Depression & Marijuana

I hate to agree with you on this but I do. Especially for people who have only depression,(as opposed to bipolar) weed can just be a coping mechanism. But I do wonder if these people had the right strain perhaps it would be different. I'm not very knowledgable in regards to the different strains but do know that some of those sativas can send me into a panic attack.

I do believe that once you become depressed, your ability to see things clearly becomes blocked. Some of the depression is due to a chemical imbalance but some of it is due to repeated thought patterns that no longer serve us. I find it very difficult to get a clear perspective because I only have my 'own' point of reference and trying to find someone whose judgement you can trust is almost impossible in a short term notice. I so often have to bounce my thoughts and ideas off my hubby but there are some areas where I just can't do this and have to count on my own perception and try and make sense of it.

Lacy

SHOOT2KILL66 said:

I dont think weed cures depression for all people it just blanks it out and when u have no weed it comes back its all about how u think about things and how u learn not to thiink them things or even make them into possitive thoughts as hard as it sounds it can be done

The best way 2 decribe this is like 2 water taps 1 with happy feelings an 1 with sad and when your normal they normaly ballance them selfs out ,
How ever when your depressed the sad tap runs a lot faster and over comes your happy feelings making u constanly sad and depressed ......

It sounds stupid to others becouse its an invisible illness lacy made a good point about just getting up amd showering can be a strugle but just doing that an shaving or what ever , It all makes u feel better and to do some weights or runing any exercise all helps u feel better about your self !!!!
To be honest the more i think of this some people are better stoping smoking weed if they get depressed coz it can just keep u stuck in that hole and if u keep smoking u will never get out of it have a tolerance break and c if things improve

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Now THAT would totally suck.

the widowman said:

sure is depressing when you can't get any marijuana.

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My reaction to marijuana has changed a lot since I 1st started and still does change sometimes. When I 1st started smoking it was all good and I had no bad experiences. I had just went through a long depression and the weed was finally a way to see that the world had some good in it. but...I spent all my money on weed and went broke over it. I remember I ran out of money completely and only had change left, so I stole money and things. I never go broke now becuz I get weed for a lot cheaper, and I dont smoke as much.

Starting about 8 months ago I started reacting very differently to weed. The weird thing is- before that, I stopped smoking for 3 months and had bad effects being sober, I had extreme paranoia and anxiety, plus panic attacks and weird feelings. When I started smoking again most of that went away except for small panic attacks. Now my thing is that I have to smoke at least once a week or really weird feelings come back. Sometimes when I get high I get more paranoid though. I have no idea what that means. I might have psychosis or something. I have very confused thinking right now.

Wasn't it actually proven that THC acts as a seritonin reputake blocker? I thought this was proven meaning it, in fact, helps with depression on not just a psychological level but a chemical level too. So essentially, marijuana does, on a chemical level, help all people with depression. But then again different drugs affect different people in different ways. But this is all assuming what I heard was correct. I'll have to find the article again.

rev3la7ion said:

Wasn't it actually proven that THC acts as a seritonin reputake blocker? I thought this was proven meaning it, in fact, helps with depression on not just a psychological level but a chemical level too. So essentially, marijuana does, on a chemical level, help all people with depression. But then again different drugs affect different people in different ways. But this is all assuming what I heard was correct. I'll have to find the article again.

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As good as it sounds man its untrue.. I can tell u and any docters that its not Its just like them anti-depressing tablets thou cannabis is a better with out the side effects they just make you worse and any 1 i no that takes them are worse and like zombies, feelingless, wrecks
What makes it so hard is that no 1 really know whats going on in some 1 elses mind ,Its Diffrent if its heart trouble or somthing they can just look and say what it is ,

Yes its better than pills 100% and it helped sort me out, but it also can keep u stuck there in that same place , not depressed but never happy eather ........

