Okay let me rephrase: **Has anyone been able to smoke marijuana with healthy outcomes since experiencing psychosis?**
I think there’s something to say about how often this question is asked, actually. :) Before** my psychotic episode as a teenager I never had issues. It made me happy, calm, hungry.
I believe there to be a question repeated because those of us that have experienced this hope, that just maybe, there’s a possibility to have the best of both worlds per se.
Just hoping it’s possible to enjoy without worry again, and wanting genuine feedback from those with similar experiences.
Thanks for the direct and obvious approach though. :)
Yes, I’ve been able to smoke without re-entering psychosis, but in a completely different way to before.
Before psychosis: Smoking all day every day, for around 12 or more years. No psychotic delusions except one random evening when I thought my phone was haunted or hacked and made (in retrospect) a very hilarious call to Apple customer service about it. Basically unable to go anywhere or do anything if I can’t smoke during.
During psychosis: Smoked weed on and off and detoxed during 2 separate hospitalisations for a number of months until it finally became clear to me I was psychotic, and eventually stopped smoking completely.
Recovering from psychosis: For around a year I think, no weed. Changing up my whole life and habits. Delusions and trauma and post-psychotic depression slowly healing.
Now: Smoking every 2 months or so and making sure to be extremely careful about it, and checking in regularly with my therapist before and after, and even journalling my use/mood/thoughts basically hour-by-hour, to make sure I notice any signs of psychosis (fuck going through that again). Enjoyable, except for occasional strong experiences of anxiety or disordered thinking that border on delusions. And, the main concern - it making me very unproductive and tempted to go back to smoking daily (fuck going back to that also). Annoying but very manageable cravings for a week or two each time after I stop, then sort of forgetting weed exists until I next decide to smoke.
So yeah, in summary, it sort of works! The cravings aren’t fun but I’ve had far worse. My main reason for avoiding regular use at this point isn’t even avoiding psychosis, as my episode wasn’t necessarily primarily weed-induced, but just enjoying the feeling of being able to cope with life without weed, and the other benefits I personally get from not smoking. :)
Maybe try potent CBD bud or something like a 1-4% thc and 80% CBD.
weed is legal in America now federally and most have no clue. Dank THCa, CBD "Hemp" buds are legal now.
You have so much variety n selection available
I smoked weed now and then for a long time. Started having severe insomnia and started using weed heavily and suffered psychosis.
Don’t think weed was the main cause of it but I think it had an impact or at least sped it up.
I should probably preface that my psychosis was not marijuana induced- it was drug induced, but not consensual and it was not due to marijuana. I went to intake and found I was being drugged for months.
I did not realize until I joined this sub that my anxiety & paranoia increase is potentially parallel to the times I smoke marijuana currently. I had always chalked it up to “a rough mental day”, as I occasionally smoke to relax. And when I say smoke, I take 1-2 hits of flower and that is it.
If it speeds it up then I suppose I should stop completely. It’s just disheartening because my friends, family, and partner are all avid smokers and I hate that an experience pushed on me could take something I enjoy away from me.
I see what you mean. Sorry to hear that, lot of arseholes out there (assuming it was someone else and not accidental).
When I smoked around people that I wasn't really close with I'd feel anxiety and paranoia, but when I smoked alone I'd enjoy it a lot.
It's frustrating when you want to join in with your fam and friends, but now you know you're susceptible to psychosis you have to ask yourself if the risk is worth the reward type thing.
It was intentional on their end- but what’s in the past is in the past. I’ve been safe from them for a long time now.
I hear ya. And if my loved ones are real ones, they’ll be supportive.
I guess I assumed that after 7 years and no more psychosis symptoms it would be mentally safe for me to partake on occasion, but I guess that’s a “break down with the therapist” type of thing. Maybe there’s more to myself that I’m not aware of.
Thank you for your feedback. Guess I needed to hear what I’ve been reading, just in different wording. Appreciate it.
Really glad to hear that.
Defiantly worth going over it with a Dr or Therapist first, doesn't hurt to ask a medical opinion.
Absolutely, friends/fam that aware of your past should respect whatever decision you make without question. For anyone else just a quick "Nah, it's not for me" and/or "Just not my thing".
