Good for Anxiety & Depression? Or causes it?

[mckenna]

As one who has suffered from depression off and on for years... :( which is no fun, I have found mj to help, as well as with anxiety as it is a relaxant (in my opinion).

But many people say that no, it only causes the anxiety & depression... maybe not what you feel at that moment but that's the long term effects.

What do ya' think? All I know is I've been taking meds off and on for years and they just don't do the trick sometimes!!!!

[Dingo]

hey there mckenna I to have suffered from depression.. and yes its not a fun thing, and can be quite hard to get through, I'm glad cannabis works for you as a antidepressant, and helps with anxiety. - for me its terrible for both anxiety and depression, I mean sure when your high its all good! but when ya not your back in reality. I think if your depressed the best thing you can do is not take prescribed medicine, see a phycologist, ingage in lots physical exericise, socialise and take homeopathic medicine. I hope was a decent post and made sense cause i'm really very stoned :P

[socks]

Im so sorry to hear about you suffering from depression. I hope my experience helps you to make a decision :)

I've been depressed for a long time and have tried many different medications my doctor has prescribed. Up until a few yrs ago my happy clappy face couldnt cover up the way i really felt anymore and so since thn i've hit rock bottom.
I now suffer from agoraphobia, Social Anxiety Disorder, OCD, GAD...the list goes on. Its been since this time that i decided to start helping myself because the medications were failing to work.

Since then i've become a regular smoker of pot and as with my moods, the way i feel towards my smoking and cannabis changes from day to day, but i have never said that it has worsened any of my conditions. It has helped by calming me down and giving me a chance to breath.

Although at one stage i found i became very dependent on t drug for eating, sleeping and even just getting out of bed, through other self help methods i've been able to bring a better balance of it into my life. Sometimes i feel as tho theres so much going on in my mind that i can never hold a thought for longer than a second, once i've had a smoke i find it easier to think, and use some of this time to work on my inner self.

I've heard people say that cannabis only pushes things to the back of ur mind, at one point this was true to me but i think the key to it...as with everything in life, is to get the balance right and do whatever is right for yourself.

I've started reading this book; Beat Depression and Reclaim Your Life, By Alexandra Massey
It reminds me how to work on the inside and although i havent read much i've found it to be a great help.

Take Care xxx

[maryjanemama]

Hi, guys, my name is MaryJane and I, too, am nutty..sorry, no I suffer from a severe depression disorder and a mood disorder. The slightest thing can send me into panic mode but cannabis, in moderation, helps. The problem is when I start smoking too much in one day. If I smoke a little bit, once or twice a day, I'm fine. But, most of the time, I get into the habit of smoking every 2 hours or so. I do find that I feel worse if I smoke too much and then, if I run out, I find life almost impossible!


I have to smoke in moderation to feel better because I've tried all sorts of meds and nothing works. Sometimes I take time off from smoking, just to clear my mind. I've only smoked 4 times in the past 2 weeks and things have been cool. Last night, though, I decided to buy more and I'll pick some up later. Now, I just have to remember not to suck it all down and smoke just a bit!:)

[mckenna]

Hi Dingo,

Thanks for posting. :-) You say that you think that smoking is not good for depression & yet you still smoke? Do you mean that when you are depressed it will make things worse, but once you're ok then it's ok? (does that make sense? lol)

Socks,

I know exactly what you mean in that it calms you down and gives you a chance to breathe!! I find it very difficult to relax on a day-to-day basis & my mind seems like an endless merry-go-round at times! Smoking always seemed to help that... gives me a chance to slowwwww down.

On the other hand I can see where I got "too" attached to it.... and it was the first thing I wanted to do when I walked in the door after work & I think I would have done it 24/7 could I have!!!!

And nutty MaryJane... lol... welcome to the elite club :-P
You hit the nail on the head in that I believe it's all ok in moderation & does help to some extent!!!!

The reason I started thinking about this recently is this.......

I was taking 2 types of meds for the past year or so. When I went for my appt this year my insurance had changed & they don't cover one of them. So we upped the one and quit the second.....

