mood swings
 

I wasn't sure where to put this thread, sorry. I just had a question.

I am prone to bouts of manic depression, technically I believe it's called cyclothymic depression. Now, my question: If marijuana use smooths the rougher parts of this depression is it wrong to take it in a mood-altering fashion? I only ask because of my own ethics of marijuana use when I do not use other drugs, alchohol, or tobacco. I disagree with marijuana use when it's used to hide from problems, I usually smoke it merely to ENHANCE activities. I suppose I could call my depression smoking medicinal, but calling it that feels like a cop-out.

Comments?

In the biz, that's called "self medicating" and often runs you into worse problems than actually dealing with the reasons you're using drugs or alcohol. In fact you can complicate and worsen your symptoms rather than getting relief from the toke.

(and don't discount the possibility that the weed isn't to some extent causing the mood swings.)

I've read that THC causes paranoia.

I know.

Geez you're touchy.

smoke up.

say you go to the psychiatrist. and you pay for the therapy. and you talk about your childhood. and you spend time there that you could be using in some other way. and you carry with you the stigma of a person "in therapy" .

and all of this therapy leads the psychiatrist to believe that your depression is the result of a chemical imbalance, and prescribes zoloft or lithium or whatever. i'm asking what's the difference?

don;t do it in excess, but as you said, to even out the peaks and valleys as needed. and the nice thing about pot is that it CAN be applied as needed. whereas, most of the other drugs take a few weeks to kick in, and you have to keep taking them......

i wonder how people do when they stop tking whatever they take...is it like an antibiotic, where you'd lose your natural "depression Immunity" because you've been relying on a drug to supplement whatever chem your brain is low on?

Heed Wolf's words. Even doctors get 2nd opinions.

Yeah, you're probably fine toking away. If it seriously makes life more 'normal', then I say go for it.

But that's also the problem with self-medicating. If you're just treating something that's pretty minor (ie, drinking a few beers before getting enough courage to get on the dance floor) then you don't need to worry about it. But if you find yourself self-medicating to treat *major* problems then it's probably best to get professional help. Sure, there's a chance that what you're doing is the best (or at least good enough) to treat the problem, but if there's a legitimate problem that you're trying to overcome then someone in the business could help you find the best solution. And as an added bonus, it'd be a legal solution.

But yeah. Self med'ing can be dangerous. I knew a kid in college who after his Dad died starting eating ecstasy 4-5 times a week. After a couple months this kid looked like hell, ran out of cash, lost all his real friends, flunked out of college, and had gone through 5 different jobs in 3 months. (kept getting fired when he didn't show up in the morning). But hey, he felt great when he was munching on those pills!

So. Theme: minor problems, *shrug*. Major problems, call the doc.

Welcome to the Cellar Predicament.:) The problem I have with that is how do you know what's minor or major? If the symtoms of what most pros would recognize as a problem are normal to you, then you might mistakenly feel a major problem is minor. Works the other way too.
Most pros would recognize my apathy as a symptom of depression, but I don't care.;)

actually, I've decided on a course of action. I haven't ridden one of these crazy mood-swings all thwe way through for some time. So I'm three days off pot. And just to make it hard I keep a half loaded bowl right next to my bed (the reasoning being that it's not hard to put something down that you dont have access to anyway, so I remind myself that it's right next to me, so I have no excuse but will to not smoke.) I think I kind of understand what they mean by psychological dependence. It's been a long time since I've not smoked.

But I will smoke again, have no fear.

Ewww. Just sitting next to the bed? Stale weed. That's enough of a reason to *not* smoke. ;)

I agree with lumberjim. As long as the weed itself is not an problem for you, and you only use it to level out, I don't see the problem.

X nowadays contains heroin. AND it's addictive in and of itself. AND it affects your brain in profoundly negative ways. AND it can kill you. Yeah, weed makes some people paranoid, but that, I think, is only because they're subconsciously afraid of getting busted.

It costs a hell of a lot less for weed than it does for prescription antidepressants, too. And unlike some antidepressants, weed doesn't constipate you or interfere with your sex life :D

That and being acutely aware of your ability to function normally.