Cooking cannabis is the best method to use for depression and other medical use

if your going 2 use cannabis for depression do it short term for 6 moths and stop becouse if u dont it will just keep you stuck there in that dark place and its shit . and dont abuse it 1 or 2 a day ,
Then when u feel better you can go back 2 smoking weed for pleasure
And its a hole new buzz

I am very interested in this topic as I have been diagnosed wioth bipolar since I was a teenager. There is a lot of contraversial info out there but I do know that the years that I 'have' quit toking, I have been far far worse.

Would any of you consider doing an interview on this very topic as I would like to add it to our newsletter about medical marijuana.
You don't need to use your name if you would prefer to stay anonymous. I know that there is such a social stigma with this topic and most people with depression feel very vulnerable and isolated but this topic needs a voice.

It takes courage to openly talk about such topics and I really appreciate you all contributing to this topic.

YOU are not alone there philly.
When I stop smoking or run out of stuff that works for me I start getting 'EXACTLY' the same way.
It really is a VERY unsettling feeling to not be able to trust your own judgment.

Would you consider being interviewed for the upcoming newsletter philly? I would like to interview some peeps here but you do not have to use your name.

Take your time to respond as there is no hurry.
Thanks

Live, laugh and love

Lacy Landers

Philly_Buddah said:

My reaction to marijuana has changed a lot since I 1st started and still does change sometimes. When I 1st started smoking it was all good and I had no bad experiences. I had just went through a long depression and the weed was finally a way to see that the world had some good in it. but...I spent all my money on weed and went broke over it. I remember I ran out of money completely and only had change left, so I stole money and things. I never go broke now becuz I get weed for a lot cheaper, and I dont smoke as much.

Starting about 8 months ago I started reacting very differently to weed. The weird thing is- before that, I stopped smoking for 3 months and had bad effects being sober, I had extreme paranoia and anxiety, plus panic attacks and weird feelings. When I started smoking again most of that went away except for small panic attacks. Now my thing is that I have to smoke at least once a week or really weird feelings come back. Sometimes when I get high I get more paranoid though. I have no idea what that means. I might have psychosis or something. I have very confused thinking right now.

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One of my family members recently entered a psychiatric hospital for depression and drug abuse (marijuana). Although it wasn't the weed that caused him to be depressed.. I don't think it helped much. For some it just becomes a way to escape reality but it's just like shoot2kill said, you can be content but you won't ever be actually happy

EDIT: I wanted to make a comment about the experiment about thc and serotonin. It wasn't proven that THC actually does that since they used a slightly different THC molecule (delta9-THC or something), used large amounts of it, and didn't do the experiment on humans yet. It only showed that marijuana MAY do that.

Yeah. i think if you rely on weed to make you happy you are in for a miserable lifetime of trying to chase it away and it just doesn't happen like that.
Thanks for contributing.
I really would like to do some more research about this subject.

mr j2 said:

One of my family members recently entered a psychiatric hospital for depression and drug abuse (marijuana). Although it wasn't the weed that caused him to be depressed.. I don't think it helped much. For some it just becomes a way to escape reality but it's just like shoot2kill said, you can be content but you won't ever be actually happy

EDIT: I wanted to make a comment about the experiment about thc and serotonin. It wasn't proven that THC actually does that since they used a slightly different THC molecule (delta9-THC or something), used large amounts of it, and didn't do the experiment on humans yet. It only showed that marijuana MAY do that.

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I will consider being interviewed, I have to think about it for a few days though. Im sure that weed helped me with my depression/anxiety more then a few times. I found that the best way for it to treat depression is to eat a small amount of it after you activated the THC. The effects last longer then smoking it and if you only eat a small amount you wont be intoxicated but it will really reduce the depression and anxiety and let you stop worrying about things so much. Another thing is to just take 2-3 hits in the morning and it will reduce depression/anxiety for the rest of the day. Of course getting really high is fun too, but IDK how helpful that is.