I haven't smoked this year..... well except for once!!!! (no wonder I'm going nuts... lol) when I was visiting a friend. But now that it's been a good 6 weeks or so w/out the other med... I find myself wanting to smoke all the time!!! It just strikes me as weird in that I haven't been smoking nor craving it until recently.

My psychologist says it's very common for her to see people quit smoking once they find a medication that works for them..... or they go to counselling for a while & get things straightened out because then there's no longer that "need". So she definitely says that the adult smokers she sees are smoking because they are STRESSED and it helps....... for the most part. ;-)

[Dingo]

I no longer suffer from depression. I think if your truelly depressed its not good to depend on cannabis for relief.

[Dingo]

forgot to mention.. sometimes depression can be confused with stress. I think mkenna you are more stressed then depressed, having to slow down sounds more like stress then depression. - maybe a combination of the two?

[mckenna]

hey Dingo,
Yep! W/the help of meds I don't suffer from depression like I used to.
Depression & anxiety often go together...... or one will lead to the other, vice versa.
I just find it difficult to unwind sometimes....
gotta gooooo gotta gooooo gotta goooooo! That's how I feel all the time. Which is why I love mj so much!!! But I thought I'd lay off for a while to get my shit together. :-)

[rnf232s]

i tend to think that smoking helps calm me out. i have bi-polar and real bad anxiety and smoking tends to calm me out. it helps a lot with the bi-polar cause it keeps me calm and keeps me from cycling from depression to mania so often or as badly cause i am a rapid cycler. with the anxiety it just calms you down enough to not worry anymore. i am on meds which work overall but smoking helps in the times when it starts to get real bad or something and you just need some extra help.

[johnwmc02]

I get depressed all the time and i get way pissed off too. i need to smoke to calm down and make myself feel good again

[gothic420juggalette]

I tend to think that it helps me out.... knowing that I have depression and a really shitty life.... smoking helps me calm down.... no matter what drug it is.... it helps me to forget about all the crappy things going on in my life and concentrate about the more important things in life..... like my singing career and etc...... it just relaxes me and puts me back in my place... I dunno what I'd do without it.......

[JaredWZ]

Hello, I just recently quit smoking marjiuana for 3 weeks now, i will defenitly smoke again (prolly within the week) but right now i just have things to do. I find that I always smoke when I have a slower lifestyle. When i find myself getting bored in the afternoon or whatever the case. I have had a conversation with a friend of mine and we have tried to come up with where we seem to think marjiuana fits in for us. Cannabis is niether a depressent nor antidepressent(to us, others it is of course different), It is simply a calm feeling where things go away for a while and you can concentrate on one thing while the THC works magic in your brain so that all your thoughts are not jumping out of your skull as the case usually is in reality. It enables and enhances your experience when reading a book, riding your bike, enjoyoing nature, playing video games for some and the list goes on. No more worries for that period of time.
This is where I am at with Cannabis right now and I find it to be a very good balance with the rest of my life.
I have also been to the point where pot has made me very dependent on it. I needed it to sleep, without it i simply could not sleep. This is not a good thing(for me) because this is where the "potheads" mentallity of society comes from. When I got dependent on it, it started to control my life. If you cannot face reality without being stoned then you better be a millionaire. For 98% of us we are not millionaires and have to work for our livings. When marijuana starts to interfere with things that NEED to be done then I feel you should think about where your life is headed.
If you are done work and you are relaxing, for sure go ahead and smoke a joint, make yourself feel good, you deserve it. But if you are going to work and are going to smoke a joint to relax when you get there, rethink it.
This is not trying to judge anyone or anything like that. I am just trying to explain where I am at with pot and where i have been If you smoke it every hour of the day and you are enjoying it then I'm all for you. As long as you are not stressed and tired. Enjoy Life to the Fullest, and enjoy pot to the fullest.

[JaredWZ]

p.s. those of you with depression I am sincerly sorry and wish that you are once again happy, I cannot speak from your point of view and I am grateful I can say that but if pot makes you feel happy or able to go on then Smoke dem drugs.

