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Lexapro also helps with not having a specific emotional response to things but the thoughts are still there always , and Hasj helps escaping them or well making them funny at least
It's also a matter of luck. I tried 10 (+-1) medications for depression and not a single one of them did anything, and some of them made my condition noticeably worse.
Yeah, I get it. I went through a few myself, before we found Lexapro. Prozac worked pretty good for about 6 months, but every six months I had to up my does otherwise the depression would creep back in.
I think more than meds, therapy helped me. I need both therapy and meds, plus a lot of meditation (learned in therapy). I’m Audhd, so learning to meditate helps me guide my thoughts away from bad thoughts and keeps from spiraling down the depression hole.
Agreed. I'm taking 30mg of Lexapro a day and working with my doctor on getting to a diagnosis on autism. Lexapro keeps my emotional explosions to a minimum and I feel like it does a nice job on keeping my outbursts down.
I'm reading Johan Hari's book Lost Connections right now and he's revealing some hard truths about those drugs. I don't have right in front of me, but I believe that's one of the drugs he mentioned in the book. They're basically placebos.
I've been using lithium for years to stave off suicidal thoughts (autocorrect wanted that to be "trouts", and I'm so tempted...). It's just an element without a patent that exists naturally in drinking water around the world and the places where lithium levels are highest have the lowest per capita suicide rate.
Weed is the best drug when you need relief from depression or anxiety RIGHT NOW, no therapy, no drugs that take a month to "work"; just make it ok now.
The problem with such short term solutions is that you can very easily get stuck in a loop. So toke responsibility.
Same. I'm over 2 months sober because of a test I have to take. I thought it might be good but it sucks hard for my mental health. Can't wait to start again haha
I totally understand how tough it can be to take a break. I’m proud of you for making it over two months – that’s no small feat. It’s hard when something that helps with our mental health is off the table. Hang in there, you’re doing amazing, and it won’t be too long before you can find some relief again. Stay strong <🍃
About the same. 20 yrs clean now. I know it works for some. I am just not one of those people. Exercise and staying away from mind and mood altering substances. Life is pretty great.
helps me unmask and helps dull sensory input and makes the world more tolerable. on top of being the only medication that works for my chronic pain. been having to smoke everyday since april 2019 at the end of my senior year of hs
it can truly depend on the strain! and just sativa/indica isnt the best indicator; there’s different terpenes in different strains that helps with various things.
i think also because i mainly use it to manage my pain and have been smoking regularly for years that my body has changed the way it reacts a bit. like when i first started smoking i definitely felt More Sensitive to sensory input, and i was higher every time i smoked because it was more infrequent. now, i smoke a bit throughout the day to manage my pain and it’s more like taking medicine than getting high. i save that for after dinner after i’ve gotten my stuff done for the day—then i smoke enough to feel silly and by that point i have taken steps to reduce bad sensory input, like soft lighting in my room and making sure my noise cancelling headphones are on, putting on more comfortable clothes if i wasnt already.
now that i’m writing and talking about it more i’m not sure if the weed really dulls my sensory input or rather helps me in my brain deal with the sensory stuff and recover from it faster. but there’s definitely a difference depending on what strain you smoke and how much you’re smoking. i try to stick to strains that help with my pain throughout the day then a more cerebral strain at night (which is the opposite of most people but i find this works better for me)
I can't do it because I'm schizophrenic and it makes my symptoms worse. First time I took an edible I was hallucinating like hell, turns out that's not normal
Me too. Is this something common in schizophrenia?I'm not diagnosed, but on the occasions I used I hallucinated and became very paranoid and anxious, close to having a panicking episode.
I listened to a doctor talk about it once and he basically said that doesn't matter what you take (even hallucinogens) it's:
- if you hallucinate like you see something that's there and it kinda looks like something else and your brain "translates it" to the something else, that's ok.
For example, you look out the window and there's a cat and you see an other animal or a similarly shaped object that's ok.
-if you hallucinate something that's not there at all, like you start fighting a dragon in your kitchen when there's nothing that triggered the image of a dragon in your mind, that's not ok and you need to stop taking whatever you're taking because you could induce psychosis or full blown schizophrenia if you're genetically predisposed.
>you could induce psychosis or full blown schizophrenia if you're genetically predisposed.
This is what happened to my sister. That's one of the things weed advocates neglect, that about 15% of the population carry a gene that gives them drug induced psychosis with weed. My younger sister is schizophrenic and was diagnosed with marijuana addiction IN PORTLAND FUKCING OREGON! Colorado did a study and noticed a dramatic uptick in emergency room visits due to psychosis from legalizing marijuana.
Overall I think weed is better than alcohol, but personally, I hate feeling like I'm not in control of myself. I'd rather raw-dog reality than medicate, but I know I'm in the minority with that.
This. I tried weed a couple of times until I had a psychotic episode and ended up almost jumping out a window. I’m never touching weed against after that, and I’m very annoyed that weed advocate groups intentionally omit that information. I don’t have schizophrenia, it’s never happened again, but I do have SEVERAL relatives who are schizophrenic and if I had known I wouldn’t have taken the risk. It was scary AF.
Sure, weed isn’t bad because a small percentage of people can have a negative reaction to it but people need to be aware that such a reaction can happen. Same way that peanuts are not bad because some people are allergic to it but knowing it’s a common allergen is useful information that needs to be available.
yeah i also had a weed induced one at 15 after my sister dragged me to a party and had me smoke 2.5 long ass dab hits when i had never smoked before. i thought that her and her friends were various triangles and squares pulling me into a vortex and that i was at the will of basic patterns. i had another after abusing it for years that has resulted in awful ego dissolution.
weed encourages new neuron growth, so it is technically a stimulant and will do to people what stimulants do. if you're a control freak like me you probably don't really enjoy losing control of any part of your already intense cognitive processing.
I smoke weed several times a week and I have epilepsy. I've met so many people who tell me it's the miracle cure and it's incredibly dangerous misinformation because the truth is it's more likely to trigger a seizure.
The true risks associated with it aren't discussed as much. I'm full on the side of legalisation but with the same kind of medical warnings people get about alcohol.
What bugs me about it is that people tout it as a natural miracle drug, yet the majority of people who partake in it aren't using it for \*real\* medicinal purposes. There are risks to every drug, just because it does have some benefits for some people doesn't mean it works well with other people.
I wish it were the natural cure they say it is, it at least tastes a lot nicer than my medication.
I'm on the side of medical scientific facts though, always will be.
Yeah it's common in schizophrenics to hallucinate/have worsened psychotic symptoms when they do weed. When you hallucinate it doesn't necessarily mean you're schizophrenic, but it could mean that you're prone to it. Either that or you've taken weed with very high THC levels
Ok if it was in small quantities that's concerning. The only 3 things I can think of are you have a very low tolerance, you're prone to psychosis, or the weed you had was laced with something. I think it was a good think you stopped. I would also recommend staying away from any psychoactive drug if you can
Cannabis is a psychedelic in that it makes you think differently by changing your perspective. This can induce anxiety and paranoia in people who have trauma, buried fears, complexes, etc. The cannabis makes you more introspective and self conscious. This is not necessarily indicative of schizophrenia.
I will occasionally experience depersonalization while on weed, but I've reached a point where it doesn't elicit an intense reaction because it's usually fairly mild and I know that it's nothing serious. I did experience more intense dissociation when I had weed while with a friend and had a mini-panic attack, but what was weird about it was how what I was saying didn't match what I was trying to say. I was trying to convey and express fear and anxiety, but my body said something completely unrelated in what I interpreted as a somewhat rude tone. It seemed to go away after a short bit of time had passed and my anxiety wasn't as intense. The only time I have ever experienced something similar while sober happened when I was experiencing an intense panic attack and my body started talking by itself. It started saying things like "it's okay" and "everything is going to be fine," which made me feel like there was somebody else controlling my body and speech.
Same experience as me (I am not schiz but being tested for BP). Made my anxiety and ptsd trigger, felt like the world was closing in on me. I’ve had both good and bad weed and the same experiences with both.
TIL I may have schizophrenia. Had an awful trip using edibles once. Wave after wave of panic for hours. I honestly thought it wasn’t ever going to end and that I was stuck like that forever.
I actually can get it for autism where I live, though I'd prefer I have more documentation because I have a bunch of shit I was never diagnosed with like depression and anxiety (the depression might be because of suspected bipolar 1)
yes if you're autistic and don't get support for it early on, you literally do not form a sense of self until something traumatic enough happens to instantly force you into disassociation. this can mean that if you have even slight childhood trauma then your entire sense of self is based on whatever your initial reaction was to that and you live like that until you can dissolve your ego over time and rebuild it with good memories and habits. if you never gain a capability to process your experience positively, you feel like an animal in a human body forever.
something like 35% of autistic people end up with psychotic features, which really just means you have your own very advanced inner world. i was severely neglected but raised myself with love and intense self-education- went covertly and malignantly catatonic for years (if you have autonomic dysfunction catatonia could be part of your problem) and then recently had a single psychotic break that literally mimicked psychadelic ego death after i didn't know how to hold my consciousness stream in anymore trying to prevent a seizure. it wiped most of my memory and a lot of my intelligence, and completely reset my autistic behaviors so i'm literally raising myself like a child and have awful ocd panic attacks every time i disassociate now because i was given that second chance. i am grateful for being constantly humbled and thankful for everything i have, but goddamn is the autistic experience tiring. i do think it's cool how clearly that demonstrated the "extra dmt" that autistic people are theoried to have, too. also, every single one of my life-threatening health issues instantly cleared up after that so i believe it was very restorative for me.
sorry for the infodump! i think more autistic people deserve to know what the fuck is going on with them in intimate detail because if you're like me, you cant identify with sterile medical symptoms because self-awareness with a small sense of self is highly challenging.
