Is there any way I can control my high?

[PsycheSmirk]

Lately I've been getting pretty disturbing and unpleasant highs... or at least, they're unpleasant when I'm with people and smoke, which is usually how I smoke. If I'm by myself I don't have a problem with it because I have no one to be embarrassed in front of. :?

Okay, so basically, the first effects that tend to come on is the usual (well, at least for most people I know) hazy vision, the beginning feeling of transition of normal thinking to a head-change, and a warm tingly feeling throughout my body.
A couple minutes later, things are starting to get pretty different. My surroundings seem to melt away and it feels like I'm somewhere else. I kind of just look around at things and stare at them as if I have no clue what it is. People's voices distort and sound like something else. I hallucinate that I'm walking backward or forward, and that people are saying something completely different than what they're actually saying. This is when the people I'm with usually look at me oddly, because while they're still passing around the second joint just finishing off their like, 8th hit, I'm pretty much tripping on just one big hit of the stuff.
Minutes after that, physical effects come on, and come on hard. My whole body shakes, and my muscles and nerves start twitching like CRAZY and I can't stop it. Along with this, my whole body sort of pushes itself outward. For instance... I push out my stomach, and I exhale really hard (this is probably just because I'm short of breath...). And all those things I do, I am not aware of doing unless I actually stop and think about what I'm doing.
Then my mind starts messing with me and my high/"trip" gets to the disturbing part. I feel like everybody that I walk by is talking about me and knows that I am high. I feel like the people I smoked with are thinking badly of me and they're planning to ditch me somewhere and/or get someone to like... beat me up or something like that. It's weird. And when this starts happening my whole high gets just about ruined.


So... while all of this is unpleasant when I'm with people, it's very cool when I'm alone and just laying down, because I can think my weird thoughts and not have to care about communicating with people.
But since half the time I smoke I'm with people, I need to know if there are techniques or something to control yourself.
Thanks.

 

[Psychoid]

Maybe you should consider taking a break.

 

[????????]

i beg to differ on this. all the symptoms she describes i had when i started smoking. so my advice is actually: smoke more! ...but seriously, i've felt how you felt and i remember being more comfortable alone and all. it's the tripper's paranoia. when you get more experience you'll still feel it but you learn to control yourself. smoke less when around with others. go all the way only alone or with close ones and in comfortable situations.

 

[Mesaja]

Hey,i`ve got the same thing going on before few months.
When i was with people,i was fucked.
Embarased,didnt wanna talk with anyone and shit like that.
But when i was alone,it was seven heaven.
Now,i`m pretty convinced,that it has to do with your state of mind in that period.
If something bas is happening in your life,if you dont feel happy,than cannabis will just point that feelings out in front of people,not diminish them as you are hoping.
And,thats way,if you feel bad,you`ll be even worse when stoned.
Although,when ur alone,there is time to think.
You still feeling bad,but now you can relax and think about it,so thats way when you`re high alone,its nice.
My advice is to stop smoking until this period is over,and you feel naturaly happy again.
Than you`ll see the difference.
Or,if you insist on smokng,than,do that alone,don`t even try to be with people,it will just make things worse.
Peace

 

[DaZeD]

It's pretty common, I think most cannabis smokers experienced these feelings of anxiousness and paranoia.

I know I have plenty of time's when I was just starting to smoke, but for me it went away.

You can't really control it though, when you feel weird like that, you can try to convince yourself that it's not real, but the harder you try the more difficult it can get.

You gotta get used to it, and if that doesn't help then you shouldn't smoke in a group of people you don't trust completely.Cannabis is a mild psychedelic, and like with all psychedelics you need to be comfortable before using it, if you feel good, with good company and no restrictions or obligations you'll have a good time.

 

[Mycophile]

That's difficult to answer. I don't know how you could control that. If I would become anxious and paranoia then I wuold just stop for a while.

You gotta get used to it

I would not recommend that. Why would you want to get used to anxiousness and paranoia?

