Paranoia and panic attacks after smoking weed

Hello, my name is Louis. I'm 18 and I'm having a similar problem at the moment...

Two days ago I had a few tokes on my friend's spliff. I'm not a regular weed smoker, I just do it now and then. At first, everything felt fine but it gradually crept up on me, started feeling really paranoid and anxious which eventually led to a total panic attack. Absolutely terrifying, felt like I was gonna black out and die...this was on a night out as well, so basically what happened was I went back to my friend's house to drink some alcohol. This numbed the effects of the weed and I figured it had gone away for the night.

I wake up the next morning though and I'm just really anxious and paranoid. These feelings died down throughout the day, but it's like 5am right now and I woke up about two hours ago with just these really intense feelings of anxiety and paranoia, it's horrible. I can't get back to sleep and, because of the paranoia, it's really stressing me out, worried that this will lead to more horrible things, me failing at life because of no sleep, all this stupid c**p.

I've always been somewhat paranoid and rather insecure with myself, but never to the point it is at now where I'm questioning almost EVERYTHING. I figure the weed must've triggered this in me, it's just amplified things that were already there since I am an anxious person naturally, but never to this degree...

I'm gonna try and see a doctor tomorrow, see what he says. Right now I'm hoping he can prescribe me something since I honestly don't think I'll be able to handle this on my own...

I'd like to say thanks to everyone who's documented their experiences in this thread though. Reading through here has helped me realise I'm not alone on this and has made me feel a bit better...

I used to smoke weed quite often about a year and a half ago until i had my first panic attack... I was walking with my friend and i couldnt remember if I was in a dream or not... it was like i was blacking out for a split second every few minutes and i was shaking and i didn't really feel that normal for about a week. Then it happened again about a month later and for the next 8 months it would kind of happen again very rarely, but not nearly as intense and about another 2 months for me to feel... i guess completely back to normal. Some more time passed and i hit it a couple of more times and it happened to me again. Same, I'm going to die, my hearts going to explode, and i need to go to the hospital feeling. This time I actually had my dad come get me because it felt way worse and I have been feeling really out of the ordinary for a month and i really want to speed up the process of getting back to normal so i guess i'll go to a psychiatrist and see what they can do. But as I have said many times before haha... I'm done

I had this problem ma year ago, i was one of the ones that wen to the hospital. I had smoked alot and i thought that had alot to do with it. My arm felt numb my heart was racing and i could not calm down. I felt like sh*t fora few days but finally got back to normal. I smoked a few more time after that and felt fine and then it happened again. Same feeling. Whati think is it could just be a trick of the mind. I believe that something bad is going to happen and it does. A history of heart attacks in my family does not help.
Id like to smoke again but im just so scared it will happen again and i would just rather wait till i have a better mind set for it and no so worried.

