Debunking the Fear: How to Combat Paranoia when Consuming Cannabis
Asenqua Tech is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
You tried a new strain and maybe even tried a new kind of gummy. Then there it is. The paranoia. Cannabis highs can often come with a not so fun side effect known as paranoia.
This struggle comes from an overactive imagination and being almost too relaxed, but there are several ways that you can combat paranoia when you get too high.
What is Paranoia?
Paranoia is a situation where you worry about every small thing around you without any rhyme or reason. The actual definition is two-fold:
“Unjustified suspicion and mistrust of other people or their actions; the unwarranted or delusional belief that one is being persecuted, harassed, or betrayed by others, occurring as part of a mental condition.” – Oxford Languages
Coming from the Greek origin paranoos meaning “irregular mind” paranoia takes the idea of irregularity a step further than just worrying.
Paranoia when high can start as worrying about every little thing around you and then it can evolve into the unwarranted suspicion of people, even those that are close to you.
How Does Paranoia Feel?
Not good to say the least. Experiencing paranoia doesn’t necessarily mean that you are going to experience all of the issues that were listed above in the definition. Can you? Yes, that is possible.
More than likely though, you are going to experience elements of paranoia at different levels. More often than not this is going to vary by person and by strain. On top of that, if you are prone to paranoia already, then that is going to increase the feelings of panic, anxiety, stress, and worry.
Overall, severe paranoia can feel like a panic attack and may require medical intervention if you can’t get the feelings listed under control.
Why Does Paranoia Happen?
There are many reasons people can become paranoid. More often than not, higher concentrations of THC are going to lead to racing thoughts and wild anxiety because of many things.
Some of those reasons are due to control issues, being too relaxed, already worrying about other situations, and generalized anxiety disorder. If these situations sound familiar to you, then it’s best to not go with high levels of THC and to stick to lower doses.
How to Combat Paranoia?
Part of combating paranoia is knowing what it is and why it happens. This means that the old adage, knowledge is power, means a lot in these types of situations. Even if the fear of paranoia is debunked, it is important to know how to help yourself out of paranoia so that you can help yourself calm down.
Stay With People You Know
When you’re paranoid, the worst thing you can do is be with people that you don’t know and who don’t know you. The best way to combat this is to stay close to someone that you know.
When with someone you know, remember that you will need to communicate what is going on. Don’t just stand or sit there, be open and tell those around you that you are experiencing severe paranoia.
If you’re with people who are sensitive to the types of issues that can arise with paranoia, they will probably also help you out but not as much as someone you know. Close friends are even better but they also can make matters worse if they don’t take the issue seriously.
Eat and Drink Something
Believe it or not, the munchies are going to help in this situation more than you think they would. One of the best ways to handle a paranoia situation is to eat something dense in nutrients and drink something dense in nutrients.
I say dense intentionally because just water and chips isn’t going to cut it when you are dealing with too much THC or an adverse reaction to marijuana.
If this is what you are dealing with, or if you suspect you might, find drinks that are high in electrolytes and foods that are dense with proteins and fats. This will help decrease the intensity of the high and bring down the paranoia.
Deep Breathing and Logical Thinking
These two work best in tandem rather than one at a time. But if you can only concentrate on one, work with logical thinking first and add in the deep breathing later.
The goal here is to think logically about the paranoia and mentally combat what is going on until you can get your breathing to slow down. This may take some time but it is one of the best when you don’t have someone to help you calm down.
Conclusion
Getting paranoid when trying new strains or THC based products is frustrating to say the least. Not only is it stronger with preexisting conditions, but stronger strains can lead to more issues as well.
In this case, staying with someone you know, eating or drinking something high in nutrition or practicing deep breathing and logical thinking.
