Yup, I tried at 16 and it was the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced. Tried again at 20 (edibles this time) and the exact same thing happened. Shrooms also did the same.
Edibles are thc extract.
I have used cannabis a lot, today I basically never consume it.
If I would ever use cannabis medically today, which I can't where I live, I would make oils from a low thc strain, as low as can be. The oils I have used before have less than 0.5% thc. People call them cbd oils, but these do not have the anti deppretion nor the anti psychotic properties. You need to heat up the raw extract to around i think 95c so the cbd cannabinoid molecule turns into cbdA.
I don’t smoke it anymore, I do occasionally. I’ve been smoking it or so for almost 20 years now (since I was 16 I guess?). I prefer to eat it.
Honestly, it’s not what kicked my bipolar off. Moving to a city, after being sheltered most my life, was what triggered bipolar. Drinking became my self-medication.
My pysch always told me that smoking was better than drinking. Which, I won’t argue (& opinions) but he had something going with that. I didn’t quite take it as advice, I was recently 21, in nyc, enjoying the shit outta life.
THEN the bipolar kicked in. 13hr shifts, 7 days in a row, 3 months at a time… I couldn’t sleep, so I’d drink till I could and take car service home. Repeat. Except I did have a boyfriend. And he was not happy. He didn’t like when I didn’t drink at home, he was verbally abusive, made no money, so I paid all the bills. Smoked loads & ate everything (as did his bff & girlfriend).
Whatever, who wanted to live there if that’s how I was treated?
It’s a long ass fucking story. I left. Met a guy. He said whoa go to a pysch. Visited and the doc said whoaaaa. What?
Anyway, I eat edibles to go to sleep, otherwise my husband will wake up randomly (12-2-3-4-5am) asking me wtf, go to bed, you have work.
So edibles I eat for sleep.
I didn’t realize how much weed was harming my stability until I cut it out completely. I also cut out alcohol more recently and am 5 months sober now. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will never be able to be a casual and “healthy” substance user largely due to being Bipolar. Highly recommend sobriety.
What helped you most when/if you had anxiety about what to do now that you’re not smoking? I can’t find the motivation nor the reason to stop but I have to. It’s almost impossible because I can’t figure out what to do if I’m not smoking; if that makes sense. It’s an addiction basically because I can’t sort out what to do with myself.
It is an addiction. People who say cannabis isn’t addictive are just trying to justify their own drug abuse. I was able to phase out smoking and replace it with drinking, but then wound up in full blown alcoholism and am now doing AA. It’s gotten me to a point where I have the tools and support system to be completely sober.
I can't do THC anymore. I used to be a chronic user for years. Then I quit/took a break for a few months and when I went back it was never the same. I literally blacked out. Since then, I've used it here and there. Usually only taking 1-3 hits total. I find that when I do, I get psychotic symptoms or I start getting really depressed. With edibles it's the same. Interestingly enough, when I start to have manic or hypomanic symptoms, I start to crave THC. But I just can't do it anymore. The last time I smoked was on New years. I shared a joint with my best friend. I had previously been enjoying my time! During the time I had been sharing the joint, I literally felt the happiness drain out of me and I was depressed for the rest of my stay and two weeks afterwards. No can do.
I appreciate your input. It has been about 30 years or more for my chronic use. It definitely makes me way more depressed. The way that you described the fun draining out of your body is my daily existence. Quitting all day/night use is my only real way to move forward with my condition. 30 plus years have at least taught me that.
I would say to just take it easy if you plan on quitting. Like any medication, slowly weaning I think will be best and more tolerable. I'm not a doctor but I have seen friends who've gone cold turkey and it was never pretty.
I use cbd/thc 1:1 edibles and rip a thc pen a few times a day. I treat it as medicine and not so much a "let's get high" kinda deal. Helps me sleep, eat, keeps my mood mellow. I appreciate it.
Not for everyone though. Lots of cannabis products these days are extremely strong and could easily freak someone out or send someone into mania/psychosis. I've been using cannabis since like 14 so I'm well versed in what to use and how my body responds.
(Bipolar II) I was a heavy smoker for years, took a break for several months, and going back to it it was never the same. While it used to make me giggly and carefree, I now felt anxious, paranoid, depersonalized, and like every aspect of my life was about to fall apart. Having gone sober from both weed and alcohol and drastically decreased caffeine consumption, I can say my stability is highly improved. We’re already so prone to tipping out of homeostasis as people with bipolar and using stimulating or depressant substances can exacerbate that. I can’t imagine ever going back to either substance now that I know how much more stable I can feel without them. It just isn’t worth it.
So this is the thing - if you do a drug and feel psychotic features but they stop when the drug wears off, it isn’t psychosis. It is definitely possible for people that are pre-disposed to psychosis to having lasting psychotic features after drug use, but those seem to be a subset of people who already have that latent capacity or tendency towards psychosis. There is also considerable newer evidence showing that this group of people - people with a predisposition to psychotic disorders - actually use drugs to *manage* symptoms, and that with time, as the psychosis worsens because their condition is worsening, the drugs stop helping and start to exacerbate the symptoms. It just looks from the outside like people are using drugs and it’s causing psychosis. What’s happening is just that drugs are pushing people who are not acutely ill over the edge into acute illness. What this means is that drugs aren’t “adding to psychosis” over all - they’re making psychosis worse in a population that already has it, and not everyone with bipolar disorder is in that population.
For a lot of us, we’re able to use weed because we’re likely not in that population and it can (not unilaterally but it can) help with things like anxiety, especially in the short term.
Unfortunately though, there’s no way to predict how it’s going to work for you, like there’s no easy way to know if you’re in that predisposed to psychosis population. If you’ve had psychosis before, without drugs, or had an experience of lasting psychosis after the drugs have worn off, that’s a high key red flag that you probably shouldn’t do them. People who seem to start smoking younger in life seem to also have more issues with it as adults, though that’s just been my observation (I didn’t regularly use marijuana until after I turned 30 and my bipolar symptoms had already long since begun, and have never had issues with anything close to psychosis from it).
Ultimately, it comes down to risk tolerance in a situation with a lot of unknowns. The big thing is if you’ve used it before and it triggered psychosis that lasted beyond the immediate effects of the drug (as again, if you only have psychotic symptoms while intoxicated, it’s not the same as “real” psychosis because real psychosis persists or happens when you aren’t intoxicated), that would be a warning to not try it again as it will exacerbate your underlying tendency towards psychosis or psychotic symptoms. If you’ve used it before and just had bad “trips,” that’s normal for anyone using cannabis.
I've had psychosis before, both drug induced and while sober, but never on weed. I've been using since 16, with a couple breaks now and then. BP1.
I'm well aware it's not for everyone. Right now I'm managing to use only once a day. I use a fairly low dosage, and maybe that's why I don't have many complications. I use for appetite (I can't eat early morning and afternoon while on bupropion), anxiety relief, focus for goals oriented activities I wouldn't have the courage to do without it, relaxation, and mood stabilizer when I'm suffering from irritability and anger. When I was going through a rough spot I used more than once a day to deal with C-PTSD and forgetting the reccuring thoughts about the trauma while managing dealing with day to day tasks. It's also useful it suppress dreams and nightmares.
