Cannabis use linked to anxiety diagnoses, worsened anxiety disorders

https://globalnews.ca/news/10275463/cannabis-anxiety-ontario-study/

by cpncrunch • 2 years ago

192 196 2 years ago

edgyquant• 2 years ago

Yeah this pretty obvious to anyone with an anxiety disorder who tries pot as a solution. It gets recommended by users, who think it’s a cure because their anxiety is due to THc withdrawals. But if you aren’t a user and try it it explodes your anxiety and is just the worst.

LordDragonfang2• 2 years ago

Can anecdotally confirm that I know lots of nonsmokers (or at least, those who don't regularly smoke) who find their anxiety spiked when they tried weed. Some of that is just because being in an altered state for the first time is fairly anxiety-inducing itself.

morkalork• 2 years ago

I find that even with tons of experience, it's a matter of frequency and habituation. When I was smoking every day, there wasn't any anxiety but after a long break, the next time is like the very first time. Full of anxiety.

marcellus23• 2 years ago

Not sure why this is being downvoted, you're completely correct — anxiety and paranoia are well-known effects of being high on weed (depending on the strain ofc), and anxiety and depression are well-known withdrawal symptoms. And it's much worse if you're already prone to anxiety and depression.

huytersd3• 2 years ago

I smoked a lot about a decade ago. Anecdotally, I can confirm this as well. I would feel great if I got high when life was stress free but it heightened my anxiety when I was already worried about something. It also generally made me anxious to be around other people.

Fauntleroy• 2 years ago

I wouldn't say it's this simple—there are lots of different strains out there with wildly different effects due to the cannabinoids they contain. Furthermore, every person's own endocannabinoid system is different, and reacts differently to cannabinoids. For one person, a strain might make them feel relaxed and happy—for another, the same strain might make them simply fall asleep (or extremely anxious, for instance).

There's also the very common issue of people new to cannabis using far, far too much—which generally results in a feeling of intense anxiety. Anyone who hasn't had any cannabis before should be extremely careful and use as little as possible.

Finally, regular users who have developed a tolerance for certain cannabinoids may find it difficult to relax without them. Anyone regularly using a substance like cannabis should be on the lookout for this, and change their behavior accordingly.

readthenotes1• 2 years ago

It's not obvious to my sibling. They won't confess they have anxiety even though it's hard to have a conversation with them without heading towards the apocalypse--a change concurrent with treating so e physical disorder with edibles and smokables.

netule3• 2 years ago

That has also been my experience. I’ve had anxiety since I was a child and was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. Back in 2014 or so, I was at my wits end and wanted to try medical marijuana since it was touted as a solution to my anxiety. I went to see a doctor, who doubled down on this being a good thing to try. So, I got my card, and went to a dispensary where I bought whatever they recommended for anxiety.

Two hours later, I was having my biggest panic attack in years. If I didn’t grow up having panic attacks all my life, I would probably have called 911 or got someone to drive me to the ER.

If there’s an easy fix for anxiety out there, I’d love to know about it. I’ve been fighting this for decades and it doesn’t get better as I get older. What kind of helps in the meantime is therapy, slow exposure to stressors (being careful to prevent flooding), and mindfulness meditation. None of this fixes my anxiety, but it makes it a little bit more manageable.

xanderlewis2• 2 years ago

I’ve been fighting this for decades and it doesn’t get better as I get older.

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?

thepasswordis9• 2 years ago

Propanolol is a fantastic anxiety treatment. In some ways better than xanax, at least for me.

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.

throwaway11460• 2 years ago

It's very likely that you had way too much THC. Especially if you vaped or ingested it.

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.

bowsamic3• 2 years ago

Anxiety is likely to get worse as you age, unfortunately. If you have it when you're young, the prognosis isn't good.

vitehozonage• 2 years ago

I have diagnosed GAD as well. And the first time I smoked marijuana I had an intensely anxious experience. However, i find that small doses of edibles are like magic. I am sensitive to it but the dose makes the poison.

supertofu4• 2 years ago

Apart from mindfulness practices (which do help, but slowly), I've found the following to be life-changing regarding my lifelong, debilitating social anxiety:

- 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)

j4yav5• 2 years ago

It’s interesting how on HN whenever a topic related to cannabis comes up so many people jump in to say they have anxiety, and that weed makes it worse, and that it must be the same for everyone. Does HN have a higher than normal percentage of highly anxious people? Or is it just the threads attract the kind of people who are likely to be anxious and jumpy around the topic? It’s a really interesting phenomenon. In real life, people may like it or not, may still use it or not, but the discussion seems way more casual and nowhere near as singularly anxiety fixated as when the topic comes up here.

