Hi everyone,
I had a really awful time on weed nearly two weeks ago now. It was my first time smoking, and I took two quite large puffs. It was ok at first, but then I felt incredibly nauseated and sleepy. I then started to fall in and out of reality; seemed to be slipping in and out of a dream, and panicked. I eventually pulled out of it, but ever since I've been having symptoms that seem consistent with some form of HPPD or Post Traumatic Stress, so I thought I'd post for some clarity and/or advice.
The most notable is an obvious increase in light sensitivity. It's not in itself debilitating, but I get lingering flashes, particularly of fluorescent lights. I also get quite a lot of static in the dark, and now notice floaters where I never did before. I could probably deal with these in themselves, but there also seems to be a slight perception alteration in general, in particular when I go outside, where I just feel quite dreamy. It gets quite distressing, and I have been having pretty bad anxiety and a depressive mood during this time, including obsessive thoughts constantly about how I'm feeling, starting from the moment I get up to when I go to bed, exhausted from worry.
I've been getting panicky feelings, but managing to control them quite well by managing my breathing, and sleep has been no problem (I'm that exhausted from worry I fall asleep pretty much straight away, although the first few nights after the trip my pounding heart wouldn't let me drift off, and I'd jolt awake in disoriented terror - although, as I said, these have dissipated since). Cognitively I'm fine - memory's good, can have conversations fine, and my emotions are there but quite up and down
Any thoughts and advice would be much appreciated. I've done a lot of reading around and hope this is a temporary case, as I seem to be managing it better than I was, but it's still quite distressing. Thanks.
(N.B - 20 years old, smoking with two others who had no bad reaction or lingering effects. No history of other drug use other than alcohol and caffeine)