The Cannabis Guide for Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Your Guide to Cannabis for Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Let’s face it - the world can be an anxiety-ridden place. This is especially true when the world is apparently run by a bunch of psychopathic toddlers pretending to be adults. If you don’t know what I’m talking about – just look at the wide assortment of political figures ‘Games of Thrones-ing” for power these days.

Couple this with inflation, volatile job markets, rise in cost of living, education, healthcare, housing, etc, and a myriad of other issues – it’s a wonder we’re not all cowering in the corners biting our nails while the knots twist tighter in the pits of our stomachs [clawing its way out of our throats].

However – this is just “normal anxiety”. There are people who also have anxiety disorders – which takes normal anxiety and intensifies it to crippling affects.

For anxiety, doctors and psychiatrists love to prescribe benzodiazepines which help induce “hypnotic, sleep-inducing, anxiolytic, anti-convulsive and muscle relaxing properties.” However, as mentioned by Malcolm Lader – an expert in Benzodiazepines from London’s Institute of Psychiatry – they are the “Opium of the Masses”. This is strange because one would think that “opium” would be the opium of the masses, but considering that Lader is the expert – we’ll give him the last word on that.

Nonetheless, what experts have long known about “benzos” is that they cause brain damage as well as lead to creating “additive patterns”. This has all been known since the 1970s and on – however, millions of people are being prescribed Benzos this very day.

Fortunately – there is a natural substance that can help you manage your anxiety without damaging your brain. It’s called cannabis – let’s talk about it!

Cannabis and your Endocannabinoid System

Let’s start with something that was only discovered in the early 1990s – your endocannabinoid system. All over your body you have these small receptors that help regulate a myriad of functions within your body.

This includes everything from;

Appetite

Immune System

Pain Response

Stress Management

Mood Homeostasis

Recovery

And has some influence over virtually every other part of your body. Every year, scientists are finding new things the endocannabinoid system is responsible for. It’s fairly “new science” – so there’s still a lot of information to be uncovered.

One of the things that scientists are understanding is that the ECS does help maintain “emotional homeostasis”. In other words, it helps people regulate their brain chemistry and limit their responses to stress-triggers.

Anxiety is the result of your “stress responses” being out of balance and where you are constantly in a “fight or flight mode”.

In most cases this is due to a psychological-structure dominating the mind of the affected. Psychiatrists use benzos to disrupt this chemical structure – and with therapy hope to rearrange it.

However, as mentioned that the negative side effects of benzos far outweigh the positives. Yet, simply “smoking weed” also won’t be the ideal response to dealing with anxiety.

If you suffer from anxiety – Do this!

While cannabis can help with anxiety, these psychological disorders typically require “mind-work”. In other words, you will need to confront certain paradigms and belief systems that maintain your levels of anxiety.

It’s usually due to some unresolved trauma lingering in your subconscious mind. However, while you do this “mind work”, you can utilize cannabis to mitigate the side-effects – reduce stress, inflammation and help you break out of negative cycles.

So what do I do first?

First – do some research. It is always your responsibility to be in charge of your own health and wellness. We rely [blindly] on the medical system to heal all our qualms and take their advice at face value. This has not worked out for us.

Just look at the opioid crises – if white coats are getting paid for peddling pharma drugs, then they will peddle like any street corner dealer – except with ethical superiority.

You should always understand your own medical conditions – possible treatment options, triggers, conditions, etc. Identify what triggers your anxiety, what times of the days etc.

When you understand your own patterns, you can learn to disrupt them.

The next thing you do is find out what cannabis strain or method works for you.

How to pick cannabis for anxiety?

For the truly anxious – too much THC is not good. However, too little THC isn’t as effective either. Many patients like to consume CBD in the mornings and end off their days with THC [for sleep]. Others like to microdose with cannabutter or tinctures.

The thing is – cannabis reacts differently with every organism. The best bet is to start with a “low-medium potency” [10% - 14% THC] with a pretty even CBD ratio.

Start either vaporizing – as this good for immediate relief or using edibles in microdoses. The edible option provides you with a prolonged anxiolytic effect.

Nonetheless, it’s important that you experiment and find the right blend. If you’re already taking some medication – ask your doctor to see if you can try cannabis instead.

Next week – I’ll talk about a specific dosage schedule that I got from a recent patient interview with a patient with “borderline personality disorder”.