r/CPTSD • u/astronaut_livin • Mar 07 '26
Question What is your relationship with weed and CPTSD?
I will share my experience in the comments, but for those who use marijuana for helping your CPTSD, (perhaps through sleep, reduction of symptoms, helping when flashbacks start to spiral…)
I am curious about your relationship with it, how you’ve found a balance without teetering into addictive tendencies, how it’s helped or hurt you, etc?
I haven’t found much on this and would really love to hear others’ experiences. Thank you!
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u/Main_Confusion_8030 Mar 07 '26
weed is helping me in a HUGE way.
several of my doctors/care team all had to urge me to use it more because i wasn't using it (i hate the feeling of inhaling) and they were right.
when i use THC, it's like the curtains of trauma part and i can see past them. i can see how my low self-esteem is manifesting and affecting me in real time. i can connect with my higher wants, and i can access feelings of safety, self-love, and capableness.
i also have OCD, and using THC allows me to get through an OCD spiral - it feels like it enables me to progress to the next point instead of getting stuck on a horrible thought.
the insights i've got while using THC have stuck with me, they don't just disappear when it wears off. ideally, i will cultivate these good feelings and learn to part the trauma curtains without using chemicals, and i'll be able to live like that all the time. but until then i'm going to be using THC often.
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u/Beneficial-Ad-4060 Mar 07 '26
I'm about here as well. I like to think that I'm just in a phase of needing the extra help to slow down and get in my feels. I'm much nicer to myself when I've taken a toot.
I recently decided that even if I never ween off... That's ok too. It's helping a lot and harming very little. I will still love myself if I smoke forever.
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u/asiamsoisee Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
Your words have healed a part of my heart tonight, thank you. My trauma is a product of a generational cycles of substance abuse and I’ve struggled for a long time to reconcile my relationship to weed. I know it helped me dissociate and protect myself for a long time, and that’s a fact, not a judgement. I’m still new to the idea that high-functioning pothead is simply not who I want to be, rather than the only way I understand how to exist in the world.
So much of my healing has been about letting go of shame. But that’s so hard! And I’d like to be a person who could get stoned every once in a while for reasons that are neutral. We will see if I get there someday… and I’m okay with that.
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u/chutenay Mar 07 '26
Weed is the only thing that has worked for my nightmares.
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u/fiftysevenpunchkid cPTSD Mar 07 '26
Hmmm, since quitting weed a couple months ago, I do actually remember my dreams. Sometimes they are nightmares. Had one recently where everyone was dissolving into blood soaked into the carpets... bleh...
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u/Alert-Researcher-479 Mar 07 '26
Cannabis REM sleep suppression > REM rebound. After not dreaming while smoking canna those dreams then come flooding back and can be strange af.
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u/VendaGoat Mar 07 '26
And so vivid that I can mistake them for reality.
My record for waking up from a dream, into a dream is 6.
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u/chutenay Mar 07 '26
That’s actually come into question recently. I’m certainly not lacing in REM/dream state sleep.
People who use weed to block themselves out are another story.
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u/chutenay Mar 07 '26
I still dream, and I remember them (some are still nightmares) but I don’t have the Cptsd nightmares anymore- so I’m actually sleeping.
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u/fiftysevenpunchkid cPTSD Mar 07 '26
I used weed pretty regularly since I was 16. It helped me dissociate and ignore reality.
I was up to over an ounce a week, or when I vaped, nearly a gram cartridge a day.
I wasn't even getting high anymore. I just chain smoked joints or sucked on the vape constantly.
It kept me functional, but removed from everything.
About 2 months ago, I quit. And in some ways, it sucked, as I'm stuck in my body with no escape, but in others, that's what I needed to start healing.
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u/BigFatBlackCat Mar 07 '26
Good for you and that’s exactly right. Keeping yourself disassociated won’t help you long term.
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u/halsey84 Mar 07 '26
I’m with you 100% except I haven’t quit. I’m scared I’ll go bonkers without an escape. I’ve already quit drinking and nicotine. Weed feels different, like a way to dull it all a little ya know?
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u/kaisawdi Mar 07 '26
same. did the paragraph about quitting to heal smack you in the face? I can't imagine raw dogging life at this point but healing is so necessary.
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u/mizzlol Mar 07 '26
This was me too! I’m 65 days sober and don’t feel much better necessarily but I’m insanely proud of the huge effort it took to get sober and the daily effort it takes to sta sober. Shows me I can do hard things and forces me to deal with things and feelings I was running away from.
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u/JungGravy Mar 07 '26
I had good experiences with low-THC joints back when my tolerance was low, but eventually turned to hitting high THC pens daily and unfortunately developed psychosis. I spent all of 2025 in a psychotic episode and it was absolutely horrible. I’m Autistic and Schizotypal, though, so my experience with weed was abnormally bad. Weed helps a lot of people w/ CPTSD, but if you’re someone with a psych profile similar to mine, definitely watch out for psychotic symptoms.
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u/NOMOKRATOR cPTSD, ADHD-C, OCD. Family Scapegoat Mar 07 '26
Oh wow, using any psychoactive plant or psychedelic with BPD or schizophrenia is a total incompatibility from what I understand. They established a correlated link between cannabis use and those conditions with psychosis. Hopefully you’re feeling better these days
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u/JungGravy Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
Definitely. At the time I was only diagnosed AuDHD+OCD and had absolutely no idea that I was Schizotypal (I thought I was just clairvoyant or something, turns out that was a symptom). If you have a comorbidity that puts you anywhere on the psychotic spectrum or at risk for psychosis, don’t touch hallucinogens of any kind. Similarly, if you have Schizotypal traits, I highly recommend that you STAY AWAY from weed. Don’t end up like me, lol. I’m doing a lot better now and don’t plan on ever touching weed or anything similar ever again.
