Depression, anxiety..always stressed now. Experienced Depersonalization

[Insaniity]

Hey, first time here so I'd just like to say hello.

To start off, right before i quit smoking me and a buddy were smoking a quarter to a half ounce every week, this went on for about 3 months. I had to detox smoking cold turkey for reasons I'd like to keep private.

The first week went by and i got almost NO sleep at all. During the 2nd week i started going into these 'trances' and I would feel like i was high. A few days later I got very paranoid and I had a severe panic attack and started noticing that I felt like i was an alien in my own body. I did some research and found out that i was suffering from depersonalization, which isn't rare after an abrupt stop from smoking. It occurs in 'normal' people if they are sleep deprived which i was. After i got my sleep schedule back to somewhat normal, those feelings went away, somewhat. If I got more than 2 nights without getting more than 8 hours of sleep the symptoms come back but no where as severe.

Its been about 3 months since I've quit and I'm noticing that im still really stressed out and depressed. I've been reading that this can last for a while. It is starting to interfere with my relationship with my girlfriend.

I was wondering if i should seek help? Or if i should just ride this out and hope that it will eventually go away.

If you have any tips or can help me in anyway, thanks in advance.

[Cannabis Rehab Admin]

Hi Insanity and welcome to the forum.

I know what you mean, I think I may have experienced some depersonalization like symptoms from using marijuana, I think a number of people here have it’s certainly something that is linked to using drugs like marijuana, it’s hard to tell how long things like that and the anxiety and all the other weird psychological symptoms you can experience as a result of using or quitting marijuana will last, as I think people can have such different experiences, some say weeks, some say months and others even longer. So if I am to be honest I am not really sure if you should try to ride it out or seek professional help, perhaps it depends on how bad you are feeling. I have searched for and found some of the other threads on CannabisRehab.org about depersonalization as a result of using marijuana so I hope they may be of some help.

Take care, thanks for posting and please keep us posted on how it goes.

http://www.forummatters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=660
http://www.forummatters.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=1367
http://www.forummatters.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=1515
http://www.forummatters.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=1520
http://www.forummatters.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=1453

[Insaniity]

Thanks for the quick reply, I didn't make it clear enough, but i rarely experience the symptoms of depersonalization now. Its mainly the stress and depression I'm worried about. I'm getting crazy mood swings. This is completely out of character for me. Also I'm going through a REALLY stressful time in life right now so that is definitely contributing to it, but not enough for me to be feeling the way I do at time.

If that changes anything it would be nice for another reply, in the meantime I'll be checking out those other threads. Thanks!

[Cannabis Rehab Admin]

Hi again, sorry I have just reread you post and you did say the depersonalization feelings have somewhat went away, but it’s the stress, depression and mood swings that are mainly the problem now, although like I say any of the weird psychological symptoms people experience when quitting marijuana can last for different lengths of time depending on the individual, I did start a post and a poll on how long the detox symptoms last including the psychological ones, which you may want to check out:

http://www.forummatters.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=1507

Other than that checking out some of the other threads is a good idea and should hopefully give you an idea of the wide range of experiences people can have. On a positive note however if it’s just the detox that you are suffering from then sooner or later you will start to feel much better, as shit as it is right now it won’t last forever, if you can go without antidepressants or what not then that’s great, although I think it’s a decision you have to make based on just how bad you are, some may need them and some may not.

Take care, all the best and please keep us posted.

[Insaniity]

It just seems like i'll be extremely happy one moment feeling like im actually going somewhere with my life, and the next moment I'll just want to curl up in my bed and cry. It seems to be effecting my relationship with my girlfriend because I'll go into one of those lows and feel as if I'm not good enough for her and i get paranoid she's going to leave me. I did forget to mention I'm always paranoid when it comes to social things. I feel like people are always thinking negative things about me, including my girlfriend. If you have any tips on how to manage these 'lows' that would be awesome. I found that last link you posted to be very helpful and I'm going to try the things he mentioned.

[notsomellowmel]

Hey Insaniity,

I totally know how you're feeling. In fact, I had really bad anxiety and depression for years before I even started smoking pot... so I guess I'm a little lucky in that I know what to expect.
I'm going to be corny and suggest to you first all the natural methods... exercise, all natural supplements, deep breaths, etc. If you've read any of my previous posts I sound like I work for the people that make L-Theanine in pill form but it REALLY has helped me. And this is coming from a girl who has has been on many anxiety meds...
Also, have you always felt socially anxious? Even pre-pot?
As well.... If depression is the only detox symptom you're still feeling... maybe its no just a side effect? I've been on a low dose of citalopram (or something similar) for the last 8 years, and it's really helped my mood swings... so I recommend going to a clinic.

Hope I've been a tiny bit helpful,

mel

[Insaniity]

Hey Mel, thanks for your post.