i've dealt with the ol' anxiety/panic for many years now. i'm a 24 y/o female. started smokin when i was 14 first several times were just wonderous fabulous heaven. i loved weed, loved it. then it started with a few times of getting a little paranoid, for instance a couple of times i thought i pissed my pants because i was so relaxed, kinda numb, felt warm sweat inbetween my legs, really freaked me out, truly embarrassing, then one time i got high and i really did piss my pants, and i think it was probably the whole losing control (literally) that set off a series of many a horrifying trip. and just like everyone else said on here, thought i was dying, i would also hallucinate heavily (hearing sh*t) funny thing is i started to only get panic attacks only when i would get really bad cotton mouth from smoking, otherwise i usually would just have a nice high. anyways i started getting really bad anxiety attacks even when i wasn't smoking, i'd get them alot in school, one time i was so anxious (sober) i straight up puked in class, and for a month period when i was 16 i would just randomly break out in hives for no apparent reason everyday , all it was was complete anxiety. so yada yadda got put on paxil, benefits outweighed side effects tremendously at the time even though it is a horrible drug, I was a pod person, no emotion, no orgasms no matter how hard i worked at it, i also started stealing a lot, had crazy courage and was really confrontational tried to start alot of fights all the time (not like me) also i could smoke and smoke and smoke anyone under the table and never once would i get paranoid nope, also that was when i first tried mushrooms, and i took double the amount my friend (an experienced user) took and i barely felt it, and she was freaking out on her trip. anyways, had to get off it cuz parents insurance stopped WARNING if for some reason you are on such a drug like that, do not stop taking it abrubtly they really mean that when they say that, i freaked out. so anyways still got attacks from time to time, but i learned to deal with em, best way is to get your mind focused on something simple, like cleaning or playing video games (someone said that earlier) totally works. I rarely smoke weed anymore but i really wish i could do it whenever i want, but i really have to be in a certain mind set to not have a bad experience, kinda a "i don't give a f**k" curious/careless/creative willing to go with it sort of mood. pot is unpredictable, certain people are better at handling it's effects because they go with it and naturally don't fight it. I believe everyone who has written here is just the opposite, although we would like to go with the mind trip enjoy it and relax, it's to overwhelming, and warps our f*****g worlds, AAAHHHHH!!! i will say got diagnosed with add and put on some adderall, and it seemed i was able to handle weed last year, consecutively smoked for a few months and was okay, and noticed the one day i didn't take my pill i got stone and the ol' HR went up to about 160 bpm no joke, cuz i worked my self into a frenzie. ofcourse that's just annecedotal in my experiences and i really have no idea if adderall helps. i do know every time i get a hold of some ativan or xanax i can smoke and it's no problem. just don't do it if u get the panic attacks or make sure u are in the right mind set, don't fight it, look outside, take a walk, look at how cool everything looks, eat a bunch of food and enjoy how great and f*****g amazing everything tastes, put on a zeplin album, or hendrix or some sh*t, or watch cheech and chong or pineapple express and really "know" where they're coming from. don't concentrate on yourself concentrate on petting your dog or cat they'll calm your ass down, know it's just a drug and the bad feelings will eventually pass, oh and by the way have you ever read or heard of anyone actaully dying from smoking weed? and i'm not talking about that propaganda sh*t cuz i sure haven't heard of it. realize and really realize before you smoke you are going to get high, cuz i've made that silly mistake a few times, smoking and not really even wanting to get high just doing it cuz well i don't know. i should quit writing, everyone gets the point, eh?

Lol! Amusing post, last poster.. even tho you'll prob never come back to read this.. i wonder if anyone does.. hmm. Anyway, i've read through every single post and i think ive figured out a little more as to why this is happening to me.. I'm 21 and i started smoking at like 14, and for years i never experienced a panic attack and i thoroughly enjoyed being high, made everything so different and interesting and i thought about things so deeply and realized things i never would've realized while being sober.. or as bob marley puts it "when you smoke herb it reveals you to yourself" - what im getting at in a nutshell. But now when i get high, it starts out with me zoning out - whether im with friends or not, and slowly i'll start getting a bunch of negative thoughts that spiral out of control and that's what gets my heart rate going and make my chest tight so that im pretty much hyperventilating, then my arms and hands are numb and i feel like im doing severe damage to my heart.. but i guess its just the fact that when youre high you can really concentrate and think deeply on one particular thought so then you're thinking too much and getting yourself all worked up. So i start to wonder, why is this just happening now and not when i first started smoking? It can't just be the pot then.. It must be something i've done or something that has changed in my life since then to bring this on outta nowhere. I can think of a few possibilities.. 1)I started taking anti-depressants not long ago, but have recently stopped taking them because i felt like they were making me worse. 2)I've tried other drugs.. cocaine, and also ecstasy. Coke is HORRIBLE if you get panic attacks, obviously. 3)I've taken several puffs of cigarettes here and there when drunk even though i don't smoke cigarettes.. so maybe that screwed me up somewhat, maybe im getting worked up because my body wants nicotine or something, i guess that sounds kinda stupid but im really thinking of every possibility cuz i really wanna get to the top of this and figure it out. I don't wanna let it get the best of me.. I'm gonna try reading up about "controlling panic attacks" But yea, i wonder if we all have one particular thing in common thats causing this for us, or if its a different reason for everyone.. who knows. But one thing i do know is that im not gonna NEVER get high again.. i'd just be lying to myself. I've stopped for now, but i know eventually in time i'll get curious and see if i still get panic attacks when high. And when i try to explain why i'm not smoking weed to other people they just look at me like im frickin crazy.. Wish i had a friend who felt the same way that i could talk to one on one with about it. But oh well, at least with the net i know there's lots of others like me and i dont feel so alone... anyway thanks guys! and good luck! I'll check back here and see if anyone else has any other thoughts.. This might be a stupid idea, but if anyone wants someone they can relate to to talk with, like i do, i'm totally open.. _[removed]_ - email or add me if you like.. i doubt there's many creepies checking out a panic attack site lol. People are prob gonna be like "whoa, that was one flakey chick.." haha wow, this is prob the longest post here, k i'm shutting up now, for real lol

