Paranoia and panic attacks after smoking weed

Hello! I am a guy 21 years old and I am using ganja from time to time, and it is cool, but from time to time I get panic attacks, and feel like I am going to jump in front of a moving car! Why do these things happen? I am a lot open minded but I am puzzled now what to do… Should I stop using marijuana?

Well, you are asking questions which you know answer to. Yes, you should quit, because you can never know how you are you going to react to it. It alters the way you think, and you can never know when is enough. When you stop thinking about your parents, family, friends? If you can't handle it well, don't use it. It is like me and alcohol-I drink one drop, and I am busted. I know you are not going to listen to me, but just think about this for a minute.

I had 3 to 4 panic attacks when I was in the fifth grade so Weed had not been apart of my vocabulary. The next time I had a panic attack was the first time I actually got really stoned; which was like my 3rd time smoking pot. Its a terrible feeling! Life is so precious when you have a panic attack because you really feel like your fighting for your life. I am an occasional smoker now and I have learned that different strains can give you a really paranoid feeling. Also, the reason panic attacks happen is because your brain is trying to remove itself from certain situations that you are worried about. Weed obviously alters brain cells giving you a heightened sense of reality. Ultimately, people who get panic attacks while high;; thier brains are saying that they dont like being away from the norm. These are people that like to have total control of themselves. All of the sudden, you start to feel like your gonna pass out, your body is heavy, and you pay more attention to your heart beating. These things are what inhance your paranoia and then eventually trick you into thinking that your gonna die. I recommend that if you are a paranoid smoker, only do it with somebody your comfortable with. I used to drive around and get high but hated it because I had the extra concern for police. Just dont put yourself in a uncomfortable position because even the smallest worry can cause a panic attack and you wont even see it coming!

Hey Mendy,

Although you posted this topic several years ago, I have come across this problem not only personally, but with many people I have met. I suffer from anxiety/panic attacks and the first panic attack I ever had was the first time I smoked pot. It was terrifying, and humiliating (I called an ambulance on myself as I had NO idea what a panic attack was, I was stoned and I totally thought I was dying) What you need to realize is that panic attacks are TOTALLY controllable, while they might not feel like it at the time. I would suggest looking into medical literature about controlling/preventing panic attacks so you can enjoy smoking some "ganja" every now and then. Also - don't feel compelled to smoke, if it's not your thing, it's not your thing.

I myself have had these panic attacks and I used to not get them. One day I had a nice little helping and I had no worry in the world was just surfing the web, I was hit with the heavy breathing then slowly you start to lose control of your surroundings and your high subdues you into a realm you cannot control.

My heart has never beating so hard and for 3 hours straight I was so sure I was dieing as if life was being sucked from me. I was shaking dramatically, then my mind made me think I was having a seizure.
The pain was so much for me all I wanted to do was die. Then my legs started aching and in my mind I swore they were black and blue. I thought I needed to go to the hospital, but knowing that was dumb I called a loved one and when they showed up the trip started slowly decreasing.

But yet When they seen me I was pale and purple, I induced my self into such a shock I hardly was breathing...One of the worst things to happen in my life people cannot grasp the fact of what one goes threw in that mind set. But I still love to smoke because when its good its good. I have had many trips since then not as sever, The best advice to give it to get lost into something else, if that doesn’t work tell your self your going to be fine and just keep walking around until your sober...

Sorry for the long story but I thought I would put it out their for people who have experienced this and your not alone if its not for you...its not for you

Dick

Any questions feel free to email dick5201438@yahoo.com

I tonight was one of the ones who ended up at the hospital thinking i was dying, and after i calmed down i came home and consulted the internet for others who have had the same thing happen. I had 2 small tokes and that partly triggered it. For the past few months ive had the increased heart rate after i smoke and i had just now remembered what made it go away. and you may call me crazy but poping on the PS3 and escaping into a game made me not think about my fast heart beat and feel as if i got heart problems. Im going to try and not think about the crazy stressful thoughts and just do like i said, pick up a game and not let the thoughts take over. And slowing down on the herb won't hurt either. I hope this helps . and thank you to anyone who may come across my message for not judging how im going to handle my problems. I wish you all well and bless

I had an experience like this as well... It was the worst experience of my life. I was smoking one night with 2 friends and only had like 3 hits of a joint. About 5 minutes later it hit me. At first i was fine and was laughing but a few seconds later, i felt like i couldn't move. I was in a whole different world and my friends told me i was just sitting there drooling. While they saw me on the outside, i felt like i was trapped on the inside, stuck in a single moment if that makes sense. I felt like i was gonna have a heart attack cause my heart was beating so hard and fast. I was very sacred and thought i would stay like that forever. I could not function at all and i just wanted to snap back into reality. I just decided to go to sleep and sleep it off. Truly the scariest moment of my life.

I just so happened to google this question because it happened to me the first few times i smoked and i was hysterical because panic attacks are the scariest things in the world. i felt like i was dying and what not. at first i was really relaxed and then my chest got heavy and time seemed to stand still for me but not everyone else. it was like suspended isolation or something. and i could see my friends but i couldn't really look at them it was crazy. i ruined their high because i kept repeating im tripping out. and i couldn't filter the thoughts in my head so i was just blurting out everything i was thinking good and bad. it felt like i could hurt myself and i was having difficulty swallowing and my heart was hella loud. it was the scariest moment of my life i wanted to go to the hospital. i felt stupid and i thought i was the only one who had experienced this. i also felt like every time i blinked the day kinda started over or like i would transition from reality to being high.

I have had the same problem about three years ago. I was sitting on my couch with my wife and we smoked a blunt. I have smoked since I was 14 and never had a attack. Then I all of a sudden started freaking out my heart started beating and I felt numb and started having hot and cold flash's and could not breath. I instantly jumped into the shower but the hot water made it worse. I soon started to feel better talking to my wife explaining what was happening then I started to think about it and it happened again so I went to the hospital. I lived real close so I walked it felt good to walk but the doctors seemed to not care and I really felt out of my body so I just left felling like they did not care at all I did not know what was going on and they seemed pretty stoopid. I went to my doctor the next day and he made me go take blood test and try 20 diffrent pills in a six month period but I was still having them on and off even though I quit smoking my doctor seemed as if he new nothing about anxiety/Panic attacks as well. I finally met someone who had explained they had the same problem and they took xanax. So I bought some xanax from a friend who was getting them for anxiety. The first time I took one it seemed it was a miracle I felt normal. I started taking .5 of mg twice a day and it helped like no tomorrow. I am now seeing a Phyciatrist and he prescribes me xanax and totally understood like he had had one before unlike my doctor thought I wanted drugs. He had explained to me that he has had what is simulair to a panic attack you know when you are sitting in your car and another one next to you is moving but you think it is yours but your foot is on the break and you freak out a little.my problem is like that but last longer and bring a more heightened awareness.He then told me about a great book that I already had if you do not have it it is a must have a great book called the Anxiety Disease the author is David V. Sheehan, M.D. it is the greatest book for this problem and and explains stuff as if you were the one who wrote it. I have not smoked since the first attack that has been 3 years. I do miss it but I do not wish to ever feel that way again.

Last night I had a panic attack after having 5 or 6 hits off a vaporizer. Man it was terrible, like the worst thing ever.
What helped me and eventually (after 2 hours) made me calm down was
pacing back and forth with an ice pack on my face while my girlfriend and I played a game. The game was thinking of kitchen appliances for every letter of the alphabet. I know it sounds silly but it made the attack subside a bit, and it kept me kind of level headed until the weed wore off. I found (at least for me) the worst things to do were listen to music, go on the computer or watch T.V. I hope this helps.