 

[Brugmansia]

Why would you keep boundries between your inner perspective and the external world? Trying to control = being oppressed. You can 'lift' though, in order to navigate, which comes to 'doing sane activity without thinking' Do, and let it go. Knowing from earlier experiences that most effects wear off after 2 hours, is definitely a soothing during the peak.

Either smoke it all alone or with people in where you don't feel any pressure to act, or to project within the 'usual guidelines'. As well as thoughts, since being aware of thinking different than others in the room, can cause a feeling of being a target. Although no one has access to your thoughts. But it may feel so.

I have been there as well, the more times you're smoking it, the more you're getting aware of the powerful psychedelic properties of pot.

At first pot seemed to hold me pretty much into this world. Just with the usual relaxtion, laughs and general fun with friends. But there came a point in my life, in where pot opened doors in me, and the entire 'old' and 'superficial' effects of weed, seemed to be replaced by profound inner thoughts similar to those of LSD or mushies.

Friends are still smoking it as a downer (they don't use entheogens), but I decided to be solitary-minded and not toke because smoking cannabis pulls me into a trip. Which is not desirable if we're hanging out.

I hardly smoke (once a month if not less), I just see and treat it as mushies or LSD. Smoking excessively in the dark even gets me tripping with no doubt.

 

[Ahuaeynjxs]

You could always try herbs like Kava Kava, Valerian and others to soothe your trip, sometimes your body reacts like an intoxicant and produces adrenaline to get rid of the THC , but your body is confused because some parts of it like it, so it lasts and become mental because you don't breathe properly.

LSA in morning glories in small doses can help stimulate your breathing

 

[botweiser]

as others have said; conditioning, conditioning, conditioning.

as familiarity grows the negative psychological aspects dissolve. i used to be that way too, i'm sure most people were. now a blunt of mids will only give me a buzz, and a light one at that. i've grown too fond and expectant of that magical plant, and as such it has lost its novelty. so, cherish the amazing highs you're getting while it's all still new to you.

or if you're a frequent smoker and this is suddenly happening...i think you've already become conditioned. not in the typical manner though.

 

[Affirmatory]

Sounds like normal effects of smoking cannabis for someone starting out with zero tolerance. You could try smoking daily alone or with your best friend until it doesn't have those extreme effects. But, do you really want those effects you are getting to disappear? It's a choice between turning it into an everyday drug or keeping it occasional and it working the way it's meant to. That's the way I see it anyway. That being said, I'm stoned all the time.

You remind me of a friend who I give only 1 toke and only in a chilled out environment, while I sit there smoking constantly. He used to smoke constantly too, but lifestyle doesn't allow for it, and now it doesn't make sense for him to smoke himself into oblivion around a bunch of stoners who are just 'getting stoned'.

 

[st.bot.32]

I'm pretty much tripping on just one big hit of the stuff.

much like brugsmania, the more weed i smoked the more sensitive i got to its trippy effects. for the first couple years i used to have to smoke a whole joint to even really feel anything. now a whole joint or a big bowl of good weed hits me a lot like a mild/moderate trip, changes in depth perception, cev, time perception, how i hear things, total body euphoria, etc. i keep it down to a couple times a week or less (in an ideal world, haha).

anyway for me "getting used to it" was never about smoking a shitload everyday to raise my tolerance to weed. it was just about occasional, regular sessions that got me used to the mental gymnastics that come with an intense THC experience, learning how to embrace it and get something out of it. in other words after a while i learned to relax and just enjoy the ride. close my eyes when i need to, listen to music, float away on my imagination. that's when my weed experiences started getting really good, when i could start going to places i could never go when i was too anxious to really dive in.

 

[dbieon12]

Then my mind starts messing with me and my high/"trip" gets to the disturbing part. I feel like everybody that I walk by is talking about me and knows that I am high. I feel like the people I smoked with are thinking badly of me and they're planning to ditch me somewhere and/or get someone to like... beat me up or something like that. It's weird. And when this starts happening my whole high gets just about ruined.

