Weed for a week for anxiety

[MWF]

Disclaimer: This is MY experience with low doses of weed. MINE. Weed doesn't affect everyone the same. I am not condoning it for everyone else.
I decided to microdose with marijuana this week; take one hit, 3 times a day, morning, afternoon, and night. It's not enough to get high, but I might feel a light to moderate buzz. And my God, have I been happy. Like, real happy. For five days straight. By all means, this probably would have been an average week otherwise, but it was the most cheerful, productive week that I can remember. I've been really energetic, and I haven't had to take my usual two naps during the day. Just one small nap if I was feeling a little more buzzed than I wanted. My weightlifting is going great, I smoked before lifting today and I was putting up more weight and more reps, and I don't even feel sore. School is somehow going better too. I'm participating more and I'm focusing better. I even broke my streak of failed quizzes this week for one of my classes. And I've been getting all my work done within the average human workday because I've stopped procrastinating. I'm sure my renewed sleep stability is contributing to my happiness, because my sleep schedule was a complete mess before.
I wanted to try this out to see if it would help with my social anxiety. It's definitely done half the job, because while I don't feel anxious, I still don't know how to talk to people. But I am pretty loose.
I want to know what the negative effects of this could be. None of the negative effects I expected are occurring, just the opposite in fact. But I don't want to put myself in an echo chamber where I essentially worship a plant and forget to look at negative effects.

Please don't link me to a government website. They have a vested interest in keeping it illegal and arresting people (Nixon said, black people and hippies). If there's gonna be a link, I'd prefer it be to a prestigious university or something like that that's in it for the research.

[TheAtomicBlade]

http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-a...a-and-the-mind

Just something I read.

[MsNobleEleanor]

I've heard that others have experienced this as well being able to do things, focus more, etc., and I wouldn't see this as a long term fix. You take a small dosage three times a day, once your body is used to that amount you'll want more for the effect. It's like any drug you take.

Have you used less of it one day and the normal amount another? Did it change anything for you?

I'm sure you may be aware of this but smoking weed or relying on medication to do things doesn't always help the longer term situation. I know the weed is helping you be focused, motivated, your sleep is better, social life is improving. Weed can be a great tool to use but after the week you'll go back to how you dealt with things before.

It's like if I had a terrible experience in a pool and was invited to a party. The party has a pool where I shut down and didn't interact with anyone but I am fine when I leave.

Working through your anxieties can be really helpful. If your sleep if bad you can always try over the counter herbal sleep aids or ask for a prescription then once you've been taking it for awhile, start to wean yourself off it and see if you are able to sleep on your own. (I've done this so I understand lack of sleep and how it impacts your daily life)

If you don't have good sleep your body isn't alert and you won't be focused so start with the sleep first and get it on track. Are you eating healthy? Sometimes we're not eating what we're suppose to be eating or its not enough or too much of that particular food.

For social anxiety you just need to find something (small doesn't have to be the most anxiety scaring thing to do) that would be in your comfort zone and then tell yourself you can do it. From there take it by step by step. Thinking about it as positive rather than negative will greatly help. Negative self-talk puts us in a weird place where we may realize it's not a good idea and then your feeling anxious about it.

I know in your other post you mentioned counseling. Counseling is a great way to receive the support we need and deserve. They might have a group counseling where you go and 6-8 others are also there (for the same issues as you are) and it's different and uncomfortable at first but after awhile you start to feel okay and better.

If you don't see yourself using weed as away to cope and get through the day try one of my suggestions or if you thought of something that would help, try that. You may become dependent on it and then needing to add more and use more cause the lower dosage stopped working.

I hope this was helpful in some ways. If you need anything feel free to PM me.

Take Care.

[Proud90sKid]

I used to smoke weed everyday- I am living back at home so I don't right now as I respect my parents desire to not have me smoke here when I am living rent free. I used to smoke about a gram a day in college. I did not really notice any bad effects-though maybe some loss of motivation after around a year. When all I had to do was study for exams, and not have to do labs or anything- it was great. I could study while high but it was hard to actually do any pen and paper work. It helped reduce any anxiety that made it hard for me to study.

My freshman year, I didn't smoke as much- as I lived in a freshman dorm where the room led right into the hallway, and basically just pulled random hits outside when nobody was around. I was essentially microdosing at that time. I didn't have any real negative effects from that , and I hardly developed any tolerance at that rate of smoking.

A few hits a day is moderation. I don't think that it would lead to any problems at that rate. Some studies have shown that heavy smoking can cause a (likely temporary) decrease in working memory (the ability to hold several pieces of information in your head at once- like when trying to multiply double digit numbers mentally). But studies also show that alcohol is worse when it comes to mental function- when drank heavily everyday. I think that a few hits a day should be no worse than drinking a beer everyday-- which is basically harmless.

Also, possibly since THC has a long half-life (much longer than the duration of the high)- I have heard some people insist that they are not at their best mentally for days afterwards. I have never found this to be true for me- but it might be something to think about.

I know for my prescription medicine, if I take more than the regular dosage, I feel super energetic and pretty much high, but more in the sense of adrenaline pumping through my bloodstream. This could be the same thing that happens to me. The downside, as with any form of high, is that the crash is brutal.

Of course...
1) This is a prescription drug, where getting the effects/symptoms of being stoned is a possibility. For me, it's a much lower dose than someone with a higher tolerance.
1a) This is a legal, non-OTC drug, that of course I am abusing. But having been on the amount once that I use now to get that sense, I know that's the maximum for me. You don't get measurements with weed. You just got to trust your brain to tell you when enough is enough. I think that is pretty risky, especially if you're feeling a bit ambitious about schoolwork or exercise.
2) There is really no danger in getting high period. But you should pay attention to your body and not put too much stress or too much ambition on yourself. You need to realize you're only human and you will max out at some point. I understand there's the need to not be a failure; everyone is like that! We deal with it our own ways, and yours is using a supplement to boost your energy and enhance your senses. Just be logical and realistic.
3) Please be careful. I don't think there's marijuana dispensaries in Michigan, but if there is you can fight to get a license. The downside is, they won't do it for mental health (ie, depression or anxiety) issues. Just something to consider!

Good luck, and please be careful.

[Svetlanavolkova]

For social anxiety, i listen to these calming audio sounds while i read or draw. You might think it's bs (i did at first) but honestly it really works. You can buy an audio on itunes or look one up on youtube that you like the best. Please message me if you ever feel like you need to talk :3 i'm all ears.

[Coverationd]

Originally Posted by merideth7

For social anxiety, i listen to these calming audio sounds while i read or draw. You might think it's bs (i did at first) but honestly it really works. You can buy an audio on itunes or look one up on youtube that you like the best. Please message me if you ever feel like you need to talk :3 i'm all ears.

You can also listen the list of awesome Top 100 Songs to release anxiety.

[SteevWeb]

Thanks for the links!