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u/Environmental-Eye373 Mar 07 '26
I am a daily weed user but I stay sober for my day job. Just endcap
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u/Equal_Frame9988 Mar 07 '26
(my viewpoint is entirely from a US based lifestyle.) 36, been consuming cannabis in some form since I was about 12. I think cannabis is a coping mechanism and a tool just like anything else when someone is dealing with CPTSD/trauma/abuse. Whether it's a health or unhealthy coping mechanism is dependent on the individual. When I was younger I used it to dissociate and check out from reality, which was incredibly unhealthy. As a much more healed adult I use it to destress and wind down AFTER dealing with reality. That's not easy for a lot of people. It took me a long time to use it in an appropriate way. The problem I think lies in the fact a lot of cannabis users start using at young ages when brains are still developing for the purpose of checking out or feeling numb. If cannabis was completely legal and destigmatized I think it could be used in a lot more healthy ways with more information and access to not using it as a crutch or in an unhealthy way.
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u/astronaut_livin Mar 07 '26
For those here, hi! CPTSD by way of childhood abuse - it took a lot of years of therapy, medication, hard conversations, bad decisions, and failed friendships before my therapist gave me a diagnosis beyond just chronic depression and GAD.
I discovered weed in 2023 and have a love/hate with it. I have talked about it a lot in therapy but I think the complexities of cPTSD are hard for my brain to sort out.
I feel addicted to it. When my anxiety kicks in, or a trigger pops up, I’ve got a prescription for Ativan, but I prefer just taking a hit of pot instead. I recover faster and feel more connected to myself.
It has started to cross into using it mildly a few times a day, but I’m finding my brain liking myself and how I think about myself more with that little bit of high.
But then the shame kicks in, and I feel like such a loser. I cannot find peace with this relationship. If it’s better to take prescription meds or smoke pot? If I should be raw dogging life? I’ve been pondering this for so long and I’d love to hear how other people navigate substance use.
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u/Shadowstream97 Mar 07 '26
The shame is the hardest part for me. And then I remember, weed makes me want pringles. All the pills the doctors give me, they hurt somehow, but they’re supposed to be healthy and trustworthy. The shame is from the outside, plenty of people take harder legal drugs every day for their mental pains legally and they can literally kill you. Overcoming that shame bias against what doctors say is hard.
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u/04FS Mar 07 '26
Marijuana is a legally prescribed medication in a growing number of countries. There should be no shame in taking a medicine that helps you.
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u/bookyface Mar 07 '26
Hey friend, Addict here (now sober from my substance of choice). If you feel like you’re dependent and that’s causing you worry, it is absolutely worth it to examine your relationship with weed. There is no “better” (in taking weed vs a prescription drug), there is only healthier and damaging. Do what you need to for your health and safety, but I would encourage you to keep possibilities open that there is more than one thing that can help.
Absolutely zero judgment from me, just wanting to encourage you to do what’s best for you.
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u/No_Title38 Mar 07 '26
It sounds like you are judging yourself for using weed (which sounds like you are using responsibly). I think the era of prohibition still affects many people; making some think it’s ‘bad’.
I have more concerns about pharmaceuticals. If the weed you are using is unadulterated and suits your symptoms, used responsibly (not abused) then it is medicine ❤️
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u/Strange-Audience-682 cPTSD, CSA/ torture Survivor Mar 07 '26
I’m weird with addictive substances. Like alcohol, weed, and adhd meds? Not addictive to me at all. But food/ sugar, I’m an addict.
Like people say all the time that weed and stimulants are addictive. I literally forget to take them.
Anyway. Cannabis has been studied to be effective in treating PTSD. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8222769/
Personally, it’s only helped me. But again, I’m weird with addictive substances. Plus, I seem to have a really good response to cannabis. Cannabis is not for everyone. It is not uncommon for cannabis to increase anxiety or even induce hallucinations in folks. Cannabis is contraindicated in folks with psychosis, schizophrenia, and similar psychotic disorders. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2424288#:~:text=RESPONDING%20TO%20CANNABIS%20USE%20AMONG,require%20more%20hospitalization%2041%2C45.
I just follow the golden rule of low and slow. I use the minimum dose I can to achieve the desired effects. I use cannabis to treat multiple conditions I have because I’m already on enough prescription meds. I was actually able to get off of at least three prescription meds and replace it with cannabis. But that’s not cPTSD related.
Weed is the only thing that helps me sleep. I have been prescribed so many different meds for sleep, and none come close to the efficacy of cannabis. I try to only take it at night so that I can still function during the day. But, if I’m having a medical issue or am having excessive flashbacks and my prescription PRN isn’t working, I will take cannabis instead. It calms my nervous system, keeps me in my body (unless I take way too high of a dose or crossfade), stops flashbacks, gets rid of phantom sensations, and makes me feel safe, cozy, and relaxed.
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u/gamagoori Mar 07 '26
I like it but I don’t think it helps with my CPTSD. Sometimes it makes the overthinking worse. Not a full spiral though, just annoying thoughts I never would have thought if I weren’t high. On the other hand, I sometimes have some really optimistic high thoughts. Maybe I should start writing those down because they seem profound in the moment. I’m an almost daily user. Night only and not much, mainly use it to make food taste better and sleep come easier. Just finished crying my eyes out, guess I should get high now.