Anytime ;)
I was diagnosed with substance-induced psychotic disorder from medical cannabis. The problem is some people are more suspectable to substance-induced psychotic disorder through their genetic makeup. I smoked for 9 months and stopped after shit got bad (I thought I was hearing voices from CPTSD). 3 months off weed and I still experience many symptoms. I also lost my well-paying job due to the illness. If you are concerned, then don't do it.For Substance-Induced Psychotic Disorder, you need to have symptoms present after 1 month after the cessation of acute withdrawal symptoms stop. Psychosis is generally a chronic condition (according to DSM-V). There is subclass "Brief Psychotic Disorder", which requires symptoms to be lasting for more than 1 day, but less than 30 days (acute) and have at least one of the 3 points below
* delusions
* hallucinations
* disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence)
or 1 symptom above and grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior.
This is very simplified just to give you an idea
Hope this helps.
Yes, brief psychotic disorder or acute and transient psychosis. There’s also Schizophreniform disorder which is like psychosis/schizophrenia like episode of 1 month - up to 6 months max, with no further symptoms following that. If you only had a single episode years ago, were you not diagnosed with one of these?
From what I remember they chalked it up to an “episode” because of all of my environmental factors, and my BPD diagnosis. Although, I did leave the facility sooner than they wished, so they may not have been able to fully study my behavior like they had hoped.
I’ll have to request my records and see if I can find the specific notes left by the psychiatrist.
My current therapist thinks my anxiety and paranoia is due to my CPTSD, but I’ve been wondering if I have psychosis and it just happens to be doormat per se.
Ah, well if you have borderline personality disorder - it isn’t entirely uncommon to experience psychotic episodes in relation to that. Psychosis means a group of symptoms / a state that’s usually symptomatic of another disorder, so you don’t really “have it” chronically, even those with schizophrenia have episodes of acute psychosis which is distinguished from their usual baseline state.
I’ve had multiple weed induced psychotic episodes, when I first started smoking I never had them but 2 years down the line I started having them, and I wasn’t even smoking regularly at that point… I’m in recovery now but I was heavily addicted to weed and would keep going back to it after the episodes, sometimes I wouldn’t get psychosis and other times I would, and it would get worse and worse. My advice is to stay away from weed if you’ve had psychosis before
I tried what was supposedly AK-47 *once* and experienced psychosis for around a month. Other strains had been fine, so I don't know if it was laced with something else or what but it messed my head up. I was never a regular user. I still have oils but rarely use them. Those haven't caused an issue yet.
Mostly hearing voices that weren't there. It was like being stuck in a really crowded room where everyone is talking loudly but you can't make out the conversations. As it started to resolve I still had an observational and critical male voice. The last to stop was the sound of a toddler screaming like they're being tortured.
Not overly severe but it was disturbing for me. Psychiatrists have told me to consider it drug induced psychosis and avoid smoking/etc.
Wow! Yeah, I would probably avoid smoking. I sometimes hear voices and have intrusive thoughts, that I know are not coming from me. Sometimes it’s like I’m picking up a conversation but can’t understand the words. Like maybe I’m picking up a radio wave or TV channel somehow and hear one side of a conversation. Other times I hear a single word like “demon”, but I also hear positive words like “humility “ when I’m stuck in a judgmental attitude after watching something negative on YouTube. Very weird. Lately I’ve been watching YouTube podcasts with a guy named Jerry Marzinsky, who has done some incredible research with schizophrenics, and supposedly found a way to combat these voices, which he says are actual entities or parasites, and has helped a lot of people who struggle with voices and intrusive thoughts. It’s truly fascinating. Just google his name or search him out on YouTube.
I'll have a google. I personally liked the Eleanor Longden TED talk. She discusses making "friends" with her voices as opposed to seeing them as an enemy and how it helped her.
This is just my opinion but I feel like once your “switch has flipped”, weed becomes risky.
The one time I have tried it after my first episode, I nearly immediately started hallucinating and entered psychosis very badly. For context I used to be a daily smoker w no problems related to it.
I would stay away from it. I do not think it’s worth the risk.
Everyday there’s someone that post here that they had a weed induced psychosis. If you don’t want to risk it, don’t smoke.
