Anxiety

Effects – Anxiety

When it comes to cannabis, anxiety is a very puzzling medical disorder: many people use the herb to cope with anxiety feelings and find it more helpful than all the anti-anxiety pharmaceuticals – and with much less serious side effects.

On the other hand, there are many people whose anxiety is actually triggered by consumption of cannabis. How is it possible? Before we answer this question, let us have a quick look at main causes and symptoms.

What Causes Anxiety?

The exact cause is not clear and the disorder may develop for no apparent reason, although there are usually contributing factors at play: genetic predispositions, childhood traumas or major stressful experience in adult life. Patients with other mental disorders such as depression or schizophrenia are also prone to developing anxiety disorder.

A Complex Relationship of Anxiety and Cannabis

Some people take one hit from the bong and almost instantly feel that their stress, discomfort and other anxiety-related symptoms are disappearing. Nonetheless there are others who experience paranoia and strong anxiety after just one puff.

This has two main reasons: individual experience and mental state, and cannabinoid content in the particular plant. Strains with high THC and low CBD content may cause anxiety in beginners and users with a history of mental disorders (at the same time some users prefer high-THC strains to combat their anxiety). These people should either look for low-THC, high-CBD strains to avoid anxiety-related effects or think about abstaining from cannabis completely.