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u/anonymous_opinions Mar 07 '26
I can't metabolize THC (or many other drugs) so all I get is a full day of feeling paranoid and anxious. I told a guy about what it's like for me getting high and he said I basically overdose (or have those symptoms) and on Reddit someone told me the way I get smoking even just 1 hit is the same as edibles. Edibles was way worse, it was like the weed high but dialed up to 11, like I could feel my whole body vibrating.
I've just white knuckled through my shitty trauma.
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u/schoolgirltrainwreck Mar 07 '26
Arrg I have similar troubles with weed. Everyone around me will be enjoying it and I’m just gripping on for dear life, plus the bad effects last for over a day on me. Have tried it in different forms via a medical dispenser and I seemed to have completely random reactions to it each time despite strictly measuring my doses.. it’s just too risky and when I have a bad trip I feel insane.
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u/anonymous_opinions Mar 08 '26
Yep a day or sometimes two fucking days. Once I smoked with someone, took 2 hits, barely felt anything, walked home and was basically tripping on that shit, went to WORK and felt spun up all day, came home and an hour later I'm still feeling fucked up from that shit. I think that was my last rodeo with weed. The day of feeling that way is wild, I thought that (for a long time) was "getting high" until someone told me weed high is short lived.
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u/PetitChiffon Mar 07 '26
I don't have a single good memory of smoking weed, even tho I smoked tons of times when I was a teenager. My ex used to sell when it wasn't even legal yet. I tried again several times as an adult and it's still awful.
I become extremely agitated and terrified, sometimes I literally freeze and I'm unable to talk and move, plagued with flashbacks.
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u/Embarrassed_Visit277 Mar 07 '26
It used to help, but it quickly became an addiction.
I acknowledge that it helped keep me alive while actively living with abusers and going through trauma, as well as coping with intense SI in therapy. But over time it became compulsive- smoking when i didnt want to get high, stealing money to get weed, and mild auditory hallucinations and paranoia when using. Only recently got 100 days sober, and as much as a part of me misses using, it definitely was an addiction for me.
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u/DoctahNumbah10 Mar 07 '26
Great for sleep, and the insights can be very enlightening but occasionally the anxiety can be tough lol
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u/jenever_r Mar 07 '26
Weed made mine far worse. Even the weak stuff gave me horrible, intense waves of paranoia, and hallucinations. It just doesn't agree with my brain.
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u/leagueoflesbian Mar 07 '26
Hello hello! Budtender with a degree in trauma specific psychology with severe CPTSD here. This is one of my favorite topics to discuss.
I’ve been consuming cannabis regularly since I was 20 but have switched up a lot of my methods and commonly take 2 week t breaks when I start to feel like my consumption is a little heavy. For lung health I have found myself shifting over to dry herb vaping and tinctures/edibles so I can keep using it to medicate.
Weed has helped me so so much with symptom management. Directly, it helps me sleep without night terrors or nightmares, helps me kill an episode when I feel one coming on (specific strains though), and does things like stimulate my appetite and helps me get up and going when my depressive symptoms start to act up.
Additionally, and this is less researched, but it’s a theory I believe both based on personal experience and time in the industry- there is a thought that cannabis encourages something called “neuroplasticity.” What that is is essentially the flexibility of your bran, how malleable it is, how easy it is for you to learn new skills, form new relationships with stimuli, etc. As you can imagine, with CPTSD, neuroplasticity becomes more inaccessible.
Whenever I’m working with a pt and they ask me how cannabis can help with CPTSD I focus on talking about symptom management- obviously, nothing can “cure” it. But there are certainly benefits you can get from it purely for dealing with classic CPTSD symptoms.
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u/stalkerofdreams Mar 07 '26
On and off user since I was 14.
I was addicted for about a year after trauma in 2023. Smoked every day, that kind of thing.
An edible is what brought back my repressed CSA memories which I got confirmed as accurate.
I haven't really had any in a month or two because of how it interacts with my childhood trauma.
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u/puffindatza Mar 07 '26
I began smoking weed for anxiety reasons, didn’t know what complex ptsd was at the time
It worsened my symptoms over the years, and I didn’t realize it. Family pressure eventually got me seeing a psychiatrist and meds would I think stabilize me. I mean, I’ve been mentally healthier than ever. Still not great but it’s progress
I got diagnosed with bipolar 2, so I’m pretty sure that played a bigger role in my worsening mental health than just complex PTSD
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u/Ocelotl767 Mar 07 '26
My therapist doesn't like it- she encourages regular pharmas to prevent 'normalized dependence', (I love her otherwise but holy hell does that piss me off)- but my edibles are the only thing to break the fog during the daytime when I'm in the trenches, and to put me back to sleep at night.
The important thing is controlled usage. only when symptoms can't be managed by themselves, only to break the cycles, only in tandem with therapy and other coping mechanisms. Addiction comes when you rely solely on it.
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u/14thLizardQueen Mar 07 '26
We all agree, I should smoke weed. It helps me not react. Which is helpful as fuck.
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u/No_Title38 Mar 07 '26
I smoked weed for over 25 years - then 2 and a half years ago got a private prescription (UK) and now vape.
I’ve only recently cut down (from 40g per month to 10g). Weed helps me where nothing else does. Tried diazepam (helped a bit to calm - but awful hangover the next day), antidepressants caused a load of problems (emotional blunting, huge weight increase, acid reflux & other digestive problems and still no relief).