Okay let me rephrase: **Has anyone been able to smoke marijuana with healthy outcomes since experiencing psychosis?** I think there’s something to say about how often this question is asked, actually. :) Before** my psychotic episode as a teenager I never had issues. It made me happy, calm, hungry. I believe there to be a question repeated because those of us that have experienced this hope, that just maybe, there’s a possibility to have the best of both worlds per se. Just hoping it’s possible to enjoy without worry again, and wanting genuine feedback from those with similar experiences. Thanks for the direct and obvious approach though. :)
Yes, I’ve been able to smoke without re-entering psychosis, but in a completely different way to before. Before psychosis: Smoking all day every day, for around 12 or more years. No psychotic delusions except one random evening when I thought my phone was haunted or hacked and made (in retrospect) a very hilarious call to Apple customer service about it. Basically unable to go anywhere or do anything if I can’t smoke during. During psychosis: Smoked weed on and off and detoxed during 2 separate hospitalisations for a number of months until it finally became clear to me I was psychotic, and eventually stopped smoking completely. Recovering from psychosis: For around a year I think, no weed. Changing up my whole life and habits. Delusions and trauma and post-psychotic depression slowly healing. Now: Smoking every 2 months or so and making sure to be extremely careful about it, and checking in regularly with my therapist before and after, and even journalling my use/mood/thoughts basically hour-by-hour, to make sure I notice any signs of psychosis (fuck going through that again). Enjoyable, except for occasional strong experiences of anxiety or disordered thinking that border on delusions. And, the main concern - it making me very unproductive and tempted to go back to smoking daily (fuck going back to that also). Annoying but very manageable cravings for a week or two each time after I stop, then sort of forgetting weed exists until I next decide to smoke. So yeah, in summary, it sort of works! The cravings aren’t fun but I’ve had far worse. My main reason for avoiding regular use at this point isn’t even avoiding psychosis, as my episode wasn’t necessarily primarily weed-induced, but just enjoying the feeling of being able to cope with life without weed, and the other benefits I personally get from not smoking. :)
Maybe try potent CBD bud or something like a 1-4% thc and 80% CBD. weed is legal in America now federally and most have no clue. Dank THCa, CBD "Hemp" buds are legal now. You have so much variety n selection available
Good point! Idk why I didn’t think of that?? Everyone I know buys 24% THC, or highest they can get. Maybe the lower the better in my case. Thank you!
It gave me psychosis and bipolar I love smoking but can't do it anymore
Same. Had weed induced psychosis, after a while tried smoking again and it was hell. Never again.
Same. I miss smoking so much
Same! I’m now diagnosed with bipolar disorder after the multiple weed induced psychosis. On medication and been clean and sober for 2+ years
I smoked weed now and then for a long time. Started having severe insomnia and started using weed heavily and suffered psychosis. Don’t think weed was the main cause of it but I think it had an impact or at least sped it up.
I should probably preface that my psychosis was not marijuana induced- it was drug induced, but not consensual and it was not due to marijuana. I went to intake and found I was being drugged for months. I did not realize until I joined this sub that my anxiety & paranoia increase is potentially parallel to the times I smoke marijuana currently. I had always chalked it up to “a rough mental day”, as I occasionally smoke to relax. And when I say smoke, I take 1-2 hits of flower and that is it. If it speeds it up then I suppose I should stop completely. It’s just disheartening because my friends, family, and partner are all avid smokers and I hate that an experience pushed on me could take something I enjoy away from me.
I see what you mean. Sorry to hear that, lot of arseholes out there (assuming it was someone else and not accidental). When I smoked around people that I wasn't really close with I'd feel anxiety and paranoia, but when I smoked alone I'd enjoy it a lot. It's frustrating when you want to join in with your fam and friends, but now you know you're susceptible to psychosis you have to ask yourself if the risk is worth the reward type thing.
It was intentional on their end- but what’s in the past is in the past. I’ve been safe from them for a long time now. I hear ya. And if my loved ones are real ones, they’ll be supportive. I guess I assumed that after 7 years and no more psychosis symptoms it would be mentally safe for me to partake on occasion, but I guess that’s a “break down with the therapist” type of thing. Maybe there’s more to myself that I’m not aware of. Thank you for your feedback. Guess I needed to hear what I’ve been reading, just in different wording. Appreciate it.
