Tell yourself whatever you want to believe.

 

Thanks for all that Mulder. I definitely noticed that when I smoke I can catch myself and all the little quirks that go off in my head; like you said it slows down your mind, so you can take a second glance at every moment/thought/expression/emotion etc. While the psilocybin is a poison, I also think it helped. Hell, before I did it, I had lost all form of contact with my brother, and he lived in the same house as me. 5 hours under the influence and we're best friends, we just had a chance to talk and connect without the anxiety of being shy or uncomfortable.

My counselor actually told me to quit smoking after our second meeting (going back to the issue of dreams), but I didn't listen to him for about a month or so, until last Saturday when I decided on my own that I wanted to take a break. Like I said, the aformentioned substances turned out to be the greatest experiences of my life. I like being able to talk to a counselor who I know will not disclose any information to anyone else, and it feels better than talking to myself or to a wall. I have come to terms with my condition through my own recognition (this guy is all about letting me speak for an hour, he rarely provides input unless its a crucial point). This break should help calm my paranoia. It felt like after a year straight every time I smoked I thought I was going to get busted.

I must say that my counselor did call me out and tell me I am ADHD (im not sure of the difference?).

Still trying to contact a psychiatrist...

 

If it hadn't been for substances allowing my mind to work outside of normal consciousness, I don't think I'd be moving forward the way I am today. Cracking open your mind is unlike anything I've ever experienced.

 

Well I guess we're all fair game then!

 

My doctor told me that. And I spent a lot of time researching which confirmed it.

 

Really the OP just has to see a professional and get diagnosed first. There's no real way to determine if it's the weed, if it's schizophrenia or OCD, or whatever. Once diagnosed one can determine the best individual way to proceed, which is the ONLY course of reasonable action for any mental illness.

It's funny that there are so many who automatically assume it's the weed and recommend psychotropic medications though. How many people here have taken psychotropic meds? I have, and IMO they suck and should only be used in severe cases.

Psychotropics like SSRI's and MAO's don't generally cure anything. In most cases they only control the symptoms. Hence for many patients they are a lifelong prescription. And since patients can develop either dependencies or adverse reactions to them after extended use (e.g. a few years), prescriptions often have to be changed every so often.

And let's be honest. Weed isn't the only thing in this thread that has a bad rep, and psychotropics aren't exactly a magic bullet with no side effects. Heard of the Prozac suicide cases, anyone? These things must be used over the long term and do have consequences, sometimes very serious ones. A guy smokes weed and everyone points to it as the culprit with next to no evidence, and then suggest that he take emotion-altering psychotropic meds instead? Now that's comedy.

Honestly dude, you should get diagnosed and then decide what to do. I'd personally always go with behavioral therapy over medication, but that's my personal opinion based on MY experiences. I struggled with my OCD for years and nothing any professionals tried did jack shit until the day I decided that I wouldn't let it beat me and took action myself. I still suffer from it but am able to live a normal life, which is the best case scenario any medication could have provided.

And I understand that it helps to talk about it (it certainly helped me a lot) but there are far better places than here to talk about it. Do a Google search and you'll find plenty of forums with people who understand what you're going through and will give you input based on actual experience. Good luck man.

 

^^ Well said.

 

Wow My first reaction was to want to laugh and think you're nuts when I read some of the stuff, then I paused and realized I do them and have concerns the same way, to a point.

I think we all all afflicted with many of the same ailments to differing degrees. When I was younger I spent time at a doctor weekly for discussion and therapy relating to my ADD. I was on different drugs for quite some time, though fortunately my parents quit with all fo them as I was becoming more and more angry on an ongoing basis.

I don't think drugs are always the answer though people are quick to jump to them as a solution. I have no doubt that I suffer from mild OCD as well as ADD but learning to cope is the solution. Some people (perhaps such as yourself) may not be able to utilize techniques and make small changes and might require drugs to balance yourself better. I wouldn't be afraid to try them and to let your closest friends and family know so you can get an accurate opinion of yourself and ensure the positives aren't being outweighed by the negatives.

 

Main point is that it depends on YOU. People respond to pot differently, people respond to psychotropics differently, etc. There's no way anyone here knows what's going on in your case. Mental illness is still a relatively new field and usually treatment consists of behavioral therapy, trying different psychotropic meds until you find one that works, or a combination of drugs and therapy.

Personally I smoke a lot of pot and find that it greatly helps lower my anxiety level which in turn reduces my obsessions and compulsions. It also eliminates my acid reflux symptoms and allows me to eat normally. This is stuff that none of the meds I tried in the past has ever been able to do. So in my case it's absolutely a benefit. I'm definitely putting a toll on my lungs but it's far better than the emotional toll placed by medications IMO. No drug, be it prescription or illicit, comes without a tradeoff.

Seems like there are other here who have found quitting pot to be helpful though, and that's valid as well. You just really need to find what your specific problem triggers are and how to deal with them.

 

I agree with that also. I know people who have taken Stratera and it has made significant changes for them. For me.. it did little to nothing. There isn't a one size fits all.