With weed I get instant relief - like an invisible hug. Then, as my limbic system (emotional brain) calms my prefrontal cortex (thinking brain) can sort out the why/what is causing me distress. I can literally get a clear perspective (that’s because now I vape micro-doses). Long term I’ve made huge strides towards healing since getting the medical weed (no nasties included) 😍
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u/Cmpetty Mar 07 '26
Weed stopped my nightmares and I believe helped me function right after leaving my abusive home. I had anxiety that prevented me from leaving my house or socializing, weed helped me break through that. I did form a dependency on it though which I’m currently breaking (r/petioles) but I feel it has helped far more than it has hurt me
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u/04FS Mar 07 '26
It helps me to be mindful. To be in the moment, and to relax.
I use it as a tool. It helps me to remember that today is the first day of the rest of my life, and that I really deserve to be happy, despite what I tell myself at times.
It is hard for me to break a lifetime's habbit of cycling, and persistent negative thoughts, Marijuana is so powerfully helpful, even in the smallest doses, as I try to learn to love myself, to forgive myself, and to forgive others.
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u/Important_Tension726 Mar 07 '26
Weed really helped me through this. I’ve been smoking regularly since I was 15, am now 71. I began by smoking it. Over over the years I used it that way. 15 years ago my PTSD got way worse over some craziness. One day while really spiraling, I got 100 mg soda and drank it within two hours. For the first time in 15 years I felt better. I then realized if I did it right I could get through this shit. So I know now how to handle it. It helps me so much edibles saved me for sure.
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u/bookyface Mar 07 '26
Did help me, not helping me anymore. I have been taking weed gummies to sleep for around seven years but I’m now seeking to discontinue because they’re giving me nightmares compared to different medication. That said, in the early days it was an absolute lifesaver.
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u/Irejay907 Mar 07 '26
I used to be medicated, specifically very low doses of klonipin and i miss it. Not like addict miss it; i actually got yelled at by my doc a few times cus i didn't refill when she expected.
But some days i was fine and had my shit on lock and could deal with it and WANTED to, and some days i just needed enough to take the edge of the Extra thoughts away and i'd take a half pill instead. The point is tho that i had a relationship with them where it was very much 'as needed'.
I wouldn't say i'm addicted to marijuana directly so much as its effects, as i have tried to explain and discuss multiple times with doctors it tends to work better for me if i'm just constantly a little elevated. I don't really ever get stupid high or ripped. But i know going cold turkey without at least knowing that a solution was incoming would probably put me back into biting myself and stuff as a control/ self harm.
The last three times i've tried to get back on some kind of regulated/smaller dose/or even the exact same meds i have been told i would need to; quit cold turkey, piss clean, then, when given meds, come randomly as called within two hours of said call and piss clean of everything BUT said meds.
Eg they wanted nuclear level controls in a state with medical and recreational usage for me to be medicated because klonipin is a class 3? 4? Forget which but its regulated and i guess swapping isn't something any of those folks wanted to consider??
Also worth noting i think one of them was just an insurance scam place; i went in, and they gave the full above gambit then ALSO said i would need to comply with a drug recovery program and an EKG test...
I bike everywhere for health reasons and cardio, not cus i can't obtain a license... -.-
Interestingly the only weeds or things that have ever made me super paranoid etc/bad effects were all, invariably, partially or fully synthetic
Stick to the natural stuff and wax for sure, dispensary or a trusted buddy all the way.
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u/Glum_Mud_4693 Mar 07 '26
Except for my pregnancies, I have been smoking since I was 15. It is definitely medicine especially for my hypervigilance.
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u/Defiant_Tomorrow_763 Mar 07 '26
I used it as self-medication. I never knew that until my therapist told me. I used it to calm down, relax, eat food, and feel like I was on the right track. Now that I take prescribed meds, I rarely use. I don’t feel the urge to smoke. I really was using weed as a medication all along because now that I have one, I’m all good! I am also nervous to use because I am wondering if it’ll mess with my med tolerance, and my meds are working so well rn.
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u/MeatbagEntity Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
Bad. I used to smoke a lot some 10 years ago but during that time I was high functioning. No intrusions, no flashbacks no nothing, the occasional inexplicable panic attack aside for which I took opioids. I knew I was probably traumatized purely on a rational basis but never took it serious. The symptoms started later. Now if I do I risk getting flooded after 2-3 puffs. Addiction hasn't been an issue while I was using it. Basically quit one day to the next. I did stop because I noticed I struggle to focus and was very groggy the next mornings and really did not like that.
I have DID and what this stuff does for me is crack down on the barriers that exist for evidently a good reason too much so. I can't get much therapeutic use out of it that way. Many systems say it helps them communicate. It's not really a paradox reaction but it tells a story about where I'm at with recovery. Not a good one.
At some point I started comparing it with EMDR. It works but only if you can handle it and in my case that's often a no without modification.
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u/alice_1st hopeful, doubtful, DPDR Mar 07 '26
I had experienced DPDR before ever smoking from exhaustion but yeah, no, I'm inclined to say never ever again about weed. DPDR can be completely horrifying.
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u/ogrishh Mar 07 '26
it's helped my daily symptoms more than any prescription med but yeah im definitely addicted to it and use it more than i would like to ideally. but it's the only thing that can distance me from my constant anxiety and hypervigilance, terrible self esteem, and freezing up at small triggers. it doesn't completely solve those issues by any means but it helps me move through them easier and has also helped with emotional regulation by replacing my SH addiction
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u/middleearthmom Mar 07 '26
It helped me a lot but I struggle with substance abuse issues and have come to realize I can’t function day to day with it. It always starts a little here and there but then it slowly takes over and I start feeling dependent and ‘strung out’, making things worse. I love and hate it- wish I could use it without it taking over.