Um i've always sort of been socially anxious but not how i am now. A friend of mine told me to start working out again and see how that makes me feel so im going to give it a try. I used to be very physically active, now i do almost nothing so im hoping that is going to take the edge off things.

Now to the theanine, i have been reading posts about this and i have a few questions for you or for anyone who knows the answer.

I enjoy drinking those lipton green teas and i read that green tea has theanine in it, would that be a good way to get it into my system?

How much does a bottle of the pills cost?

If i stop taking the pills will i go back to being depressed? Is it just a temporary fix?

[Insaniity]

Would also like to point out that about a month ago i slipped up, smoked a blunt, a joint, and a bowl out of a vaporizer. how far back do you think this may have set me back?

Also, the last couple of weeks I have started to dream again and almost every night I'm have crazy, really messed up dreams that are pretty disturbing. I know that is one of the symptoms of the marijuana withdrawals.

[program jb3]

Now to the theanine, i have been reading posts about this and i have a few questions for you or for anyone who knows the answer.

I enjoy drinking those lipton green teas and i read that green tea has theanine in it, would that be a good way to get it into my system?

How much does a bottle of the pills cost?

I bought a bottle of 50 pills from Whole Foods for about $10.00. I took them for a few days, but I didn't notice any effect. A lot of people here do find them effective.

[notsomellowmel]

Yep, you can definitely get theanine from green tea, but I'm not sure about the amount it contains.

I have it in 2 forms, the first is the straight theanine pill which is described in the post that first discussed it. It's a 150mg pill, and it was about 20$ for 60 pills, which i take twice a day.
I also have something called "Sleep Support" which I found in the all natural aisle in the drug store. It has a lower does of the theanine (100mg) but also contains melatonin and hydroxytryptophan (the stuff in turkey that makes you sleepy). This one was only 7$. It definitely helps me doze off, but it doesn't keep me asleep

As for being hooked, its not possible because its all natural, so that's what encouraged me to take it. And hey, its no different really than drinking a few cups of green tea a day, so if you like it, keep taking it.
I think I'll be using it to obtain a sense of normalcy in my everyday emotions and then wean myself off of them. I think once you feel like yourself again the depression will fade on its own. It would be the same as taking an ativan or something of that nature, you won't always need it.... just on the rare occasion it creeps up on you.

[Insaniity]

Yeah I'm still not too sure. Like is the theinine just going to prolong the depression/anxiety or am i goign to still be recovering while I use it?

[Cannabis Rehab Admin]

Hi again insanity

It does sound like it’s probably the result of withdrawing from the marijuana so it should pass in time, there is medication that may well be able to help with this sort of thing but if you can do without it I would probably try to do so but perhaps it depends on how bad a state you feel you are in as to whether you want to consider that sort of thing, I take an anti depressant but I have been a serious lifelong suffer of ocd which unfortunately seems to be down to the way your brain is made and unlike detox doesn’t pass in a couple of months so it’s a bit of a different thing, like I say hopefully your problem should pass in time. The theanine is something that many people find helps so it might be a good idea to try that first, green tea is high in theanine but the only thing to consider with it is that it still contains caffeine and tannin and what not which can actually make anxiety worse, if I drink too much green tea I can feel a bit over stimulated but perhaps that’s just me. Personally I like the supplements these people do for depression, anxiety and brain health, I take their neuro natural memory although the anti anxiety supplement they do contains most of the same type of things, I researched them quite thoroughly and found them to be one of the most complete supplements I could find, they contain virtually everything that’s good for the brain including amino acids that are good for anxiety. I have just ran out of them recently I am just about to order some more and I have noticed a bit of a dip in my mental health in the short time I have stopped taking them so I think they are doing me some good.

[notsomellowmel]

it doesn't prolong it, it just reminds you how it feels to feel "normal."
it helps to calm you down. once your body is used to being calm, it can do it on its own.
It's the same reason why someone would take an ativan or clonazepam, to fight off the panic attacks and to give you a feeling of peace.

[Insaniity]

Okay thanks for your input guys.

I'd like to say that i drank 3 bottles of lipton green tea yesterday and i am not sure if it was a placebo effect or what, but i felt like my old self, at one point i started to notice my mood dropping and i was able to control it and bring it back up which was awesome. Also, i had normal dreams last night, not the messed up, seriously thrown off dreams i have been having. and i was able to sleep through out the whole night.

So needless to say, I am going to pick up a bottle of the l-theanine asap.

[Insaniity]

Would just like to update you guys.

I bought a bottle of L-theanine. I noticed that it helps quite a bit. I found that I'm able to manage my mood swings much better.

I do have some bad news, my girlfriend and I of over a year and a half, have split up. I am starting to realize that not all of my detox symptoms were coming from quitting smoking. A lot were most likely coming from being in a relationship in which I did all of the work and wasn't getting appreciated anymore.