Anxiety And Insomnia Medicating?

After a while of reading i believe i have found the reason for my shyness and nervousness. After a few days of reading i self diagnosed myself to have social anxiety disorder. It explains many of my social problems and holds me back in life since i have little of a social life. I have been wondering if marijuaba could help eliminate my social anxiety, except i am unsure because i usually get really paranoid in public when i am high. But could marijuana ease or eliminate my anxiety if i snoke or eat a low dose so i can still function at school and work. I would assume a sativa would be best as it would keep me "energized" and not burnt out. I also have insomnia due to a stimulant i habe been perscribed (which would also eliminate sleepyness of marijuana). For this i assume i could use an indica at night.

I do not have a medical card, and if you need one to be using this sub-forum i appologize.

I suffer from sleepless nights i also have underlying condtions that i suffer from i use White Widow only to medicate myself for all my serious problems. I am a MMP = medical marijuana patient. If you want to be leagal please go to a doctor who you can talk to explain to him or her how you feel and see if they will recommend your for MMP.

i dont think mj will help your anxiety. like you already said i think it will increase it. i smoke weed all the time and rarely but on occasion it will give me a small anxiety attack. just stop caring about what people think about you and be yourself. no reason to worry about other people they have to worry about you too. just take a deep breath and go out into the world

i have depression/anxiety issues
MJ is one strange drug in that it can increase or decrease anxiety
some sativas affect me badly, paranoia on a silver platter
some other sativas make me feel fine, strain by strain deal
but some strains seem to knock anxiety in its tracks
i have a nirvana PPP pheno that i just grew out, PPP doesn't really have much of a medical reputation
but for me this is the least racy weed i've ever had, also not very motivational
point is, you may have to search around for a while, you never know what will help(or hurt)

andar said:

i dont think mj will help your anxiety. like you already said i think it will increase it. i smoke weed all the time and rarely but on occasion it will give me a small anxiety attack. just stop caring about what people think about you and be yourself. no reason to worry about other people they have to worry about you too. just take a deep breath and go out into the world

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I wish i could but for my whole life i have never been good with talking to people and i always dwell on what i said and i cant stop. Even if i always say to myself no one cares or try to ease it will only help for a few seconds. I would like to try medication but i believe they just use stimulants to help your social anxiety, and i am already taking stimulants and they don't help. I just hate being anti-social and shy i never meet girls and rarely go out with friends and when i do it has to be more than 1 friend or else i am afraid i will be awkward or boring and not be able to hold a conversation. So if a friend asks if i want to hang out and it would just be him and i, i usually come up with an excuse to avoid it. I guess i might ask my doctor about it since i already have an appointment in 2weeks.

Good luck man. Lots of us can relate. MJ is not right for everyone. You just have to see how it makes YOU feel. And realize that the effect is different every time.

if you're having anxiety problems ..the first step in correcting that problem would be to stop the medication that's the stimulant. I suffer from anxiety, panic disorder, social and general anxiety disorder. I couldn't imagine being prescribed a stimulant having those underlying problems... my anxiety would be through the roof.... ALSO .. i wouldn't recommend a sativa dominant plant. As a matter of fact.. the symptoms you're describing go far deeper than just social anxiety... When you smoke weed you said you get paranoid around people?? how about when your alone. Are still paranoid?? if so maybe ganja isn't the solution..
I smoke for mostly depression, anger problems. MJ helps my anxiety greatly .... but depending on my environment .. the onset of my high can be pleasurable, or fucking terrifying.... but within about 15 minutes that subsides and the thc/cbn/cbd starts doing it's job in calming me down, increasing my appetite, and starts to hit those GABA and serotonin receptors ( the ones responsible for depression/anxiety).
mj is NOT for everyone obviously .. but if you're going to do it, look for an indica dominant strain with moderate leves of cbd or cbn. It might make you burnt out and sleepy, but, if you continue using that stimulant medication ( Adderall or Straterra?) I don't think you'll have to worry about that.
and if the mj doesn't work. Don't smoke it.