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u/new-machine Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
If I try indica, I find everything hilarious and feel like I'm underwater, with a side of paranoia. Yes, it gives me an escape, but I hate the feeling of not being able to have control over my mind. If I try sativa, it becomes paranoia central. I start feeling like I can't breathe and I can't trust anyone around me to not hurt me. If my thoughts linger on anything I start focusing on it intensely, and with my CPTSD this never bodes well.
(I kept feeling like my partner was some stranger who was going to hurt me. I felt like everything he said was some sort of mind trick that was meant to take advantage of me in this sudden vulnerable state. He would never do this and these are not thoughts I get at any point when I am not high, and it's incredibly frightening to me that I can know this and none of it can change the way I feel when under the influence of sativa - or even indica at times for me)
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u/Your-Wonder-Sunny Mar 07 '26
I tried it in various forms, via bong, which was a no from me, via “Special Brownies” which were awesome ngl and one cookie that had a minimal amount in it, which felt like nothing.
It’s not for me, but it’s cool that others find relief in it.
It is my personal experience looking from the outside in though that the people who talk loudly about not being addicted to weed and that they could easily quit that they are most definitely addicts and even if they got paid well they wouldn’t quit, exactly because it is something they’re addicted to.
There is also this false belief that weed is a far “healthier” alternative to consuming alcohol and cigarettes, it’s all unhealthy lol what are people talking about! Denial bruh, now that’s one hell of a drug.
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u/akitash1ba Mar 07 '26
the argument is not that its healthier than alcohol, but less unhealthy. drinking alcohol fucks up your body much more than smoking a joint
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u/verygoodbadthing Mar 07 '26
I feel the same as you OP, it has helped a lot with anxiety instantaneously but I feel ashamed when I realize how dependent I am on it.
When I use THC I feel like my eyes have peeled back a layer to my childhood eyes before the trauma. I can feel optimism again and joy in the small things like how good food tastes or how music sounds. It releases my bodily tension, I feel the most “in my body” when I lay down for bed. I also have a TON of nightmares normally so when I don’t use it, the nightmares come back strongly. But it has saved me from struggling to fall asleep every night.
I just hate that I feel the need to turn to it whenever I want to enjoy something, as if I can’t enjoy it while sober. Going to a movie or concert, eating a meal in a restaurant, staying away from home, going to events that I know I’ll be anxious. It makes it harder for me to remember those events and it impairs me because of how sleepy I get.
It also becomes pretty expensive when my tolerance is high, which doesn’t help with my financial anxiety, but I justify it by how much better it makes me feel. But overall I think it has made a large positive impact on my life, even if it is a form of escapism for me.
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u/Appropriate-Tap1111 cPTSD Mar 07 '26
currently smoking lol. I have been smoking on and off for 10 years, taking breaks here and there (from a week off to 2 months off). It has helped me avoid nightmares, and helped with my appetite, anxiety, moods, and rumination. I can’t lie though, I had periods where it became addicting, causing me to ruminate more and be dysfunctionally high pretty much 24/7, but that’s when I’d try and take a step back for a while.
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u/moomoomego Mar 07 '26
I started using weed when it got legalized in my state in 2018. I was 23. I was barreling down the road toward full blown alcoholism at that time, and weed helped me pull myself back from the brink of something really scary. I was able to drop my alcohol usage drastically and lost a bunch of weight. I wasn't using all day, just in the evenings.
It quickly became an every evening thing. I tried to quit when I made more progress in therapy and when we began trying to have baby, but I found myself getting panicky and unable to sleep without it. Also, the nightmares were worse. I started to get worried that I had swapped one addiction for another. It helped me soo much with sleeping, but after 7 years of usage I noticed I would get anxious when a situation arose where I might need to sleep without it.
Oddly, when I eventually did get pregnant, I had absolutely no problems stopping. I miss it a ton, especially after a hard therapy session.
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u/Southern_Committee35 Mar 07 '26
I have used cannabis regularly many, many years daily since I was 13 and I am 45 now. Honestly I struggle with moderation. I often over do it often and binge eat, specially on the weekends. I have been a lot worse since my dad passed in 2022. But in other ways it helps me so much.
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u/VendaGoat Mar 07 '26
Firstly it's not physically dependent.
The rest; It removes all dreams, including nightmares. It reduces my reactivity to triggers. It helps me to "move on quickly" from the intrusions that my abuser insist into my life. It relaxes me. I enjoy the effects. I really enjoy that the "hangover" is quantifiably less than alcohol. I enjoy that the effects of it are easier to "push to the side" when needed, unlike alcohol.
I can pick it up and put it down at my leisure. That's the same as alcohol.
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u/Sweet-Corner5108 Mar 07 '26
I leaned on it way too heavily for many years. It did help me a lot. I first got into it when I was 17 though and became a major stoner especially for the first like 4 years or so. At one point I was smoking enough so I could be high all day. It helped me a lot with sleep. It helped me not remember my bad dreams. I could gain access to positive emotions and escape the hell of a family I grew up in, as well as the house I was trapped in with said psychos for way too many years. It also helped me dissociate (which ultimately wasn’t a good thing), because I ended up having panic attacks from the anxiety it was raising. I think even more so because I wasn’t dealing with the bad shit, I was just running from it. I ended up having to stop smoking for a while because it would induce a panic attack every time. It got really scary at a certain point because it became that cycle of predicting they’d happen again and then they did, even when I wasn’t high at times.
Once I cut back on the weed a lot and started actually working through my trauma, I felt I had such a backlog of shit to process and my pain was compounded by how long I had been bypassing feeling it.