this happened to me about a month ago
it really freaked me out, scariest thing that happened to me.

like 6 of us were just hanging out smoking out of this crazy water bong, we were all really stoned and they had aerosol and i dont do that sh*t its really stupid. but they kept pressuring me to do it. and like things were chill for a little bit but then i got really hot and my heart beat was insane and everyone saw me and was like wtf your sooo pale and my pupils were my whole eye, and then i snapped i felt like i was seriously dying and going crazy i felt like i had no control over my life and that if i didnt die, i was going to be crazy forever, i guess i kept saying that "it cant happen like this, i cant die here" and everyone was really freaked out, i havent smoked weed since then in fear of it happening again.

I have experienced all these symptoms from smoking pot myself from time to time. Not every time but it has happened. Some of you have mentioned that drinking can help. Sometimes, it does. For me, drinking a lot and smoking can make me get the spins. But yes, a little bit does calm you down a bit. Pot is labeled a drug, yes but it is not bad for you. You just need to learn some techniques and keep your head straight. When I get panic attacks (which unfortunately is quite frequent and runs in my family), I just tell myself to take deep, soothing breathes. Getting some cool air always helps me, too. Make sure you are in a familiar, comfortable environment. For me, I love it when it's a beautiful sunny day out and sometimes, walking through trails in the woods with some friends. Always a good time :)

I will share with you one particular event where I was really scared that I was going to die.

Some friends of my boyfriends always through a superbowl party. They are all stoners lol. So one time they all decided to make pot brownies. Whoever wants any could throw in on them so they were a lot of different strains. Also, everyone was going to smoke as well as eat the brownies. Some people drank even. So this is my first time trying the brownies. I'm pretty hungry so I ate about 3 of them not knowing that maybe I should've slowed down a bit. I was also drinking whiskey on top of that (NEVER do that). So I'm feeling pretty good. I start feeling like I'm stuck to the wall which I was sitting against. I've never had a body buzz before so I'm like "whoa, this is pretty cool." I was also smoking on top of all this too and it's really good stuff. Then after awhile, I start holding onto my knees sitting indian style. I'm looking around at everybody (and there were a lot of people there). I start freaking out. I couldn't breathe. I was tripping out hard. My boyfriend started freaking out because I kept telling him that I thought I was dying and he kept asking if I wanted to go to the hospital but I refused. I went back in and we went into the kitchen to talk although I could barely do that. It was a little dark and then someone turned the light on and as soon as it did, I felt blinded and hit the floor like I couldn't control my legs enough to stand up. As soon as I did that, the cold floor instantly made me feel better. I just heard loud ringing in my ears. I suddenly bursted into laughter and I was fine. I kept telling everybody that I knew what it felt like to die and finally accept it like some sort of crazy person. Everybody got a kick out of it. I still felt like i was tripping for a while. I ended up going home. When I got in, I still felt the effects and was dazed for a while still until the next day.

That was a crazy experience. I will probably always smoke but I go through periods of time when I won't touch it. Everything is good in moderation. I will never touch the hard stuff though. The only other thing I've done was coke. I don't make a habit out of it though. It's too expensive and addictive. It also comes from a bad place.