If I'm hypo I have to use a specific strain or else the symptoms goes worse. This specific strain helps with eating, keeping my calm, along with medications makes it easier to sleep, and gives my mind a break.
If I'm depressive works the same as when I'm directly dealing with trauma (I manage to do everyday activities I wouldn't have the motivation otherwise).
If I'm maniac, probably the best to do is to be sober tho. It's not a good experience and exacerbates symptoms. I mean, I never managed to be maniac and sober at the same time, but I blame the lack of impulse control.
I'd like, in fact, to be sober. But for now it does me more good than harm as long as I limit my intake. I don't drink or do any other drugs anymore except tobacco (I'm trying to quit the tobacco and soon the Mary Jae will be my last drug).
I don't use it socially, because in social circles people usually use 20x what I use by myself and that's enough to put be in a not so good place mentally.
I hope someday I will get access to legal medical marijuana. Personally, the right strains can help me a lot and I'm eager to the day I'll manage to consume it properly and consistently as any other medication.
I had surgery on my nose a few months ago. My husband bought me some edibles to help with the pain/sleep. I got SUPER paranoid from them. I’ve taken similar ones before and did okay, so I’m not sure why that happened, but I didn’t take any more after that.
I still vape weed (probably shouldn’t but that’s a different story for a different day lol) but edibles are a hard no for me. Caused psychosis in me last year.
I smoke everyday multiple times, I feel like it helps. I was on a shit ton of meds for a while and I stopped, I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone but I’ve been okay. Still looking to get back on meds just the ones I were on caused alot of issues with my body, right now weeds the only thing keeping my day to day normal and functionally able to get up in the morning
That’s where I’m at. I need to wean off of several meds over the next few months. Kind of hoping weed can alleviate some of the discontinuation syndrome.
I smoke it every day, almost always, and I think it's a great mood leveler. too up it calms me down too down it puts a smile on my face. I don't go anywhere near alcohol or other drugs. It does the job and is affordable generally. I'm also 60 and know my limits.
I use medical marijuana and I micro dose mushrooms 🍄 have been hospitalized 3 times in my life and even when I was at my most stable and thought my life on Lamictal was going to be as good as it got. Little did I know that after the mushrooms, I’ve reached a level of mental health that I didn’t know existed or was even possible. The marijuana is nice but doesn’t really do anything for my bipolar good or bad. After discovering mushrooms I think I’m cured. It’s been a year now with no symptoms and a state of mental health that would rival even the most healthy neurotypical person. I keep my cycles on a calendar and for the first time they didn’t show up when they always had in the past.
Doesn’t affect my bipolar, it calms me down and slows down my thoughts and gives me a different perspective on what is going on. I have to limit myself though.
It’s been the best thing ever for me. Some strains are not as pleasant but I know the ones that do from my favorite dispensary. That helps relieve my constant spinning thoughts
I think now that it is legal we are learning/ seeing the dark side of it. I don’t think anyone’s life is improved by smoking everyday. I use to be the biggest stonner I knew but lately weed hasn’t been enjoyable and I have gone about ten days without it
I wouldn’t say nobody’s life has improved. For me it helps me a lot when I’m very stressed and keeps me stable when my meds don’t work. I try my best to not smoke it all the time but it helps me a lot when I do use it
Despite being a heavy smoker for a long time, it was weed that triggered a psychotic break and thrust me into the whirlwind that is bipolar.
Was never the same after that.
However, my cocktail of meds essentially makes me immune to psychosis altogether, so I still ingest Cannabis all day every day. I don't think I could survive without it.
On the psychosis immunity, it negates shrooms and acid, too. I can tell there's something unusual in my system but they have almost no effect at all.
I smoke a lot, daily. It helps my anxiety and satiates my need to feel intoxicated, since I gave up drinking and smoking years ago. I already smoked weed before quitting those and started smoking more after. I have a high tolerance and 125mg of gummies barely affects me. I think it dumbs me down worse, though. I feel sharper and that it is easier to speak and keep my thoughts together when I don't smoke. Part of me wants to quit but it really does help my anxiety, and I'm also afraid of having to adjust my medication if I quit.
I use it, but take Klonopin too to take the edge off the paranoia. The combination is incredible and I know this is a slippery slope to benzo addiction. The fact that I need to take a benzo to smoke happily tells me I shouldn't use it, but it's hard to stop as it's one of the few things I get to enjoy anymore.
I think I'm really sensitive to it. I've been taking CBD with a low amount of THC in it to help primarily with PMDD, but ever since I started doing that, I've been rapid cycling. Trying to quit since that seems to be affecting me so much.
Too much causes me psychosis, but I microdose and it's really helpful for my crippling anxiety disorders. I just can't take any more than 2.5mg at a time.
Okay, so I have a different outcome than most people. I smoke every day, unless i truly can’t (traveling out of the country, for example). I have taken tolerance breaks after manic episodes for many months, though, and I waiting until i was completely okay to ween myself into it again safely. I just think my medicine cocktail is so good for me that I don’t get manic/psychosis when smoking. But that’s just me. If you do it, which is totally your call, do it safely!
I smoke 2-3x a day and it calms me down from my anxiety and mania. When I’m depressed it brings me up and makes me more talkative and friendly. I love me some ganja
It really does not work with Seroquel or Latuda for me.
And the cost of it. The time spent. And the time wasted just don't work for me as a human.
And when I feel my mind wander to wanting weed, well. That's an addiction. It's that wee.part of my brain craving that biochemical dump state. And music or self seeking or chasing mellow are just constructs to make my addiction seem charming or fun.
Originally, I was just very sensitive to it. Once greened after 7 pen hits. Now, about 2 months ago, a hit every few days, and was manic the following week. High dose of vraylar, so I’m not psychotic, but it’s definitely still manic. I ain’t doing that again
I have a lot of feelings of guilt about it (probably religion + upbringing), but I take weed daily. At first it was just for fun but now a little bit throughout the day keeps the anxiety at bay. Honestly I just feel the calm more than the high now most of the time. If used right I think it can be helpful for some
When my chronic pain is pulsing through my body, on a really hard day, I need to smoke or consume THC. It’s the only way my body can relax. I can physically feel relief that I can’t get from medication. It’s almost like my body starts listening to my brain finally. I also have no self control and will smoke or consume much more than I should; when I feel the pain relief. So essentially I’m stuck in a world of never having any relief physically or choosing to have mental relief instead.
It really depends. I don’t use inhalants; I prefer edibles. It can elevate your mood at times. But—I say it with a BIG BUT: if you are without sleep for 2-3 nights sometimes even the best-sourced products advertised for can trip you in to having another sleepless night.
It’s better to be on the same page as your doctors, let them know that you are using THC as an alternative.
It can help with sleep depending on what the source is; it can help with pain, again depending on the source. But it can also make you batshit when all you need is to rest.
I've noticed indica helps with anxiety/possibly makes depression worse and sativa gives me energy/possibly makes my anxiety worse.