I’m not judging, I’ve been treated for anxiety myself. Just quite curious about how different the conversations are.

thepasswordis9• 2 years ago

A thread about anxiety does seem like it would attract people with anxiety who want to talk about anxiety.

refulgentis• 2 years ago

If youre willing to accommodate a highly opinionated take from experience:

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.

paulmd• 2 years ago

there's also the possibility there is some correlation between autism spectrum and weed anxiety, and that HN naturally attracts nerds who tend to be (mildly) on the spectrum.

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

theshackleford2• 2 years ago

In real life, people may like it or not, may still use it or not, but the discussion seems way more casual and nowhere near as singularly anxiety fixated as when the topic comes up here.

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.

mikhmha2• 2 years ago

I began to notice this phenomenon on internet discussions/forums tied to mental health, physical health, and drugs (illiegal and legal). The discussions themselves attract anxious people who are using the internet to validate and reassure themselves. And I know I used to be the same before I found my own effective treatment for anxiety.

calfuris• 2 years ago

I wouldn't read too much into this story, as any people who do benefit from THC probably wouldn't be visiting an emergency department for cannabis-related reasons. I'll also say, as someone with an anxiety disorder, that it certainly didn't make it worse. For me, it worked pretty much like Xanax: did wonders for my anxiety, but I couldn't manage to get anything done, so I had to switch back to my usual not-completely-effective meds.

maxbond6• 2 years ago

It's definitely more than just conflating "treating" THC withdrawal with treating anxiety, at least for me personally. I'll quit for months, have an anxiety attack, and I'm able to interrupt it by using cannabis. It doesn't per say treat my anxiety but can be like a "rescue inhaler" to disrupt repetitive anxious thoughts and snap me out of an anxiety attack. Once they're disrupted, I have a fighting chance to confront my anxiety with other strategies (which are the real long term solutions).

But it does make perfect sense to me that the effects of cannabis on someone who has been a longtime user are quite different and that it isn't great generic advice to tell people to try cannabis for their anxiety. I definitely think this current vogue of trying to apply cannabis to every problem is misguided and an artefact of the commercial environment around cannabis being increasingly legal, not our medical understanding of it.

DANmode12• 2 years ago

I'm comfortable recommending broad-spectrum CBD with little or no THC as an anxiety aid.

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

Nor should it!

honkycat4• 2 years ago

who think it’s a cure because their anxiety is due to THc withdrawals.

You don't have any proof that this is true or not, yet you state it as fact. Lazy thinker.

barbazoo• 2 years ago

The study looked at health data of 12 million people between January 2008 and March 2019 and found that 27.5 per cent of people who visited an emergency room for cannabis use developed an anxiety disorder for the first time within three years.

Others are way better at judging a study's methodology but this immediately caught my eye. Shouldn't we also look at cannabis users who didn't visit an ER? And what else was in those people's blood at the time? THC vs CBD?

Obviously no link to the actual study so it's hard to judge really.

LordDragonfang2• 2 years ago

Also, what's the base rate of developing an anxiety disorder?

NIH says:

An estimated 19.1% of U.S. adults had any anxiety disorder in the past year.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disor...

That's pretty high already, and I imagine the base rates for anxiety developing among "people who have to be hospitalized for any reason" are much higher than the general pop.

buffington3• 2 years ago

Am I right in seeing that the data referenced in that article was collected between 2001-2004? If so, I wonder how that compares to today. I suspect we'd see much higher numbers for data collected 2019-2023, given the pandemic and associated garbage fires.

j4yav5• 2 years ago

What does it mean to visit an ER for cannnabis? Wouldn’t that typically be an anxiety attack in the first place?

throwanem3• 2 years ago

If you've never had a panic attack before, the first one is easy to mistake for something a lot more dangerous.

maxbond6• 2 years ago

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome? Asthma attack? Being way too high?

Just some guesses.

steveklabnik• 2 years ago

Some consequences of illegal substances are things like "lack of standard dosage" and "lack of consumer education."

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.

