Psychedelics, Marijuana and Depression

-All Praise the Old Hippy-

much respect for you, the shaman of the next generation. I have an EXTREME
fascination w/ psychedelics and have done acid and shrooms a good amount of
times. at first, when i was young, i had fun. now i always get caught in
that grey, quiet, depressive state where all feels absolutely HOPELESS. i
also have short bursts of this intense hopelessness feeling when sober
now (spilt-second flashback?). i smoke weed everyday and am caught up in the
should i be smokin’ everyday loop of depression. i guess my question is
this. I have a good amount of problems, is it realistic to try and deal w/
these problems w/ psychedelic use? or should i deal w/ the depression
through yoga and meditation? Should i quit weed while working on the self, or
at least cut down? Does marijuana perpetuate my depression? Will psychedelics
do more bad than good while you are depressed?

i am 20, and have probably
been depressed for about 5-6 years. i have social anxiety disorder and have
not responded to prozac, but haven’t been very proactive in dealing with my
problems. Any advice you can give me about depression that isn’t well known
would be very helpful. I’d also like to know if salvia is worth trying.
thank you very much.
moonchild

Moonchild,

Cannabis and psychedelic drugs are NOT anti-depressants, and should NOT be
used to solve emotional problems. And yes, they can make things worse. You
say you’ve been depressed for 5-6 years. Have you been smoking pot that
long? If so there might be a connection!

Everyday use of marijuana really gets you in a rut, and the more you use,
the deeper the rut. Get it? You can get so low you can’t even see above
the ditch you’ve dug. So why not stop? Any change of mind will probably be
a big improvement. Oh you might get a little more depressed for a couple of
days when you first stop, but then, THEN, you’ll start feeling more alive
than you have in a long time. This is the point at which you must be
careful. I’ve learned that when you start to feel good naturally, it’s
like getting high, but that often kicks in a I feel great, let’s get high
syndrome that starts you smoking again. That’s the hard one to get beyond.
But once you do, you may find yourself with more energy and more motivated
than usual. Then you must focus that energy on something fun and
productive. So plan out what you’re going to do when you get straight, and
psyche yourself to do it! Either go back to school, or get a new job, or
take that trip, whatever, just take advantage of your newfound zest. Then
you won’t need the crutch of drugs to define your daily life.

Yoga and meditation are excellent for improving your mental and physical
condition, which could be a large part of your depression.

If you can manage that, and learn how to keep yourself straight when you
need or want to be straight, then perhaps you can approach cannabis again as
a therapeutic or recreational drug, not as a dependency.

If you cannot manage the above prescription, then you really should seek
outside help (as you’ve just done by writing me!). Why be miserable, when
you should be enjoying life?

I highly recommend you DON’T use salvia until your depression is cleared up! It won’t help!

Wishing you Health & Happiness,
The Old Hippy

Posted by: skip
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