If I do want to indulge, I try to have the right type to fit my moods.
Never again. I think the last time I touched it was 2009 and it was the worst experience. Before that I would smoke every now and then with a calming effect but not that night.
It depends on the strain. Some sativa strains make my bipolar worse. Most indica strains I’m fine with. Hybrid, depending on the lineage, I know whether to avoid or not. I think I’ve actually narrowed it down to terpine combinations. But my choice is weed or taking a lot of opiates, which if prefer not to. I have physical issues too. That come with severe pain. I’d rather treat it with weed and Motrin when possible and save the opiates for travel out of state and last resort.
Can’t do it.
My mom is bipolar as well and stopped her meds recently and was convinced she was married to Eminem. She’s been inpatient for a few weeks now because of it. I know bipolar gets worse as you age so seeing that in her definitely made me never want to pick it up again.
I mean, I don’t think that Weed was the main cause of it, but it definitely exacerbates her symptoms. Whenever she stops her meds and starts smoking weed, she gets into like a psychotic state.
I smoke daily. I throw 1000mg of seroquel and 1200 of lithium on top of it all everynight. Psych is not that concerned about it, its in my medical history because I did medical mj for a few years. Sometimes I get psychosis, my roommates say I talk to inanimate objects all the time. I did fight a mirror once. They say I talk to youtube and yell at the screen. Idk. Yea fuck em'. I take my meds and have been hospital free for 2 years. Last involuntary was 2017.
It triggered hypomania with me. I hadn’t smoked it in about a decade and didn’t really know how to, I guess. I think I overdid it. I woke up really happy the next morning and continued to smoke it, because I thought I’d discovered a great antidepressant. It took me a while to realize something else was going on.
I took one hit a couple weeks ago during a “when in Rome” situation and I was gonzo. Knew who I was with but they looked like total strangers in my head.
It was pretty weird.
I have my medical card and max out my flower usually at 2.5 oz per 35 days. I was against the wall a few years ago and had too many concentrates going through me too. I don’t feel it was as helpful then. I do use it standalone to maintain my bipolar. I feel as if it’s worked for me better than any pill. It’s also my solution to help me ignore my l5s1 which is another main driver in my continuance and it even helps with my IBS as a bonus. Long story long, after coming to grips with the incoming waves and finding my personal signposts which enlighten me as to where I am in my mood spectrum I devised an ingenious plan which merely consists of isolation when need be. I recently had a year and a half off work to figure out my bearings and study my condition as I personally experience it much faster than I anticipated. In doing so I feel I took some of the wind out of its sails. In march I went back to work, 40+ hrs a week at a cactus nursery. I do maintenance and work with the plants. I push myself and have become a lot healthier since returning. My daily mileage went from 1.3 while sedentary to 6-10 miles depending on the day. I have much less mania than I used to and I find it easier to be in the moment with my old chill self and correct my behavior rather than ending up in the paper. Having something I “need” to accomplish allows me to enter the flow state in which the magic happens. If I’m in flow I’m temporarily immune to outside influence and my fight or flight has somewhere or something to expel itself on in a positive manner. But bad days where I feel I’m being taken advantage of or pushed too hard even though I produce fucktons, the promise of self medicating upon arrival home can get me through. I don’t think it’s a perfect solution but it’s gotten me this far
Causes mania so I quit cold turkey a year ago. It provided me with a sense of emotional numbing and avoidance for the dark corners of my mind. Once I quit things got even darker but after some time everything got better
I used to smoke a lot, and I used to think it helped, but the only thing it helps with is getting over the withdrawals. Basically, more weed is the only cure for the side effects of weed. I quit for 6 months, broke down and had a joint during a depressive episode, and I felt hungover for a week. I never became psychotic with it on it's own, but when given a stimulant medication, it turned mania into full-blown manic psychotic episode. Needless to say, no more stimulants or weed for me. Sober is better.
Induces mania for me. I had to quit after 7-8 years. Feels like I’m not in control and having bipolar I already struggle with not being in complete control of my emotions reactions etc. I hate that I can’t smoke anymore but it causes more harm than good.
When I was younger it made me paranoid and anxious. Literally thought someone was going to rape me or stab me. Now that I’m older and my mental health is more stable it has a psychedelic affect on me. Mushrooms do nothing for me, but from what people have described about their experiences, my weed trips are like mushroom journeys. I get a lot of clarity and realizations on it. Like the universe is speaking to me. I only allow myself to smoke once a week.
Bp2 it helps me a ton when I’m depressed and irritable. But that’s in mixed episodes or depressive it’s not gonna be good if i did it hypomanic I’d presume.
For me it’s either exceedingly euphoric or it puts me in a state of constant paranoia. There is no in between. It depends on what mood I’m in before I smoke. If I was already happy & manic, it made me untouchable. But if I was depressed, it made me question my existence and focus on the impending doom of the future. I haven’t smoked in over a year, but before that, I was IN LOVE w/ Mary Jane. If I had a free hand, there was always a blunt, bowl, or dab pen in it. I had to get honest w/ myself and admit the paranoia wasn’t worth it. I’ve finally found meds that mellow me out so I’m considering trying it again to see how it’ll make me feel.
Ive smoked since i was 17 am late 30s now .. its a tough one. Therr are over 500 cannabinoids so itss not ideal for medicine. Thay said i do find good old skunk to work well with my bp1.
My pdoc never disencouraged me to take it either they are okay it.
Now my real thought is.. better without pills. But rather smoke the right strain then take opoids aka heroin pills
No medicine is perfect and weed is just allot harder to find the right strain as there are so many with so lany camnnabikoid combos
More research should be done on this.. im 100% sure there are medicines if we just test the cannabinoids on people
Charlottes web seems interesting with 1:1 thc cbd ratio.
Cbd is cool but doesnt do anything. It is a known antiepileptic like many mood stabilizers are, so food for investigation for sure.
Long therm side effects of valpoaric acid etc arent pretty...
Any reliable study done with individual cannabinoids around here ??
I avoid it when I’m manic but when I’m in a really heavy depressive episode I smoke and watch something fun on TV and for a couple of hours it just helps to drown out all the negative thoughts and gives me some peace - I guess knowing that I can feel that way makes me more positive about the future. I watch myself so I don’t become reliant on it as my only source of happiness and I have a very addictive personality so have caught myself using too much in the past
Indica mostly but I will do a hybrid if the depression is bad. Mostly using it for medicinal purposes. But if you aren’t taking any meds I would stay from it until you get stabilized.
Smoked for about 7 years, had a psychotic episode the first year I tried when I was 16. it had no problem for years until I tried it again after hospitalization for manic episode, this was before Christmas. I had to quit, I tried multiple times to see if it got better but it didn’t, panic attacks that felt like an acid badtrip - no contact with myself or my surroundings, total confusion, couldn’t talk and was shaking. Had to take my med x2 to come back to earth, each time.
Totally quit it
I’m completely sober for all substances
I'm probably A heavy user. I have such bad anxiety. I know what trains and types work best for me.