[nancyrenee]

Well here is my story. I was diagnosed with chronic depression last summer. For a year before my diagnosis I was a wreck. Mood swings. Always negative. I was also diagnosed with a bladder disease that was painful right after my depression diagnosis. But for a year I lived with chronic bladder pain and the doctors were telling me I was fine. That pain contributed to my depression. I at that time was not smoking weed. I had stopped for a little bit due to a bunch of dealers getting busted and I didn't know anyone to be a regular supplier. Anyway I was so depressed I told my bf that if someone didn't help me and make me feel better I wanted to just die. Because I couldn't go on living that way. Feeling the way I did. I considered suicide options. I was looking for the least painfull way to kill myself. I wanted ot be sure my face was in tact so my family could have an open casket. I mean I was BAD. I started seeing a therapist once a week and a psychiatrist once every two weeks. I was on different medications. ALL of the depression meds made me feel horrible. I hated talking to these doctors. They were the kind that if you mentiond you had ever smoked dope they automatically suggested drug rehab. So I wasn't honest about my past. I started smoking during the course of treatment again. And I stopped my depression meds. I tell you the honest truth right now. I QUIT SEEING MY DOCTORS AND THREW OUT MY DEPRESSION MEDS. I SMOKE WEED EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE. AND I'M THE HAPPIEST I HAVE EVER BEEN. I'm so happy and positive. And I know in my heart weed cured my depression. They only tell you not to self medicate and use marijuana if you are depressed because they know the government is losing money on pumping you full of depression meds and counseling meetings.

[Roland Bluntz]

My mom says the same bullshit to me about not "self-medicating" and I ask her, what the hell do you think prescription drugs are? Oh yeah thats someone you don't know and can't trust at all medicating you and there's a 10% chance that in 2 months you'll have all kinds of awful deformities and diseases or even be dead, for anyone who follows the prescription drug industry's fuck ups. But yeah I've had anxiety/depression cuz it runs in my mom's fam, i started taking meds about a year and a half ago b/c I was having horrid panic attacks for about a month. This was after smoking salvia, so I hate that shit and pretty much get pissed off at the mention of it cuz it caused my nerves to go really BAD till I got on that medicine. But then, I've slowly lowered the doses because that bullshit causes the EXACT things it's supposed to cure after a while! I got off one on my own as of about 3 wks ago, and I'm finding that ever since then I'm less dependent on alcohol. I've really gotten completely sick of drinking, have only had 7 drinks this week (with Mon as the first day of the week) and hope to keep it at a low level like that. As for bud, I'm still smokin bud... still smokin.... out of all the drugs I've ever done, opium, alcohol, salvia, X, weed, coke, etc. I've found that weed is the ONLY one that won't severely fuck with your anxiety or depression. I'm basically at the point in life where I"m saying F all that other BS I just wanna smoke if I'm gonna get messed up at all.

[Roland Bluntz]

P.S. add to that that I think chronic is the only drug (alcohol and pharmies included, of course) that don't change the basic person you are. To be honest I think there is only one soft drug in existence, and that's weed. Yes, I think of alcohol as a hard drug. Did you know it's worse for you than heroin? In the sense that it damages tissue and heroin don't? But yeah always leave it to the U.S> government to fuck it up and tell ppl what's good for them and whats not and look at the pathetic state our society is in. OK that's another rant for another time...

[Roland Bluntz]

PPS and shrooms if you do them once in a while are great because they make you realize things you would never realize otherwise - so i'm saying weed and shrooms are the only "safe" drugs (in moderation of course).