TrackerFF2• 2 years ago

The only I've heard about:

- psychosis

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

tehwebguy• 2 years ago

people who visited an emergency room for cannabis use

huytersd3• 2 years ago

Most people wouldn’t visit an ER for cannabis unless they already had some anxiety disorder that lead to insane amounts of anxiety.

dekhn• 2 years ago

it's not uncommon for naive (first-time) consumers, especially of edibles, to have intense reactions that lead to ER visits; I suspect that many of those are just folks who have no idea what is going on and interpret the feeling as being dangerous. IIRC the symptoms often include racing heart, intense paranoia, and a general feeling of lack of control.

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

spcebar• 2 years ago

So the study is actually called "Development of an anxiety disorder following an emergency department visit due to cannabis use" and you can check it out here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5...

The study isn't establishing a direct link between cannabis and anxiety, it's looking very specifically at anxiety diagnoses following an ER visit. The findings are interpreted in the study as the following: "ED visits for cannabis use were associated with an increased risk of having an incident healthcare visit for an anxiety disorder, particularly in young males."

What exactly that means on the broader context of cannabis use isn't the focus of the study, but it invites further research to explore the implications of their findings.

throwaway09223• 2 years ago

Going to an ER after taking cannabis seems like something only someone with an existing anxiety disorder might do.

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

hinkley2• 2 years ago

I know a family with some sort of genetic disposition to anxiety disorders. Every generation up until recent times had at least one functioning alcoholic in it. The second to last was the beloved family matriarch, not the black sheep. Trying to drown out the maelstrom.

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.

robocat• 2 years ago

Finding causality is hard and this study has so many hidden confounders that even implying causality from weed to anxiety disorder is bullshit.

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.

TylerE3• 2 years ago

The problem I have with studies like this is that the implied scoping really distorts any conclusions that could be drawn. People who don't go to the doctor - by definition - don't get diagnosed with anything.

devwastaken2• 2 years ago

yes, its bunk science as usual. soft sciences cannoy isolate the variables necessary to make evidence supported conclusions. They are only opinions.

What this study says to me is that emergency rooms cause the anxiety disorders. If you visit the ER and mention you have consumed any illegal substance, that information is entered into your medical record and can be used against you by the government later. ER's also try to force people into "treatment" and social programs that they cannot participate in if they use cannabis.

buffington3• 2 years ago

I'd be interested in reading about some of what you describe in more detail. Can you provide any links to things?

bettercaust• 2 years ago

This study isn't "bunk science", nor is medicine a "soft science". It's just silly to apply your own government paranoia to the 12 million people in the study cohort without rational reason to do so.

zzzeek• 2 years ago

can confirm here, pot just causes lots of paranoia a few hours after smoking, ill stick with lexapro thanks

ModernMech• 2 years ago

lexapro made me suicidal. YMMV

op00to3• 2 years ago

I'm sorry to hear that, I'm glad you're still 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.

freeplay• 2 years ago

I smoked all throughout my teens and twenties. Once I hit my 30s, smoking would give me insane anxiety and, occasionally, full blown panic attacks. Obviously, this is very anecdotal and may have to do with other factors in my life (increased responsibilities to worry about as you get older, kids, etc.).

It got to the point where I asked myself why I was even doing it if it was no longer fun or relaxing in any way.

People who love cannabis think it's the cure for everything. While I don't doubt its medicinal uses, it's definitely not for everyone.

accrual2• 2 years ago

I agree it has something to do with responsibilities and/or "getting caught". As a young adult I had a lot less going on and cannabis was a wonderful tool for creativity and getting things done. Older, I find myself worrying about more things and cannabis can bring in introspective thought loops which manifest as anxiety. Fortunately I'm better at separating that out now and it doesn't affect me as much - but I know if I was chilling in a hammock in a wooded area somewhere without deadlines to meet, I'd be a lot less anxious.

Also, quitting caffeine cut my anxiety in half.

plasma_beam• 2 years ago

Also agree it's 100% the responsibilities/feeling guilty syndrome. But I'm basing this on my personal experience only.

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.

perihelions• 2 years ago

- "introspective thought loops"

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

swed420• 2 years ago

It seems common for people to be unaware of important things like THC:CBD ratios, and this ignorance often stems from unfortunate market based incentives to prioritize high THC ratios above all else. Modern growing techniques drive this even further with high potency plants.

If you (anyone) aren't fortunate enough to have a wide selection of lab tested ratios in your locale, consider mixing whatever THC is available along with product that is CBD "hemp," which, at least in the US is legal in most places and legal to ship online from out of state. Many users intentionally mix like this because the latter is often cheaper from the market saturation.

