being high and feeling rejected and having to cope with all those thoughts is the closest I've ever gotten to feeling suicidal. 

On the other hand, it does help me realize the extreme thinking and patterns I have that I'm typically not conscious of. I hope someday I can smoke and feel comfortable around other people again.


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## kos (May 19, 2009)

i have a strong desire to smoke but finding a dealer while dealing with s.a. is challenging to say the least.


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## Lostsoul26 (Oct 24, 2008)

I smoked pot almost daily from age 14 to 18 stopped for 1 year then started again at age 20 then stopped again and haven't smoked for 7 years until recently i shared a joint with my brothers friend. I was on the verge of having a pannic attack which is highly unusual for me but somehow i managed to stay in control and once the high wore off somewhat it was very relaxing it reminded me of the good old days but i doubt i will ever smoke again i cant predict the future but i hope i don't smoke it anymore i think it has been a huge contribution to my paranoia and social anxiety.


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## IllusionalFate (Sep 10, 2008)

Lostsoul26 said:


> I smoked pot almost daily from age 14 to 18 stopped for 1 year then started again at age 20 then stopped again and haven't smoked for 7 years until recently i shared a joint with my brothers friend. I was on the verge of having a pannic attack which is highly unusual for me but somehow i managed to stay in control and once the high wore off somewhat it was very relaxing it reminded me of the good old days but i doubt i will ever smoke again i cant predict the future but i hope i don't smoke it anymore i think it has been a huge contribution to my paranoia and social anxiety.


You need a nice, heavy Indica. That will prevent those dreaded panic attacks (I get them too with Sativa dominants :|).


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## Amelia (Nov 24, 2003)

No, I don't want to take anything (medication included) that messes with my thoughts and whose effects on my brain can't be predicted.


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## aster (Jun 8, 2009)

I did in high school.

Sometimes when I smoked with people it intensified my SA plus made me extremely paranoid. Guess it's not for me.


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## aster (Jun 8, 2009)

Ericisme said:


> I wish I could smoke pot, or even drink. Not for the anxiety, just to get my mind off anything and maybe feel happier than usual.


using alcohol or drugs as an escape mechanism is not a great idea.
they will never be able to make you happier in the long run, and will probably complicate the situation even more.

just trying to give advice i wish someone gave me. hah.


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## dollparts (May 26, 2009)

I hate weed.
I was a pothead for about a year. stopped smoking.
never liked it after that.
made me paranoid and my sa worse.


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## rpitsch (Jun 20, 2009)

I smoke on a daily basis. Too me it's something so regular as waking up in the afternoon. That's right I said afternoon. Where as so many others are saying it amplifies the mood they are currently in as if there were on a heavy psychedelic such as LSD or Mushrooms I don't get that. Not to say I don't understand where you're coming from, I do, It just doesn't happen to me. It never intensified my SA it relaxed me...it did bring me to realization of "what is the point in doing certain things?". I think it has more to do with the placebo effect (if one thinks it will happen then it just may) than anything else...I guess just don't believe everything and become a free thinker. 

"Think for yourself and question authority" -Timothy Leary
Don't take that too literal...really, think about it.


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## Toad Licker (Nov 2, 2007)

I use to party for many years, take a wild guess.


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## MissMay1977 (Oct 25, 2008)

Weed makes me turn into an evil devil.


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## J_111 (Jan 23, 2009)

lol


MissMay1977 said:


> Weed makes me turn into an evil devil.


No, but i've tried it and it was not a good combination :afr.


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## Captain R (Nov 21, 2016)

High CBD, low-THC marijuana has helped me enormously!!! But you have to be very discerning and careful, not all marijuana is the same. Marijuana is made up of at least 85 different compounds in various ratios depending on the strain. THC can make you anxious and paranoid if there isn't enough CBD (canabiniol) present. High THC MJ makes _me_ VERY anxious. Today's marijuana (MJ) has been bred so that it has very high amounts of THC and very low amounts of CBD. Newly developed strains of MJ have now been bred to restore the CBD component in the MJ. These strains are used to successfully treat epilepsy, and several other conditions, including anxiety and depression.
I have used a strain of MJ called AC/DC with complete success for anxiety and depression. The CBD is in high amounts and the THC is very low. It will not make you "high", but give you a very subtle, calm feeling. I've tried many things for anxiety, nutrients and pharmaceuticals. CBD-dominant MJ is the VERY BEST MEDICINE I HAVE EVER TRIED. I use mine in tincture form. I get it from Pianta Tinta Wellness Collective in Vallejo, CA. (I have no monetary ties to this collective) It is NOT hemp oil-based CBD, but from whole plant marijuana. You have to be in a medical MJ state to get it. 
If you are suffering from anxiety, and have had a bad experience, or no experience with marijuana, please investigate CBD (cannabiniol). Search on the internet for CBD (cannibiniol) and read about it.


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## Nekomata (Feb 3, 2012)

I smoke it pretty much every day, unless I'm hanging out with my boyfriend. Usually helps me wind down after a long day. I also like smoking it before eating because the munchies is fun. xDDD


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