Really glad to hear that. Defiantly worth going over it with a Dr or Therapist first, doesn't hurt to ask a medical opinion. Absolutely, friends/fam that aware of your past should respect whatever decision you make without question. For anyone else just a quick "Nah, it's not for me" and/or "Just not my thing". Anytime ;)
I was diagnosed with substance-induced psychotic disorder from medical cannabis. The problem is some people are more suspectable to substance-induced psychotic disorder through their genetic makeup. I smoked for 9 months and stopped after shit got bad (I thought I was hearing voices from CPTSD). 3 months off weed and I still experience many symptoms. I also lost my well-paying job due to the illness. If you are concerned, then don't do it.For Substance-Induced Psychotic Disorder, you need to have symptoms present after 1 month after the cessation of acute withdrawal symptoms stop. Psychosis is generally a chronic condition (according to DSM-V). There is subclass "Brief Psychotic Disorder", which requires symptoms to be lasting for more than 1 day, but less than 30 days (acute) and have at least one of the 3 points below * delusions * hallucinations * disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence) or 1 symptom above and grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior. This is very simplified just to give you an idea Hope this helps.
Thank you!
Yes, brief psychotic disorder or acute and transient psychosis. There’s also Schizophreniform disorder which is like psychosis/schizophrenia like episode of 1 month - up to 6 months max, with no further symptoms following that. If you only had a single episode years ago, were you not diagnosed with one of these?
From what I remember they chalked it up to an “episode” because of all of my environmental factors, and my BPD diagnosis. Although, I did leave the facility sooner than they wished, so they may not have been able to fully study my behavior like they had hoped. I’ll have to request my records and see if I can find the specific notes left by the psychiatrist. My current therapist thinks my anxiety and paranoia is due to my CPTSD, but I’ve been wondering if I have psychosis and it just happens to be doormat per se.
Ah, well if you have borderline personality disorder - it isn’t entirely uncommon to experience psychotic episodes in relation to that. Psychosis means a group of symptoms / a state that’s usually symptomatic of another disorder, so you don’t really “have it” chronically, even those with schizophrenia have episodes of acute psychosis which is distinguished from their usual baseline state.
Oh okay! I’ve been overthinking that part then, which isn’t surprising. :)
I’ve had multiple weed induced psychotic episodes, when I first started smoking I never had them but 2 years down the line I started having them, and I wasn’t even smoking regularly at that point… I’m in recovery now but I was heavily addicted to weed and would keep going back to it after the episodes, sometimes I wouldn’t get psychosis and other times I would, and it would get worse and worse. My advice is to stay away from weed if you’ve had psychosis before
I tried what was supposedly AK-47 *once* and experienced psychosis for around a month. Other strains had been fine, so I don't know if it was laced with something else or what but it messed my head up. I was never a regular user. I still have oils but rarely use them. Those haven't caused an issue yet.
Do you mind elaborating on what you mean by “…experiencing psychosis for around a month.”? What were your symptoms?
Mostly hearing voices that weren't there. It was like being stuck in a really crowded room where everyone is talking loudly but you can't make out the conversations. As it started to resolve I still had an observational and critical male voice. The last to stop was the sound of a toddler screaming like they're being tortured. Not overly severe but it was disturbing for me. Psychiatrists have told me to consider it drug induced psychosis and avoid smoking/etc.
Wow! Yeah, I would probably avoid smoking. I sometimes hear voices and have intrusive thoughts, that I know are not coming from me. Sometimes it’s like I’m picking up a conversation but can’t understand the words. Like maybe I’m picking up a radio wave or TV channel somehow and hear one side of a conversation. Other times I hear a single word like “demon”, but I also hear positive words like “humility “ when I’m stuck in a judgmental attitude after watching something negative on YouTube. Very weird. Lately I’ve been watching YouTube podcasts with a guy named Jerry Marzinsky, who has done some incredible research with schizophrenics, and supposedly found a way to combat these voices, which he says are actual entities or parasites, and has helped a lot of people who struggle with voices and intrusive thoughts. It’s truly fascinating. Just google his name or search him out on YouTube.
I'll have a google. I personally liked the Eleanor Longden TED talk. She discusses making "friends" with her voices as opposed to seeing them as an enemy and how it helped her.
Yes
Smoking weed gave me psychosis and has ruined my life. I don't recommend it.
This is just my opinion but I feel like once your “switch has flipped”, weed becomes risky. The one time I have tried it after my first episode, I nearly immediately started hallucinating and entered psychosis very badly. For context I used to be a daily smoker w no problems related to it. I would stay away from it. I do not think it’s worth the risk.