This isn't guaranteed to be the reason behind your issues, but seems to be for many people who stumble into this info.

DANmode12• 2 years ago

Great comment.

~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.

rascul• 2 years ago

People who love cannabis think it's the cure for everything.

I don't and nobody I know who uses cannabis thinks that either. False generalizations don't help anybody.

DANmode12• 2 years ago

This perspective stems from:

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

- thinking all cannabis consumers light it on fire.

- more

Geste2• 2 years ago

Might get downvoted but I agree; truly weed has changed, even just CBD. Now it is bad vibes only. Oh well, alcohol is still there I guess.

DANmode12• 2 years ago

Not all CBD is created equal.

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.

Gud• 2 years ago

Grow your own, the quality is 10 times better than you can buy.

honkycat4• 2 years ago

This happened to me for a while, so I stopped.

Then I started up again, and I VERY CAREFULLY measure my dosage. 2.5mg THC and 20mg CBD takes the edge off nicely, is zero calorie, and works up my appetite even when I'm sick of eating ( I do a ton of weight lifting and the protein intake can be annoying ).

I've abandoned flower and use a little dropper of low octaine 4-1 CBD to THC tincture.

sufficer• 2 years ago

What do you dropper mix in? Other shakes?

cchance2• 2 years ago

Could it also have been the type of weed you were using changed between your teems and 30s... transitioning from higher CBD contents to low or no CBD contents could easily explain part of that transition.

cypherg2• 2 years ago

I've smoked every day for 15 years and I'm still not addicted

flgstnd• 2 years ago

how can you know? you'd need to stop to experience the withdrawal symptoms of the psychological dependence..

jjgreen• 2 years ago

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/992/402/c35...

supertofu4• 2 years ago

Is this meant to be an ironic statement?

Sounds like saying "I've drank every day for 15 years but I'm not an alcoholic."

cypherg2• 2 years ago

It's a psychoactive substances, none of this is the least bit surprising. It helps some people with anxiety and it worsens it for others.

xeckr• 2 years ago

Cannabis is not for everyone.

accrual2• 2 years ago

Agree. IMO it takes a certain personality to enjoy it and make the best of it. Others will find it an awful experience and never touch it again. Nothing wrong in either case.

oldandboring• 2 years ago

I've been on and off this train. I smoked in high school, not at all in college, again in my twenties, not at all in my thirties, started again recently. I definitely have anxiety but I would not say the pot has triggered panic attacks or otherwise brought on or amplified the anxiety. That said, while the pot has a nice numbing effect for a couple hours, it certainly has not made my anxiety better and I definitely sleep much better when I haven't consumed any THC. Same goes for alcohol.

bagful• 2 years ago

What kind of cannabis are people trying to treat their anxiety with? If it's high-THC dispensary strains and oil cartridges, no wonder; such products have hardly any medicinal value.

vundercind• 2 years ago

Dose level, too. I find being very-high terribly anxiety-inducing. I don’t like it at all.

But ~5-8mg of gummy is amazing as a sleep aid (which is largely, for me, about shutting down anxiety hard) and ~3mg (as needed, and rarely, for me) to take the edge off daytime anxiety. Lower doses are quite effective if it’s “full spectrum” and not just isolated THC. The higher (ha, ha) end of that range does “get me high” but in a pretty mild way, like having a really solid alcohol buzz but not being an unfortunate level of inebriated.

Meanwhile, I’ve given myself a very unpleasant half-hour with a single too-large puff on a strong vape pen.

When I was first getting used to it, 5mg sent me straight to bed, do not pass go, hope you didn’t have any other plans, and was a little too much.

I wonder how much of this is from people using it to get very high on purpose, or from novice medicinal users dosing too high.

cornhole• 2 years ago

ymmv but this was the case for me

seanthemon3• 2 years ago

Outside of this study, if you're a constant smoker and you suffer from morning nausea, please see cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome

I suffered from intense bouts of nausea often lasting days (and my last time a whole week), I learned of CHS and stopped my use immediately, finally stopped the pain

The pain and nausea was so bad, it was honestly the worst i've ever felt

facialwipe• 2 years ago

Just to clarify, how did you typically consume cannabis?

supertofu4• 2 years ago

I speculate concentrates.

seanthemon3• 2 years ago

Daily dry herb vaping and occasional smoking (3 times a week), but very high quality

zoklet-enjoyer• 2 years ago

I get a strain at the dispensary that's 1:1 THC:CBD. It's a lot better for me than the high THC stuff; I can't handle those.

thepasswordis9• 2 years ago

Cannabis use seemed to "unlock" a type of anxiety that I had never experienced before, and after using it, I could never "forget" this feeling. Absolute hell that now recurs.

