Dealing with cannabis-induced panic and paranoia during the chaotic Christmas season

Like it or not, one of the possible negative side effects of cannabis can be paranoia and, in some cases, panic. The latter is usually triggered by the former, but during my years of smoking cannabis and studying the user base, I have personally seen some people “lose their bananas” to weed. The stress of the holiday season can also provoke strange reactions to your normal weed consumption.

A couple of times I also found myself walking the fine line of sanity as a direct result of tiptoeing. Once because I overconsumed edibles which sparked a deep 18 hour journey that I will never forget. Another time in Santa Monica I was smoking horny weed from a stranger who claimed to be the owner of a pharmacy. It was certainly one of the more potent things I’ve smoked in my life and made the “way back” a lot harder than I had imagined. The public nature of the expedition was what added to the difficulty. Some cannabis strains can induce feelings of “paranoia” more than other cannabis strains.

Panic, anxiety, and paranoia can all arise when you are in the wrong place or with the wrong people. If you are unsafe or in an environment where you can relax, one of two things can happen. Either you run down a rabbit hole full of paranoia and fear, or you get sober and disappear.

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Most of the time I listen when my gut instincts tell me to leave a place! However, you can sometimes smoke alone when panic sets in. I once freaked out a friend of mine when he discovered we were on a rock floating in space. His mind was able to perceive the smallness of his being compared to the vastness of the universe and as a result he began to hyperventilate.

What this did was to quickly remove all of the CO2 from his blood that induces hypocapnia, which in turn can create symptoms that make the narration worse in your head.

According to Science Direct:

“Hyperventilation causes acute hypocapnia, which leads to cerebral vasoconstriction, hypocalcemia, a shift in the oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve and a decreased oxygen supply. Symptoms include lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting, paresthesia, and impaired consciousness. Hypocalcemia with alkalosis can cause seizures and tetany. “

This is related to hyperventilation, which is surprisingly a lot easier than you’d expect. Combine this with some highly potent cannabis and you have a recipe for potential devastation. Of course, the vast majority of people who smoke cannabis don’t have these symptoms, but those who have walked this line know that it doesn’t take much to get to the edge.

What do you do when you feel the “Grim Reefer” reveal itself to you? The first thing you should do is isolate yourself from anything that is going on in your immediate area. Whether at a party or alone, a change of scenery and a breath of fresh air should alleviate many ailments. The simple act of “walking away from the scene” can be enough to get you back into a more imaginative state.

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However, if you still find that you are feeling less than your best, with anxiety in your throat and a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach, the next step is to breathe slowly with controlled breath holdings. What you are doing here is forcing your autonomic nervous system to switch from sympathetic (fight / flight / fear / wrinkle) to parasympathetic (rest / digestion / reproduction). You can do this by simply inhaling for four seconds, holding for seven seconds, and then exhaling for eight seconds. Do this at least ten times and then just let go of your breath and see if you feel better.

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Chances are, you have a little more control over your panic by now. If you want to increase the sense of detoxification from stress and anxiety, just imagine breathing in peace and quiet and exhaling whatever troubles you.

If you need to breathe like this for a while, do this. If you follow this breathing pattern, you can even induce sleep. It is a very powerful technique that saved me from many “difficult journeys”.

But even taking deep breaths may not be enough for your anxiety or stress levels. In this case, all you have to do is close your eyes and just breathe out longer than you breathe in. For example, inhale until you count four and exhale until you count five or six. This is all you have to do, nothing too complicated.

Then, while you sit there with the paranoia and darkness covering you, start observing it instead of being influenced by it. It’s a strange thing, however – when you stop responding to these adverse side effects and simply become aware of them, they usually quickly start to change in intensity.

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The way you watch them is simple. Just take a moment and focus on your breath – and only on your breath. This allows for a little perturbation in the way you react to the situation. When you have concentrated on your breath for a few laps, return to the feeling that was aching you. Take a moment to see how it feels, describe it, but don’t bother with it. Just say things like “it feels like X or Y”. Then you will see where it sits in your body. Is it on your neck, chest, or stomach. Do you have back pain or muscle cramps? How high is the intensity – is there a rhythm?

This exercise helps in several ways. First, your mind is preoccupied with “observing” rather than “participating in the madness”. Second, it allows you to focus your attention on the specific areas. If you want to go deeper, you can ask questions like, “When was the last time I felt this?” And then wait in silence for an answer.

In all likelihood, a memory or event comes to mind. Then ask yourself when did I first feel this way … and wait again. You will be surprised what you can discover in such moments.

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However, if you are not in the mood for inner exploration, just observe these areas and then, as you breathe in deeply, imagine filling those areas with calm light, and just let go of everything as you breathe out.

It may take a few tries to stop the mental chatter, but once you’ve found some calm it will lead you to safe waters.

In the vast majority of cases, people end up in the emergency room for weed because they don’t know how to calm down when they get out of hand. It’s not always easy, our inner illusions are strong. But with enough practice, one can walk on psychological razor blades unscathed.

This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and was republished with permission.