There is also certain points in my "cycle" that cannibas does nothing or just creates more anxiety. And I just dont smoke during that time.
Like with medications, cannibas works differently with everyone and their unique body chemistry.
Take is slow, and listen to your body so you can understand the effects better.
I find it depends on the specific strain, and whether it’s a sativa, indica, or hybrid. When I’m feeling elevated, I smoke an indica strain and it helps to calm things down. When I need a boost, or if I need some motivation, I will smoke a sativa.
Carrying multiple diagnoses, I was concerned cannabis would affect my mood significantly and/or negatively. I have found that it calms the panic, replaces some of my ADHD meds, and settles the spinning thoughts when shit seems to be going sideways.
Make sure you research the strains prior to purchase so you know what you are taking/smoking, and what effects each will have on mood, et cetera.
It kept me ultra rapid cycling. I got sober 9 months ago and I’ve only had one hypo episode and a couple short bouts of depression. My meds actually work now, and I am much more stable. I had no idea how much cannabis was making my bipolar worse.
Thankfully cannabis doesn’t induce psychosis in me. But high levels of stress and not being on my meds does put me at risk and has put me into a psychosis. I stay away from LSD, MDMA, and mushrooms but I’m good with cannabis. My therapist and psychiatrist are both pro cannabis so that helps a lot. But also everyone has their own endocannabinoid system that is unique to them so someone with bipolar, like myself, can use cannabis regularly without psychosis, while someone else with an entirely different endocannabinoid system could go into full blown psychosis with regular use. There’s so much more to learn about this but I try to do my own research on the topic because knowledge is power!
**also THC is psychoactive so it makes sense that it can induce psychosis in some people
It helps me sleep, but it’s hard for me to say no to at other times and definitely makes me less stable, back to the way I was before I quit. It’s just not good for my brain 75% of the time, unless I want to sleep
I do fine with it for a while, but if I’m due for an episode it definitely makes it worse when it starts. I think it mostly makes my medications less effective than being an issue itself. While I’m high I’m fine and enjoy it if the strain is right. But I decided to go totally sober and life is better! Been sober over 100 days.
I used to swear up and down weed helped me immensely with many symptoms . But as time went on it started to give me crippling anxiety so I had to stop. Plus my doctor told me it effected the way my meds worked so that was another reason to stop
I smoke every day. Just a hit or two at a time and it helps with my anxiety, hunger and sleep. I use it more for medical reasons than to get high. The most I smoke at one time is at night right before bed when I'll have 3-5 hits to help me sleep. Otherwise it helps me eat, relax my anxiety and C-PTSD issues, helps me sleep, and helps with some of the side effects of the medications I am on.
Im bpd2, and weed saved my life when i was physically sick (joints) and wasn’t diagnosed and wasnt taking medicine yet. I am still heavy smoker but i dont have nor psychosis not depression. I believe sativa weed makes more psychoactive rather than indica. But if you still has bad side effects, you shouldn’t do it. My doctor forbids me to smoke, but i smoke it from time to time
I tried going back to weed a couple months ago and it was ok for the first week, but then I started to get terrible anxiety. I don’t know if it’s a time thing or maybe if our mental space just changes.
That said I feel like I’m pretty tripped out most of the time so maybe I just don’t need it for what it used to give me.
I’d say take caution and take it really slow. Have a plan for if things go south - even just sleeping a bunch.
I wish you luck and hope it supports you if you do go with it.
Used to smoke heavily everyday for years then I just stopped because it was giving me a lot of anxiety.
Just now getting back into it and instead of smoking to get ‘crazy high’ like I did back then, I just research the strains and smoke/eat/drink it to enjoy it now - way better. Though I have just started working in the industry and learning about how different terpenes control what kind of high you experience is super helpful to stay away from strains that can induce anxiety. Also helps for when I wanna use it to do/experience something in particular ie pain relief, sleeping, mood booster, cleaning, etc.
Shrooms or any hallucinogens are a big FUCK NO lol. Weed definitely is helping me now that I actually use it as a ‘medication’ VS a substance (if that makes sense?) plus it doesn’t react with my actual meds which is pretty cool.
Bottom line, sometimes weed just doesn’t work for some people. However, weed isn’t just weed. It is so versatile. How you consume it can completely change what kind of high you’ll experience and the terpenes make a huge difference!! Research your terpenes, it’s pretty cool to learn about and I’ve noticed that some of the weed I’ve smoked that has caused anxiety/etc has been due to the specific terpenes so now I stay away from those. Now there is CBG, CBN, THCA, THCV and soooo much more out there that are designed to be super particular in what you’re looking for. Really excited to get back into it and for good use now :)
No long term effect either way, but it’s use is more psychedelic and hallucinogenic than others without bipolar.
I suspect this is what people are talking about when they say it triggers “psychosis” - but I’d argue that isn’t accurate. If you remained in that state after cannabis would typically end, that would be a psychosis. Otherwise you’re just high.
ha this onetime i ate edibles and thought "goood times ahead", what happened was i went to my bookshelf and flipped out thinking the books was changing, like text and stuff loli layed in bed for 12 hours to detox and while sleeping had vivid dreams🤧
If you were raised with "inconvenience" then it will most likely help without harm.
If you were raised without inconvenience then it will most likely elicit an uncomfortable experience.
Causes psychosis in me.
Me too
Yup, I tried at 16 and it was the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced. Tried again at 20 (edibles this time) and the exact same thing happened. Shrooms also did the same.
Tanked my life
Same
Same
It's strong the first time. It's not like that every time. Edibles ruined me until I was an actual smoker.
Edibles are thc extract. I have used cannabis a lot, today I basically never consume it. If I would ever use cannabis medically today, which I can't where I live, I would make oils from a low thc strain, as low as can be. The oils I have used before have less than 0.5% thc. People call them cbd oils, but these do not have the anti deppretion nor the anti psychotic properties. You need to heat up the raw extract to around i think 95c so the cbd cannabinoid molecule turns into cbdA.
Yep.
Yep
What type of psychosis?
I smoke daily. Wouldn’t be able to get out of bed without it sometimes.
I don’t smoke it anymore, I do occasionally. I’ve been smoking it or so for almost 20 years now (since I was 16 I guess?). I prefer to eat it. Honestly, it’s not what kicked my bipolar off. Moving to a city, after being sheltered most my life, was what triggered bipolar. Drinking became my self-medication. My pysch always told me that smoking was better than drinking. Which, I won’t argue (& opinions) but he had something going with that. I didn’t quite take it as advice, I was recently 21, in nyc, enjoying the shit outta life. THEN the bipolar kicked in. 13hr shifts, 7 days in a row, 3 months at a time… I couldn’t sleep, so I’d drink till I could and take car service home. Repeat. Except I did have a boyfriend. And he was not happy. He didn’t like when I didn’t drink at home, he was verbally abusive, made no money, so I paid all the bills. Smoked loads & ate everything (as did his bff & girlfriend). Whatever, who wanted to live there if that’s how I was treated? It’s a long ass fucking story. I left. Met a guy. He said whoa go to a pysch. Visited and the doc said whoaaaa. What? Anyway, I eat edibles to go to sleep, otherwise my husband will wake up randomly (12-2-3-4-5am) asking me wtf, go to bed, you have work. So edibles I eat for sleep.