It seems absolutely insane to me that our pop culture pushes this stuff as at worse benign, but usually beneficial.

hooo• 2 years ago

Can you elaborate on what type of anxiety it unlocked?

ushakov• 2 years ago

They're probably talking about intense paranoia. I have a friend, who told me about the one time they were high and couldn't pee, because of the fear that their organs would flush down the toilet...

thepasswordis9• 2 years ago

Sure, what's frustrating is that it isn't tied to any fear (if that makes sense). It's not the traditional "I'm gonna get caught!" thing you see in movies.

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.

saiya-jin2• 2 years ago

Because it is?

The problem is, you and tons of folk like you didn't read the fine print, because... who knows, ignorance? Fok ya all attitude of young? Even though all info is few clicks away at most.

It has been said 10 thousand times here and everywhere else, including quite a few posts by me - just don't do any mind altering drugs if you are not balanced +-happy person. There is no clear definition or dividing line, each of us is unique and should know how stable/unstable they are, if they have unresolved long term issues and so on. If folks can't be even honest in such things with themselves, well, life will be a tough walk in many aspects thats for sure.

For all those folks, if you do such things, you take tremendous risk, you may end up off better despite issues, but that's your Russian roulette with your own mind, don't complain that you risked massively and lost a huge gamble. These cases are not reference, unless say 50% of US population is by default anxious.

unethical_ban2• 2 years ago

You brought age into a discussion when it wasn't warranted, and you assume people with mental health issues all know it.

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.

yazaddaruvala• 2 years ago

You're not alone. After years of no issues and enjoying the intoxication, I had a really bad trip that caused an "anxiety attack" specifically existential anxiety. While intoxicated I would rarely but sometimes feel paranoid, however, this was my first ever time experiencing anxiety at this scale, and it persisted while I was sober.

It was (and sometimes is) really bad!!

It took 4+ months of therapy to get back to "manageable", and over 2 years later I felt back to normal and in control. I've now stopped any intoxicants (alcohol included) almost entirely. I sometimes will participate with a good group of friends, but I'm far more cautious of any intoxicant.

coffeebeqn2• 2 years ago

This can be caused by many other things too - not saying cannabis’s didn’t do it in yours. I always had low background level anxiety through my life but a certain life event caused me to suddenly have panic attacks. I’ve been on meds ever since

honkycat4• 2 years ago

I totally get it, the same thing happens to me. I get horrible anxiety when I overdo it. You are likely over-doing it. Even a puff of the "new" stuff is too much for me.

I'll also point out that:

1. TONS of people have undiagnosed anxiety disorders, and blaming it on smoking a plant years go is neither scientific or productive.

2. If you are consistently experiencing anxiety, there are a TON of resources you can tap into. Even outside of medication, there is CBT and mindfulness that can keep you in the moment and prevent you from spinning out.

cchance2• 2 years ago

THIS #1!

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.

buffington3• 2 years ago

I'm truly sorry this happened to you.

I'll admit that I'm not as "plugged in" to what pop culture is pushing these days, so can't speak to that, but my own experience with cannabis puts it in a different light for me (which, given your experience, I bet you're not that eager to hear, but maybe others might be).

For me, cannabis fits between opioids and over the counter pain killers - neither of which I can take for pain that I get from nerve damage from a pretty severe injury from a few years ago. Cannabis is very effective at taking the edge off that pain so I can sleep. It doesn't make it go away, it just makes it less intense. Cannabis is by no means benign - anything that can do what it does to my pain isn't "safe". I treat it with the same respect and responsibility I would with other medications. It's not perfect, and has its own risks, but in my case, it's beneficial.

Again, I really am sorry for you. Not so much because you can't enjoy cannabis, but because of what you have to deal with now.

d--b• 2 years ago

Is this the typical case of correlation vs causation?

From personal experience, using cannabis when you’re not anxious is a pretty un pleasant experience. It causes a slight euphoria followed by severe tiredness, and nausea.

