marijuana, agoraphobia and social anxiety

I've had severe agoraphobia for a while now. I also have had severe social setbacks and of course anxiety. It's hard to see exactly where I went wrong during the crucial years of high school when I started smoking pot up until now. I just want to know why marijuana cause such panic and anxiety in me.

Is it because I feel I wont act normal in front of people?

Whats the difference between a person who smokes and enjoys being outside and can handle it and me? How can the other person handle it so effectively? Maybe pot doesn't make me dumber but it can enhance my perceptions but why do I have to be afraid that it shows?

I _think_ that THC depletes your body of the dopamine neuro transmitter which produces anxiety if you have low amounts. I'm going to research the effects of Marijuana on all the body's neuro transmitters since I'm wondering this myself.

EDIT: I just saw that your thread was talking about DURING the high, I was referring to excessive use AFTER the high.

I'm only like that with Certain strains I get panic attacks and I feel like I can't breath just an all out bad trip. Not sure why I get like that. Maybe weak minded. White Widow does it to me and any kind of Haze. I've found that Kush is my fave. Strawberry cough it great never makes me feel like that. When smoking take it slow I just take one big puff and blow it out right away and wait and see how that affects me then I'll do another one and so on untill i'm at my comfort zone. I've seen some people take big ass bong rips and expect everone else to follow well those who aren't used to it spend there time laying down feeling freaked out trying to sleep it off. Peace and love.

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Originally Posted by Euphoric7

I _think_ that THC depletes your body of the dopamine neuro transmitter which produces anxiety if you have low amounts. I'm going to research the effects of Marijuana on all the body's neuro transmitters since I'm wondering this myself.

EDIT: I just saw that your thread was talking about DURING the high, I was referring to excessive use AFTER the high.

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well it happens both during and after the high (or next day). Usually if I get high once during the day, that's it for me, the world is changed for the rest of the day, unless I forget that I even got high at all, and wait a verrrry long time.

I would get EXTREMELY paranoid when I used to smoke with people/friends. I would literally become a statue, and feel extremely nervous.... everything would feel personal, and I wouldn't even be able to follow a train of thought without becoming preoccupied. I don't think I get dumber while high, I just get more nervous and that itself makes me blank out...

it could also be that marijuana is just such a powerful drug that, if one is in any way internally imbalanced it can greatly enhance those feelings.

Also there might be a lot of "negativity" surrounding marijuana in terms of perception-wise among members of society and specifically those in our governments so... ignorance can lead to misuse.

I have been envious of people who can handle it very well though.

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Originally Posted by Non

I've had severe agoraphobia for a while now. I also have had severe social setbacks and of course anxiety.

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Did you have this symptoms before start smoking?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Non

I've had severe agoraphobia for a while now. I also have had severe social setbacks and of course anxiety. It's hard to see exactly where I went wrong during the crucial years of high school when I started smoking pot up until now. I just want to know why marijuana cause such panic and anxiety in me.

Is it because I feel I wont act normal in front of people?

Whats the difference between a person who smokes and enjoys being outside and can handle it and me? How can the other person handle it so effectively? Maybe pot doesn't make me dumber but it can enhance my perceptions but why do I have to be afraid that it shows?

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I'm agoraphobic and been getting worse the older I get. Been like that most all my life. MJ helps me relax and converse with people more. It expands my mind and the universe around me. If I smoke too much I get some what papamoid. I too have smoked since high school. The pot was crap back then. Nowadays it's like crack on a stick and you must be careful. It is also not for everyone. Speed puts me in a panic. Be careful and don't let it keep you from the rest of the world.

My wife says I run my mouth on pot but won't talk to people when I'm straight. LOL

It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the juice of saffu I set my mind in motion.
The lips aquire strains , the stains become a warning.
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

This interests me greatly. I become nervous around new people and become anxious. Give me a nice puff off of a pipe and my tensions loosen up and can talk for days. One to many puffs and ill be a fucken mime

My best advice for you... is to smoke HALF of what you would normally smoke and just FEEL the experience. I think this would restore your confidence in marijuana and when you feel confident (and ready) enough, you can slowly up the dosage without becoming anxious.

EDIT: Oh and very important... look into some relaxation techniques to use while you are high, don't let yourself take that first hit until you're feeling positive. Meditation with binaural beats works WONDERS. :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Euphoric7

My best advice for you... is to smoke HALF of what you would normally smoke and just FEEL the experience. I think this would restore your confidence in marijuana and when you feel confident (and ready) enough, you can slowly up the dosage without becoming anxious.