Seriously, take caution without letting it beat you like that. Don't let you mind keep you from having a good time.

I just suffered from the worst experience of my life. I am glad to rad all of your posts saying that u too have went through a panic attack after smoking weed.. At first I felt fine. I felt goood. OI was in the stairway feeling like I was floating.. THen I called my friend and was talkin to her. I began to get very hot. I felt like i was burning. like I was dieing and that I was in hel.l. I kept saying to my friend im sorry and im so afraid imso afraid im so afraid.. and I was screaming,, crying almost,,, and she said i was so loud and i thought it had to be a nightmare. I couldn't control waht i was saying. All my thoughts were coming out. I was having hot flashes, fel like I was maybe hallucinating and going crazy. I was scared. I still am. I been outside all night! I jsut came in and its 7 in the morning... I will never smoke again!!!! I am still not completely over my panic attack and hope and pray to God I will never experience thid dreadful feeling ever again. I have had some anxiety attacks before but NEVER this jurrasic. I kept saying I want to go tothe hospital because I feel like I need this stuff pumped out of me. I feel crazy and like I am looking at yself. I am so shy and to myself but I was LIteally loud and talkin to random ppl I did not know.. I kept thinking I was going to die!!! I know that they say weed will make u paranoid but I thought there must have been something else in what I was smoking because this has nEVER HAPPEND. I am still afraid and Hop ethat i t will go away. Ita has neen almost 6 hours now and I have settled down some but my nerves is till jumping and my mind is still wandering.Like..... Its still like I cant completely get to a sober state, the calm me. I hope that I will jus learn from this and I thank God I am still alive,.. I will NEVER smoke EVER AGAIN!!!

thats exactly how i felt like my heart was going crazy it scared me so bad i felt like i was switching worlds and dude my heart was really bad though dude first time my heart was beating so fast my ears were hurting couldnt feel my body its was really bad definitely not worth it

This has happened to me before while smoking weed. It was about my fourth time smoking. I took about 5 hits, then we made a fresh bowl and I had the first hit off that. So about 6. About 5 minutes after that last hit, I started flipping. My heart started beating so fast. My chest felt really hot inside and out. And the rest of my body felt freezing. I thought it was hard to breathe. I was with my mom and friend and my dad was asleep because he doesnt know about it. He would kill me. I was flipping out making my mom and friend talk to me and feel my heart. lol. I kept wanting to wake my dad up but My mom said noooo absolutley not. I really thought I was dying. My mom has panic attacks and anxiety problems just in general, like I do. But I had never had a panic attack this bad, I guess mainly because I was high and I was already out of my head. The best thing to do when this happens is try to relax and have someone talk you through it. In a low amount week relaxes you but in higher amounts (when you get totally stoned) it can make you paranoid. I was actually able to prevent myself from a panic attack the other day. I got stoned off my ass but I just talked to myself for a minute and chilled out. I didn't let that one panic attack stop me from smoking, because I can calm myself down now if need be.

*Still a happy smoker (: Hopefully many more bowls to come.

Thank God people understand! No one understands what i am talking about when i explain what i went through - they just say "you were very high"- but i could tell it wasn't just that.

I don't smoke often, but recently i have done it more and more, several times in the past two weeks. I have also been majorly stressing because of school and trying to get into university.

It happened yesterday during lunch at school where me and my friends decided to teach a girl how to smoke (she wanted to learn). We used a pipe and didn't have a filter with us. On my second hit, i inhaled too much and a chuck of the ember went flying into my throat and lungs.

Only seconds later i started coughing, just thinking it irritated my throat but then i started to go blind, get extremely dizzy and lose my hearing. I could feel something burning in my chest and i fell to the ground. I couldn't breathe at all and it felt like something had punctured my lung. I knew i was going to die - i started thinking about how stupid this was and i told my friends to call the police cause i was so sure i was going to die i would rather get caught. Good thing they didn't.