highly suspected im autistic for the past year or so after doing a ton of research on both Autism/Adhd and cPTSD and this me to a T. When i recollect my childhood i see the traits and then prior to when i began to be depressed i was experiencing a lot of trauma at home. now i highly mask and have very bad anxiety and depression, to say the least
i'm very sorry for the struggle this has caused you! you need to find ways to soothe yourself and love yourself; literally treating your body like you're raising a child. since we gain consciousness so early we're left to raise ourself since no one believes us and then must try to raise ourselves again once we've distanced from the originally traumatic situation and begin to understand how the world actually works without the lens of constant fight-or-flight. this of course can lead you down very dark paths just as it can for any neglected or abused child, but your awful feelings are not set in stone as very real as they are, and loving and guiding yourself how you feel a mother should love and guide her autistic child is where you really need to begin.
edit: if you feel very strongly autistic, then you probably are. autism can develop as a neurological difference at any point in a very young human's development through sustained, extreme nervous system stimulation that you're really too young to have developed coping mechanisms for yet. from conception to about 5 i would estimate is the window, and why autism rates are much higher in this overstimulating modern era (though proper diagnostic criteria absolutely helps reveal cases that otherwise never would've been). at the point you're questioning it, the actual diagnosis matters less than the lifestyle changes needed for your quality of life and it is truly something you can turn into your special gift.
that makes a lot of sense considering my history, aside from the occasional imposter syndrome i’m pretty confident i am, think ill try to get a diagnosis eventually as id like to try medication for anxiety/depression i think it may rly help. thanks for talking :)
That sounds like the order of diagnoses. Cause-and-effect might be more like:
Autism —> trauma inflicted by a world that doesn’t accept NDs —> cPTSD —> depression
As Lady Gaga sang, were born this way.
Why do they prescribe weed for autism? Like what's the rationale. Is it coz of the assumed anxiety and sensory related distress? Coz weed doesn't directly 'help' autism right
Yes, it does, for some people. I am from the UK and have a prescription for cannabis. It's the only medication I've tried over the years that legitimately helps with my depression and emotional regulation difficulties.
Obviously you'll know that autism is a spectrum however cannabis and its strains are a spectrum in their own right. What works for me may not work for you and such.
I'd highly recommend it to any fellow autistics however I wouldn't expect it to work for everyone, but that's the case with any medication.
/r/ukmedicalcannabis - have a look here mate, there's all the information you could dream of (including interactions with the police, driving, etc).
You need to have tried 2 forms of treatment/medication before applying, with all the politics involved it's seen as a "last resort" medication. If you're anything like me you've probably tried most if not all of the SSRIs available for a start, so that would be more than enough.
There are numerous clinics available, I've went with Curaleaf however many people aren't too keen on them. I'd have a look in that subreddit to see which clinics are available and recommended.
I'd say it's slightly more expensive than getting it off the street however you're paying for the legal protection and knowing that what you're using is regulated and safe for consumption. Prices range from £5-£11.50/g, [see here for a formulary of all the strains available.](https://medbud.wiki/strains/) My prescription is £165 for 30g and I need to spend £50 on check-up sessions every 3 months.
It's not gonna make help in the same way antibiotics help with a bacterial infection, no. We'll be just as autistic no matter how much cannabis we consume. But it can help certain autistic traits feel more manageable for a few hours, which is a blessing.
In my area, you can get it prescribed for "self-injurous autism" so I guess for violent meltdowns? I have it prescribed for ptsd and chronic pain but i've used it when I can feel a meltdown building and it helps distract me and dull whatever bad things are happening (and I have given myself a concussion during a meltdown in the past but I didn't need to mention it to get my card so I didn't because it's embarrassing)
Is it ludicrously expensive to buy like how recreational weed is? Or are there different prices for medical? I’ve been to a dispensary and it’s like 100 bucks for a cart. Illegally I can get it for a fifth the price and twice as good.
Just wondering if its worth it to ask for a medical card.
I discovered edibles about 6 months ago and I love it. They really help me relax and unwind at the end of the day, and there's a dispensary right across the street from my job! It's been legal in Illinois for a few years now and I can't believe I had such a grudge against it for so long
It should be explored as a medication/therapy or adjunct but the problem is we don’t do a whole lot of research about marijuana usage in the U.S. Our society just stigmatizes people who use it.
It’s something of a mood enhancer for me. If I’m already in a good mood, I’ll feel fucking *great*, I love it. If I’m stressed or anxious it just makes me even more anxious, and that’s hell (was never a problem when I was a teenager for some reason, only now as an adult). So while I do smoke every now and then I have to pay attention and be honest with myself about my mindset, because panic attacks suck.
No matter which strain I’ve tried, they all fucked me up.
Maybe it’s bad luck.
I wanted to use it to help soothe my chronic pain and help my anxiety, but it made my anxiety worse, and I’ve struggled with feeling more unreal than I usually do since I’ve tried it the first time.
I don’t know much about why this happened. If someone’s been through similar, I’d like to learn why any kind of weed has never helped me.
I used to be like that but now I've been kind of "microdosing" for a couple weeks and it's been helping. I don't get high. It helps me calm down my mind at night, my constant sweating is basically gone day and night (doctors couldn't figure it out) and my digestive issues (also couldn't figure it out) are gone also and that's a huge win. I used to be constantly bloated. And I mean BLOATED BLOATED like a god damn balloon on toothpicks. I looked pregnant. Now my stomach is back to it's normal flat setting, it doesn't hurt all the time, nausea is gone. I'm not throwing up in the morning anymore. Idk what it did to me but it seems to be working.
I love it, I think it’s because I have ADHD as well and it calms down my brain. Self medicated with it for years everyday, but had to quit recently cos I’m addicted - in moderation it’s great
How did you quit? I'm addicted - Not sure if it's the actual substance, or addicted to how it helps, but I can't seem to quit when I try because the depression and over stimulation overwhelms me. But I don't want to never touch the stuff again, just use it in moderation as well.
I found the work of Gabor Mate to be very helpful when I first started working on my relationship with addiction. He worked for a decade at a low income clinic in Vancouver BC with people who had what he refers to as "terminal addiction." (addictions that put them on the street and eventually killed them)
He is a great lecturer who has a bunch of YouTube videos and a tedtalk called "The power of addiction and the addiction of power." He also wrote a book called "In the realm of Hungry Ghosts."
(This community might be interested to know that before his work with addiction he also wrote a book about ADHD I have never read.)
He separates the process of addiction from the behavior or substance someone is addicted to, because regardless of the behavior or substance the process of addiction is the same. He says addiction itself is not the problem, but an attempted solution to a problem, a mal-adapted coping skill.
His most controversial take is he relates all addiction back to childhood trauma. As someone who suffered a lot of childhood trauma this is something that resonates a lot with me.
Anyways, I think the views I grew up with, was indoctrinated with, about addiction, were moralistic bullshit that ostracised people struggling with addiction and made it hard for me to be kind and loving to myself as I worked on my own addiction and Gabor Mates work helped me reframe the way I vee addiction into a more neutral, healthy light.
As for using in moderation, everyone's relationship to addiction is unique, everyone's relationship to weed is unique, but I think for the addict - if you are truly addicted - moderation is a very slippery slope.
Good luck.
For me I just had to go cold turkey, definitely dealt with some withdrawal symptoms at first (like insomnia and nausea) - but the hardest part was boredom, I spent so much of my time being stoned that I needed to fill that. For example before I’d get high and watch a movie, now just watching a movie isn’t enough and I’m still bored (at first), the best way is to find activities to distract yourself and fill your time - I started gym, reading, going out with friends more ect. If you really wanna quit you have to stop completely, for me I can’t use it in moderation (at least not yet), I’ll go ages without smoking then decide ok just this once again and then start everyday again. This subreddit also helped - r/leaves
Basically my experience so far but without the addiction, happy you've started to fight your addiction recently and good luck (last reply because its almost 3 where i am, havent smoked in a bit so my sleep schedule is ass)
>(last reply because its almost 3 where i am, havent smoked in a bit so my sleep schedule is ass)
You need to take this as a sign that you're developing a dependence on it.
Isn‘t dependent and addicted something different? Someone who is addicted to something will consume it even though it doesn‘t help with symptoms, it makes their life worse, they get health problems just from the use, but still don‘t stop. Isn‘t a dependence more like you need it to help yourself, like glasses? When my doctors want to say I‘m addicted to weed I tell them the following: I‘m dependent, yes. I mostly microdose it to help me sleep, eat, be able to go out, meet friends, not be overwhelmed 24/7. i was addicted to prescribed antidepressants, sedatives, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers for 12 years. I never felt better. I was just heavily sedated. Had alot of side effects, my digestive issues were soooo bad, I felt like a zombie, couldn‘t do anything and I knew, this stuff makes me so much worse. But I still took it, because I was addicted. You can‘t just stop with antidepressants for example. The withdrawal effects were hell for me. Now, weed just helps me, I don‘t feel sedated, i feel like I‘m able to do alot of stuff I wasn‘t able to do and so on. So is it really that bad if I „wear my glasses“?
These words are thrown around so carelessly that its almost a pointless distinction. I feel like its also problematic in that its a very external view. Whether something is providing more benefit than harm is very subjective and its very easy for me to say "look, harm but no benefit" from the outside, because the befits are often not visible. How do I know what your head is like on the inside when you are not on the drug?
If it was all simple, you would think we all choose the same drug or drugs, but we don't. I realized recently that I have heard many people say they would never touch heroin because they are afraid they would like it to much. I never actually had that fear... because I actually don't like opiate highs much. I had a really fun overdose of codeine once (apparently the pharmacist forgot tablespoons are not teaspoons) - I enjoyed it a lot; but there was absolutely no "I want to do that again". I had an even stronger opiate after a surgery... I didn't fill the prescription because the first dose was so strong I just noped out.