My thing right now is that I figured out that there might be a possiblilty that my depression and other symptoms were caused by a minor disease. I have to go to the doctor and rule that out before I can really do a interview seeing that I wouldnt have actually had clinical depression, but the depression like symptoms were caused by something else. Im hoping that I do have that disease because then I can finally be done with this and realize that it wasnt all in my head. Im really looking forward to things now, seeing that if I do have the disease it can be cured and all the symptoms will go away, allowing me to live again. Im gonna see some complete life changes if I do have the disease and it can be cured. I might finally be able to be a normal person!!! (a chance) but I will still remember all of this and I wont forget what I went through and all the things that I learned. Ill still be myself but a healthy version of myself.

Lacy said:

Yeah. i think if you rely on weed to make you happy you are in for a miserable lifetime of trying to chase it away and it just doesn't happen like that.
Thanks for contributing.
I really would like to do some more research about this subject.

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I'm not relying on it by any means. I just thought I read somewhere that it actually was a reputake blocker. But anyways, it's not so much reliance as it is comfort. Example: I don't have to wear clothes but I'm definitely more comfortable with them on... Especially in cold weather. It's sorta the same thing with pot. I don't have to use it (and I'm currently not and won't be for a while) but it makes life so much more comfortable.

I have a friend who smokes weed for depression and asperger's syndrome. it helps him a lot- he's happy, confident and interacts very well with others.

I wanted to share my own experience. I've had a mild panic attack after my tonsillectomy operation. I couldn't talk to people and smile, I've had heart palpitations constantly, not only during that attack, my muscles were tired all the time, I couldn't eat anything solid, I couldn't stop thinking about the palpitation because it became like a music to me, a continous rythym. anyway, my finals were coming up and I got up and dressed unwillingly with my mother not letting me stay. I did a little studying, I got up, went to school and took the exam. After I was out, I saw a donut shop and felt my appetite coming back first time in those days. Then my symptoms actually vanished. I understood that you need to get on with your everyday life no matter what. Making excuses and sitting at home only gets you depressed. Depression is not without a cause (excluding the genetic one's) and I think that one should look at his/her life and mind for that cause to cure it. I went to school and saw my girlfriend and everything got better by day Being useful is the way to go I think

just been reading the thread with interest, does the strain of cannabis have to be taken in to consideration on what ur trying to treat ie: if your depressed then a high thc strain like ak47 or kali mist should be used to get the high. or if your manic all the time then a strain with high cbd like skunk should be used to calm you. im intriuged by this as when i smoke a high cbd strain i feel morbid and get depressed and paronoid, or if smoke a ak47 i feel well good. any comments

I was put on antidepressants for chronic pain. The pills made me a homicidal maniacThe pain caused the depression. Go figure.

Just about the same situation here. Major depressive disorder with severe suicidal thoughts, severe anxiety disorder, dissociation, panic attacks, insomnia, cluster headaches (migraines every day for months at a time). I've suffered for about 12 years.

Smoking once a week was keeping me functional w/no suicidal thoughts and general mood balance (2-3 X a week and I was great, but I could rarely afford it). MJ has worked unlike any other chemical cocktail I've been put on, without the crappy side effects.

Unfortunately due to the laws in my state I can't smoke (trying to get a new job after my employer laid off my entire department), and due to the financial limits of my situation I can't afford to anyway. I would love to grow my own!! I am an avid gardener and I love gardening. Laws in my state prevent me from being able to grow my own meds though.

So yeah, didn't mean to rant or anything, it's just so nice to see people who've been through what I'm going through.

I'm doing/have been doing everything I can in the meantime to maintain some mental health. Counseling, exercise, balanced diet, vitamins, prescribed chemical cocktails (bleh), social support, hobbies, etc.

Just nice to be able to see others to relate to on this topic!!

The first time I actually got high was the first time I ever realized actually how depressed and anxious I was and how wrong and negative my thinking patterns were while sober.

It was like I woke up from a bad dream to a new, beautiful world. It wasnt a completely new feeling though, I recognized a feeling like this from when I was very young. I was able to look at my sober self from a different perspective.

It showed me there was something to live for again, and Ive had hope ever since. Everybody might not chose to use marijuana, but I do and it is for me.