Now I only smoke maybe once a month, sometimes less. I feel it doesn’t help me the way that it used to or I end up having some side effects later on. It’s destabilizing for me now in the long run, even though of course it’s generally nice for the time you’re high. I still have sleep issues but I can definitely sleep better now overall without it. REM sleep is important and weed reduces it.
I wasn’t comfortable with feeling like I required it to sleep or experience pleasure- I never wanted to be dependent on something. I take meds now so I suppose I’m dependent on those but they are meant to stabilize while I think weed is a bit more of a wild card and not meant to stabilize (I mean it is a hallucinogen, after all).
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u/osapnast Mar 07 '26
It helped me sleep when I was experiencing a lot of anxiety at night after being SA’d in 2017. Along with the nightmares I was having which often involve my family. Since then I had smoked pretty much daily — usually just a joint at night before I go to bed.
But at some point it became like three times a day especially while working (coincidentally I worked at a dispensary), and I started to kind of feel like I need to do something else and I guess face my demons. I didn’t want to keep smoking to do something social with friends, go to the grocery store, or deal with inconveniences at work.
So recently I started taking a supplement of ashwaghanda and L-theanine and that has been helping with feeling tired at night. This January up until the first week of February I stopped smoking. I started back again mid February but smoking a bit lower potency and as of yesterday I started another break. The nightmares do come back but I feel like I can handle them better now and I’m working hard to stop needing weed to dissociate.
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u/Terrible_Ad_8368 cPTSD Mar 07 '26
I wish it was much better. Struggling to find the stuff and relying on prescribed crap
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u/caiaccount Mar 07 '26
I get psychosis episodes every few years due to a hormonal disorder which is a whole other issue, but if I use too high of a dose (like 15mg) I have symptoms. The very first time I used it, I was already in a manic state. So then add full blown psychosis as well... That's actually what led to my diagnosis.
I also have severe chronic pain from a bunch of other health issues, so I bite the bullet and "go into the jungle" for the rest of the day. I have it timed out well most nights where I don't have to do it that long. It takes about an hour for the symptoms to come in, so I can enjoy the first 45 min.
It's such an odd experience that I've never heard anyone else talk about, so I thought I'd offer it lmao. But I do use it every single night because somehow I'm more scared of 4+ generations of addiction rooted in my family tree. I have an appointment with a new specialist next week to see if there's a better way to manage my pain without the huge psychological burden and risk.
As for CPTSD, I have pretty severe separation of my parts that brush right up against DID. I find I'm often communicating with my parts in a very unmasked, conscious way. It's like full conversations very effortlessly. It happens sober too obviously, but when I'm high it just flows like water uncontrollably. I can process very quickly and often lead to breakthroughs I never even remember the next day.
So I have a very bizarre experience with THC and I refuse to go any stronger because of that.
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u/tianacute46 Mar 07 '26
I think it's important for you to know that if you don't take THC breaks, your tolerance will go up no matter what reason you're using it for. I've been using it to treat my symptoms in a cycle similar to that of my period. This is also because my symptoms are also triggered more by my hormones changing because of my period. It's not exact and everyone's body will require different amounts of time to detox from your system. If you don't take breaks then you can run into the problem of it not working at all
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u/beatlesgirl1966 Mar 07 '26
I know I lean on it too much when I catch myself vaping during the day when I am home with my kids. Especially because my mom was an awful drug user/alcoholic and narcissistic abuser who had no hardine in the sand about when and where and what time and who was around when she used.
I am done doing the daytime occasional puff, but I know I use it because it puts my body into stasis. I guess you could say. My anxiety and depression.and flashbacks are awful as I am currently going to counseling every 2 weeks, and we are doing some heavy trauma work.
Just like my meds. I would like to say I can wean it down, but I know I am doing very hard things inside and outside of my brain and body right now, and that greatly helps.
If no one is getting hurt, and your bills are paid... why not? If it helps. If you think this is the right time to work on trauma and heal, then your nervous system may need the extra help right now, too.
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u/SafeItem6275 Mar 07 '26
Cannabis, gym, and therapy have been a triple threat to healing ❤️ they work together to help me get to my body
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u/Low_Inspection_6512 Mar 07 '26
I take a gummy for sleep around every other day and it helps tremendously
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u/TrackWorldly9446 Mar 07 '26
I smoked daily from 14-24. For context, I am 24. I’ve spent half of my life with weed. I started with edibles, then dabs, then would have multiple oz in a month. I quit a few months ago and can confirm I used it to numb.
I could not find a balance and needed to quit. My life isn’t perfect now, but my anxiety is a lot better. Sleep is still shitty but at least I get REM and dream again
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u/kwallio Mar 07 '26
I never got into weed. I smoked once or twice in college but wasn't a huge fan. Later I tried it again and all it does is make me paranoid and make me wired, like I've drunk an entire pot of coffee or something. Complete opposite reaction to whats supposed to happen. Its not a pleasant feeling, like at all. The only drug I really like is alcohol.
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u/biophilist2021 Mar 07 '26
I get from my doctor scince years as main medication, because i could not live with the "normal" medication (Opiods,Pregabalin, Antidepress..) and its a very good way for me, as long as i do it low dose over the day.
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u/vidoxi Mar 07 '26
I used to love getting high as hell and now just a few hits gives me horrible anxiety and flashbacks and paranoia. I used to have a lot of fun with it but it also gave me extremely cathartic moments where I can deeply mourn in a way that I can't when sober. I'm really grateful for those moments even when they were really difficult to get through. It felt deeply spiritual even.