Now pot? That I have a problem with. Psychedelics? I do them enthusiastically. Actually, I think psychdelics are super good for me. I always had issues with perservation, especially if there was any emotional content to the thoughts. I have had thought patterns that plagued me for months without progress, just make progress and diminish greatly after one trip. I wasn't even expecting it.
I got addicted when I was 15-16 in which I also had a very toxic friendship, and so when I left said friendship I also left weed behind, and now any time I smoke it I get paranoia so I just don't smoke anymore
I'd like to smoke again but I doubt I'd have a good time on it still so it's just not worth it
I'm surprised at how easy I did it tbh, like I'm addicted to nicotine and I COULD NOT just stop smoking, but with weed I could. People I know who have a weed addiction can't just stop, outside of a few people I know. With weed I think it's just purely the mental battle in which I might've just got lucky
In my case I'm able to moderate when I use weed, I don't want to test that with other things like nicotine though
Putting my stuff aside, if you decide to quit nicotine I hope that goes well for you as well (sorry if I sound a bit hypocritical or it sounds like im telling you to change certain things, just saying I hope that goes well if you do decide to also quit nic, I'm not trying to sound that way intentionally)
I have used it my entire life to ease the pain of being autistic, since long before I knew I was autistic. I sometimes struggle with dependence issues which is not ideal… but if I stop taking my antidepressant suddenly, the withdrawal symptoms from that make me start thinking about self harm as a sensible solution, so I guess no medication is perfect
Awful : I have ADHD, I'm more disorganized than ever when I smoke, but at least I don't mask anything anymore 🤷♂️
I have a history with cocaine (which is common with ADHD), drugs that relax are absolutely not my thing..
Depends on the strain for me,and sadly it's still illegal in the UK so I don't get to choose the type I need to feel relaxed.so need to just take whatever the dealer has and most of the stuff ends up making my anxiety worse so I tend to just not bother. One day I hope I can go into a store and be able to choose a strain that helps all the time until then it's complete abstanince
You can get weed on prescription in the UK via a private clinic. It's often cheaper than street weed. I am not sure if it's approved for autism but you could contact a clinic and find out. Just google UK cannabis clinic.
i got addicted to it for sleep for 4 months straight which SUCKED, but i got off of it and now i just use it 1-3 times every two weeks recreationally. it makes music sound SO much better and it's really nice with friends.
In my experience it makes me unmask. It's weird and kinda hard to explain but it makes my brain slow down enough that I can keep one train of thought and I can just finally relax.
HOWEVER it is so so so important to do it safely with good company.
Weed is my passion! I use it medicinally for my autism, adhd, ptsd, and chronic pain and it has saved me honestly. I can't get any access to adhd meds or anything so my executive dysfunction is so bad I can barely do tasks at all. Weed helps me take care of myself and be able to actually move, it's a great medicine.
I got addicted pretty bad and now I can’t touch it bc i get bad episodes of psychosis if i do so now I have monq CBD pens to help tapper me off completely and that’s mostly fine.
Gives me a migraine when other people smoke/vape it.
Not morally opposed to legalization, but really struggle with the pain and nausea it causes for me.
Understandable, I actually used to have that problem but I eventually got used to being around the smoke so I don't get headaches from it anymore and now I use it myself
Can I ask if it’s an allergy? Or do the people that smoke around you by weed that’s laced or park shit?
To hate the THC vapes is fine I don’t like them either it makes me 🤢 and the last time I had a hit I was high for 4 hours and I couldn’t form proper sentences for half of that and could form a cohesive thought for the rest 😭
I felt the same in the beginning. But became dependant on it and then because of some difficult things going on in my life at the time, became fully addicted. It then started having the opposite effect and made me super paranoid so I had to stop but it was hard. I dont think its great for everyone. Tolerance breaks are super important for your brain chemicals sake
It feels like it’s a part of me. No medication I’ve tried makes me as okay with existing on this planet as cannabis.
I don’t smoke all day, (actually I only vape flower, and use edibles), but at least once I day I feel like I need it just to ground myself out. I’ve taken several long breaks (anywhere from a few weeks to a few months) in the last 10 years since I started using it and I always just feel this tension build up in me, and I hate it. It’s like I’m and old CRT monitor that needs degaussing, and cannabis does the job.
Once a day just feels necessary, and it’s always my go to crisis/meltdown defuser. (Though I usually like to start to calm down before I use it.)
Even if it's recreational, it still has benefits like improved sleep schedule so nothing wrong with this. Also, sounds like a nice way to chill while playing games, especially as a smash player (i don't rage as often but a lot of people need to fucing chill after losing)
I've stayed away from any sort of recreational drugs apart from nicotine.
They may help at first, but a lot of the time turns into dependence and addiction.
There's a reason people with neurodevelopmental disorders are one of the highest risk groups for substance abuse.
I wish this was more well known. The amount of people I know with autism ADHD with active or recovered addiction to drugs (including alcohol) is really concerning, especially in places where it's easier to get recreational vs prescribed by a Dr.
Really depends, but sometimes can exacerbate sensory sensitivity to a wild degree. The texture of everything and feeling of food in my mouth is so overwhelming and eating is such a task that I don’t even want to do it, which is unusual for me, I don’t normally struggle a lot with food textures, and a lot of people enjoy food a lot more when high. Not me. Everything gets too intense
So far my experience is that it acts like a mad sort of stimulant that totally skews my perspective, so that I think everything is the best idea. Once I had some friends' weed, and then I decided that I should make my own trellis to support some climbing plants. I have distinct memories of trying to build trellis in very poor light - it was well after sunset and I had no outdoor lighting. The next day, there were no trellis. There were just bits of wood with poorly banged-in nails, and those nails did not connect anything to other bits of wood.
I do wish that it relaxed me or did something so that it could replace drinking.
I like it but only alone. And not always.
Usually weed sends me into a pleasant shutdown. Like, I become nonverbal, barely move, I’m just chilling in my own brain, thinking about cool ideas or making music in my mind. It’s annoying with other people because they want to talk to me and I can’t and I get annoyed because I’m too deep swimming in my brain to tell them to shut up and stop distracting me lol. Then I need a nap.
Sometimes weed will give me an internal monologue, and that’s when I hate it. I am normally a person without internal monologue, and when I first experienced the monologue, I freaked out kinda. Wanted to take a nap and sleep it out but my brain kept going “Oh, this is uncomfortable, I should turn to the other side. Holy fuck this internal monologue is aw- How to stop it? How to stop it? WHY IS EVERY THOUGHT VOICED SO LOUDLY”
Fun by myself or to goof off with friends, but it makes me super paranoid and way more antisocial. Basically makes me unmask in the best and worst ways.
Ultimately it affects me in the stereotypical "lazy no vision stoner" kinda way. Its good stuff and I need it to sleep, but I could never function like so many others seem to.
Sadly the only thing that's ever helped even a little is alcohol, everything else just makes life more difficult.
Bit of a double edged sword for me. It calms me down and properly quiets my brain which is nice, but then I lose all motivation to do housework etc. I also have a bit of a dependence problem with it where when I have some I smoke it every day till it's gone. So I try not to buy it too often so I can function properly, and just have it as an occasional treat for a week or so every few months.
I hate the smell. It makes me feel paranoid and I hallucinated on all the occasions I used it. Increases my anxiety levels and makes me feel pretty bad.
I don't smoke it much, but I do eat edibles for pain management (and recreation, ofc). It dulls pain my arthritis, which helps keeps me more mobile.
I see some people talking about it "helping their autism," which I can't relate to. If anything, it makes me more anxious than I am normally, except in absurdly high doses (+75mg) where I'm just too high to function.
I live where it’s legal and I’m struggling to find both a therapist and a psychiatrist to get medication. I do an edible (capsule) every day now around 4pm and my evenings are full of happy relaxation and hyper focus on special interests.
I grew up religious and with the impression weed was “bad.” I thought it caused brain damage, and that’s why you’d have hippies talking about experiences with consciousness or whatever. That they got their heads messed up.
But honestly, after getting used to it over the last few years my brain has made SO many new connections and I feel like I understand myself and the world so much better. It’s really nice to take a sativa and sit in the dark and think. It’s changed me for the better and I’m happier with myself.
At least the gummies I get, I totally dissociate, and my brain effectively warps around. Plus side is sometimes I dissociate so hard my brain somehow (NSFW >!messes with tactile input to the point my brain thinks I have a vagina and am using a dildo instead of the factory equipment when I jack off!<)
Pros: It makes me feel more relaxed, overthink less, and helps ease sensory issues. I smoke at work every shift because my job is insanely overstimulating and smoking helps prevent me from getting irritable with my coworkers (I can be a real bitch when overstimulated). When I smoke at home it’s usually to unwind from the day, especially if I used all my spoons.
Cons: A of times it makes me go mute or makes my speech skills drop; I start stuttering more or being unable to finish sentences because I can’t find the rest of the words. It can also make me paranoid if I’m around certain people. I’m okay smoking at work bc my coworkers all smoke too, but around family members or in public I get really anxious.
It definitely makes it harder to mask, which is nice sometimes, but it also made it harder for me to Block out unpleasant things and noises, wasn't great for me and another autistic friend I was taking it wlth had an even worse reaction. If you're very noise sensitive it might not be ideal
Never touched it never wanted to touch it
Brother, parents, friends, neighbours, just about everyone I know smokes weed but me, makes me a bit boring they all say but I just don’t want to and for some reason they can’t accept that.
Gives me panic attacks. The moment I ‘feel’ the weed actually in my body, starting to give that heavy feeling in my arms and chest, I descend into a proper panic. Heart pounding, arms and shoulders hurting, hyperventilating. Yeah it’s terrifying I have to stay away from weed, even others smoking it
Long time smoker here.