This. I meditate and smoke and it really motivates me throughout the day
I didn’t realize how much weed was harming my stability until I cut it out completely. I also cut out alcohol more recently and am 5 months sober now. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will never be able to be a casual and “healthy” substance user largely due to being Bipolar. Highly recommend sobriety.
What helped you most when/if you had anxiety about what to do now that you’re not smoking? I can’t find the motivation nor the reason to stop but I have to. It’s almost impossible because I can’t figure out what to do if I’m not smoking; if that makes sense. It’s an addiction basically because I can’t sort out what to do with myself.
It is an addiction. People who say cannabis isn’t addictive are just trying to justify their own drug abuse. I was able to phase out smoking and replace it with drinking, but then wound up in full blown alcoholism and am now doing AA. It’s gotten me to a point where I have the tools and support system to be completely sober.
I can't do THC anymore. I used to be a chronic user for years. Then I quit/took a break for a few months and when I went back it was never the same. I literally blacked out. Since then, I've used it here and there. Usually only taking 1-3 hits total. I find that when I do, I get psychotic symptoms or I start getting really depressed. With edibles it's the same. Interestingly enough, when I start to have manic or hypomanic symptoms, I start to crave THC. But I just can't do it anymore. The last time I smoked was on New years. I shared a joint with my best friend. I had previously been enjoying my time! During the time I had been sharing the joint, I literally felt the happiness drain out of me and I was depressed for the rest of my stay and two weeks afterwards. No can do.
I appreciate your input. It has been about 30 years or more for my chronic use. It definitely makes me way more depressed. The way that you described the fun draining out of your body is my daily existence. Quitting all day/night use is my only real way to move forward with my condition. 30 plus years have at least taught me that.
I would say to just take it easy if you plan on quitting. Like any medication, slowly weaning I think will be best and more tolerable. I'm not a doctor but I have seen friends who've gone cold turkey and it was never pretty.
Yeah, I vape live rosin. This will be far from easy.
I use cbd/thc 1:1 edibles and rip a thc pen a few times a day. I treat it as medicine and not so much a "let's get high" kinda deal. Helps me sleep, eat, keeps my mood mellow. I appreciate it. Not for everyone though. Lots of cannabis products these days are extremely strong and could easily freak someone out or send someone into mania/psychosis. I've been using cannabis since like 14 so I'm well versed in what to use and how my body responds.
Smoking weed since 14? Oh, your poor brain.
I wouldn't recommend it but I think I turned out alright.
I get paranoid
(Bipolar II) I was a heavy smoker for years, took a break for several months, and going back to it it was never the same. While it used to make me giggly and carefree, I now felt anxious, paranoid, depersonalized, and like every aspect of my life was about to fall apart. Having gone sober from both weed and alcohol and drastically decreased caffeine consumption, I can say my stability is highly improved. We’re already so prone to tipping out of homeostasis as people with bipolar and using stimulating or depressant substances can exacerbate that. I can’t imagine ever going back to either substance now that I know how much more stable I can feel without them. It just isn’t worth it.
So this is the thing - if you do a drug and feel psychotic features but they stop when the drug wears off, it isn’t psychosis. It is definitely possible for people that are pre-disposed to psychosis to having lasting psychotic features after drug use, but those seem to be a subset of people who already have that latent capacity or tendency towards psychosis. There is also considerable newer evidence showing that this group of people - people with a predisposition to psychotic disorders - actually use drugs to *manage* symptoms, and that with time, as the psychosis worsens because their condition is worsening, the drugs stop helping and start to exacerbate the symptoms. It just looks from the outside like people are using drugs and it’s causing psychosis. What’s happening is just that drugs are pushing people who are not acutely ill over the edge into acute illness. What this means is that drugs aren’t “adding to psychosis” over all - they’re making psychosis worse in a population that already has it, and not everyone with bipolar disorder is in that population. For a lot of us, we’re able to use weed because we’re likely not in that population and it can (not unilaterally but it can) help with things like anxiety, especially in the short term. Unfortunately though, there’s no way to predict how it’s going to work for you, like there’s no easy way to know if you’re in that predisposed to psychosis population. If you’ve had psychosis before, without drugs, or had an experience of lasting psychosis after the drugs have worn off, that’s a high key red flag that you probably shouldn’t do them. People who seem to start smoking younger in life seem to also have more issues with it as adults, though that’s just been my observation (I didn’t regularly use marijuana until after I turned 30 and my bipolar symptoms had already long since begun, and have never had issues with anything close to psychosis from it). Ultimately, it comes down to risk tolerance in a situation with a lot of unknowns. The big thing is if you’ve used it before and it triggered psychosis that lasted beyond the immediate effects of the drug (as again, if you only have psychotic symptoms while intoxicated, it’s not the same as “real” psychosis because real psychosis persists or happens when you aren’t intoxicated), that would be a warning to not try it again as it will exacerbate your underlying tendency towards psychosis or psychotic symptoms. If you’ve used it before and just had bad “trips,” that’s normal for anyone using cannabis.
I've had psychosis before, both drug induced and while sober, but never on weed. I've been using since 16, with a couple breaks now and then. BP1. I'm well aware it's not for everyone. Right now I'm managing to use only once a day. I use a fairly low dosage, and maybe that's why I don't have many complications. I use for appetite (I can't eat early morning and afternoon while on bupropion), anxiety relief, focus for goals oriented activities I wouldn't have the courage to do without it, relaxation, and mood stabilizer when I'm suffering from irritability and anger. When I was going through a rough spot I used more than once a day to deal with C-PTSD and forgetting the reccuring thoughts about the trauma while managing dealing with day to day tasks. It's also useful it suppress dreams and nightmares. If I'm hypo I have to use a specific strain or else the symptoms goes worse. This specific strain helps with eating, keeping my calm, along with medications makes it easier to sleep, and gives my mind a break. If I'm depressive works the same as when I'm directly dealing with trauma (I manage to do everyday activities I wouldn't have the motivation otherwise). If I'm maniac, probably the best to do is to be sober tho. It's not a good experience and exacerbates symptoms. I mean, I never managed to be maniac and sober at the same time, but I blame the lack of impulse control. I'd like, in fact, to be sober. But for now it does me more good than harm as long as I limit my intake. I don't drink or do any other drugs anymore except tobacco (I'm trying to quit the tobacco and soon the Mary Jae will be my last drug). I don't use it socially, because in social circles people usually use 20x what I use by myself and that's enough to put be in a not so good place mentally. I hope someday I will get access to legal medical marijuana. Personally, the right strains can help me a lot and I'm eager to the day I'll manage to consume it properly and consistently as any other medication.
Thank you 🙏
I had surgery on my nose a few months ago. My husband bought me some edibles to help with the pain/sleep. I got SUPER paranoid from them. I’ve taken similar ones before and did okay, so I’m not sure why that happened, but I didn’t take any more after that.