[NowhereMan]

i can regulate my moods with afew jionts

if that helps.
i find it helps supress anxiety.(bi polar dis-order they say)
not cure
or cuase
just supress it,


peace

[nancyrenee]

I could care less if marijuana cures my depression. Just as long as I don't feel depressed then it's all good. I know it doesn't cure depression because tonight I just hit rock bottom again. :o :(

[blakwidow457]

I am also one of the unfortunate people that suffers from a mental disorder. I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with manic tendencies. Without herb i truly freak out. I am entirely too wired a person to not puff every day. I have smoked almost religiously since i first found it at age 12. I am now 27 and i've tried to find legal avenues to help ease my mental discomfort. The shit the docs give out doesnt do what puffing a little herb a few times a day can. I have had run-ins with the law, of course, and because of all the hassle i decided i would quit. Well, little did i know that wasnt going to b an option. I realized that marijuana is definately the only thing that can stabalize my moods and keep me feeling "NORMAL"! I am so sick of trying to pay for it, go to the streets and obtain the shit is such a bullshit waiting game for me all the time. I guess i'm wondering if nebody has found an alternative that could at least tide me over til the next paycheck? Somebody please help.

[notabraintrust]

i've been suffering from depression, social anxiety disorder, and a good case of paranoia for about 30 years now,.... been smoking about 25 yrs,... while i can't say it has helped the situation, i like to smoke dope, and i've seen and been thru enough in this life to deserve the peace that i often find in it,... embrace your condition, and understand it won't go away unless you make it.... fight for your right to sanity! hasta

[nancythestuntbum]

Yeah I think I posted before in this thread but I'll say it again. Marijuana helps my depression. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it completely. I have my ups and downs. I'm a very pessimistic person to begin with. But antidepressants never worked much for me. Just made me feel disconnected. And my shrink was really stupid. They always told me to never self medicate with MJ. Well when I self medicate I'm happier more often than with antidepressants and therapy. And it's great for my physical pain management. Anything to keep me from taking pills for pain.

[greenstick]

the worlds a harsh place and you all gotta keep your head out the darkness somehow.
i myself have depression and while you feelin shit, shit thoughts/decisions can overtake and leed you to places you might never get out of. fear and hate can settle in and they aint gonna let you off light.
i found the best times t hit a bong are those which are the worse times.
now im not gonna say that mj is the cure, mj is your solution but you got to defend your better state of mind, an pills are gonna do all sorts of weird shit to you.
an nancyrenee has got some real shit goin for em...wish you the best.
peace all keep smokin.

[magneslee]

im sorry dident have time to read the whoule descution but here is my 2 cence.

when i got back from iraq i was diagnosed with ptsd ( post tramatic stres disorder)
now im on medical weed and it is the ONLY thing that works for me , but i also employ tantric meditation to control my thoughts and increase my high, im add so this is realy hard :) but depretion is also a choice , wether you beleave me or not , i know im bipollar and manic depresive with chaotic episods , at least thats what the doc says .i have found that doing somthing when i get depresed is a great help, after somkeing of corse :D

[MRB041]

Well my friend has anxiety and panic attacks from time to time. He has to take medication everyday and his hands are still always shaking. He started smokin pot with me a couple months ago and most of the time he says it helps him a lot. Its the only time I see him not shaking. I mean this kids hands are always shaking and when hes high, hes totally calm. So i guess it helps. But sometimes he gets real ripped and freaks himself out. Its kind of funny. But after a 30 min power nap hes back to just being high.

[NowhereMan]

helping my depression as i type this
so yes
it helps

[420 day is every day]

i think it might help but at the same time not
when your high your happy and then when your sober
you remeber when you were high and happy
and just makes you sad again lol
fuck em
just have fun

[Dreampeacemaker.]

I suffer from depression too and find that weed helps me but hash seems to bring me down.I started growing and then I stopped taking my meds while just smoking hash and also while just smoking weed and that is how I found out.I don't mean to come across as stupid but why do I find such a difference between the 2?

[stonebears]

I use pot to help with my anxiety .. it works great. I used to be on xanax but don't like the stigma attached. Rather be called a stoner lol. I don't smoke it enough to see if depress me, but I do believe that indica is much more mellow then sativa so maybe you could try different strains until you find the one that relaxes and doesn't give you a drop off.

[Draig]

I don't know about depression,I dont feel as depresed, but for Anxiety try a good indica. ive suffered from Cronic Depression and Panic disorder, Sativa makes the anxiety worse, while the Indica calms me down gives me a good body stone, if you don't want couch lock, i suggest trying a mild variety! or a hybrid of Indica/Sativa.