Everyone I know who used cannabis past their thirties does it out of self medication for anxiety/sleep problems.

theshackleford2• 2 years ago

From personal experience, using cannabis when you’re not anxious is a pretty un pleasant experience. It causes a slight euphoria followed by severe tiredness, and nausea.

This does not match my experience, which of course will vary. I don’t get any nausea for a start, and am often ingesting to assist with nausea.

Most people in their 30’s I know avoid it as it triggers their already existing anxiety. I took it up in my 30s in combination with other drugs following a spinal cord injury and it’s done nothing to assist with anxiety sadly, and has triggered some bouts, though is quite good for helping me eat.

I imagine it’s tripped my anxiety as I’ve been quite anxious since the injury and surgeries to begin with. I managed to reduce those instances by mixing with a CBD heavy strain (my THC strains are all 25% plus which is recommended for my circumstances).

Madmallard• 2 years ago

Anxiety is an evolutionary mechanism to alert the individual that something is wrong and must be dealt with. That should tell you most of you need to know about whether the it is good for you or not. If you have intolerable pain or no appetite and it solves those issues, then maybe that is worth it. In most cases and for most people, it's likely not worth it.

Cannabis lowers blood pressure and can cause tachycardia and has a statistically significant association with the development of heart failure in some users. In my own personal life, I had an episode of moderate autonomic dysfunction after taking it several times with seemingly no issue. While in the hospital the attending ER doctor told me I should probably stay away from it. That was the last time I had it. He was lighthearted and put a joke diagnosis of toxic encephalopathy on the discharge notes.

rangerelf• 2 years ago

Weed makes you paranoid. Who'da thunk.

micromacrofoot• 2 years ago

I mean, yeah... if you have a certain type of anxiety (maybe a little paranoia for example) then cannabis will very often exaggerate that feeling. You can very well get stuck on it. I've told new cannabis users this for quite some time.

Many people who end up in the hospital because of cannabis convince themselves they're dying, but really they're having what's closer to a bad trip. Edibles are especially prone to this because people often are impatient and end up eating too much because they don't think it's working.

Many drugs (including alcohol!) are multipliers. People need to be especially careful if they have preexisting mental illnesses, especially if they've ever experienced psychosis.

A lot of people blame poor behavior on whatever they took, but that's always a little bit of a personality tell because often they're just talking about lowered inhibitions. If that makes you a total asshole, then maybe consider why... because drugs aren't giving you new personality traits.

oblib4• 2 years ago

I'll chime in because I've been using cannabis for over 50 years. First off, I've never suffered with anxiety. if anything, THC has been a great help in relieving that for me.

I also say that over those years there have been long spells of time when I couldn't get any weed, and again, never had issues with that either. No "withdrawal" issues or anxiety issues at all.

The only weed induced anxiety I've ever experienced was caused by knowing I could get arrested for possession, but that's never happened, and where I live now it's legal, so I don't have to worry about that anymore.

Personally, I think that the social stigma associated with "refer madness" may be related to weed induce anxiety.

But there are studies that indicate THC does affect people differently and that genetics may have something to do with that. For example, those who suffer with psychoses may have issues with weed triggering psychotic episodes, but I recently read that CBD may reduce those events.

I think it would be interesting to hear from those dealing with anxiety if CBD relieves that.

bottlepalm• 2 years ago

I'll throw my own anecdotal evidence in here. I found weed to be fun when I was younger, but after few years I started getting really paranoid when I smoked, like a switch was flipped in my brain. Probably after some edible overdoses. So now I mostly avoid it, or use alcohol to dull the paranoia.

I also have a lot of friends with the the same story where it was fun at first, but later just anxiety, paranoia and over thinking things. Looks like in this thread there a lot of similar stories as well.

Workaccount2• 2 years ago

I'm in this camp and have met many others too. I was a typical heavy user for a few years before over the course of a week I went from chill-out high to full-blown paranoia and insomnia. Tried weed periodically after that and always got the same intense paranoia/anxiety.

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.

AlwaysRock3• 2 years ago

I've got nothing but anecdotal evidence but I had the same thing happen to me as have at least a half dozen other people that I know.

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.

nodesocket• 2 years ago

Also can confirm daily use for extended period of time eventually caused me severe anxiety and depression. Perhaps the difference is we are using vape pens (at least I was) which are orders of magnitude stronger than plant. My tolerance increased and increased until I was smoking a 500mg pod almost weekly. I recently stopped cold turkey, and man it was tough. Restless nights, woke up drenched in sweat for about the first five days, shaking of hands, and lips. Whoever said that Cannabis is not physically addictive? Seems like I had physical withdraw symptoms.

