Aa
Have I permanently messed up my mental health?
Three days ago I smoked marijuana out of a bowl with someone and after my last hit I suddenly went into a complete panic, I just did not feel right, I felt very disconnected and my heart was beating fast. The rest of the night I still felt completely out of it and disconnected from everything. Things just did not seem normal or right. That night I couldn't sleep I woke up every hour and the next day I still felt out of it but it got better from time to time. That night I also had trouble sleeping but the next day was much better I only felt disconnected at some points. I went to bed extremely early early and woke up a few times in the middle of the night. One of the times I had had a dream that I had smoked and my heart was racing I could feel it really throbbing. Now this morning I am just extremely worried that something is wrong with me, that I ruined myself forever. I also am generally a very anxious person and I over think many things, but this just seems different.
I experienced bad anxiety when smoking weed YEARS ago, before I even had signs of anxiety. I think looking back, my theory, is that if a BAD HIGH, caused a bad panic attack/lingering anxiety, then it was a mix of the bad high, CAUSING anxiety, which would have showed it's ugly face down the road one way or another, whether I smoked weed or not.
You did not do any permanent brain damage that's for sure.
I'd just lay off the weed, if you think it caused a bad enough high to cause you to panic/have lingering anxiety.
Hang in there. But the important thing is, NO, you do not have permanent brain damage. :)
You did not do any permanent brain damage that's for sure.
I'd just lay off the weed, if you think it caused a bad enough high to cause you to panic/have lingering anxiety.
Hang in there. But the important thing is, NO, you do not have permanent brain damage. :)
Marijuana doesn't cause anxiety that I know of, but it brings out what's inside of you. In your case, you had anxiety inside you, and the drug brought it out. Very common with marijuana. What it means is, you should probably avoid this drug, because that's just what it does to some people and you're now one of them. It's great while it's great, but when it stops being great, it's time to stop.
Hello and welcome!
You'd be surprised just how often we see threads describing exactly what you are explaining. VERY likely, you are experienced drug induced anxiety/panic. I can assure you that while the symptoms of anxiety are very unnerving and upsetting, you didn't do any kind of permanent damage to your psyche. What you describe are actually very common symptoms of anxiety.
That disconnected feeling, the feeling that you aren't in reality is called derealization, and is an actual side effect of severe or chronic anxiety/panic. DR can often be described as though a person isn't in "reality", everything LOOKS funny and different, like your environment is almost foreign to you. Colors look funny, and often people experiencing it for the first time will think there is something wrong with their vision. It's like looking at the world around you through someone else's eyes, or like watching a movie. Here's the link to a journal I wrote about DR (and another anxiety related symptom called depersonalization). Be sure to read the many comments, it's amazing how many people have experienced this, and as you'll see, MANY of them found themselves where they were after drug use of some sort.
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/11569/Derealization-and-Depersonalization-VERY-common-anxiety-effectsplease-read
It sounds like you had a panic attack, and that resulted in the derealization and lingering feelings of anxiety for you. Do some searching on derealization (besides the journal link I provided), I think you'll be pleasantly surprised that what you're going through is a common and harmless symptom of anxiety, and not anything that will harm you. I've experienced it myself (I have panic disorder), so I know how scary it feels.
The problem with these situations is that despite a one time anxious reaction to a drug, it's unfortunately not always easy to brush it off and get over it. Panic attacks are very traumatic and they stick with you. You then begin "fearing the fear" which is basically where you're left in a near constant state of worry, both about having another attack, and also about how you feel. The symptoms of anxiety (like the derealization) cause MORE anxiety because they make such an impact.
Honestly, the very BEST thing you can do for yourself to move on from this and hopefully nip this in the bud is to do a few things....ONE, steer CLEAR of drugs and alcohol completely. Those substances will cause a significant and distressing exacerbation of the anxiety and will very likely induce more panic. You'd be amazed at how many people, despite suffering from severe anxiety, and after being TOLD that drugs very commonly induce anxiety will TEST themselves. They always end up back on the forum, describing a terrible experience. It's not worth it. Even alcohol is a BAD idea.