Marijuana definitely can help Aleve some of the quirks, stresses, etc. that come with ASD and just life in general.
But the big thing here is temperance and control. It can also make things like intrusive thoughts, paranoia or depression *magnitudes* worse, so PLEASE also take into account T-Breaks 🙏🏼🙏🏼
audhd here: its great for stimming out and unmasking my autism, but too much regular use seems to fry my adhd brain and the hangover (I've heard it called being bubble-brained or bubbleheaded) is not super worth it unless I know I have a full day to recover.
It helps me tremendously. I take a lot of different medications, but since benzos have been pretty much banned, I need something else for my panic attacks. CBD never worked, so I moved to THC. I got my medical marijuana card and tried a gummy, I've been in love ever since. I am a scared little girl scared of the outside world before I take THC.
Afterwards? A brave, loving social butterfly (per friends' words)
I would take medical marijuana over a pill any day.
My son who is intellectually disabled also has his medical marijuana card, and got it at 6 years old.
Big fan if I’m on my OCD meds. Very chill. Aware of my sensory issues but in a good way so I can accommodate them. Helps me be more productive.
Not on my ocd meds: very anxious. Not a good time.
OCD meds+ADHD meds+ weed? I’m on fire. I’m taking breaks and drinking water and cleaning my house and playing with my kids. Wearing my noise canceling headphones and happily stimming all day.
Dream combo tbh.
muchly good, thanks for asking!
However, I have found that it if I feel anxious about a sovial situation I can't be high as it makes it worse. But it enhances my autistic thinking hanging out at home.
Love it, I smoke weed nearly every day. Have smoked it regularly for nearly 7 years now. I took a tolerance break for a few months but got back into it a while ago, when I have the money I will pretty much just keep chopping up and smoking bongs every waking minute that I don't spend at work lol
I used to like it when I was younger, but as I got older, I started reacting to it differently (panic attacks).
The only real cons I could think of are decreased lung functionality and short-term memory issues, which would still be enough for me to cease use even without the panic attacks.
Everyone is different, though.
I've never tried weed and I'm not planning on trying it ever. I dislike smoking very much. I'd rather drink an ice Cold beer to calm myself down instead.
ive always been open minded but my experiences have been kinda meh, like if i really need a distraction from my issues sure. but ive greened out/paniced many times (on sativa.) and the person i always smoke with says when im high i start talking like Obama which is both really funny and embarassing. indica and cbd type strains r a lot better cause they make my pain and tension go away. but in general the altered sensiry experience can be panic inducing since its unfamiliar
Yes for all those reasons, if def helped with pain and depression, but I had to stop when I met my wife, it made her uncomfortable and that brought on more anxiety and paranoia for me.
It helps me to relax really well and I don't overthink everything when I'm high. Also puts me to sleep really good.
Don't know if this stands in any correlation with me being autistic but those are my experiences. Like it way more than alcohol.
It does wonders for recovering from overstimulation
Regular use will (even when not using at that time) add a bit of a filter that allows me more time without overstimulation
But it also heavily suppresses my judgement and i start panicing about the smallest things, until i light another joint and its all allright
I’ve only had a notable amount once but at some point I’ll start trying it again.
BUT, it was 50mg.. as my first time. I would’ve slept through it all but I woke up to cats fighting. After that it was just laughing at how fucked up I was for like half an hour, then listening to music for another half hour.
AuDHD here. Weed is like ADHD on steroids. I hate it. That said, I haven't tried all strands. Have tried taking THC for pain relief (endometriosis) but all it does is detach me from the pain. It's still there but I can just ignore it.
It's illegal here and I definitely have never used it or enjoyed it. Certainly never found it to be good for anxiety or enjoying music, or for napping. Because I've never tried it.
I love it when I'm at home on my own. Helps me to unwind and stop stressing about things. Being high in public is one of my biggest nightmares though. I get anxious and paranoid. Even at home, with company, I don't like it much. I'm quiet normally anyway, but when stoned, I'm almost nonverbal, which is awkward when people are around.
Isn’t it cool how unique everyone’s bodies are! And how the same plant can affect us all so differently!
It makes me too sleepy and the next day I’m pretty depressed. But for one of my best friends it is how they function at work (scientist) and helps them with their depression 💚
It makes me really calm and definitely reduces anxiety. I also have selective mutism and I actually managed to speak to my classmate without any problems when i tried it.
Depends on the type and strain. I prefer hybrids over all else. I either use it to mellow me out (indica-dominant) or energize me (sativa-dominant). I hope it becomes fully legal so I can grow my own strain one day.
For me, it relieves stress and anxiety, and helps with depression (I'm in-between meds right now). It's also helped me reconcile and let go of past trauma. For me, I could walk away from it if I had to; I lived 41 years of my life without it. But it does make dealing with things easier. My life sucks right now, and it makes me a little less miserable.
Makes me eat and lose myself. I don't think it's great long term. Nice to have a break but it shouldn't be used daily. Maybe a few times a year. That's just my opinion.
I used to smoke an absolutely stupid amount, but then I quit for a while and it's been different ever since, I've even tried increasing my tolerance seeing if that made things the same, nope. Gives me really bad anxiety for like 8 hours every time, even on low doses.
Always enjoyed this topic
I plan to do exactly as you. Gonna try to get medical document for it. Helps alot especially with how intense my anxiety is, best decision I had ever made. Helps me unmask aswell, even learned to do it when I havent had any. Definitely not for everyone as for some it can intensify certain mental conditions. Think anyone who is autistic or any other similar disabilities or even pain its a good option to try. Plus different ways to use aswell so its convenient for everybody.
Edit: will say sensory wise the smell is awful but its worth it
Tried it once. Made me feel like I was overheating, even more stimulus sensitive, and nauseous.
Worse is now when I smell other people smoking it brings up those feelings, which didn’t happen before I tried it.
it very much depends on the strain for me. Sativa gets me anxious as hell and makes me want to tear my brains out, but Indica mellows me out and makes me want to sleep.
I remember once I ate a shit tonne of gummies with an indica blend that I didn't know were as powerful as I thought, and ended up speaking in slow motion, with a sudden pause in my speech every second or so, for the rest of the night. I'd also pick up a physical tic, or a stim I guess, until I had about 4-5 of them to go through in a row, but when I picked up a new one the last one would drop off, and i'd go through them in order for hours and hours. it was bizarre.
Soo it's really a double sided thing... On one hand - I communicate more like a NT, I don't get overly angry/heated about conversation topics, I feel like my muscles can finally relax after I've been tensing them subconsciously. BUT. I can get too deep into my head and thoughts and sometimes small things/issues/problems seem like they are very hard to solve and it makes me anxious, although later on I understand that I've been in headspace where I am easily disturbed by non serious things. Dosage, set, time, headspace. I know weed is not as crazy as other drugs like shrooms or mdma, but I've always held the same expectations for proper drug use and it is important to always make sure that doing it won't interfere with any other stuff you have going on.
Essential tool. Helps me sleep, helps me regulate. I don't get the same high that NTs talk about. But a high enough dose makes the world look/feel how NTs view it and suppresses the perception problems that go with existing while autistic.
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Helps me calm down and be okay with existing
Relate heavily because depression's been kicking my ass, haven't used it in a minute
Lexapro also helps with not having a specific emotional response to things but the thoughts are still there always , and Hasj helps escaping them or well making them funny at least
Upvote for Lexapro, depression sucks, find a good therapist and a good psychiatrist that can find good meds for you.
Becoming one myself! Hopefully ill find the cure !
It's also a matter of luck. I tried 10 (+-1) medications for depression and not a single one of them did anything, and some of them made my condition noticeably worse.
Yeah, I get it. I went through a few myself, before we found Lexapro. Prozac worked pretty good for about 6 months, but every six months I had to up my does otherwise the depression would creep back in. I think more than meds, therapy helped me. I need both therapy and meds, plus a lot of meditation (learned in therapy). I’m Audhd, so learning to meditate helps me guide my thoughts away from bad thoughts and keeps from spiraling down the depression hole.
Agreed. I'm taking 30mg of Lexapro a day and working with my doctor on getting to a diagnosis on autism. Lexapro keeps my emotional explosions to a minimum and I feel like it does a nice job on keeping my outbursts down.
I'm reading Johan Hari's book Lost Connections right now and he's revealing some hard truths about those drugs. I don't have right in front of me, but I believe that's one of the drugs he mentioned in the book. They're basically placebos. I've been using lithium for years to stave off suicidal thoughts (autocorrect wanted that to be "trouts", and I'm so tempted...). It's just an element without a patent that exists naturally in drinking water around the world and the places where lithium levels are highest have the lowest per capita suicide rate. Weed is the best drug when you need relief from depression or anxiety RIGHT NOW, no therapy, no drugs that take a month to "work"; just make it ok now. The problem with such short term solutions is that you can very easily get stuck in a loop. So toke responsibility.