This is pretty much what happens to me, and while I try to block these negative thoughts, my mind keeps playing tricks on me. Like I will 'overhear' the other people with me talking and doing weird things behind my back. Not sure what they are actually doing but it sucks for me. For example, I will hear my friends whisper something like they are secretly communicating.

Freaky.

 

[GOD]

Have you taken a lot of speed , coke and / or extacy in your life ? If so maybe it isnt the cannabis ?

 

[restin]

Maybe you just don't trust your friends?

 

[Caduceus Mercurius]

For example, I will hear my friends whisper something like they are secretly communicating.

Never get high unless there's some good music playing! :nod: :nod: :rock: :nod: :nod:

 

[????????]

Maybe you just don't trust your friends?

no, it's just good ol' induced paranoia. i have felt exactly the same as that. you think everyone knows you're high and so on. i think it's inexperience with cannabis + feeling guilt because you're doing something you aren't supposed to (drugs)

 

[MelT]

I know this won't apply to everyone, but I hope it might help out a few. Tens of people, possibly thousands, unnecessarily come off weed because they don't understand what it does to their blood sugar level - and what that does to your state of mind. The 'right' high can be an absolute mind-fuck if you're having it at the wrong time of day. I'm not saying that this applies to everyone by any means, but low BSL creates paranoia and anxiety, so it's something you might want to consider.


Is the legendary toking time a prime causes of dope-anxiety for you?
The causes of dope anxiety and paranoia are both mental and chemical. Although some episodes can be created by your expectations and fears about having a bad high, it's more likely that much of your discomfort is being created by the things I talk about below. Even if you've never had a moment's anxiety with weed in your life, it'll be useful if you can read through the following just in case it should ever happen – and just to check that you really are avoiding these pitfalls.

Blood Sugar & Mood
Changes in blood sugar levels can be responsible for pretty extreme effects when you're high, both good and bad, so you have to pay real attention to it if you want to get, and keep, a good high.

Too much blood sugar, from eating a lot of candy, for example, and you get a rush as the dope high and the sugar high combine – but the sugar high is short-lived, and will make you want to fall asleep as your system burns off the excess insulin that all the sugar has forced the release of. Too little blood sugar, and things go from uncomfortable to extremely unpleasant very quickly.

As you first start to get high, your metabolism hikes up a notch and causes a sudden dip in blood sugar. That's no problem if you've just eaten, but if you're already on the edge of being hungry without realising it, that first toke can make you feel pretty nasty in less than ten minutes. Never take the chance of getting high when you're somewhere without access to the right kinds of food and drink, just in case. If you have the added 'pleasure' of being a borderline diabetic and you don't know it, you could get into quite a state from just that one first high, if you're not careful.

The problem for we tokers is that many regular users begin their day's session in the late afternoon at 4:20, as work is winding down, and maybe an hour or two before their evening meal – just at the very time when their blood sugar is already on the wane. If this is you, you'll more than likely feel a lot of the symptoms below within ten minutes or so of getting high. Eat! Better still, make sure that you've eaten well in advance of getting high.

For any weed user, even without food binges, the increase in metabolism that dope creates burns off blood sugar very quickly, so you're much more likely to have the symptoms listed below. Look out for any of the following as indicators of low blood sugar:

Sweating, shaking, anxiety, hunger, dizziness, faintness, pounding heart, personality changes, confused thinking, impatience, numbness of lips and tongue, headache, nausea, blurred vision, slurred or slow speech, convulsions, coldness, white hands and face. Eventually, if not attended to, can lead to unconsciousness.

If all of that's not bad enough, you can also have low blood sugar at night when you're asleep, and you may wake up with some of these same symptoms. As I said earlier, the rhythm of your high could mean that you get your best highs when you're asleep at night, so the weed is still working away on your metabolism into the early hours of the morning.

There's no getting away from the fact that too much weed can make getting out of bed the following day a bit of a struggle, but if you get headaches, muscle aches and a grogginess that you can't seem to shake and that seems disproportionate to your weed intake, then low blood sugar could be the cause. If you're already prone to night time dips in blood sugar (as many people are), then the dope will exacerbate that and make you feel much worse when you wake up. Check out your diet.