EDIT: Oh and very important... look into some relaxation techniques to use while you are high, don't let yourself take that first hit until you're feeling positive. Meditation with binaural beats works WONDERS. :thumbsup:

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YouTube - Heavyweight Dub Champion - "We Will Conquer"

Kinda like these guys? saw them in concert... "this not entertainment... it is the invocation of spirit"

Try to imagen yourself in a happy place (anywhere amongst the redwoods or cali coast for me )where you feel at home. I do it when I feel stressed or like i said above.

i used to get all noided when i was younger, im better at controling it now. although some sativas get me, usually its more berry smelling stuff where the citrus is not so bad. i have also learned that with hazez 1-2 puffs and thats it to much might get me. remember to here in the states alot of stress is mexican mersh which is closer to the equator and probly more sativa dominant

staying at home when I'm high is a common thing I guess.

I would definitely like the know which neurotransmitters marijuana affects.

I Think.. Anxiety and mood disorders were determined during clinical interviews using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule. Analyses suggest that SAD was the only disorder significantly associated with past 3-month marijuana problems. Compared to those without SAD, individuals with SAD were more likely to endorse the following marijuana expectancies Importantly, these expectancies mediated the relations between SAD status and marijuana problems.

url=http://www.anxietytherapypro.com/]Anxiety therapy[/url] technique without medications
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Originally Posted by Non

I've had severe agoraphobia for a while now. I also have had severe social setbacks and of course anxiety. It's hard to see exactly where I went wrong during the crucial years of high school when I started smoking pot up until now. I just want to know why marijuana cause such panic and anxiety in me.

Is it because I feel I wont act normal in front of people?

Whats the difference between a person who smokes and enjoys being outside and can handle it and me? How can the other person handle it so effectively? Maybe pot doesn't make me dumber but it can enhance my perceptions but why do I have to be afraid that it shows?

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I found your thread searching for help for my friend, who is supposedly agoraphobic (as well as a pothead, 30, single, unemployed and lives with his parents still), and I couldn't resist offering you my thoughts. A lot of people on a board like this will disagree, but hear me out.

When I read your message, it may as well have been me writing it a few years ago. I started smoking in high school, about 16. Right before that, I was making new friends, dating girls, doing "socially acceptable" things. Then, I started smoking, and pretty much everyone I knew was a pothead after that, and my life revolved around weed.

At first it was fun all the time, but I soon got the same symptoms you describe, extreme anxiety when high, I'd become very self conscious, and when really high would just basically be like a statue. Eventually, I started feeling depressed when I wasn't messed up.

I hate to say it, but the problem for you (and A LOT of other people) is weed. Not everyone is affected negatively by it, but after years of chronic use, it starts to affect you. When you're young and learning new social skills and developing, weed can be very harmful for you. It prevents you from growing socially, because you are "content" just getting high all the time. Life become about getting messed up, and not "normal".

After years about 5 years of denial, I quit smoking, and its amazing the difference you feel after a couple months of abstaining. Your brain starts to "correct" itself, back to the state it was intended to be: SOBER.

I still smoke time to time, but after I quit, I started dating a great girl, stopped getting drunk as much, and now I'm married, about to have a kid.

Trust me, there is so much more to life than a plant.

I know it sounds like a lame anti-drug commercial, but as the Kids in the Hall say, "Only a dope smokes dope".

One thing to consider as a possibility is if you feel guilty, in general, when you smoke. Some people worry so much about "breaking the law" or what others might think of them, among other things (albiet subconsciuosly most of the time) that they can't enjoy the "high." Just something to consider. I heard a theory similar to this that was expanded upon and explained much more in-depth that started to make a lot of sense. I kinda stole it. lol. If I can find it, I'll link it. I realized, in hindsight after considering this theory, that when I first began smoking when I was younger, I would suffer from increased social anxiety from time to time. I have for the better part of my life, been a very quiet individual and kept to myself, straight or not. My parents said that I didn't even cry as a baby. I've always had plenty of friends, but the anxiety I felt, May have something to do with being an only child and being used to being alone, but Idono. Anyway, when I went through my early teenage years and started to go through the "Not Giving A Fuck" phase, the highs were much better because I wasn't worrying about what people thought. I guess now, I "Still Don't Give A Fuck" because I am much more outspoken now, especially regarding cannabis/hemp and I can say that the plant has helped me in a sense to not care about what people's prejudice may be and just live life. What I'm saying may not make too much sense since I'm throwing stuff in and hoping it comes out right, but I hope you can get the gist of what I'm trying to tell you to consider a possibility for your anxiety as it relates to smoking marijuana.