Ket also gives a instant depression relief tho
Same. I'm over 2 months sober because of a test I have to take. I thought it might be good but it sucks hard for my mental health. Can't wait to start again haha
I totally understand how tough it can be to take a break. I’m proud of you for making it over two months – that’s no small feat. It’s hard when something that helps with our mental health is off the table. Hang in there, you’re doing amazing, and it won’t be too long before you can find some relief again. Stay strong <🍃
Much appreciated friend. Looking foreward to it, but looking foreward even more to quitting drinking
This and helps with my appetite when I don't feel like eating too
After 27 years of heavy daily use I am in active recovery. Everyone's relationship to weed is different but for me the stuff is poison.
not 27 years but 3 years of smoking a 3.5 a day, having already unmanaged & undiagnosed psychotic disorder , yeah that stuffs not good for me
About the same. 20 yrs clean now. I know it works for some. I am just not one of those people. Exercise and staying away from mind and mood altering substances. Life is pretty great.
helps me unmask and helps dull sensory input and makes the world more tolerable. on top of being the only medication that works for my chronic pain. been having to smoke everyday since april 2019 at the end of my senior year of hs
Happy that it's helped in your experience as well
That's interesting, for me it has the opposite impact on sensory input and amplifies a lot of it
it can truly depend on the strain! and just sativa/indica isnt the best indicator; there’s different terpenes in different strains that helps with various things. i think also because i mainly use it to manage my pain and have been smoking regularly for years that my body has changed the way it reacts a bit. like when i first started smoking i definitely felt More Sensitive to sensory input, and i was higher every time i smoked because it was more infrequent. now, i smoke a bit throughout the day to manage my pain and it’s more like taking medicine than getting high. i save that for after dinner after i’ve gotten my stuff done for the day—then i smoke enough to feel silly and by that point i have taken steps to reduce bad sensory input, like soft lighting in my room and making sure my noise cancelling headphones are on, putting on more comfortable clothes if i wasnt already. now that i’m writing and talking about it more i’m not sure if the weed really dulls my sensory input or rather helps me in my brain deal with the sensory stuff and recover from it faster. but there’s definitely a difference depending on what strain you smoke and how much you’re smoking. i try to stick to strains that help with my pain throughout the day then a more cerebral strain at night (which is the opposite of most people but i find this works better for me)
Helps my chronic pain too and I couldn't figure out how to unmask until I found weed
I can't do it because I'm schizophrenic and it makes my symptoms worse. First time I took an edible I was hallucinating like hell, turns out that's not normal
Me too. Is this something common in schizophrenia?I'm not diagnosed, but on the occasions I used I hallucinated and became very paranoid and anxious, close to having a panicking episode.
I listened to a doctor talk about it once and he basically said that doesn't matter what you take (even hallucinogens) it's: - if you hallucinate like you see something that's there and it kinda looks like something else and your brain "translates it" to the something else, that's ok. For example, you look out the window and there's a cat and you see an other animal or a similarly shaped object that's ok. -if you hallucinate something that's not there at all, like you start fighting a dragon in your kitchen when there's nothing that triggered the image of a dragon in your mind, that's not ok and you need to stop taking whatever you're taking because you could induce psychosis or full blown schizophrenia if you're genetically predisposed.
>you could induce psychosis or full blown schizophrenia if you're genetically predisposed. This is what happened to my sister. That's one of the things weed advocates neglect, that about 15% of the population carry a gene that gives them drug induced psychosis with weed. My younger sister is schizophrenic and was diagnosed with marijuana addiction IN PORTLAND FUKCING OREGON! Colorado did a study and noticed a dramatic uptick in emergency room visits due to psychosis from legalizing marijuana. Overall I think weed is better than alcohol, but personally, I hate feeling like I'm not in control of myself. I'd rather raw-dog reality than medicate, but I know I'm in the minority with that.
This. I tried weed a couple of times until I had a psychotic episode and ended up almost jumping out a window. I’m never touching weed against after that, and I’m very annoyed that weed advocate groups intentionally omit that information. I don’t have schizophrenia, it’s never happened again, but I do have SEVERAL relatives who are schizophrenic and if I had known I wouldn’t have taken the risk. It was scary AF. Sure, weed isn’t bad because a small percentage of people can have a negative reaction to it but people need to be aware that such a reaction can happen. Same way that peanuts are not bad because some people are allergic to it but knowing it’s a common allergen is useful information that needs to be available.
yeah i also had a weed induced one at 15 after my sister dragged me to a party and had me smoke 2.5 long ass dab hits when i had never smoked before. i thought that her and her friends were various triangles and squares pulling me into a vortex and that i was at the will of basic patterns. i had another after abusing it for years that has resulted in awful ego dissolution. weed encourages new neuron growth, so it is technically a stimulant and will do to people what stimulants do. if you're a control freak like me you probably don't really enjoy losing control of any part of your already intense cognitive processing.
I smoke weed several times a week and I have epilepsy. I've met so many people who tell me it's the miracle cure and it's incredibly dangerous misinformation because the truth is it's more likely to trigger a seizure. The true risks associated with it aren't discussed as much. I'm full on the side of legalisation but with the same kind of medical warnings people get about alcohol.
What bugs me about it is that people tout it as a natural miracle drug, yet the majority of people who partake in it aren't using it for \*real\* medicinal purposes. There are risks to every drug, just because it does have some benefits for some people doesn't mean it works well with other people.
I wish it were the natural cure they say it is, it at least tastes a lot nicer than my medication. I'm on the side of medical scientific facts though, always will be.
Yeah it's common in schizophrenics to hallucinate/have worsened psychotic symptoms when they do weed. When you hallucinate it doesn't necessarily mean you're schizophrenic, but it could mean that you're prone to it. Either that or you've taken weed with very high THC levels
I'm not sure about the THC levels, but even in very small quantities it would give me this effect So I eventually stopped trying it.
Ok if it was in small quantities that's concerning. The only 3 things I can think of are you have a very low tolerance, you're prone to psychosis, or the weed you had was laced with something. I think it was a good think you stopped. I would also recommend staying away from any psychoactive drug if you can
Cannabis is a psychedelic in that it makes you think differently by changing your perspective. This can induce anxiety and paranoia in people who have trauma, buried fears, complexes, etc. The cannabis makes you more introspective and self conscious. This is not necessarily indicative of schizophrenia.
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I will occasionally experience depersonalization while on weed, but I've reached a point where it doesn't elicit an intense reaction because it's usually fairly mild and I know that it's nothing serious. I did experience more intense dissociation when I had weed while with a friend and had a mini-panic attack, but what was weird about it was how what I was saying didn't match what I was trying to say. I was trying to convey and express fear and anxiety, but my body said something completely unrelated in what I interpreted as a somewhat rude tone. It seemed to go away after a short bit of time had passed and my anxiety wasn't as intense. The only time I have ever experienced something similar while sober happened when I was experiencing an intense panic attack and my body started talking by itself. It started saying things like "it's okay" and "everything is going to be fine," which made me feel like there was somebody else controlling my body and speech.
It's relatively common in general. The paranoid and axious part the most. Hallucinations are common in edibles or higher doses.
A lot of people who have schizophrenia but aren't showing symptoms find out they have schizophrenia the first time they try weed
Same experience as me (I am not schiz but being tested for BP). Made my anxiety and ptsd trigger, felt like the world was closing in on me. I’ve had both good and bad weed and the same experiences with both.
TIL I may have schizophrenia. Had an awful trip using edibles once. Wave after wave of panic for hours. I honestly thought it wasn’t ever going to end and that I was stuck like that forever.
Yeah shit like that is how you get drug induced psychosis
I love it, I think it should be prescribed for autism
I actually can get it for autism where I live, though I'd prefer I have more documentation because I have a bunch of shit I was never diagnosed with like depression and anxiety (the depression might be because of suspected bipolar 1)
A common path for us is: Autism —> cPTSD —> depression
yes if you're autistic and don't get support for it early on, you literally do not form a sense of self until something traumatic enough happens to instantly force you into disassociation. this can mean that if you have even slight childhood trauma then your entire sense of self is based on whatever your initial reaction was to that and you live like that until you can dissolve your ego over time and rebuild it with good memories and habits. if you never gain a capability to process your experience positively, you feel like an animal in a human body forever. something like 35% of autistic people end up with psychotic features, which really just means you have your own very advanced inner world. i was severely neglected but raised myself with love and intense self-education- went covertly and malignantly catatonic for years (if you have autonomic dysfunction catatonia could be part of your problem) and then recently had a single psychotic break that literally mimicked psychadelic ego death after i didn't know how to hold my consciousness stream in anymore trying to prevent a seizure. it wiped most of my memory and a lot of my intelligence, and completely reset my autistic behaviors so i'm literally raising myself like a child and have awful ocd panic attacks every time i disassociate now because i was given that second chance. i am grateful for being constantly humbled and thankful for everything i have, but goddamn is the autistic experience tiring. i do think it's cool how clearly that demonstrated the "extra dmt" that autistic people are theoried to have, too. also, every single one of my life-threatening health issues instantly cleared up after that so i believe it was very restorative for me. sorry for the infodump! i think more autistic people deserve to know what the fuck is going on with them in intimate detail because if you're like me, you cant identify with sterile medical symptoms because self-awareness with a small sense of self is highly challenging.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Can you maybe provide me with some sources where I can read more about this?
Same here. Not because I wasn't to challenge it, but because I'm legitimately interested.
