

Hey all. You probably remember me and my posts in regard to a struggle with panic attacks after smoking marijuana.



I'm happy to say that I am proud mary'd as I write this, and that I have managed to completely eradicate the anxiety that I encountered while high in the past. I have done a lot of reading on the subject, and decided to share my findings with everyone, so that those people out there with the same problem that I had can be given the assurance that panic attacks are actually an easily prevented problem.



Having a panic attack while high is an extremely unpleasant experience, and it is something millions of people have been through. Some never go near ganja again, feeling that they are doomed to have the same episode whenever they smoke. However, there is a way to prevent these negative encounters with the drug, so that every high is an enjoyable and productive experience.



During my research, I came upon a few points that contribute to anxiety-free smoking. When all these factors are considered, it will be near impossible to let any anxiety get the better of you. Here they are.



Blood Sugar and Adrenaline



Your blood sugar levels can have a significant effect on the high you experience when you smoke. As you get high, your metabolism turns up a notch, which can cause a sudden dip in blood sugar. If you haven’t eaten for a while, this can make you uncomfortable fairly quickly. Symptoms of low blood sugar include sweating, shaking, anxiety, hunger, dizziness, faintness, pounding heart, personality changes, confused thinking, impatience, numbness of lips and tongue, headache, nausea, blurred vision, slurred or slow speech, convulsions, coldness, as well as white hands and face. The solution: eat in advance of smoking, and make sure you have food and drink on hand while high.



When you are anxious, Adrenaline (or ephedrine) is released in the blood. This causes a rapid heartbeat, an increasing demand on your blood sugar levels, and thus escalating levels of anxiety as your blood sugar drops. The worrying nature of these effects will cause more adrenaline to be released, and so a vicious cycle begins. We’ve all heard the typical story from someone who had a bad trip on weed; “I noticed my heart was beating really quickly, I began to worry, it started beating faster, I felt dizzy, I thought I was going to die.” It now becomes clear that these experiences, rather than being purely psychological, have a chemical basis as well. The episode could have begun with a dip in blood sugar levels, and, because the person didn’t know what was happening to their body, it quickly escalated into a full-blown panic attack.



The best thing to do while in the midst of such an experience is to have something to eat and drink to get your blood sugar levels back up, and go somewhere without too many stimuli to allow the adrenaline to leave the bloodstream. Assuring yourself that in actuality, everything is ok, and that you are perfectly safe and sane, will help get you back into the right mindset. Deep breathing will force the body to relax, and will cause rapid dissipation of the adrenaline - to achieve this, breathe so that your stomach rises with each breach.



Some people, especially those with bad diets or who are subjected regularly to stress, may have a semi-permanent deficiency in blood glucose (hypoglycemia) which results in their adverse reaction to cannabis and their inability to control adrenaline. These people should always eat before smoking, and if their blood sugar levels decrease, knowledge of what is happening will help them get rid of any anxiety and remedy the problem.



Marijuana brings to the surface what is already there



Those who have had panic attacks while high often blame marijuana for their experience, but in every case, the problem is rooted within them. You have to already be prone to anxiety in order for that anxiety to come to the surface while smoking. Marijuana doesn’t “make” the anxious thoughts out of thin air – you do. It has been suggested that while we are high the conscious mind has a greater connection to the subconscious, although this has yet to be proven. Those who suffer anxiety and want to have a better experience while high need to look to their sober life for answers.



Factors which can help to relieve anxiety in ones sober life include:



- Regular exercise (as little as 20 minutes of aerobic exercise per day can help)

- A healthy diet

- Elimination of stimulants such as caffeine

- Talking things over with a loved one or therapist, as opposed to keeping your anxious thoughts to yourself and letting them get to you.



I chose to smoke during a time in which my life was crumbling around me, and I had a terrible experience. It put me off marijuana for several months, and the few times I tried to go back to it, I had the same experience. However, the following year, my life started to improve again. As I began to take control of things and begin a new chapter, the anxiety that had seized me started to fade, and I could smoke again.



“I have smoked weed every day for five years and I love it, but I recently had a panic attack and now whenever I smoke I start to panic. What’s wrong?” This is a story I have come across again and again, and it starts to make sense when you think about the person’s relationship with marijuana. It is very likely that the subject was using marijuana irresponsibly, in the sense that it was being used as an escape. You can only blot out the dirty flat, the bad relationship with your parents, the bills etc for so long before the stress and anxiety that has built up within you comes to the surface while you are high and you have an anxiety attack. Although it may work for a while, marijuana is not intended to be used solely as a means to help you “get away” from things. The bottom line: a stress-free sober life makes a stress-free high.



Setting and Mood



The importance of setting and mood in ensuring a good experience has been stressed by reputable sources time and time again, but often, it is ignored. Marijuana can make an uncomfortable situation doubly uncomfortable, just as it can make a pleasurable situation doubly pleasurable. Therefore, common sense should be used in deciding when it is appropriate to smoke. Those who are prone to anxiety should avoid these situations:



- Smoking with people you dislike, or cannot relate to.

- Smoking in a place where you do not want people to know that you are high.

- Smoking at a party where you do not know many people.

- Smoking when you have a deadline or unsettling event approaching.



If people who are prone to anxiety adhere to this, they are very unlikely to have a negative experience.



Amount smoked



Especially in the case of beginners, caution should be taken as to how much is smoked. It is possible to be uncomfortably high, and so those prone to anxiety or who aren’t used to marijuana should take small doses at a time, followed by 15-30 minute waiting periods to allow the high to set in. Regular smokers can have unpleasant experiences when they take a break from smoking - allowing their tolerance to fall – and then smoke the amount they are used to. The high can be more than they bargained for, and cause panic. With this in mind, regular smokers should not underestimate the effect of a drop in tolerance if they have a break, and ease back into their normal routine gradually.



When all of the above points are taken into consideration, a peaceful and happy high is guaranteed! Happy smoking.



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