ICantBelieveItsNotBud said:

. I would like to try medication but i believe they just use stimulants to help your social anxiety, and i am already taking stimulants and they don't help. I just hate being anti-social and shy i never meet girls and rarely go out with friends and when i do it has to be more than 1 friend or else i am afraid i will be awkward or boring and not be able to hold a conversation. So if a friend asks if i want to hang out and it would just be him and i, i usually come up with an excuse to avoid it. I guess i might ask my doctor about it since i already have an appointment in 2weeks.

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if your under a doctors treatment you he should probably prescribe you an anti-depressant. an SSRI, or SNRI like prozac, lexipro, effexor, zoloft,instead of a stimulant. also if you're dead set on medication, maybe you need an anti-anxiety drug like xanax, valium,, klonopin or ativan. from what i've seen stimulant medication do not make you more social.... they do the opposite. The tend to make you focus on one thing and increase paranoia and anxiety. Prescription pills suck and are hard to get right. Also I'm sure you don't like the thought of having to pop pills, wait for them to start working, and possible be stuck with them. Also if you have problems focusing ask him about Wellbutrin.
I apologize in advance for all the namedropping of pills. But this is something i've done alot of reading and observing about.... also ..maybe a therapist would be more useful then meds...

Get out and join a club or a group or something. Find people with similar interests and be honest about your anxiety problems. Most people are very nice and accepting of other people.

Also, like ataxia said, a therapist is usually more useful than self diagnosing/self medicating.

ICantBelieveItsNotBud said:

I wish i could but for my whole life i have never been good with talking to people and i always dwell on what i said and i cant stop. Even if i always say to myself no one cares or try to ease it will only help for a few seconds. I would like to try medication but i believe they just use stimulants to help your social anxiety, and i am already taking stimulants and they don't help. I just hate being anti-social and shy i never meet girls and rarely go out with friends and when i do it has to be more than 1 friend or else i am afraid i will be awkward or boring and not be able to hold a conversation. So if a friend asks if i want to hang out and it would just be him and i, i usually come up with an excuse to avoid it. I guess i might ask my doctor about it since i already have an appointment in 2weeks.

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with your social situation, maybe drink a beer or two when u go out with friends(dont drive obviously). if u get a nice buzz, u will be more relaxed, and able to join in on conversations. this will show ur brain that ppl wont think your stupid or lame when u speak up. after a while, u will be able to do it without the booze no problem. remember to drink in moderation. if u get too drunk, u will just be slurring words and stumbling and people will be put off by it haha and also do it like once a week or so

obviously theres a chance of becoming a drunk, but hey it works. be careful, dont overdo it. if ur under 21, i dont suggest doing this

hey friend:ive been diagnosed with gad/anxiety and deppresion for a long time. ive tried using cannabis or mj for it and tends to ease the depression however not my anxiety. mr dr rx's me a small amt of prozac and a large amount of xanax(4 mgs daily)which is a good bit and it keeps it under control. also a very handy medication thats VERY easy to get since its not a scheduled drug is clonodine. works wonders for anxiety/depression and sleep. NEVER treat ur anxiety with stimulants or amphetamines. or if ya just wanna stay natural,try valerian root that you can get at any head shop or heath food store. i hope this info was helpful

slosippa said:

hey friend:ive been diagnosed with gad/anxiety and deppresion for a long time. ive tried using cannabis or mj for it and tends to ease the depression however not my anxiety. mr dr rx's me a small amt of prozac and a large amount of xanax(4 mgs daily)which is a good bit and it keeps it under control. also a very handy medication thats VERY easy to get since its not a scheduled drug is clonodine. works wonders for anxiety/depression and sleep. NEVER treat ur anxiety with stimulants or amphetamines. or if ya just wanna stay natural,try valerian root that you can get at any head shop or heath food store. i hope this info was helpful