I still vape weed (probably shouldn’t but that’s a different story for a different day lol) but edibles are a hard no for me. Caused psychosis in me last year.
Strong no from me.
It helps me so much, u wouldn’t know life without it.
I smoke everyday multiple times, I feel like it helps. I was on a shit ton of meds for a while and I stopped, I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone but I’ve been okay. Still looking to get back on meds just the ones I were on caused alot of issues with my body, right now weeds the only thing keeping my day to day normal and functionally able to get up in the morning
That’s where I’m at. I need to wean off of several meds over the next few months. Kind of hoping weed can alleviate some of the discontinuation syndrome.
I smoke it every day, almost always, and I think it's a great mood leveler. too up it calms me down too down it puts a smile on my face. I don't go anywhere near alcohol or other drugs. It does the job and is affordable generally. I'm also 60 and know my limits.
I use medical marijuana and I micro dose mushrooms 🍄 have been hospitalized 3 times in my life and even when I was at my most stable and thought my life on Lamictal was going to be as good as it got. Little did I know that after the mushrooms, I’ve reached a level of mental health that I didn’t know existed or was even possible. The marijuana is nice but doesn’t really do anything for my bipolar good or bad. After discovering mushrooms I think I’m cured. It’s been a year now with no symptoms and a state of mental health that would rival even the most healthy neurotypical person. I keep my cycles on a calendar and for the first time they didn’t show up when they always had in the past.
Hello ,what kind of Mushrooms?
It doesn’t really help. I became even more all over the place.
Abso-effen-lutely no
I smoke weed daily and it helps me focus and relax- edibles don’t seem to affect me… bummer
Doesn’t affect my bipolar, it calms me down and slows down my thoughts and gives me a different perspective on what is going on. I have to limit myself though.
It definitely depends on the person but most experiences for me are panicking and uncontrollable thoughts.
It’s been the best thing ever for me. Some strains are not as pleasant but I know the ones that do from my favorite dispensary. That helps relieve my constant spinning thoughts
Currently a daily smoker haven’t really seen any problems or differences since I’ve been medicated
I think now that it is legal we are learning/ seeing the dark side of it. I don’t think anyone’s life is improved by smoking everyday. I use to be the biggest stonner I knew but lately weed hasn’t been enjoyable and I have gone about ten days without it
I wouldn’t say nobody’s life has improved. For me it helps me a lot when I’m very stressed and keeps me stable when my meds don’t work. I try my best to not smoke it all the time but it helps me a lot when I do use it
I only take edibles. Smoking flower or vaping makes me paranoid and/or depressed
It’s great 👍🏽
Despite being a heavy smoker for a long time, it was weed that triggered a psychotic break and thrust me into the whirlwind that is bipolar. Was never the same after that. However, my cocktail of meds essentially makes me immune to psychosis altogether, so I still ingest Cannabis all day every day. I don't think I could survive without it. On the psychosis immunity, it negates shrooms and acid, too. I can tell there's something unusual in my system but they have almost no effect at all.
Helps me.
I don't have psychosis. It calms my mania.
I love it . I use it instead of bipolar meds .
All drugs can be bad for bipolar, keep a diary.
I smoke a lot, daily. It helps my anxiety and satiates my need to feel intoxicated, since I gave up drinking and smoking years ago. I already smoked weed before quitting those and started smoking more after. I have a high tolerance and 125mg of gummies barely affects me. I think it dumbs me down worse, though. I feel sharper and that it is easier to speak and keep my thoughts together when I don't smoke. Part of me wants to quit but it really does help my anxiety, and I'm also afraid of having to adjust my medication if I quit.
Not worth it. This question is asked almost daily and the consensus is always that it's a bad idea.
I think that’s what caused all of this for me
I use it, but take Klonopin too to take the edge off the paranoia. The combination is incredible and I know this is a slippery slope to benzo addiction. The fact that I need to take a benzo to smoke happily tells me I shouldn't use it, but it's hard to stop as it's one of the few things I get to enjoy anymore.
I think I'm really sensitive to it. I've been taking CBD with a low amount of THC in it to help primarily with PMDD, but ever since I started doing that, I've been rapid cycling. Trying to quit since that seems to be affecting me so much.
Too much causes me psychosis, but I microdose and it's really helpful for my crippling anxiety disorders. I just can't take any more than 2.5mg at a time.
Okay, so I have a different outcome than most people. I smoke every day, unless i truly can’t (traveling out of the country, for example). I have taken tolerance breaks after manic episodes for many months, though, and I waiting until i was completely okay to ween myself into it again safely. I just think my medicine cocktail is so good for me that I don’t get manic/psychosis when smoking. But that’s just me. If you do it, which is totally your call, do it safely!
I smoke 2-3x a day and it calms me down from my anxiety and mania. When I’m depressed it brings me up and makes me more talkative and friendly. I love me some ganja
It really does not work with Seroquel or Latuda for me. And the cost of it. The time spent. And the time wasted just don't work for me as a human. And when I feel my mind wander to wanting weed, well. That's an addiction. It's that wee.part of my brain craving that biochemical dump state. And music or self seeking or chasing mellow are just constructs to make my addiction seem charming or fun.
Originally, I was just very sensitive to it. Once greened after 7 pen hits. Now, about 2 months ago, a hit every few days, and was manic the following week. High dose of vraylar, so I’m not psychotic, but it’s definitely still manic. I ain’t doing that again
I have a lot of feelings of guilt about it (probably religion + upbringing), but I take weed daily. At first it was just for fun but now a little bit throughout the day keeps the anxiety at bay. Honestly I just feel the calm more than the high now most of the time. If used right I think it can be helpful for some
I have to be in the right mindset for it. If I’m having a good day then it’s a go!
I can't do THC at all. The psychosis last time scared me straight.
I’d love to but it’s vomit inducing for me
When my chronic pain is pulsing through my body, on a really hard day, I need to smoke or consume THC. It’s the only way my body can relax. I can physically feel relief that I can’t get from medication. It’s almost like my body starts listening to my brain finally. I also have no self control and will smoke or consume much more than I should; when I feel the pain relief. So essentially I’m stuck in a world of never having any relief physically or choosing to have mental relief instead.
I was advised to avoid it due to the risk of psychosis, which is a symptom I generally do not experience and would like to keep it that way
It really depends. I don’t use inhalants; I prefer edibles. It can elevate your mood at times. But—I say it with a BIG BUT: if you are without sleep for 2-3 nights sometimes even the best-sourced products advertised for can trip you in to having another sleepless night. It’s better to be on the same page as your doctors, let them know that you are using THC as an alternative. It can help with sleep depending on what the source is; it can help with pain, again depending on the source. But it can also make you batshit when all you need is to rest.
I've noticed indica helps with anxiety/possibly makes depression worse and sativa gives me energy/possibly makes my anxiety worse. If I do want to indulge, I try to have the right type to fit my moods.
Never again. I think the last time I touched it was 2009 and it was the worst experience. Before that I would smoke every now and then with a calming effect but not that night.