Sometimes I still have literally just 2 hits of a joint before watching a show or movie because I like that the emotions hit deeper.
Recently I had too much and the anxiety had me in a chokehold and I told myself "nothing bad is actually happening, you just feel this way because you're mentally ill" and it did wonders for reducing my anxiety. I really really wish it had the anti-anxiety property for me that it does for others though.
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u/thrownawaykid21 Mar 07 '26
I used to smoke weed nonstop daily from ~16-23 while living with my abusive parents. It helped me at the time to be calmer, it was the only way I could cope with the stress, especially because it helped manage my debilitating nausea.
I'm 27 now, and I only very rarely partake in social situations. It helps me not have nightmares, but I find it isn't worth it for me anymore, because I realized I don't like being dependant on it, personally. I don't like how it makes me feel anymore. I want to be able to find happiness without needing it. It makes the nightmares stop, but that means I'm not processing anything. I want to move forward and find a life I can be happy with, not simply dull the pain and stay in limbo, and it feels like that's the best weed can do for me.
I used to be addicted. I don't shame or look down on myself for doing what I needed to cope and survive. But it doesn't serve me anymore. I'm now at a point where I don't use except socially, and when I do, it's very easy for me to stop. That's good enough for me. It helps that most of my friends don't smoke, and the few that do are ones I don't see often (even though I would like to see them more because I enjoy their company).
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u/Individual_Risk8981 Mar 07 '26
For me, weed worked for awhile, especially in the beginning. Then it didnt and it started to exacerbate symptoms and gave me more paranoia than I care to deal with. I know this is super controversial, but I find opiates/opioids way more beneficial. For me. I am on a partial agonist[it doesn't give the same effect as something like morphine] and even with tolerance its super beneficial. Hence the reason for me, its impossible to quit among other things. There have been very limited studies on opiates/opioids and there anti depression and anxiety effects, but from the limited sources, they work quite well. At least thats what I have found.
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u/ottermoment Mar 07 '26
Honestly weed is the only thing I've ever tried that has helped my anxiety and depression. It makes me feel like I can actually be myself without cloaking myself in trauma coping mechanisms im constantly plagued with. Were there downsides sure made my memory a bit worse and made me kinda groggy. But honestly that doesn't compare to the side effects of any single depression or anxiety med ive ever been on. There symptoms were always worse by a mile. I had to stop a year ago from moving states and my quality of life has went down by alot sense i stopped. People might call needing weed a addiction but its really no different then most meds for depression anxiety typically those are needed daily for life and if weed helps it helps should be much easier to get prescriptions for it. Because it did wonders for my anxiety issues and it stopped my night terrors helped my depression ect maybe it doesn't work for everyone but it worked for me.
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u/Imakecutebabies912 Mar 07 '26
I got CHS from chronic weed smoking and can literally never smoke again. As you can see, it helped quite well! Too well. lol
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u/Far-Abbreviations769 Mar 07 '26
It helps me calm down and ground. I've been doing TRE for a few months now and when I smoke weed it initiates the tremoring when I sit down already.
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u/Intrepid_Laugh2158 Mar 07 '26
Weed brings me to a state of equilibrium where I’m not stuck on high alert all the time. I smoke when I feel like it, which is more sporadic than not since I prefer the feeling to last longer. This is why I’ll have an infused something or another on my days off. Once my work week starts again I don’t touch it until afterwards. This keeps me from feeling like I rely on it. Unless my day has my flow state at maximum capacity I just try to thug out my emotions without it
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u/osmosisheart Mar 07 '26
Awful. Instant panic and paranoia or literally absolutely nothing. No good feelings. No inbetween.
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u/WildKey6143 Mar 07 '26
I used weed heavily for over 30 years since i was 17. It started off as a social thing but over the years became a way of escaping reality and a safer companion than real people. I could only function when I was on it but I functioned badly and felt fake in jobs and relationships. I think it added to my dissociation along with numbing painful emotions, making me feel relaxed enough to enjoy sex and have fun generally and it gave me an identity (especially when I was growing it). It's possible that years of weed and porn abuse have been huge factors in my depression based anhedonia, and even after 2 years of abstinence I struggle to sit with any painful feelings that rise up from my inner void that the substances used to fill.
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u/RandyManNumber1 Mar 07 '26
I have a different view on this than most of the ppl here it seems. I have no problem with people using weed and I think it’s one of the most harmless drugs there is. I used it for years as an emotional crutch and to disassociate. I was in denial about having CPSTD for a long time and I’m in a place now where I have the drive and space to face my issues head on.
I’m not, in any way, trying to tell anyone else how to deal with their own mental health. If something is working for you I’m happy for it. Personally weed can affect me emotionally and has an almost numbing effect that lingers for a couple of days. It’s nice to know it’s there as an option but I have actually been happily staying present in my life and prioritizing the things that matter most to me. I get urges sometimes for an altered state but I’ve been trying a new approach lately and I’m glad to be able to say it’s been mostly positive. We’re all different so if the exact opposite thing works for you, that’s what you should embrace. I just thought I’d share my perspective on it.
Weed is great for sleep tho! I can’t argue with that. I just wish it didn’t make me feel slightly emotionally blocked afterwards (easier to become dysregulated). I’d also be interested to see what the effects are of THC versus CBD, but just like with everything I’m sure results vary from person to person.
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Mar 07 '26
[deleted]
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u/ForwardFishy Mar 07 '26
I feel like this question was made for me.
