Marijuana and Dissociative Depersonalization Derealization Disorder

[JebbusLordJebin]

Sorry about interrupting your thread with this message, but I am just wondering if you know all of the areas of the brain marijuana effects. I have just been smoking for a little while off and on (every few months or so, for just about a year and a half), and I have already noticed some dramatic changes in my life. If I explain my feelings in my terms, "I feel like I have no feeling, just like all I am is a camera in my eyes, monitoring my life with no feelings of joy or excitement. I have completely lost my imagination, and forgot what I wanted for my career. I am just in a horrible state of mind, and all I think about is that first time I picked up a joint or toked out of the bong." I am turning 15 this month, and I have already screwed my life over. I have always been smart academically, and it didn't effect the knowledgeable section of my brain, but I have no feeling of excitement in my life. Can anyone please help me, and tell me if there is any restoration methods for my imagination and to build a stronger mind.


Thanks,

Jebbus

[Cannabis Rehab Admin]

Hi JebbusLordJebin welcome to the forum.

Hey don’t be sorry to interrupt we are glad to have you here, I hope you don’t mind me moving your post to a new thread, as it’s a bit of a separate subject and kind of deserves a thread in its own right. It sounds like you may have some kind of dissociative depersonalization disorder. I think some of the other users of CannabisRehab.org have described some of the symptoms associated with this, as a result of using marijuana. For more information on it you may want to check out this webpage http://www.depersonalization.info/overview.html , some of the things it mentions describe the symptoms as including “a feeling of "nothingness", as if you were without emotions” it also says “Many people develop the condition through the use of marijuana”.

I think I have experienced some of the symptoms associated with this condition, as a result of using marijuana. That’s the thing with cannabis when it comes to mental illness, it can screw with your mind in lots of different ways, it’s not just all about schizophrenia, you can develop all kinds of symptoms of mental illness.

I would recommend staying of the pot and making sure your brain gets all the nutrition it needs to recover, i.e. omega fatty acids, B vitamins, etc. If you don’t get better, you may want to speak to your doctor about it.

I am not saying that you definitely have this condition, only a doctor can make this diagnosis and even then from what I have read it often gets overlooked as just been the symptoms of depression. Any way I just thought I would mention it as allot of what you are describing sounds like it has similarities with this condition and I myself feel a bit this way as a result of my dope use.

Take care and please keep us posted on how it goes.

[Cannabis Rehab Guest]

What is dissociative depersonalization derealization disorder?

[Cannabis Rehab Guest]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Depersonalization disorder (DPD) is a dissociative disorder in which the sufferer is affected by persistent or recurrent feelings of depersonalization and/or derealization. The symptoms include a sense of automation, going through the motions of life but not experiencing it, feeling as though one is in a movie, feeling as though one is in a dream, feeling a disconnection from one's body; out-of-body experience, a detachment from one's body, environment and difficulty relating oneself to reality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization_disorder

[Cannabis Rehab Guest]

Smoking marijuana makes me feel like that all the time.

[Drug Rehab Chick]

Hi,

I feel like that....believe it or not it was a major reason for me becoming an addict...you don't feel the pain. You feel like nothing is real. You have your whole life ahead of you and if you're committed to stopping, it will be a life full of possibilities...anything you dream of is possible. If your life is controlled by dope, and you're disassociating from reality there is very little hope for a productive future...cos you're too bombed to care!

I know I'm probably gonna sound like your mum, but please don't give up on yourself. You're a smart person and that is a huge positive. The world really is your oyster. A word of warning though...I'm smart too...got in the top 10% at uni and because I have allowed pot to be such a major factor in my life, I'm unemployed, broke and going through a breakup....my life is a real mess...trust me, its a lot easier to pick up your life before you make more decisions that are destructive and most decisions made by a problem user are, simply because they are focused around weed...how to get it, when you can have your next toke, avoiding people and situations so you can have another session...Please don't waste your potential on a stupid green plant! You are worth so much more than you're getting now.

Peace

Hippychick

[needabreak]

kick th weed, not urself!

i cant help agreein with all of the above-smokn dope makes u not care-u dont care about urself or the people around u that u should care about-and the more u smoke the less u'll care-

if an impersonal xistence wer u'r on ur own stewing over the things that could b is th kind of life u want then dope's 4 u-th more u do it th more u'll c its pointless dude-

dont b so hard on urself-i'm impressed wi ur youth and foresight-gud luck dude-kick the weed, not urself!

i'm off it 2 weeks and i know i'v a lot further to go b4 my impersonalization evaporates-only problem is-then u can care too much-dope smokn can send u introvertably mad dude!

[sunflower]

depersonalizations

Hi ive been experiencing some feelings of depersonalizations, they mostly come and go, and i feel like the more i think about these feelings the worst they are. i was doing some research and found some interesting stuff that i'll share that gave me peace of mind and maybe it will help others. It explains that anxiety can be the cause, to me this makes sense at least in my situation, going thru the withdrawls for the first time not knowing what to expect, i have been really anxious to say the least...

i couldnt post the website i found it under....but below is the article


A typical manifestation of this depersonalization is when the individual may be having a conversation with someone and suddenly feels alarmingly isolated and removed from the situation. Once the sensation arises it can make such an impact that it takes days to leave the eerie feeling behind and stop thinking about it.