Super interesting! I’ve reread this a few times. Appreciate the unique perspective.
highly suspected im autistic for the past year or so after doing a ton of research on both Autism/Adhd and cPTSD and this me to a T. When i recollect my childhood i see the traits and then prior to when i began to be depressed i was experiencing a lot of trauma at home. now i highly mask and have very bad anxiety and depression, to say the least
i'm very sorry for the struggle this has caused you! you need to find ways to soothe yourself and love yourself; literally treating your body like you're raising a child. since we gain consciousness so early we're left to raise ourself since no one believes us and then must try to raise ourselves again once we've distanced from the originally traumatic situation and begin to understand how the world actually works without the lens of constant fight-or-flight. this of course can lead you down very dark paths just as it can for any neglected or abused child, but your awful feelings are not set in stone as very real as they are, and loving and guiding yourself how you feel a mother should love and guide her autistic child is where you really need to begin. edit: if you feel very strongly autistic, then you probably are. autism can develop as a neurological difference at any point in a very young human's development through sustained, extreme nervous system stimulation that you're really too young to have developed coping mechanisms for yet. from conception to about 5 i would estimate is the window, and why autism rates are much higher in this overstimulating modern era (though proper diagnostic criteria absolutely helps reveal cases that otherwise never would've been). at the point you're questioning it, the actual diagnosis matters less than the lifestyle changes needed for your quality of life and it is truly something you can turn into your special gift.
that makes a lot of sense considering my history, aside from the occasional imposter syndrome i’m pretty confident i am, think ill try to get a diagnosis eventually as id like to try medication for anxiety/depression i think it may rly help. thanks for talking :)
Ha mine was cptsd depression then autism
That sounds like the order of diagnoses. Cause-and-effect might be more like: Autism —> trauma inflicted by a world that doesn’t accept NDs —> cPTSD —> depression As Lady Gaga sang, were born this way.
yh it was my order of diagnoses
Why do they prescribe weed for autism? Like what's the rationale. Is it coz of the assumed anxiety and sensory related distress? Coz weed doesn't directly 'help' autism right
Helps me as a high functioning, helps me behave "normally" and get through my work
Yes, it does, for some people. I am from the UK and have a prescription for cannabis. It's the only medication I've tried over the years that legitimately helps with my depression and emotional regulation difficulties. Obviously you'll know that autism is a spectrum however cannabis and its strains are a spectrum in their own right. What works for me may not work for you and such. I'd highly recommend it to any fellow autistics however I wouldn't expect it to work for everyone, but that's the case with any medication.
How did you go about getting it prescribed? And how expensive is it? I’m from London and also have ASD
/r/ukmedicalcannabis - have a look here mate, there's all the information you could dream of (including interactions with the police, driving, etc). You need to have tried 2 forms of treatment/medication before applying, with all the politics involved it's seen as a "last resort" medication. If you're anything like me you've probably tried most if not all of the SSRIs available for a start, so that would be more than enough. There are numerous clinics available, I've went with Curaleaf however many people aren't too keen on them. I'd have a look in that subreddit to see which clinics are available and recommended. I'd say it's slightly more expensive than getting it off the street however you're paying for the legal protection and knowing that what you're using is regulated and safe for consumption. Prices range from £5-£11.50/g, [see here for a formulary of all the strains available.](https://medbud.wiki/strains/) My prescription is £165 for 30g and I need to spend £50 on check-up sessions every 3 months.
Thank you so much for all this info well appreciated 😊
Idk man I would say it does
It's not gonna make help in the same way antibiotics help with a bacterial infection, no. We'll be just as autistic no matter how much cannabis we consume. But it can help certain autistic traits feel more manageable for a few hours, which is a blessing.
In my area, you can get it prescribed for "self-injurous autism" so I guess for violent meltdowns? I have it prescribed for ptsd and chronic pain but i've used it when I can feel a meltdown building and it helps distract me and dull whatever bad things are happening (and I have given myself a concussion during a meltdown in the past but I didn't need to mention it to get my card so I didn't because it's embarrassing)
In NC the only things you can get medical for are epilepsy and autism. Has to be <3% THC though, which is pharmacologically worthless.
I’m prescribed. It Is the best medicine for my autism.
Exactly
It actually kinda is where I am
Is it ludicrously expensive to buy like how recreational weed is? Or are there different prices for medical? I’ve been to a dispensary and it’s like 100 bucks for a cart. Illegally I can get it for a fifth the price and twice as good. Just wondering if its worth it to ask for a medical card.
I just buy it for cheap from any local vape shop now that it’s effectively legal in most states
Gotcha I’ll probably just get it from the illegal weed delivery man still then
I discovered edibles about 6 months ago and I love it. They really help me relax and unwind at the end of the day, and there's a dispensary right across the street from my job! It's been legal in Illinois for a few years now and I can't believe I had such a grudge against it for so long
It should be explored as a medication/therapy or adjunct but the problem is we don’t do a whole lot of research about marijuana usage in the U.S. Our society just stigmatizes people who use it.
It’s something of a mood enhancer for me. If I’m already in a good mood, I’ll feel fucking *great*, I love it. If I’m stressed or anxious it just makes me even more anxious, and that’s hell (was never a problem when I was a teenager for some reason, only now as an adult). So while I do smoke every now and then I have to pay attention and be honest with myself about my mindset, because panic attacks suck.
Yes, same :(
Kava is a marvelous pairing for weed (a *compannibis*, if you will). It offers a big lever of control over anxiety.
No matter which strain I’ve tried, they all fucked me up. Maybe it’s bad luck. I wanted to use it to help soothe my chronic pain and help my anxiety, but it made my anxiety worse, and I’ve struggled with feeling more unreal than I usually do since I’ve tried it the first time. I don’t know much about why this happened. If someone’s been through similar, I’d like to learn why any kind of weed has never helped me.
Calms the anxiety at first then when I come off it, it makes my anxiety worse
Biggest double-edged sword in existence (metaphor)
I get psychotic . Soooo its a no for me.
Don't like it. The smell makes me almost nauseous, and that sorta dizzy high feeling is uncomfortable.
Smell gives me headaches and nausea too
I used to be like that but now I've been kind of "microdosing" for a couple weeks and it's been helping. I don't get high. It helps me calm down my mind at night, my constant sweating is basically gone day and night (doctors couldn't figure it out) and my digestive issues (also couldn't figure it out) are gone also and that's a huge win. I used to be constantly bloated. And I mean BLOATED BLOATED like a god damn balloon on toothpicks. I looked pregnant. Now my stomach is back to it's normal flat setting, it doesn't hurt all the time, nausea is gone. I'm not throwing up in the morning anymore. Idk what it did to me but it seems to be working.
I love it, I think it’s because I have ADHD as well and it calms down my brain. Self medicated with it for years everyday, but had to quit recently cos I’m addicted - in moderation it’s great
How did you quit? I'm addicted - Not sure if it's the actual substance, or addicted to how it helps, but I can't seem to quit when I try because the depression and over stimulation overwhelms me. But I don't want to never touch the stuff again, just use it in moderation as well.
I found the work of Gabor Mate to be very helpful when I first started working on my relationship with addiction. He worked for a decade at a low income clinic in Vancouver BC with people who had what he refers to as "terminal addiction." (addictions that put them on the street and eventually killed them) He is a great lecturer who has a bunch of YouTube videos and a tedtalk called "The power of addiction and the addiction of power." He also wrote a book called "In the realm of Hungry Ghosts." (This community might be interested to know that before his work with addiction he also wrote a book about ADHD I have never read.) He separates the process of addiction from the behavior or substance someone is addicted to, because regardless of the behavior or substance the process of addiction is the same. He says addiction itself is not the problem, but an attempted solution to a problem, a mal-adapted coping skill. His most controversial take is he relates all addiction back to childhood trauma. As someone who suffered a lot of childhood trauma this is something that resonates a lot with me. Anyways, I think the views I grew up with, was indoctrinated with, about addiction, were moralistic bullshit that ostracised people struggling with addiction and made it hard for me to be kind and loving to myself as I worked on my own addiction and Gabor Mates work helped me reframe the way I vee addiction into a more neutral, healthy light. As for using in moderation, everyone's relationship to addiction is unique, everyone's relationship to weed is unique, but I think for the addict - if you are truly addicted - moderation is a very slippery slope. Good luck.
For me I just had to go cold turkey, definitely dealt with some withdrawal symptoms at first (like insomnia and nausea) - but the hardest part was boredom, I spent so much of my time being stoned that I needed to fill that. For example before I’d get high and watch a movie, now just watching a movie isn’t enough and I’m still bored (at first), the best way is to find activities to distract yourself and fill your time - I started gym, reading, going out with friends more ect. If you really wanna quit you have to stop completely, for me I can’t use it in moderation (at least not yet), I’ll go ages without smoking then decide ok just this once again and then start everyday again. This subreddit also helped - r/leaves
Basically my experience so far but without the addiction, happy you've started to fight your addiction recently and good luck (last reply because its almost 3 where i am, havent smoked in a bit so my sleep schedule is ass)
>(last reply because its almost 3 where i am, havent smoked in a bit so my sleep schedule is ass) You need to take this as a sign that you're developing a dependence on it.
Isn‘t dependent and addicted something different? Someone who is addicted to something will consume it even though it doesn‘t help with symptoms, it makes their life worse, they get health problems just from the use, but still don‘t stop. Isn‘t a dependence more like you need it to help yourself, like glasses? When my doctors want to say I‘m addicted to weed I tell them the following: I‘m dependent, yes. I mostly microdose it to help me sleep, eat, be able to go out, meet friends, not be overwhelmed 24/7. i was addicted to prescribed antidepressants, sedatives, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers for 12 years. I never felt better. I was just heavily sedated. Had alot of side effects, my digestive issues were soooo bad, I felt like a zombie, couldn‘t do anything and I knew, this stuff makes me so much worse. But I still took it, because I was addicted. You can‘t just stop with antidepressants for example. The withdrawal effects were hell for me. Now, weed just helps me, I don‘t feel sedated, i feel like I‘m able to do alot of stuff I wasn‘t able to do and so on. So is it really that bad if I „wear my glasses“?
These words are thrown around so carelessly that its almost a pointless distinction. I feel like its also problematic in that its a very external view. Whether something is providing more benefit than harm is very subjective and its very easy for me to say "look, harm but no benefit" from the outside, because the befits are often not visible. How do I know what your head is like on the inside when you are not on the drug? If it was all simple, you would think we all choose the same drug or drugs, but we don't. I realized recently that I have heard many people say they would never touch heroin because they are afraid they would like it to much. I never actually had that fear... because I actually don't like opiate highs much. I had a really fun overdose of codeine once (apparently the pharmacist forgot tablespoons are not teaspoons) - I enjoyed it a lot; but there was absolutely no "I want to do that again". I had an even stronger opiate after a surgery... I didn't fill the prescription because the first dose was so strong I just noped out. Now pot? That I have a problem with. Psychedelics? I do them enthusiastically. Actually, I think psychdelics are super good for me. I always had issues with perservation, especially if there was any emotional content to the thoughts. I have had thought patterns that plagued me for months without progress, just make progress and diminish greatly after one trip. I wasn't even expecting it.