It was the most pain I've ever been in, i started clawing at the grass and eating it. I knew i wasn't high cause i could think so clearly i was me just ... not.
About 10 -15 min later, the pain and terror finally stopped and i could move a little but would see and feel my movements 3 secs. after - and i could have complete conversations but i could not think.

I stayed screwed for about 3 hours, various people staying with me, until about 3.5 hours after the initial shock i was able to stand. All today i have been traumatized and this morning i started crying because i was so happy to be alive.

I've been trying to figure out what it was cause i knew it wasn't just a bad trip.

In order to avoid a redundant post I'll skip my story, but I have had the effect everyone is describing. It happened twice and both with people I wasn't completely comfortable with.

That being said, I've smoked numerous times since then and although I can always seem to feel it in the back of my mind, I've been able to avoid a full-out panic attack.

Here's what seems to help me:

Put yourself in a comfortable environment. Be with close friends, family, or whatever works for you. Alcohol seems to help my comfort level.

Take it slow!!! One puff here & there. Be sure you feel the peak of the hit before taking another. As someone else mentioned, it's the same reasons Dr.'s increase new medication step-by-step. Too much at once can be a bad thing.

Find an activity to keep your mind occupied, especially for the *peak* of the high. Avoid TV/Movies because your mind can easily wander. Rock Band and Halo do wonders for me.

Personally, I like to avoid caffiene becuase it makes me jittery & on edge. I also like to have some food in my stomach before smoking - it seems to help.

I’ve been smoking pot for 4 years on a daily basis. Pot always made me feel at ease and happy, so much so that I couldn’t go a day without it. Unfortunately, I started getting anxious and paranoid. I stopped smoking with other people (accept for my boyfriend) because I felt too self-conscious when I was high.

One night, my boyfriend and I were watching tv in my room. I took one of the biggest bong hits I’ve ever taken, and after about 5 minutes, everything went horribly wrong. How it all started, was me basically thinking about aging. I was imagining what life would be like when I was very old, and it started to scare me a lot. Looking back, I feel stupid because I’m not really afraid of aging, but for some reason my head was just in the wrong place. My heart started beating out of my chest, and I thought I was having a heart attack. It felt like a couldn’t get enough air into my lungs, like I was drowning. I was bawling my eyes out, telling my boyfriend we had to go to the hospital imediately. I had severe heart palpitations for at least an hour and I literally thought my heart was going to explode inside my chest and that I was going to die. I kept thinking, “I don’t want to die like this! I don’t want to be stoned out of my skull when I die!” It was the most horrible experience I have ever encountered. He managed to calm me down as I started to sober up.

I took a break after that. For about 6 months. It gave me a lot of time to think about things, and to find the real reason why this was happening. I realized I was just a a bad place in my life, and getting high was contributing to my problems and making me feel crummy. I was the reason for these anxiety attacks, not the marijuana itself. I recently started smoking again, but in moderation. I’m taking baby-steps to make sure something like that will never happen again. I really hope that I’ll be able to smoke socially with other people, but that probably wont happen until I’m older, wiser, and am more comfortable with myself.

Hey buddhachild, this was pretty enlightening. It's of course true that you don't want to trip out while you have demons to face down because marijuana will do you no favors in that department. What do you mean by moderation though? Are you smoking less than you used to?

healthnfitnessguy wrote:

BuddhaChild wrote:

I took a break after that. For about 6 months. It gave me a lot of time to think about things, and to find the real reason why this was happening. I realized I was just a a bad place in my life, and getting high was contributing to my problems and making me feel crummy. I was the reason for these anxiety attacks, not the marijuana itself. I recently started smoking again, but in moderation. I’m taking baby-steps to make sure something like that will never happen again. I really hope that I’ll be able to smoke socially with other people, but that probably wont happen until I’m older, wiser, and am more comfortable with myself.

Hey buddhachild, this was pretty enlightening. It's of course true that you don't want to trip out while you have demons to face down because marijuana will do you no favors in that department. What do you mean by moderation though? Are you smoking less than you used to?

I only smoke a few times a month now, as opposed to everyday like I used to.