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.

oblib4• 2 years ago

When I was in my teens kids would have contests to see who could take the most and biggest "hits" from bongs 3ft long.

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.

subpixel• 2 years ago

I've always been of the opinion that there some people for whom marijuana provides a form pleasure, and then there is everyone else.

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.

officehero• 2 years ago

The only weed induced anxiety I've ever experienced was caused by knowing I could get arrested for possession

As a Swede I can confirm. It really feels like an 1984 situation when you sneak outside around the house blocks, knowing the angles that reduce the risk of possible "witnesses", understanding wind directions and speeds. Mostly just weed-induced paranoia, but having friends got caught really puts one on edge.

TrackerFF2• 2 years ago

Here in Norway, cannabis use is pretty much equated with being a junkie. It gets hammered down from high-school, and police will treat users like career criminals. It is completely out of proportion.

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.

mouse_• 2 years ago

"people looking for solutions linked to problems" very informative

rossdavidh• 2 years ago

While I don't doubt that there could be a link, it seems ridiculous that they don't (at least as far as we can tell from this article) do anything to tell if this is causation one-way or the other. Not hard to imagine that people who are starting to suffer from chronic anxiety may try self-medication before they try the emergency room.

Again, not saying there's no causation the way they imply, but basic experimental principles should tell you to try to control for this somehow, for example by looking at overall anxiety rates before and after it becomes commonly available in a given community, or comparing similar sized communities in different areas with different availability.

paulpauper• 2 years ago

Cannabis is not a dissociative drug. I think pop culture has instilled a false belief it has a calming or chill effect, but it's the opposite.

hirvi745• 2 years ago

I guess I am somewhat different than many of the commenters in this thread.

Cannabis has caused anxiety in me before, but I had anxiety problems prior fwiw. In a weird way, I kind of used the anxiety from Cannabis as "training."

What I mean, is that when I would get anxious from cannabis, I would try and talk myself down, remind myself that nothing bad was going to happen, and then kind of intentionally try to refrain my thoughts in order to force myself to enjoy the experience.

I learned that the more I did this, the better I was at being able to do this in other situations where I would be inappropriately anxious about something (even without Cannabis).

It's not perfect, but has seemed to work better than anything else I have tried. So, my point is that I learned the only way I can apparently beat anxiety is to charge it head on.

janeerie• 2 years ago

You basically just did exposure therapy (the most effective therapy for anxiety) with cannabis as your trigger.

mikhmha2• 2 years ago

Wow, same thing for me as well. It was very effective because it was like OK I know for sure I'm in a state of anxiousness right now because I just consumed something mind-altering - there is no ambiguity to it. So then you roll with it and gradually start to become bolder in your actions. Because its like "well I thought I was gonna die last time but I didn't so it really was all in my head. Why do I waste so much brain CPU on things that are meaningless?".

It didn't 100% solve my anxiety but it put me on the path to finally seek out a legitimate and effective solution because I had enough reference to compare to.

cthalupa• 2 years ago

Not exactly the same situation, but... a little similar, I guess? Cannabis has never given me generalized anxiety - sometimes it does, however, force me to pay attention to some real truths that I tend to ignore while sober. e.g., I gained 60lb from the start of quarantine to now, became way less physically active, etc. If I get particularly high, it forces me to confront this, and that it's a destructive lifestyle I need to change instead of continuing to put it off.

And, well, I think that anxiety is deserved? It's objectively true and a literal life and death matter. For me it's less I have anxiety in general because I am very good at not being honest with myself while not high, but that the anxiety I sometimes get really is constructive, because otherwise I ignore it. A recent shift in my eating habits for the better was directly brought on by a particularly bad bout of anxiety around all of this while very high, and I would consider that to be a good thing.

Most of the time when I get stoned I don't deal with any sort of anxiety, though.

throw34502• 2 years ago

IMO what really matters is the THC concentration. I've suffered from generalized anxiety since early childhood, and the one time I tried typical, high-THC content recreational cannabis things didn't go well. I got a full-blown panic attack, and maybe even psychotic symptoms for a while, afterwards I wasn't sure whether I imagined some things or not. Later when I tried a CBD product I didn't have any problems, just a slight calming effect comparable to having a couple of beers.