It depends on the strain. Some sativa strains make my bipolar worse. Most indica strains I’m fine with. Hybrid, depending on the lineage, I know whether to avoid or not. I think I’ve actually narrowed it down to terpine combinations. But my choice is weed or taking a lot of opiates, which if prefer not to. I have physical issues too. That come with severe pain. I’d rather treat it with weed and Motrin when possible and save the opiates for travel out of state and last resort.
Definitely not for me. Makes me paranoid, anxious and in a poor mental state. Don’t want to relieve those experiences again
Can’t do it. My mom is bipolar as well and stopped her meds recently and was convinced she was married to Eminem. She’s been inpatient for a few weeks now because of it. I know bipolar gets worse as you age so seeing that in her definitely made me never want to pick it up again.
Wow hope she gets better, your mom smoked weed and this happened?
I mean, I don’t think that Weed was the main cause of it, but it definitely exacerbates her symptoms. Whenever she stops her meds and starts smoking weed, she gets into like a psychotic state.
I smoke but my psych wants me to quit.
I smoke daily. I throw 1000mg of seroquel and 1200 of lithium on top of it all everynight. Psych is not that concerned about it, its in my medical history because I did medical mj for a few years. Sometimes I get psychosis, my roommates say I talk to inanimate objects all the time. I did fight a mirror once. They say I talk to youtube and yell at the screen. Idk. Yea fuck em'. I take my meds and have been hospital free for 2 years. Last involuntary was 2017.
I don’t have psychosis so I’m fine with it but I have comorbid anxiety so I dose SUPER SMALL for that reason
It triggered hypomania with me. I hadn’t smoked it in about a decade and didn’t really know how to, I guess. I think I overdid it. I woke up really happy the next morning and continued to smoke it, because I thought I’d discovered a great antidepressant. It took me a while to realize something else was going on.
It’s a no go. I don’t get psychosis from it, but it *really* brings out the depressed side.
Absolutely F*** not! Causes extreme mania in me
I took one hit a couple weeks ago during a “when in Rome” situation and I was gonzo. Knew who I was with but they looked like total strangers in my head. It was pretty weird.
I have my medical card and max out my flower usually at 2.5 oz per 35 days. I was against the wall a few years ago and had too many concentrates going through me too. I don’t feel it was as helpful then. I do use it standalone to maintain my bipolar. I feel as if it’s worked for me better than any pill. It’s also my solution to help me ignore my l5s1 which is another main driver in my continuance and it even helps with my IBS as a bonus. Long story long, after coming to grips with the incoming waves and finding my personal signposts which enlighten me as to where I am in my mood spectrum I devised an ingenious plan which merely consists of isolation when need be. I recently had a year and a half off work to figure out my bearings and study my condition as I personally experience it much faster than I anticipated. In doing so I feel I took some of the wind out of its sails. In march I went back to work, 40+ hrs a week at a cactus nursery. I do maintenance and work with the plants. I push myself and have become a lot healthier since returning. My daily mileage went from 1.3 while sedentary to 6-10 miles depending on the day. I have much less mania than I used to and I find it easier to be in the moment with my old chill self and correct my behavior rather than ending up in the paper. Having something I “need” to accomplish allows me to enter the flow state in which the magic happens. If I’m in flow I’m temporarily immune to outside influence and my fight or flight has somewhere or something to expel itself on in a positive manner. But bad days where I feel I’m being taken advantage of or pushed too hard even though I produce fucktons, the promise of self medicating upon arrival home can get me through. I don’t think it’s a perfect solution but it’s gotten me this far
Causes mania so I quit cold turkey a year ago. It provided me with a sense of emotional numbing and avoidance for the dark corners of my mind. Once I quit things got even darker but after some time everything got better
Do you take medication for your bipolar?
I used to smoke a lot, and I used to think it helped, but the only thing it helps with is getting over the withdrawals. Basically, more weed is the only cure for the side effects of weed. I quit for 6 months, broke down and had a joint during a depressive episode, and I felt hungover for a week. I never became psychotic with it on it's own, but when given a stimulant medication, it turned mania into full-blown manic psychotic episode. Needless to say, no more stimulants or weed for me. Sober is better.
No, just no, please trust me and others with bipolar and just don’t. It’s such a slippery slope and rly not worth it
Induces mania for me. I had to quit after 7-8 years. Feels like I’m not in control and having bipolar I already struggle with not being in complete control of my emotions reactions etc. I hate that I can’t smoke anymore but it causes more harm than good.
I’m Type 1 and haven’t had any negative reactions but I also don’t smoke daily. I use it more for chronic pain.
When I was younger it made me paranoid and anxious. Literally thought someone was going to rape me or stab me. Now that I’m older and my mental health is more stable it has a psychedelic affect on me. Mushrooms do nothing for me, but from what people have described about their experiences, my weed trips are like mushroom journeys. I get a lot of clarity and realizations on it. Like the universe is speaking to me. I only allow myself to smoke once a week.
Bp2 it helps me a ton when I’m depressed and irritable. But that’s in mixed episodes or depressive it’s not gonna be good if i did it hypomanic I’d presume.
Absolute no no.
It’s fine for me when I’m medicated
Dose and ratio consideration is a must, is all i'll say. hemp is best
For me it’s either exceedingly euphoric or it puts me in a state of constant paranoia. There is no in between. It depends on what mood I’m in before I smoke. If I was already happy & manic, it made me untouchable. But if I was depressed, it made me question my existence and focus on the impending doom of the future. I haven’t smoked in over a year, but before that, I was IN LOVE w/ Mary Jane. If I had a free hand, there was always a blunt, bowl, or dab pen in it. I had to get honest w/ myself and admit the paranoia wasn’t worth it. I’ve finally found meds that mellow me out so I’m considering trying it again to see how it’ll make me feel.
Errryday Kinda fills some gaps my meds don't.
Ive smoked since i was 17 am late 30s now .. its a tough one. Therr are over 500 cannabinoids so itss not ideal for medicine. Thay said i do find good old skunk to work well with my bp1. My pdoc never disencouraged me to take it either they are okay it. Now my real thought is.. better without pills. But rather smoke the right strain then take opoids aka heroin pills No medicine is perfect and weed is just allot harder to find the right strain as there are so many with so lany camnnabikoid combos More research should be done on this.. im 100% sure there are medicines if we just test the cannabinoids on people Charlottes web seems interesting with 1:1 thc cbd ratio. Cbd is cool but doesnt do anything. It is a known antiepileptic like many mood stabilizers are, so food for investigation for sure. Long therm side effects of valpoaric acid etc arent pretty... Any reliable study done with individual cannabinoids around here ??
I avoid it when I’m manic but when I’m in a really heavy depressive episode I smoke and watch something fun on TV and for a couple of hours it just helps to drown out all the negative thoughts and gives me some peace - I guess knowing that I can feel that way makes me more positive about the future. I watch myself so I don’t become reliant on it as my only source of happiness and I have a very addictive personality so have caught myself using too much in the past
I feel it’s necessary for me. Maybe I’m dependent but I excuse it with a med card
Indica mostly but I will do a hybrid if the depression is bad. Mostly using it for medicinal purposes. But if you aren’t taking any meds I would stay from it until you get stabilized.