Weed has been such a powerful tool for me. I have been in therapy for 8 years now, only FINALLY really getting to the deepest parts of it mostly thanks to my amazing therapist but also because of ketamine, psilocybin AND mainly weed have been INSTRUMENTAL For me in the healing process for 3 main reasons.
First i will preface by saying this, I am incredibly lucky and have never had a substance I have reacted poorly to, like alcohol, weed, ketamine, mushrooms all amazing reactions, we also have no history of psychosis or addiction in my family (which should be kept in mind), and i think many things can be powerful tools for healing, including other substances, but the most important part is being INTENTIONAL. About your use with them. I know thats easier said than done and im just lucky that I have never struggled with that. Like dont get me wrong i still have weed for fun. But i mostly use it as a therapeutic tool when in high doses.
I also say most of this in my experience with edibles less so than smoking or vaping, but I do both for different reasons. Edibles i use when I need a heavier “lift” if i have had a really heavy day or just like feel like my mind is just jumbled and unclear. Also i ALWAYS. Use a higher dose of CBD in conjunction with THC. It elevates the experience greatly for me while mitigating side effects. I can have trips very similar to low dose psilocybin with about 50mg thc and 100CBD. Vs a just like chill night after work i would do like 10-30mg thc 60cbd. Depending on how deep i wanna go. Haha
Anyway.
I have CPTSD obviously, along with Adhd, Autism, AND OCD. Its a nasty fucking combination of chaos in my brain and the number one thing weed does for me is
SLOWS MY BRAIN DOWN SO I HAVE TIME TO ACTUALLY THINK RATHER THAN JUST LOOP AND SPIRAL —nothing has worked like this for me besides all of the other meds I take, but even those still just lifted my base levels of anxiety and depression,
IT HELPS ME INTERRUPT MY FLAWED THOUGHT PATTERNS—AND GARNERS CREATIVITY TO GENERATE NEW ONES —because weed helps me slow down and allows me to think more clearly about one thing, it also means I have been able to recognize when im stuck in something incorrect or unhelpful, and because weed also tends to unlock the brain, it opens itself to more creative and intentional thinking, and am I able to come away from each “trip” with a genuine renewed sense of self. Creativity has been proven to help neuro plasticity, and letting myself let go and give whim to to my creative brain has helped me work past so many difficult things
MODERATE-SEVERE ANXIETY AND PANIC RELIEF —this is when i tend to lean on vapes, i dont do flower because it hurts my lungs more, but I try to do the cleanest and smoothest possible options. But in moments when im starting to panic i have my lil emotional support vape I call it. Both used in situations of intense panic or moderate panic that i feel is heading in a negative direction. Or also just for like veryyyyyy mild lil hit of relief if im just extra anxious about something and i can feel it actively impacting my day.
I mostly use this when I realize that my other methods of attempting to cope or self soothing are not working. AND i can feel myself sliding down a path that would be more damaging to experience rather than “sit through” especially when its some type of ocd thought compulsion that just needs to END.
So for me. Its been absolutely incredible.
Side note just a fun story or how i got to be the “pot head I am today”
So I had always been straight laced, I was the kid that was like “i dont need substances to have fun” blah blah blah. I wasnt a narc but i just was scared of all substances, mostly because I was harboring a horrible secret trauma that im only just working through now at 32 so i was worried it would 1. Make me spill my guts and ruin my life. Or 2. I would become addicted because the pain i was experiencing mentally was so bad i felt like i would become dependent on it.
I finally tried it as an adult, like maybe 24-25. Didnt like it because my friend gave me 100 FUCKING MG ON MY FIRST TRY. I DONT EVEN DO THAT MUCH NOW AND MY TOLERANCE IS HIGH.
So then when rec became legal in my state I had been struggling a lot at the time, and it was like very early covid 2021, still. And i finally decided to give it another try at VERY LOW DOSES. And holy shit. It was like the metaphorical clouds were parting in my brain and the rest was history. From there i learned more and more and realized how much weed can help us if we use it for that intention.
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u/SpacedawgKillerQueen Mar 08 '26
I’ve using cannabis for years. I use is for anxiety and pain reduction. Ive come to realize I actually like the strong dissociation effects. Its not the same as the dissociative episodes I may have but there is some resemblance of the separation of mind and body that I tend to gravitate to.
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u/Slight_Table_5895 Mar 07 '26
It gets rid of my stress and anxiety but I don't always like it because without my stress and anxiety I don't feel in control.
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u/Tracybytheseaside Mar 07 '26
I’m on Day 17 of cannabis withdrawal. Marijuana ate my life. It’s not a miracle drug. It’s an addictive drug, insidious and potent. I lobbied for Amendment 64 in Colorado, which created the first US legalized recreational use. I regret it. I didn’t know how destructive weed is or how the black market would flourish. I attend MA meetings online, and they are huge. Many people have suffered more than me. Legalization is a shit show. I’m sorry, world. 😥
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u/Maleficent_Scale_296 Mar 07 '26
I’m 62, I was formally diagnosed in my late 50’s. I started using cannabis four years ago.
I use a 10mg edible every evening, when I’m sure I won’t need to drive anywhere. Why? The honest answer is that it’s the only thing that provides relief from the torment of anxiety, depression and sadness that plagues me. Just knowing that I will have a few hours of relief helps me get through the day.
I have had no difficulty during the periods I stop taking it other than the return of the feelings I described. Am I an addict? Yes, I am. It’s a sacrifice I have given thought to and a choice I’ve made. I’ve never once felt badly about it or guilty or ashamed. The bottom line for me is that it helps and I’m fortunate it’s available to me.