Afraid to smoke weed

[munkdo]

I got pretty scared to smoke weed from reading this forum,

now if i try to smoke i dont want to because i start making stuff up about getting hppd so i start inventing this stuff. Now i'm afraid I might get hppd from worrying about it.

I notice i have some static vision that i took for granted before, now I always check if it gets worse

Since i read about people having ADD and getting hppd easier then I feel since I have an ADD diagnosis, but I heard u could also get it form sleeping pills like ambien and imovane, and i've had those before especially imovane and i still live...so i could handle that..

How bad do you think weed is for you? Is it plausible to worry about hppd and DP from W?

I could smoke a little before but now when i started reading up on psychosises i can't smoke, I don't even think i smoke that much, just one hit sometimes...

How much should i worry about this... i'm definently gonna wait to smoke until i feel better, but ...should i quit totally? it doesn't seem worth it to ruin your visual field for smoking

but if i dont end up doing that then im worrying about nothing...and i'm passing up on lifes opportunity to actualize myself...

well...i thought i'd ask for some wisdom here.. since this is the scaries thing i read about in a while..

thanks a lot!!

[John Smith]

Did you get static from weed, or have you always had it? There have been cases of people gettin DP from just weed (dpselfhelp.com) but it is highly uncommon. I never had problems with weed before i got HPPD, and i dont think i ever would have. My dad smoked for about 10 years and never had any problems with it, but he never tried any psychedelics. But honestly man, if gettin high makes you so paranoid and not feel good, then whats the point? Just do yourself a favor and dont trip, sounds like youd have an awful time.

[OliverW]

So I'm confused... Are you worried about getting HPPD from blazing? Or do you already have it? When I smoked cannabis after my HPPD hit, it did intensify my condition, but not to the point of me quitting. But that is probably because I'm an addict. Also, I was always on an opiate when I smoked weed so perhaps my situation won't apply. On the other hand, I have been clean off everything including cannabis for about 6 months and things have not gotten much better. In fact, I don't think things have gotten better at all.

What would you get out of smoking weed? I have ADHD as well, and bud will calm me down and help me focus... But the consequences outweigh the benefits, for me anyways. It really depends on your symptoms and their intensity.

My advice... Don't do it. I know telling someone to "just stop" doesn't work, I know. But I urge you to acknowledge the possible consequences, while not kidding yourself about being realistic. It really just depends how much you want to and how much you would get out of it. Perhaps you have the mentality that one time wouldn't hurt, and perhaps it wont. But everything starts out with "just one more time". I recognize how addiction can be, and if I started smoking weed again I would probably become addicted to that. (I never had a problem with it in the past, but after going through treatment for my heroin addiction I don't think it would be a good idea to start)

There, now you have a junkies perspective. To abstain from a behavior that could be harmful or addictive. Go figure.

[Jay1]

The old hppd forum used to be full of debate about whether you could get hppd from weed. My view has always been yes, especially with the crazy weed you get in the UK.. (not sure what it is like where you are?).

"Skunk" as it's know is just like taking a mini trip every time you smoke... Some of my mates are paranoid zombies, fuck knows why they carry on.

If you are worried about this, chances are you already suffer from anxiety and maybe hypercondria (I don't mean any offence, just saying it how it is). Without your full story, it is hard to say....

[VisualDude]

An interesting quote from Dr Abraham (one of the very few researchers in HPPD) http://amrglobal.pow...es-no-undecided

"Is pot dangerous? An old joke went, “Sure, marijuana is dangerous. A ton of it can crush a man.” But for the majority of kids a ton of dope is never at play. Saturday night adventurers are likely to be at no greater risk than abstainers. Far greater dangers await a kid using the gateway drugs tobacco and alcohol. The problems from pot arise in daily smokers, half of whom will move onto the felony drugs of cocaine, heroin, and the like. And pot should never be used by vulnerable persons, such as the mentally ill or addicts in recovery. If a kid claims to need pot as self-medication, he needs professional care, not backwoods chemistry."