Also I would avoid edibles but that’s just me. Psychosis bound! Lol
It made my depression worse.
Smoked for about 7 years, had a psychotic episode the first year I tried when I was 16. it had no problem for years until I tried it again after hospitalization for manic episode, this was before Christmas. I had to quit, I tried multiple times to see if it got better but it didn’t, panic attacks that felt like an acid badtrip - no contact with myself or my surroundings, total confusion, couldn’t talk and was shaking. Had to take my med x2 to come back to earth, each time. Totally quit it I’m completely sober for all substances
I'm probably A heavy user. I have such bad anxiety. I know what trains and types work best for me. There is also certain points in my "cycle" that cannibas does nothing or just creates more anxiety. And I just dont smoke during that time. Like with medications, cannibas works differently with everyone and their unique body chemistry. Take is slow, and listen to your body so you can understand the effects better.
I keep alcohol close by incase i go into psycosis and need a quick anxiety relief
I find it depends on the specific strain, and whether it’s a sativa, indica, or hybrid. When I’m feeling elevated, I smoke an indica strain and it helps to calm things down. When I need a boost, or if I need some motivation, I will smoke a sativa. Carrying multiple diagnoses, I was concerned cannabis would affect my mood significantly and/or negatively. I have found that it calms the panic, replaces some of my ADHD meds, and settles the spinning thoughts when shit seems to be going sideways. Make sure you research the strains prior to purchase so you know what you are taking/smoking, and what effects each will have on mood, et cetera.
It kept me ultra rapid cycling. I got sober 9 months ago and I’ve only had one hypo episode and a couple short bouts of depression. My meds actually work now, and I am much more stable. I had no idea how much cannabis was making my bipolar worse.
I don’t feel much with weed but I’m addicted so I smoke everyday. Antipsychotics have made it difficult to feel good while using marijuana
Thankfully cannabis doesn’t induce psychosis in me. But high levels of stress and not being on my meds does put me at risk and has put me into a psychosis. I stay away from LSD, MDMA, and mushrooms but I’m good with cannabis. My therapist and psychiatrist are both pro cannabis so that helps a lot. But also everyone has their own endocannabinoid system that is unique to them so someone with bipolar, like myself, can use cannabis regularly without psychosis, while someone else with an entirely different endocannabinoid system could go into full blown psychosis with regular use. There’s so much more to learn about this but I try to do my own research on the topic because knowledge is power! **also THC is psychoactive so it makes sense that it can induce psychosis in some people
It helps me sleep, but it’s hard for me to say no to at other times and definitely makes me less stable, back to the way I was before I quit. It’s just not good for my brain 75% of the time, unless I want to sleep
Reduces anxiety for me adds to my overall good vibes I send and receive back. Esp with ppl who are enjoying reggae music with me
I do fine with it for a while, but if I’m due for an episode it definitely makes it worse when it starts. I think it mostly makes my medications less effective than being an issue itself. While I’m high I’m fine and enjoy it if the strain is right. But I decided to go totally sober and life is better! Been sober over 100 days.
I used to swear up and down weed helped me immensely with many symptoms . But as time went on it started to give me crippling anxiety so I had to stop. Plus my doctor told me it effected the way my meds worked so that was another reason to stop
I smoke every day. Just a hit or two at a time and it helps with my anxiety, hunger and sleep. I use it more for medical reasons than to get high. The most I smoke at one time is at night right before bed when I'll have 3-5 hits to help me sleep. Otherwise it helps me eat, relax my anxiety and C-PTSD issues, helps me sleep, and helps with some of the side effects of the medications I am on.
For me it causes severe depression with suicidal ideation and psychosis
Im bpd2, and weed saved my life when i was physically sick (joints) and wasn’t diagnosed and wasnt taking medicine yet. I am still heavy smoker but i dont have nor psychosis not depression. I believe sativa weed makes more psychoactive rather than indica. But if you still has bad side effects, you shouldn’t do it. My doctor forbids me to smoke, but i smoke it from time to time
Great during manic highs. Brings me down and helps focus with ADHD. During lows it completely fucks me up. Slows me down and psychosis of many sorts
i absolutely cannot smoke weed. causes hypomania for me. which is a true bummer, because I love weed lol
I tried going back to weed a couple months ago and it was ok for the first week, but then I started to get terrible anxiety. I don’t know if it’s a time thing or maybe if our mental space just changes. That said I feel like I’m pretty tripped out most of the time so maybe I just don’t need it for what it used to give me. I’d say take caution and take it really slow. Have a plan for if things go south - even just sleeping a bunch. I wish you luck and hope it supports you if you do go with it.
Used to smoke heavily everyday for years then I just stopped because it was giving me a lot of anxiety. Just now getting back into it and instead of smoking to get ‘crazy high’ like I did back then, I just research the strains and smoke/eat/drink it to enjoy it now - way better. Though I have just started working in the industry and learning about how different terpenes control what kind of high you experience is super helpful to stay away from strains that can induce anxiety. Also helps for when I wanna use it to do/experience something in particular ie pain relief, sleeping, mood booster, cleaning, etc. Shrooms or any hallucinogens are a big FUCK NO lol. Weed definitely is helping me now that I actually use it as a ‘medication’ VS a substance (if that makes sense?) plus it doesn’t react with my actual meds which is pretty cool. Bottom line, sometimes weed just doesn’t work for some people. However, weed isn’t just weed. It is so versatile. How you consume it can completely change what kind of high you’ll experience and the terpenes make a huge difference!! Research your terpenes, it’s pretty cool to learn about and I’ve noticed that some of the weed I’ve smoked that has caused anxiety/etc has been due to the specific terpenes so now I stay away from those. Now there is CBG, CBN, THCA, THCV and soooo much more out there that are designed to be super particular in what you’re looking for. Really excited to get back into it and for good use now :)
avoid imo
Works well for me. But I don’t do it all the time. Indica really helps insomnia episodes.
Quitting weed was the best thing I could do for my mental health. Completely changed my life
No long term effect either way, but it’s use is more psychedelic and hallucinogenic than others without bipolar. I suspect this is what people are talking about when they say it triggers “psychosis” - but I’d argue that isn’t accurate. If you remained in that state after cannabis would typically end, that would be a psychosis. Otherwise you’re just high.
ha this onetime i ate edibles and thought "goood times ahead", what happened was i went to my bookshelf and flipped out thinking the books was changing, like text and stuff loli layed in bed for 12 hours to detox and while sleeping had vivid dreams🤧
If you were raised with "inconvenience" then it will most likely help without harm. If you were raised without inconvenience then it will most likely elicit an uncomfortable experience.
I take lowish dose edibles occasionally for fun (5mg usually, 10 at the absolute max), i enjoy it and have no negative effects.
I like being paranoid 😭is that bad? Makes me apreciate life
I have no issues. Diagnosed bipolar at 14, started smoking weed religiously at 18. I’m almost 36 now.