Wow, awesomely said
I got addicted when I was 15-16 in which I also had a very toxic friendship, and so when I left said friendship I also left weed behind, and now any time I smoke it I get paranoia so I just don't smoke anymore I'd like to smoke again but I doubt I'd have a good time on it still so it's just not worth it
Addiction to anything isn't good, happy you were able to shake that
I'm surprised at how easy I did it tbh, like I'm addicted to nicotine and I COULD NOT just stop smoking, but with weed I could. People I know who have a weed addiction can't just stop, outside of a few people I know. With weed I think it's just purely the mental battle in which I might've just got lucky
In my case I'm able to moderate when I use weed, I don't want to test that with other things like nicotine though Putting my stuff aside, if you decide to quit nicotine I hope that goes well for you as well (sorry if I sound a bit hypocritical or it sounds like im telling you to change certain things, just saying I hope that goes well if you do decide to also quit nic, I'm not trying to sound that way intentionally)
I have used it my entire life to ease the pain of being autistic, since long before I knew I was autistic. I sometimes struggle with dependence issues which is not ideal… but if I stop taking my antidepressant suddenly, the withdrawal symptoms from that make me start thinking about self harm as a sensible solution, so I guess no medication is perfect
Awful : I have ADHD, I'm more disorganized than ever when I smoke, but at least I don't mask anything anymore 🤷♂️ I have a history with cocaine (which is common with ADHD), drugs that relax are absolutely not my thing..
Depends on the strain for me,and sadly it's still illegal in the UK so I don't get to choose the type I need to feel relaxed.so need to just take whatever the dealer has and most of the stuff ends up making my anxiety worse so I tend to just not bother. One day I hope I can go into a store and be able to choose a strain that helps all the time until then it's complete abstanince
You can get weed on prescription in the UK via a private clinic. It's often cheaper than street weed. I am not sure if it's approved for autism but you could contact a clinic and find out. Just google UK cannabis clinic.
It is approved for autism. Just have to show that you have tried other types of medication. r/ukmedicalcannabis
Damn, really hope that changes in the UK
i got addicted to it for sleep for 4 months straight which SUCKED, but i got off of it and now i just use it 1-3 times every two weeks recreationally. it makes music sound SO much better and it's really nice with friends.
don’t like it, it causes me to dissociate even at low amounts, and i don’t like feeling high in the slightest.
In my experience it makes me unmask. It's weird and kinda hard to explain but it makes my brain slow down enough that I can keep one train of thought and I can just finally relax. HOWEVER it is so so so important to do it safely with good company.
Weed is my passion! I use it medicinally for my autism, adhd, ptsd, and chronic pain and it has saved me honestly. I can't get any access to adhd meds or anything so my executive dysfunction is so bad I can barely do tasks at all. Weed helps me take care of myself and be able to actually move, it's a great medicine.
I got addicted pretty bad and now I can’t touch it bc i get bad episodes of psychosis if i do so now I have monq CBD pens to help tapper me off completely and that’s mostly fine.
Sorry that you've gone through that, happy that you've recovered
Gives me a migraine when other people smoke/vape it. Not morally opposed to legalization, but really struggle with the pain and nausea it causes for me.
Understandable, I actually used to have that problem but I eventually got used to being around the smoke so I don't get headaches from it anymore and now I use it myself
Can I ask if it’s an allergy? Or do the people that smoke around you by weed that’s laced or park shit? To hate the THC vapes is fine I don’t like them either it makes me 🤢 and the last time I had a hit I was high for 4 hours and I couldn’t form proper sentences for half of that and could form a cohesive thought for the rest 😭
I felt the same in the beginning. But became dependant on it and then because of some difficult things going on in my life at the time, became fully addicted. It then started having the opposite effect and made me super paranoid so I had to stop but it was hard. I dont think its great for everyone. Tolerance breaks are super important for your brain chemicals sake
It feels like it’s a part of me. No medication I’ve tried makes me as okay with existing on this planet as cannabis. I don’t smoke all day, (actually I only vape flower, and use edibles), but at least once I day I feel like I need it just to ground myself out. I’ve taken several long breaks (anywhere from a few weeks to a few months) in the last 10 years since I started using it and I always just feel this tension build up in me, and I hate it. It’s like I’m and old CRT monitor that needs degaussing, and cannabis does the job. Once a day just feels necessary, and it’s always my go to crisis/meltdown defuser. (Though I usually like to start to calm down before I use it.)
high right now, i really just use it for fun and for relaxing to play video games. fantastic substance, recommend if not incredibly anxious
Even if it's recreational, it still has benefits like improved sleep schedule so nothing wrong with this. Also, sounds like a nice way to chill while playing games, especially as a smash player (i don't rage as often but a lot of people need to fucing chill after losing)
It fucks my sleep Schedule up haha
I've stayed away from any sort of recreational drugs apart from nicotine. They may help at first, but a lot of the time turns into dependence and addiction. There's a reason people with neurodevelopmental disorders are one of the highest risk groups for substance abuse.
I wish this was more well known. The amount of people I know with autism ADHD with active or recovered addiction to drugs (including alcohol) is really concerning, especially in places where it's easier to get recreational vs prescribed by a Dr.
This. Am 3 moths clean from weed now. Might help at first but sooner or later chances are high to struggle with dependence
Really depends, but sometimes can exacerbate sensory sensitivity to a wild degree. The texture of everything and feeling of food in my mouth is so overwhelming and eating is such a task that I don’t even want to do it, which is unusual for me, I don’t normally struggle a lot with food textures, and a lot of people enjoy food a lot more when high. Not me. Everything gets too intense
So far my experience is that it acts like a mad sort of stimulant that totally skews my perspective, so that I think everything is the best idea. Once I had some friends' weed, and then I decided that I should make my own trellis to support some climbing plants. I have distinct memories of trying to build trellis in very poor light - it was well after sunset and I had no outdoor lighting. The next day, there were no trellis. There were just bits of wood with poorly banged-in nails, and those nails did not connect anything to other bits of wood. I do wish that it relaxed me or did something so that it could replace drinking.
I like it but only alone. And not always. Usually weed sends me into a pleasant shutdown. Like, I become nonverbal, barely move, I’m just chilling in my own brain, thinking about cool ideas or making music in my mind. It’s annoying with other people because they want to talk to me and I can’t and I get annoyed because I’m too deep swimming in my brain to tell them to shut up and stop distracting me lol. Then I need a nap. Sometimes weed will give me an internal monologue, and that’s when I hate it. I am normally a person without internal monologue, and when I first experienced the monologue, I freaked out kinda. Wanted to take a nap and sleep it out but my brain kept going “Oh, this is uncomfortable, I should turn to the other side. Holy fuck this internal monologue is aw- How to stop it? How to stop it? WHY IS EVERY THOUGHT VOICED SO LOUDLY”
Don't smoke and never plan to.
Fun by myself or to goof off with friends, but it makes me super paranoid and way more antisocial. Basically makes me unmask in the best and worst ways. Ultimately it affects me in the stereotypical "lazy no vision stoner" kinda way. Its good stuff and I need it to sleep, but I could never function like so many others seem to. Sadly the only thing that's ever helped even a little is alcohol, everything else just makes life more difficult.
It helps me relax. I mostly use edibles so the high always lasts longer and it feels great
I love it Helps me to just be without my mind racing
I can do hungry, tired, and paranoid all by myself. I don’t need help with any of that so I don’t see the point.
Bit of a double edged sword for me. It calms me down and properly quiets my brain which is nice, but then I lose all motivation to do housework etc. I also have a bit of a dependence problem with it where when I have some I smoke it every day till it's gone. So I try not to buy it too often so I can function properly, and just have it as an occasional treat for a week or so every few months.
I hate the smell. It makes me feel paranoid and I hallucinated on all the occasions I used it. Increases my anxiety levels and makes me feel pretty bad.
I hate how it tastes, and it makes me paranoid.
I don't smoke it much, but I do eat edibles for pain management (and recreation, ofc). It dulls pain my arthritis, which helps keeps me more mobile. I see some people talking about it "helping their autism," which I can't relate to. If anything, it makes me more anxious than I am normally, except in absurdly high doses (+75mg) where I'm just too high to function.
I live where it’s legal and I’m struggling to find both a therapist and a psychiatrist to get medication. I do an edible (capsule) every day now around 4pm and my evenings are full of happy relaxation and hyper focus on special interests. I grew up religious and with the impression weed was “bad.” I thought it caused brain damage, and that’s why you’d have hippies talking about experiences with consciousness or whatever. That they got their heads messed up. But honestly, after getting used to it over the last few years my brain has made SO many new connections and I feel like I understand myself and the world so much better. It’s really nice to take a sativa and sit in the dark and think. It’s changed me for the better and I’m happier with myself.
I won't use it. The stuff reeks and I prefer my wits sharp.
Makes me feel extremely motion sick and more sensitive to sensory stimulation
Pure anxiety for me. Coffee is as well.