It would seem that the issues are dosage (amount, potency and frequency) and vulnerability. The biggest problem with vulnerability is you often don't know until it is too late - like the proverb, "How tight do you turn a bolt? Stop 1 quarter turn before it breaks"

Also, there seems to be more vulnerability in growing bodies (before 20 years old) - links between developing schizophrenia from weed, especially Skunk and other 'stronger' versions. [Curious, ADD and schizophrenia disorders involve dopamine ]

Ultimately, living is not totally safe and life comes without guarantees. However, you can improve your odds with life style choices. The surest way to not get HPPD or to get over HPPD is to forgo all recreational drugs - find other sources of pleasure/happiness. See http://hppdonline.co...general-advice/

[munkdo]

ok,

well I have normal static that i don't notice until i think about it. I wouldn't consider it HPPD though, this is not from weed since i only smoked four times yet. Also i sit too much in front of the computer so i get bad eyesight..

Well I'm just the worrying kind..

I guess i would use weed for spiritual purposes, and maybe also chill out and manage my day..

The question is between waiting and using later, or not using at all. I just thought i'd ask here to get a grip on how ppl feel,

I guess by now i'll wait and hold off.. Jay is right i'm a hypchondriac, i invent possible catastrophies and then i obsess about them to subconsciously entertain myself. IT's gotten better with time.

It's good to hear your views.. as of right now, i'll wait. And then i'll see and decide later, the plan is to wait until i dont feel like inventing this hppd thing because i invent it even if i take only a small hit that i would never worry from, but the knowledge to have take a "risk" or whatever...

I don't entirely agree with dr abraham althought his advice would be sound for me. I know people who smoke every day all day for a year now and they're not worse off. They have sturdy minds, i guess, that do not wander where mine wanders...I guess my worrying comes from me not liking genetic diseases, and this HPPD seems like genetically predisposed,

OK well its nice to hear peoples opinions. I feel a little safer already.

[OliverW]

Glad to hear you are figuring things out. One thing caught my attention... You say you are a worrier and a hypochondriac... And then you said your worrying comes from not liking genetic diseases? I would appreciate a clarification on that one.

To me it sounded like a judgment or excuse for your anxiety. I know now that my anxiety came from something much deeper than worries or troubles of specific things. Through therapy (CBT) I was able to recognize the source of my anxiety through identifying traumatic situations. But it is more than that. We all have major trauma in one way or another (at least most of us), but it isn't the trauma that causes anxiety, addiction, depression, etc. It is the trauma driven BELIEF about ourselves or the world around us that drives these negative behaviors.

Beliefs -> Feelings -> Thoughts=Behaviors. The behaviors and feelings being, for example, drug abuse and anxiety. Just something to think about.

[Still_here]

I was diagnosed ADD. I smoked weed for years, and lots of it too! Never did me any harm. Infact to be honest I miss it terribly. I used it to medicate my ADD, nothing like a little itty biddy session before work to keep you focused and motivated!

[munkdo]

Glad to hear you are figuring things out. One thing caught my attention... You say you are a worrier and a hypochondriac... And then you said your worrying comes from not liking genetic diseases? I would appreciate a clarification on that one.

To me it sounded like a judgment or excuse for your anxiety. I know now that my anxiety came from something much deeper than worries or troubles of specific things. Through therapy (CBT) I was able to recognize the source of my anxiety through identifying traumatic situations. But it is more than that. We all have major trauma in one way or another (at least most of us), but it isn't the trauma that causes anxiety, addiction, depression, etc. It is the trauma driven BELIEF about ourselves or the world around us that drives these negative behaviors.

Beliefs -> Feelings -> Thoughts=Behaviors. The behaviors and feelings being, for example, drug abuse and anxiety. Just something to think about.

yes that is true and i am aware of that, well

it was my way of saying it.

I got tinnitus from a traumatic incident where i didn't pay attention and i for no good reason exposed my fucking ear excuse my french to a loud drinking tap, BEEEEEE BEEE it went and now my ears go

BEEEE BEEE

even now i can hear it at night, like a singing seashell. I've learned since that tinnitus is more common than not and that its more that i noticed it and became traumatized by my own fear.