The sensation is caused by delayed perception. While under constant stress or anxiety there is a build up of stress chemicals in your system that causes a delayed response in the transmission of information between neurotransmitter sites in your body. This slight delay between experience and thought can create a momentary sensation of unreality. The same effects are experienced under the influence of marijuana but people do not react with fear in this situation because they are aware it is the drug causing the sensation; it is when the sensation arrives while you are doing your tax returns that things feel a little scary!

I mention depersonalization because the condition is not often spoken about‚ and to reassure those of you who may have experienced this sensation‚ that it is only a side–effect of excessive anxiety and will pass as soon as the body learns to relax. Once the body returns to a normal level of relaxation it then has the opportunity to dispel some excess chemicals.

It is very easy to start imagining all the terrible mental illnesses that this could be but don’t worry you haven’t caused any damage to yourself you will return to the person you were before depersonalization crept in. You will have to trust me on that.

The quickest way out of this disconnected feeling is to really accept it for the time being and have faith that it will pass shortly. Shrug your shoulders and relax into it. You can take this relaxed attitude to it because you know that you will return to normal when you move out of this period of anxiety. It is a phase you are moving through so be patient with yourself while you are in it.

What really moves people out of this sensation quickest is adopting an attitude that all is well. And it is. These unusual sensations of depersonalization are just a nuisance‚ but it will pass. Not feeling connected to yourself in this manner is solely due to the anxiety in your system and it is then reinforced by your constant checking to see how you are feeling. It is like you are over analyzing yourself all the time and that can make you feel even more strange. I appreciate how uncomfortable it can feel but don’t worry about it‚ it will leave.

Don’t let the thoughts sucker you into thinking you are alone and stuck with this feeling of depersonalization all your life. Those thoughts are not valid. The more you can flow along with it and not react the more quickly you will return to feeling more yourself. It takes a little practice but that change in attitude will make a big difference for you.

You will look back in the very near future and wonder what all the fuss was about and that anxious person will seem like the stranger.

[Cannabis Rehab Admin]

Thanks for that post sunflower I am sure a lot of people will find it a great comfort.

[allegory]

sunflower, I can relate to everything in that post. I can't imagine myself without anxiety at this point, but I know I've been that person before. The last time I felt fully confident, in control and happy was before I started regularly smoking the drug at age 18. I work from home and haven't left the house in a week. Going to the laundromat is a mission after a morning spliff. I'm tired of everyday things inducing fear and anxiety. I feel useless and can't wait to have my untainted mind back.

My father is a heavy the drug smoker and is now on antipsychotics because of similar symptoms to these. Feeling like you just arrived at the conversation half way into it, mental misfires, constant crushing anxiety and also disturbing thoughts. They diagnosed him with severe anxiety and mild schizophrenia. I now wonder if it isn't that but side effects from massive amounts of weed. He's got a license and will probably never quit.

It's harmless in small doses and certainly a good alternative to opiate painkillers but I don't understand how any pothead can deny it makes you a lazy, withdrawn coward in the long run.

[cbc990]

Sweety, you haven't ruined your life yet! Your life is just getting started! A lot of marijuana addicts have been using for twice as long as you've been alive, and they're finding ways to get clean.

Take advantage of still being in high school: you can completely replace all your pothead friends with the kinds of people you most admire.

I used to smoke in order to "turn off" my brain... I'm an intelligent person, and sometimes my brain just won't shutup. Smoking pot made me stupid, and I used to like that. Now it just feels stupid!!

[OrangeCrush]

I hear you and completely agree!

I used to smoke in order to "turn off" my brain... I'm an intelligent person, and sometimes my brain just won't shutup. Smoking pot made me stupid, and I used to like that. Now it just feels stupid!!

[Cannabis Rehab Guest]

jebbus, i have had that same exact feeling for about 2 months (i have smoked the drug multiple times, too) so i finaly googled how i was feeling and found this thread and i could not describe it better myself, i am feeling the exact same way u r. im glad im not the only one..

[Cannabis Rehab Guest]

Depersonalization Derealization= me

Hi All,

Thanks for this great thread and thanks sunflower for breaking this fixable disorder down to a level
that is understandable.

Unfortunately, i am at day one again with pot after having roughly 50 days clean and I had a feeling that after I quit cigarettes a few weeks ago I would be "in the trenches" when the drug was around me!

This I know mostly stems from anxiety and me not allowing enough time for my body to relax itself naturally. I would rather not smoke anything anymore but, if its a decision between pot or 5-10 cigarettes a day, cigarettes will have to be it, for now until i am strong enough to detox cigarettes again! I excerise quite regularly because I know that helps and now I just have to be patient and detox from the past three weeks of using again.

I am very grateful to have the support of you positive intelligent people out there to help this recovering pot head live without the need to hide my feelings or myself anymore as it seems i'm not the only pot head who has cacoon-like behaviors out there when using pot!


Kind wishes

chadventure

[downy]

Didn't know that feeling had a name

Yeah I've had that experience of just watching life with no emotion many many times. Well I did feel hopeless often. A main reason for smoking dope was to numb my anxiety and worries but at the cost of a career (i dont really think i was going to career anyway but i had less chance of finding out) and relationships within my family and with friends who i consider i've lost and i'm usually way too anxious to make new friends but i am getting better at meeting new people, just got to commit myself a bit more i suppose but ive always been an outcast somewhat. i quit again on friday because my mind was a constant blank but its mor active now and i'm agitated when i would usually have a hit but i do a sudoku, hav a cig or bury my head instead. good luck dude i hope u return to reality safely.