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great advice man ... if you don't mind me asking how much of the prozac do they have you on??? and 4 mgs of xanax daily??? holy fuck man. I have severe panic and anxiety disorder and i take less than 2 mg. Then again, it's still not enough to quell my attacks .. ganja is one of the only things that helps.. but with herb it has a sudden slightly uncomfortable onset ( depending on the strain/strength) but within about fifteen minutes it starts doing it's job on my appetite and general anxiety.

some strains can highten your anxiety (the paranoia strains) and some definitely take them away. One thing I know for sure, is that before I started smoking herb, I had bad anxiety probems, I would fidget and tap a lot, and just be very anxious in general if I wasn't completely comfortable. It's hardly a problem now, and I've noticed that it comes back if I stop smoking for a few weeks (vacations, drug tests, etc. y'know when we have to stop lol and I have to take stupid norcos my normal doctor gives me for my chronic ankle pain and intermitent back pain.) My doctors always told me not to use marijuana with my other brain altering medications, since the outcomes are unpredictable (maybe because health providers have never given an effort to predict them...) but I've had success with mixing meds and marijuana. If you found the right strain I believe it's possible it could work for you, but it might not be the most practicle way. Try asking your doctor for other options, or get a second opinion, since brain altering meds are always trial and error, you just have to keep trying different pills or combinations until something finally works. Another thing is you learn to deal with weed paranoia after a while, and for me atleast, its translated into dealing with non weed related paranoia or anxiety. The more you smoke the more you learn to keep a completely level head, but still enjoy the high for what it is. believe it or not I've smoked a long time before I ever started to really drink, though I still drink seldomly. The before and after (me smoking regularly) was pretty astonishing. I would get drunk, real drunk, but I could still keep a level head completely, unlike before, being high all the time kind of trains you for dealing with anything in a not so (sober?) state of mind (or in the case of some sativas, a much better state of mind haha.) Anyways I guess my point was... umm.. idk but this sensi star seems to be working lol kuz I cant remember what I just wrote.

ICantBelieveItsNotBud said:

I wish i could but for my whole life i have never been good with talking to people and i always dwell on what i said and i cant stop. Even if i always say to myself no one cares or try to ease it will only help for a few seconds. I would like to try medication but i believe they just use stimulants to help your social anxiety, and i am already taking stimulants and they don't help. I just hate being anti-social and shy i never meet girls and rarely go out with friends and when i do it has to be more than 1 friend or else i am afraid i will be awkward or boring and not be able to hold a conversation. So if a friend asks if i want to hang out and it would just be him and i, i usually come up with an excuse to avoid it. I guess i might ask my doctor about it since i already have an appointment in 2weeks.

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Yeah man ive suffered from this before but I dont think as badly as you do. Definitely dont smoke too much in 1 dose or it could make it worse. I really think you would benefit from like 3-10 hits spread throughout your day. Im not sure where your located but you should do research on what strains will work for you. If you could find someone knowledgable at a dispensary to maybe sit down with you and spread some knowledge.

potsticker said:

Get out and join a club or a group or something. Find people with similar interests and be honest about your anxiety problems. Most people are very nice and accepting of other people.

Also, like ataxia said, a therapist is usually more useful than self diagnosing/self medicating.

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Ya I agree with this too, its probly your best bet. I wouldnt wanna go thru life having to be dependant on medication. Id definitely ditch the amphetamines too, theyre just flatout bad for you imo.

ICantBelieveItsNotBud said:

After a while of reading i believe i have found the reason for my shyness and nervousness. After a few days of reading i self diagnosed myself to have social anxiety disorder.

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The CLEAR gold standard in treating social anxiety disorder is Nardil, which is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor. MAOI drugs are not anywhere near as dangerous as many think. You can't have stimulants other than caffeine and you have to avoid cheese and other foods otherwise your blood pressure can go up. It can be hard to get a prescription for Nardil however as many younger psychiatrists have never prescribed a MAOI before. Older psychiatrists would probably be the best bet. GL