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What is Paranoia?
Paranoia is a mental illness characterized by the belief that someone or a group of people are out to do you harm. It could also be focused on people in general. Most people experience a bout of paranoia at some point or other in their lives, and that is not necessarily outside the bounds of what is normal.
Paranoia becomes a significant problem if it occurs regularly over a long period. Sometimes the person who has it knows that their fears are unfounded, but they still find it disturbing.
A distinction between anxiety and paranoia is essential since the two of them have some similarities. It is usual for a person to feel anxious, especially when they have gone through a challenging situation such as hard economic times, the loss of a loved one, or another such event.
Under normal circumstances, an anxious person may worry about others’ perceptions of them. The anxiety might cause them to have a heightened sense of vigilance as their minds try to ward off whatever threat they perceive against themselves.
In cases of ordinary anxiety, you may think that some people threaten your safety but not be sure. When you are suffering from paranoia, you are fully convinced that you are facing real danger. In light of the above similarities, paranoia may be described as a form of extreme anxiety.
The following are some specific symptoms that can point towards a person with paranoia.
- A paranoid person is easily offended: The probable reason why they take offense so quickly is that they are convinced that the people with whom they conflict intend to injure them. They are unable to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. Paranoia causes people to become hostile, defensive, and aggressive with everyone they come into contact with.
- They are unable to handle criticism: When you point out someplace where a person with paranoia is wrong, they are incapable of processing it as being intended to help them improve. They always see it as an offshoot of the treats that exist against them. If you criticize anything they do, or they are, they see that as their cue to fight back. A paranoid person acts as if they are always right.
- They are loners: Because they think everyone is out to get them, paranoid people can’t share their lives with anyone. They may treat even the most ordinary details about their lives as top-secret information, and they always have their guard on in all circumstances.
- They read hidden information in ordinary things: People with paranoia seem to find something sinister in people’s everyday actions and behavior. Even the most innocuous word is seen as having a coded meaning, which always has negative connotations. This attitude causes the people with paranoia to always be on the warpath.
Marijuana and the Brain Chemistry
Marijuana gets into the body as cannabinoids. The main cannabinoids found in it are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC is the psychoactive cannabinoid, and it is our main focus when discussing paranoia.
The organ system that connects with cannabinoids is known as the endocannabinoid system, which is the most extensively distributed organ system in the human body. Effects of marijuana on a different part of the body are informed by whether that particular part of the body has endocannabinoids or not.
Weed paranoia comes as a result of THC’s connection to the brain, particularly the amygdala neurons. The full name of these neurons in Latin is corpus amygdaloideum, which is located in the deep regions of the medial temporal lobe. The role of the amygdala is to process emotions that are responsible for outcomes such as stress, anxiety, fear, and paranoia.
The endocannabinoid system is created to connect with cannabinoids that are naturally generated by the body. These natural cannabinoids are known as endocannabinoids, and they are produced as and when the body needs them. The purpose of these endocannabinoids and the entire endocannabinoid system is to restore homeostatic balance in the body when needed.
Those that are released in the amygdala, for instance, help regulate anxiety, fear, and paranoia. The typical sequence of events is such that once the endocannabinoids are done with their regulatory role, they are destroyed by specialized metabolic enzymes. Metabolic enzymes that the final part of the endocannabinoid system. The body remains without endocannabinoids until there is another need to restore balance when they are released again.
Plant cannabinoids such as THC and CBD connect with the endocannabinoid system in the same way as endocannabinoids. They may end up affecting the brain in many different ways. If you are wondering what kind of weed makes you laugh, it is the same weed that makes others get weed induced anxiety.
Why Pot Makes You Paranoid
If you are here, you are probably seeking to answer the question, “why do I panic when I smoke weed?” As earlier observed, THC connects with the amygdala in much the same way endocannabinoids do, but unlike endocannabinoids, it doesn’t get destroyed by the metabolic enzymes. This means that it remains connected to the endocannabinoid system for much longer than necessary, which may end up causing the paranoia instead of regulating it.
THC connects with GABA inhibitors in the brain and prevents them from regulating the release of dopamine. Initially, this leads to increased dopamine levels, which cause the user to have a feeling of euphoria.
As the use of weed continues over time, the part of the brain that releases dopamine becomes ineffective due to overworking, and it ends up releasing less of it. Reduced dopamine production leads to weed social anxiety, and this only works to exacerbate the user’s paranoia. Dopamine deficiency is an important reason why you get dark thoughts when high.
How to Avoid Cannabis-Induced Anxiety and Paranoia
You are probably seeking to find out how to get rid of paranoia when high. The best approach is to avoiding paranoia and not trying to learn how to stop paranoia when high.
You can avoid marijuana paranoia by using low THC strains of weed as strains with high THC, are the high paranoia strains. To manage your condition, you can use CBD oils and other CBD dominant marijuana products such as gummies and capsules.
If you must use THC, ensure you use THC products whose dosage is known and with the help of a physician. There are some THC vape oils and pills in the market whose THC content per unit is known. These can help you reduce marijuana-induced anxiety.
A doctor’s advice is essential because they can advise you whether there are factors that make you more vulnerable to weed induced paranoia. These factors may be genetic, a preexisting anxiety disorder, a history of paranoia, among others.
The best weed paranoia cure is prevention. You should, therefore, make sure that you only use the quantities of marijuana that your body can handle and at a frequency that doesn’t set you up for paranoia.
Takeaway
There are a few things you can take away from your understanding of marijuana and paranoia. When you hear someone say, “weed makes me nervous,” you know it has something to do with THC. THC is the cannabinoid that causes paranoia and other psychological problems that a weed user experiences.
You should also note that paranoia typically comes as a result of long term use of weed though some new users may experience it as well. If you are genetically or otherwise predisposed to paranoia, you need to avoid using high THC weed. You can concentrate on CBD extracts instead to gain the benefits you seek from marijuana.