Secondly, try your very hardest to just put it behind you, and move on. That's the part that's a little harder to do, because when you're FEELING badly, it's hard not to focus on how you feel. Get engaged with life, and keep yourself VERY distracted. Don't ruminate about this, don't spend any time thinking about it, reliving it, or searching the web about it. If you can dismiss it more or less, your anxiety will subside. Just keep in mind that this may take some time, you won't probably feel better overnight, but with time, you WILL feel better. If after a concerted effort to avoid any substances and to work hard on distracting yourself you still don't feel better and are still suffering with anxiety, then the next move is to seek professional help.
You are far from alone, this kind of thing is unfortunately pretty darn common. You can search this forum for stories like yours, and you will see just how common it is, and how similar the experiences are. The search function for the forum can be accessed by clicking on the magnifying glass on the top left of the page.
Hopefully you're feeling a little relieved to know that nothing serious, or permanent is going on. Anxiety stinks without a doubt, but as scary and awful as it is, it won't harm you.
Please keep us updated on how you're doing okay? I wish you the best!
You'd be surprised just how often we see threads describing exactly what you are explaining. VERY likely, you are experienced drug induced anxiety/panic. I can assure you that while the symptoms of anxiety are very unnerving and upsetting, you didn't do any kind of permanent damage to your psyche. What you describe are actually very common symptoms of anxiety.
That disconnected feeling, the feeling that you aren't in reality is called derealization, and is an actual side effect of severe or chronic anxiety/panic. DR can often be described as though a person isn't in "reality", everything LOOKS funny and different, like your environment is almost foreign to you. Colors look funny, and often people experiencing it for the first time will think there is something wrong with their vision. It's like looking at the world around you through someone else's eyes, or like watching a movie. Here's the link to a journal I wrote about DR (and another anxiety related symptom called depersonalization). Be sure to read the many comments, it's amazing how many people have experienced this, and as you'll see, MANY of them found themselves where they were after drug use of some sort.
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/11569/Derealization-and-Depersonalization-VERY-common-anxiety-effectsplease-read
It sounds like you had a panic attack, and that resulted in the derealization and lingering feelings of anxiety for you. Do some searching on derealization (besides the journal link I provided), I think you'll be pleasantly surprised that what you're going through is a common and harmless symptom of anxiety, and not anything that will harm you. I've experienced it myself (I have panic disorder), so I know how scary it feels.
The problem with these situations is that despite a one time anxious reaction to a drug, it's unfortunately not always easy to brush it off and get over it. Panic attacks are very traumatic and they stick with you. You then begin "fearing the fear" which is basically where you're left in a near constant state of worry, both about having another attack, and also about how you feel. The symptoms of anxiety (like the derealization) cause MORE anxiety because they make such an impact.
Honestly, the very BEST thing you can do for yourself to move on from this and hopefully nip this in the bud is to do a few things....ONE, steer CLEAR of drugs and alcohol completely. Those substances will cause a significant and distressing exacerbation of the anxiety and will very likely induce more panic. You'd be amazed at how many people, despite suffering from severe anxiety, and after being TOLD that drugs very commonly induce anxiety will TEST themselves. They always end up back on the forum, describing a terrible experience. It's not worth it. Even alcohol is a BAD idea.
Secondly, try your very hardest to just put it behind you, and move on. That's the part that's a little harder to do, because when you're FEELING badly, it's hard not to focus on how you feel. Get engaged with life, and keep yourself VERY distracted. Don't ruminate about this, don't spend any time thinking about it, reliving it, or searching the web about it. If you can dismiss it more or less, your anxiety will subside. Just keep in mind that this may take some time, you won't probably feel better overnight, but with time, you WILL feel better. If after a concerted effort to avoid any substances and to work hard on distracting yourself you still don't feel better and are still suffering with anxiety, then the next move is to seek professional help.
You are far from alone, this kind of thing is unfortunately pretty darn common. You can search this forum for stories like yours, and you will see just how common it is, and how similar the experiences are. The search function for the forum can be accessed by clicking on the magnifying glass on the top left of the page.
Hopefully you're feeling a little relieved to know that nothing serious, or permanent is going on. Anxiety stinks without a doubt, but as scary and awful as it is, it won't harm you.
Please keep us updated on how you're doing okay? I wish you the best!
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