OK so, now i expect it everywhere i go, knee break? insane from weed?

what u bring up is true and i've realized that and i'm working on that. I guess i let my life become smaller and let myself become a smaller person from worrying,

don't go here, don't go there, don't go out clubbing because ofthe noise, dont go to concerts, don't smoke weed => insane and hppd.

so I'm gonna make a CHANGE. OK SO, i'm gonna do what i need to do now.

and THEN i'm not gonna let my life be run by faulty beliefs!!!!

EDIT: and also; i think my tinnitus comes from being oversensitive, and maybe a little aspergers if i may say so, which brings on more sensitivity to sound and noise, and therefore i fear also (but have no proof) to NEURO input, and to COLOUR

so if HPPD is tinnitus of the eyes... u can imagine... but i think it'll be ok, so instead this is about the WHAT IF?!

i have tinitus to the ears,,, why not also get tinnitus of the eyes....

[munkdo]

I was diagnosed ADD. I smoked weed for years, and lots of it too! Never did me any harm. Infact to be honest I miss it terribly. I used it to medicate my ADD, nothing like a little itty biddy session before work to keep you focused and motivated!

OK i'll remember that!

maybe its not a risk after all..

i used to have a lot of sleeping pills and if they didn't bring anything on maybe ill be fine. But i will still be careful!

[OliverW]

Wait I'm still unclear, do you have HPPD already, or are you worried about getting it from cannabis? I didn't mean to be that negative... I was just offering up my perspective. If you don't already have HPPD, I wouldn't worry about getting it from smoking bud... My perspective was that of a person who has had HPPD and has noticed the effects that cannabis has on the already present disorder. I smoked a lot very often for two years before the psychedelics came into the picture... And in my case the weed didn't cause much of anything. I was a little spacey but that was because I was high all the time... Haha so no long term consequences for me.

Being paranoid about getting HPPD from bud won't do anything good... And just because some of us have offered up our perspectives, albeit negative perspectives, doesn't mean you have to change your life or your behaviors. You are the only one who can make your own decisions, and I am offering up my view on things with sincerity and good intentions. I can only speak for myself, but it seems reasonable that a lot of us here on this board are fairly resentful towards our drug exploits... If it brought us here, and gave us HPPD, then it seems realistic to say that we have had some negative experiences in relationship to drugs, specifically psychedelics. Although I am resentful, I also try not to look at the past with connotations of shame or guilt... And I try to minimize the resentfulness as much as possible. I apologize for abandoning "I statements", but it seems like in this case it is a fair to assume that we all had some negative consequences due to our drug experiences.

A lot of the weed around these days is somewhat psychedelic... I have had the fortune of living very close to the stateside epicenter of cannabis cultivation and consumption, Cali, and a lot of the bud strains and products are quite good... I would go so far as to say that they are threshold psychedelics. So if you do smoke, I would advise against chronic use as well as excessive use when you do partake. But even if you do things at maximum capacity I highly doubt you would develop HPPD. Even when I had the warning signs of mild HPPD, my cannabis use (as well as opiates and almost everything else other than hallucinogens) didn't seem to compound things all that much. At least not in the long term. But when my symptoms started to increase due to dabbling yet again in psychedelics, bud became a major irritant. Just something to think about. Again, your decisions are your decisions... I am sorry if some of the posts on here, mine included, increased your paranoia (and therefor your anxiety), but keep in mind that I say everything out of personal experience. Everyone is unique, so I don't expect my situation to be very relevant to you... But at the same time, we all have a lot of the same biology.

[munkdo]

many words

ok that is good, i see what u mean

i will think about it

no i dont have hppd, but im gonna take what u said and think about it, that's good advice,

much luck to you and i hope you recover!!!!

ps u have a cool avatar

[OliverW]

Thanks man! I appreciate the support! And yeah I think you should def. be okay if you just stick to weed... If I didn't have HPPD or if I wasn't an addict I would smoke every day! It just isn't for me anymore... I am still mourning my loss .

Anyways, I hope things work out and I am confident that they will! I just hope you aren't back on this forum anytime soon with HPPD... Take it easy and keep your stress under control... It will probably compound your visual snow stuff.

Oh and thanks for the avatar compliment! Shiny Chansey all day!!