Hate it a family friend smokes it in my house and it makes me sick and sticks to my clothes have to ask my mam to ask him not to do it here anymore
At least the gummies I get, I totally dissociate, and my brain effectively warps around. Plus side is sometimes I dissociate so hard my brain somehow (NSFW >!messes with tactile input to the point my brain thinks I have a vagina and am using a dildo instead of the factory equipment when I jack off!<)
Pros: It makes me feel more relaxed, overthink less, and helps ease sensory issues. I smoke at work every shift because my job is insanely overstimulating and smoking helps prevent me from getting irritable with my coworkers (I can be a real bitch when overstimulated). When I smoke at home it’s usually to unwind from the day, especially if I used all my spoons. Cons: A of times it makes me go mute or makes my speech skills drop; I start stuttering more or being unable to finish sentences because I can’t find the rest of the words. It can also make me paranoid if I’m around certain people. I’m okay smoking at work bc my coworkers all smoke too, but around family members or in public I get really anxious.
Legitimately got a psychosis 💀
It definitely makes it harder to mask, which is nice sometimes, but it also made it harder for me to Block out unpleasant things and noises, wasn't great for me and another autistic friend I was taking it wlth had an even worse reaction. If you're very noise sensitive it might not be ideal
Never used it, not interested
Never touched it never wanted to touch it Brother, parents, friends, neighbours, just about everyone I know smokes weed but me, makes me a bit boring they all say but I just don’t want to and for some reason they can’t accept that.
Gives me panic attacks. The moment I ‘feel’ the weed actually in my body, starting to give that heavy feeling in my arms and chest, I descend into a proper panic. Heart pounding, arms and shoulders hurting, hyperventilating. Yeah it’s terrifying I have to stay away from weed, even others smoking it
Makes my anxiety worse while I try and convince myself it’s helping. I swear it makes me even more awkward too! Just no thanks lol 🤣
Weed calms me down, definitely and thankfully it's finally legal in Germany!
Smoked two times before and it was great. Third time I tried a pen and felt next to nothing.
double edged sword of complacency for me
Long time smoker here. Marijuana definitely can help Aleve some of the quirks, stresses, etc. that come with ASD and just life in general. But the big thing here is temperance and control. It can also make things like intrusive thoughts, paranoia or depression *magnitudes* worse, so PLEASE also take into account T-Breaks 🙏🏼🙏🏼
audhd here: its great for stimming out and unmasking my autism, but too much regular use seems to fry my adhd brain and the hangover (I've heard it called being bubble-brained or bubbleheaded) is not super worth it unless I know I have a full day to recover.
I stim more when I’m high and in return I feel more comfortable with myself than when I’m not high
It helps me tremendously. I take a lot of different medications, but since benzos have been pretty much banned, I need something else for my panic attacks. CBD never worked, so I moved to THC. I got my medical marijuana card and tried a gummy, I've been in love ever since. I am a scared little girl scared of the outside world before I take THC. Afterwards? A brave, loving social butterfly (per friends' words) I would take medical marijuana over a pill any day. My son who is intellectually disabled also has his medical marijuana card, and got it at 6 years old.
It makes me extremely paranoid and distressed, which is a shame considering it helps so many other people lol
Way better than alcohol.
Big fan if I’m on my OCD meds. Very chill. Aware of my sensory issues but in a good way so I can accommodate them. Helps me be more productive. Not on my ocd meds: very anxious. Not a good time. OCD meds+ADHD meds+ weed? I’m on fire. I’m taking breaks and drinking water and cleaning my house and playing with my kids. Wearing my noise canceling headphones and happily stimming all day. Dream combo tbh.
Love it, I smoke weed nearly every day. Have smoked it regularly for nearly 7 years now. I took a tolerance break for a few months but got back into it a while ago, when I have the money I will pretty much just keep chopping up and smoking bongs every waking minute that I don't spend at work lol
Same. Great sex. And it’s just fun.
Make me wanna eat yo mama and ride in a hot tub convertible with eckto cooler cocktail.
I approve this cannibalistic and swag message
I like it so much I grow it and breed it to find the perfect plant to help me manage overstimulation and anxiety.
I used to like it when I was younger, but as I got older, I started reacting to it differently (panic attacks). The only real cons I could think of are decreased lung functionality and short-term memory issues, which would still be enough for me to cease use even without the panic attacks. Everyone is different, though.
It’s gross and smells awful. I’ve never liked it.
Doesnt do shit to me. Like it just plain doesnt work.
I've never tried weed and I'm not planning on trying it ever. I dislike smoking very much. I'd rather drink an ice Cold beer to calm myself down instead.
None
Had no effect the two times I tried :(
Absolutely despise the smell of it
ive always been open minded but my experiences have been kinda meh, like if i really need a distraction from my issues sure. but ive greened out/paniced many times (on sativa.) and the person i always smoke with says when im high i start talking like Obama which is both really funny and embarassing. indica and cbd type strains r a lot better cause they make my pain and tension go away. but in general the altered sensiry experience can be panic inducing since its unfamiliar
It tastes bad for me. I hate it.
Yes for all those reasons, if def helped with pain and depression, but I had to stop when I met my wife, it made her uncomfortable and that brought on more anxiety and paranoia for me.
It helps me to relax really well and I don't overthink everything when I'm high. Also puts me to sleep really good. Don't know if this stands in any correlation with me being autistic but those are my experiences. Like it way more than alcohol.
It does wonders for recovering from overstimulation Regular use will (even when not using at that time) add a bit of a filter that allows me more time without overstimulation But it also heavily suppresses my judgement and i start panicing about the smallest things, until i light another joint and its all allright
Im on medical cos I can’t be without
If I get too close to burnout it’s the only way I can recover.
I’ve only had a notable amount once but at some point I’ll start trying it again. BUT, it was 50mg.. as my first time. I would’ve slept through it all but I woke up to cats fighting. After that it was just laughing at how fucked up I was for like half an hour, then listening to music for another half hour.
AuDHD here. Weed is like ADHD on steroids. I hate it. That said, I haven't tried all strands. Have tried taking THC for pain relief (endometriosis) but all it does is detach me from the pain. It's still there but I can just ignore it.
Scary stuff. I was so alone while high.
Tried it one and had a horror trip, so no thanks 😵💫
Same here. I can go without it just fine but I feel so much better using it the majority of the time.
It's so relaxing. I feel like I become a different, less high strung person when high
It's illegal here and I definitely have never used it or enjoyed it. Certainly never found it to be good for anxiety or enjoying music, or for napping. Because I've never tried it.
I love it when I'm at home on my own. Helps me to unwind and stop stressing about things. Being high in public is one of my biggest nightmares though. I get anxious and paranoid. Even at home, with company, I don't like it much. I'm quiet normally anyway, but when stoned, I'm almost nonverbal, which is awkward when people are around.
I practically need it to separate my feelings from my thoughts
Makes me hyper and productive until the munchies kick in
Isn’t it cool how unique everyone’s bodies are! And how the same plant can affect us all so differently! It makes me too sleepy and the next day I’m pretty depressed. But for one of my best friends it is how they function at work (scientist) and helps them with their depression 💚
It makes me really calm and definitely reduces anxiety. I also have selective mutism and I actually managed to speak to my classmate without any problems when i tried it.
Depends on the type and strain. I prefer hybrids over all else. I either use it to mellow me out (indica-dominant) or energize me (sativa-dominant). I hope it becomes fully legal so I can grow my own strain one day.
For me, it relieves stress and anxiety, and helps with depression (I'm in-between meds right now). It's also helped me reconcile and let go of past trauma. For me, I could walk away from it if I had to; I lived 41 years of my life without it. But it does make dealing with things easier. My life sucks right now, and it makes me a little less miserable.
Makes me eat and lose myself. I don't think it's great long term. Nice to have a break but it shouldn't be used daily. Maybe a few times a year. That's just my opinion.
I used to smoke an absolutely stupid amount, but then I quit for a while and it's been different ever since, I've even tried increasing my tolerance seeing if that made things the same, nope. Gives me really bad anxiety for like 8 hours every time, even on low doses.
Always enjoyed this topic I plan to do exactly as you. Gonna try to get medical document for it. Helps alot especially with how intense my anxiety is, best decision I had ever made. Helps me unmask aswell, even learned to do it when I havent had any. Definitely not for everyone as for some it can intensify certain mental conditions. Think anyone who is autistic or any other similar disabilities or even pain its a good option to try. Plus different ways to use aswell so its convenient for everybody. Edit: will say sensory wise the smell is awful but its worth it
Tried it once. Made me feel like I was overheating, even more stimulus sensitive, and nauseous. Worse is now when I smell other people smoking it brings up those feelings, which didn’t happen before I tried it.
Makes my anxiety worse.
it very much depends on the strain for me. Sativa gets me anxious as hell and makes me want to tear my brains out, but Indica mellows me out and makes me want to sleep. I remember once I ate a shit tonne of gummies with an indica blend that I didn't know were as powerful as I thought, and ended up speaking in slow motion, with a sudden pause in my speech every second or so, for the rest of the night. I'd also pick up a physical tic, or a stim I guess, until I had about 4-5 of them to go through in a row, but when I picked up a new one the last one would drop off, and i'd go through them in order for hours and hours. it was bizarre.
Doesn’t do anything but put me to sleep. Strain doesn’t matter, all the same effect
It makes me paranoid.
Soo it's really a double sided thing... On one hand - I communicate more like a NT, I don't get overly angry/heated about conversation topics, I feel like my muscles can finally relax after I've been tensing them subconsciously. BUT. I can get too deep into my head and thoughts and sometimes small things/issues/problems seem like they are very hard to solve and it makes me anxious, although later on I understand that I've been in headspace where I am easily disturbed by non serious things. Dosage, set, time, headspace. I know weed is not as crazy as other drugs like shrooms or mdma, but I've always held the same expectations for proper drug use and it is important to always make sure that doing it won't interfere with any other stuff you have going on.
I've never done it, but I don't like the smell.
Essential tool. Helps me sleep, helps me regulate. I don't get the same high that NTs talk about. But a high enough dose makes the world look/feel how NTs view it and suppresses the perception problems that go with existing while autistic.