Anyone ever had/know someone who had problems with marijuana use?

[FutureQuestion]

Hi all, 

 

An odd thing to be posting, but i've been feeling a lot of anxiety about this lately and sort of just wanted to say something to get some feedback. I used to smoke a little weed here and there, but this summer I really got into it way too much. My best friends who I have hung out with for about 10 years really got into smoking dope this summer, and for the first two months I was smoking with them nearly 4-5 days per week. Over the past two months, I have only smoked about 1-2 times per week and I am done for the rest of the summer (and probably the rest of the year since those fiends are headed across the country to go back to university until May.) I am just having really bad anxiety that smoking for these past 4 months is going to hurt my grades this upcoming school year (third year) and because this is such an important year the anxiety is magnified. I am trying to become a psychologist, and although I had the highest grades for any second year student in the faculty of arts during my second year, I just fear this weed smoking will prevent me from achieving that level of success again this year. I know this sounds silly but I'm not an experienced smoker and simply do not know what to expect. I also realize that this is completely my fault, but I've had a tough summer in terms of my relationship with my GF and I guess I've been using weed to self-medicate

 

Has anyone else had similar worries or know if there is cause for alarm? I simply have not smoked enough to have any idea how this is going to turn out for me, but perhaps someone(s) here has been through the ringer themselves/ knows someone else who has? 

[samman1994]

Hello, 

Now first thing I need to say is, everybody is different, and handles weed differently, this is just my experience.

 So I had this issue when I first went to university from high school. I used to smoke everyday in high school since sophmore year, and thought I could keep it up in university too. Initially, it wasn't too bad of a problem, I was taking general chemistry and college algebra 2 with some lower division GEs. However, as classes got harder (i.e. differential equations, physical chemistry, organic chemistry, etc.), and the workload became more, I just couldn't keep up. Weed slows me down, not to the point I'm disabled, but it keeps me from performing top notch and having a clear view. So I realized I had to stop. Now the main issue I had was, that sluggish slow feeling didn't just go away the next day or 2, it would last for at least a week or so. Meaning it would hinder me being 100% for the entire week. I decided I needed to sober up, and classes became immensly easier, I could easily keep up with all my classes now, even quantum mechanics.

Now this is about me who had been smoking for about 3 years, so keep that in mind. It took me about 4 months to feel completely clean, like no traces of sluggishness or anything like that, to feel completely sober. However, the first 3-4 weeks, I felt pretty good, still could feel trace amounts of that old sluggish feeling, but overall I was fine. Now, I've had relapses after my sober period, and this time, it only took a couple weeks (somewhere around 3) to feel completely sober. So you're good. Honestly, I think it's completely fine to smoke, i'd say if you're really concerned though, just give yourself a full 3 weeks after you do it to sober up. Personally, I don't really even have a desire to do it anymore. Everything in my life is moving so fast, and I enjoy being able to move quickly along with all of it (mentally), I'm actually a bit dissuaded from going back to it. I just feel like it makes me slow. Like someone who loves to sprint everyday disabled to a slow jog. Anyways, keep in mind, this is all mental, physically I had no issues. 

Edited August 18, 2017 by samman1994

[vallaboop]

4 hours ago, FutureQuestion said:

Hi all, 

 

An odd thing to be posting, but i've been feeling a lot of anxiety about this lately and sort of just wanted to say something to get some feedback. I used to smoke a little weed here and there, but this summer I really got into it way too much. My best friends who I have hung out with for about 10 years really got into smoking dope this summer, and for the first two months I was smoking with them nearly 4-5 days per week. Over the past two months, I have only smoked about 1-2 times per week and I am done for the rest of the summer (and probably the rest of the year since those fiends are headed across the country to go back to university until May.) I am just having really bad anxiety that smoking for these past 4 months is going to hurt my grades this upcoming school year (third year) and because this is such an important year the anxiety is magnified. I am trying to become a psychologist, and although I had the highest grades for any second year student in the faculty of arts during my second year, I just fear this weed smoking will prevent me from achieving that level of success again this year. I know this sounds silly but I'm not an experienced smoker and simply do not know what to expect. I also realize that this is completely my fault, but I've had a tough summer in terms of my relationship with my GF and I guess I've been using weed to self-medicate

 

Has anyone else had similar worries or know if there is cause for alarm? I simply have not smoked enough to have any idea how this is going to turn out for me, but perhaps someone(s) here has been through the ringer themselves/ knows someone else who has? 

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder V (DSM-V)  by American Psychiatric Association:

"Cannabis-induced disorder may be characterized by symptoms (e.g., anxiety) that resemble primary mental disorders (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder vs. cannabis-induced anxiety disorder, with generalized anxiety, with onset during intoxication). Chronic intake of cannabis can produce a lack of motivation that resembles persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia). Acute adverse reactions to cannabis should be differentiated from the symptoms of panic disorder, major depressive disorder, delusional disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia, paranoid type. Physical examination will usually show an increased pulse and conjunctival injection. Urine toxicological testing can be helpful in making a diagnosis."

Basically, marijuana can induce anxiety especially if an individual is predisposed for anxiety type disorders. In addition, increased and prolonged use of marijuana can lead to amotivational syndrome (reduction of prosocial goal-directed activity which can adversely affect school). I understand using substances to cope, lots of people do this. However, based off your concerns I would say you should try to find a healthy alternative to cope. You will appreciate it in the long run. Hope this helps!

Edited August 18, 2017 by cindyboop