What foods then?
When you appreciate that not eating properly is going to reduce the amount of pleasure you can get from your weed a lot, then things have become truly serious. To overcome this, eat foods that release sugars slowly, if they contain them. 'Slow-release' sugars, such as fructose – as opposed to fast-release, quick up, quick down, glucose sugars - are poorly absorbed (hence why they're referred to as 'slow'). Potatoes and bananas are slow-release, for example; bread is possibly the fastest release of all. At the very least, have toast and a good bowl of cereal an hour or two before you start getting high; that way, you're sure to begin with a steady glucose supply to keep you, and your brain, stable.

If you're high and going through a sugar crash, and are in need of quick relief (without the downside of see-sawing blood sugar levels that you'll get from things like chocolate), bread, figs and especially dates, are very good for getting you rapidly back to normal.



MelT

 

[GOD]

"low BSL creates paranoia and anxiety"

Thats crap . It should say "low BSL can cause physical effects that can strengthen paranoia and anxiety" . I didnt read the whole article because it keeps saying does and will instead of can / can contribute to .

 

[MelT]

"low BSL creates paranoia and anxiety"

Thats crap . It should say "low BSL can cause physical effects that can strengthen paranoia and anxiety" . I didnt read the whole article because it keeps saying does and will instead of can / can contribute to .

I'm sorry you think it's crap, it's already helped a lot of people. But, for those who don't think it's crap:

Cannabis can exacerbate existing symptoms of mental illnesss, such as paranoia and anxiety, of course, that's proven. But there is a kind of anxiety - sometimes exceptionally deep - that can be created by low BSL too. It isn't strengthening existing anxiety, but actually creating it.

You can find that this is factual by reading up on the effects of BSL at any medical site. I would be happy to have anyone here prove it to themselves by waiting until they're quite hungry before they get high, and see how they feel, as opposed to when they're not hungry and high.

If anyone is troubled with anxiety whilst high, consider this as a possibility, not the sole answer. It is not discounting self-consciousness and social anxiety, both of which are increased by cannabis. However, how much they are increased is again subject to BSL.

http://diabetes.webmd.com/tc/hypoglycem ... r-symptoms

"...Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar) in People Without Diabetes - Symptoms
The symptoms of hypoglycemia may vary from episode to episode because low blood sugar can be mild, moderate, or severe.

Mild hypoglycemia:
Symptoms of mild low blood sugar usually develop when blood sugar falls below 70 mg/dL and may include:

Nausea.
Extreme hunger.
Feeling nervous or jittery.
Cold, clammy, wet skin and/or excessive sweating not caused by exercise.
A rapid heartbeat (tachycardia).
Numbness or tingling of the fingertips or lips.
Trembling.

Moderate hypoglycemia

If blood sugar continues to fall, the nervous system will be affected. Symptoms usually develop when the blood sugar falls below 55 mg/dL and may include:

Mood changes, such as irritability, anxiety, restlessness, or anger.
Confusion, difficulty in thinking, or inability to concentrate.
Blurred vision, dizziness, or headache.
Weakness, lack of energy.
Poor coordination.
Difficulty walking or talking, such as staggering or slurred speech.
Fatigue, lethargy, or drowsiness.


Different people may develop symptoms of mild, moderate, or severe hypoglycemia at varying blood sugar levels. Although the blood sugar levels listed above are typical, they may not apply to everyone. If your blood sugar drops suddenly, you may develop symptoms even if your level is in the normal range...."

Consider it as a possibility.

MelT

 

[st.bot.32]

I would hope that people with blood sugar problems would already be aware of them somewhat and take that into account.. When I get low blood sugar my body is shaking, I'm up tight, anxious.. and I really don't have it that bad compared to other people i know who actually have been diagnosed with hypoglycemia, etc.. That's why I personally don't fast when I trip either, I think it's complete bollocks. I started feeling way better and my trips got way more comfortable when I kept myself well-nourished, with even just some nuts, fruit, etc.