Since then I've also found out that I probably have increased genetic likelihood of developing schizophrenia. I'll never touch anything with significant THC concentration again, just way too risky.

kaonashi• 2 years ago

Does the study differentiate between strains used?

DiscourseFan• 2 years ago

You know, I've only ever had one bad experience with cannabis, and it was only bad for like 30 minutes or so (though it felt much, much longer). I made edibles, and I'd never made them before but I followed online instructions very precisely and ended up, by accident, creating extra-potent brownies.

Now, I knew before taking them how potent they were, I was licked the mixing spoon the night before, just a tiny bit here and there, and even that little bit was enough to make me relatively high. But when my friends saw how tiny the doses were, they thought I was being crazy and we all ended up getting each other to take waaaay to many, especially me, the host, which was an especially bad idea because within an hour I'd gone into my room, gotten into bed, and put on some youtube video to calm me down. Well, not very long after getting into bed I had this feeling of immense warmth and comfort, and I got super blissed out and my friends would come in to check up on me and I just gave them a thumbs up with a massive grin on my face. At some point one of my friends joined me in my room, and then sometime later I rejoined the party, which was getting along fine without me, and then we dispersed after we started to sober up.

So, all in all, it was a good experience. But I got super fucking high and I was literally starting to lose touch with reality before I sequestered myself, and my heart was beating out of my chest so hard I thought I was actually going to have a heart attack and die. I think it was easier for me to handle since I've had experience with fairly high doses of psychedelics in the past. I suppose alls well that ends well.

drojas• 2 years ago

The older you get the more responsibilities and also regrets you have. With more responsibilities and the feeling of not being able to manage them you feel as soon as the THC goes away, it is hard not to get anxious as you age, and it also adds more regrets which directly add to the anxiety and feeling of self-defeat and lack self-control. At least that was in my experience and the reason why I dropped it completely soon after turning 30.

temporallobe• 2 years ago

Just my personal anecdote: I’ve had moderate anxiety since I was a kid. When I was around 16, I tried weed for the first time and it made my anxiety far worse (in fact I had a pretty bad panic attack). Being a stupid teen susceptible to peer pressure, I tried it a few more times in my late teens and early twenties and had an extremely bad experience each time. Pretty much the same thing happened to my son, but worse. He actually used it to try to reduce his anxiety, and it did work at first, but eventually it made him worse and he had to go on anxiolytics.

SomeAnxiety• 2 years ago

I'm kind of opposite of some of these postings. I got diagnosed with anxiety a bit over 3 years ago. I crashed and burned, hard.

I've been going through various prescription changes, and I'm usually ok, but I've had some really bad days over the past few months. So, after doing a lot of reading, trying to sift out the anecdata, I started an experiment where I added to my pill set, a 10 mg gummies of CBD each morning for the past month or so, and it's been a very pleasant experience.

I don't get stoned. I don't dread work. I'm generally productive with my code, and I'm not feeling overwhelmed.

It's not perfect, and I still have a bad day here and there, such as this weekend, but it's manageable now. I've actually been feeling somewhat normal, and it's good.

anonzzzies2• 2 years ago

I had my first experience with cannabis when I was a teenager (14 or so) (it was the Netherlands; everyone I knew smoked it); it was a piece of spacecake. After the first laughs it turned into anxiety and paranoia fast. It was horrible. I did it 2 times more with the same effect. Never again. I always say that if you want to torture me to get info (not that I have any but say I was a senator or whatever), just give me spacecake and put on some flashing lights and start shouting at me; I’ll give you whatever you want to make it stop and have Xanax.

robador• 2 years ago

Had a similar experience, but I was older and used more often. After that experience I was never able to use cannabis again. I'm all for legalization, but THC is not a harmless substance.

InCityDreams• 2 years ago

Perhaps your problem is the Xannies?

anonzzzies2• 2 years ago

I never took any; I only know the term from people with anxiety. I don't have anxiety unless I eat spacecake :)

weare138• 2 years ago

Cannabis is like anything. It's not for everyone. Some people experience anxiety from drinking coffee. Everyone's physiology is different.

P_I_Staker• 2 years ago

This is a horrible title, that should mention the ER visit.

moi2388• 2 years ago

Wow, maybe people who experience high anxiety tend to self medicate?

Cannabis use linked to anxiety diagnoses, worsened anxiety disorders

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