“Marijuana and Meditation For Anxiety, Neither Should Be Seen As A Solution But Rather A Sidekick.”
There are varied treatments for anxiety. Recently, two studies have looked into marijuana and meditation as a reliable treatment for anxiety.
The Michigan Technological University study, discussed at the annual conference of ‘Experimental Biology’, found that just one sitting of mindfulness meditation can significantly alleviate anxiety in individuals suffering from moderate/mild anxiety.
The Washington State University study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, looked into the role of marijuana in anxiety treatment. Their research tried to quantify the ratio of CBD/cannabidiol and THC/tetrahydrocannabinol that’s ideal for easing anxiety, stress, and depression.
The Michigan Technological University study
The Michigan Technological University study found that one session, lasting 60 minutes, of mindfulness meditation was sufficient to decrease (sometimes very significantly) anxiety in sufferers. The study subjects consisted of individuals suffering from moderate/mild anxiety. They had to undergo meditation consisting of introductory meditation of 20 minutes, body scanning for half an hour, and self-guided meditation for 10 minutes.
It was found that the participants experienced a reduction in their anxiety levels just after the meditation and after one week. There was improvement in their cardiac health as well. There was a decrease in mechanical stress exerted on the arteries, which can consequently lead to a reduction in stress on the kidneys, brain, and other organs as well as prevention of ailments like hypertension.
The Washington State University study
In the Washington State University study, the subjects had to smoke marijuana at home and then rate their anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms on an app that helped track the effect of different marijuana dosage on the symptoms. It was observed that low THC/high CBD was ideal for easing short-term depression, while high THC/low CBD was best for decreasing stress; both were good for alleviating anxiety-Meditation For Anxiety
These therapies yielded better results for women as compared to men.
It was also found that marijuana (read THIS article for further clarification on marijuana and what you need to know) was associated to exacerbation of depression symptoms over a longer period of time. Thus, continual use of cannabis may lead to worsening of depression symptoms in the long-term. This drawback defeats the basic purpose of pot for treating anxiety and other mental disorders-Meditation For Anxiety
Marijuana and Meditation for anxiety: Which is better?
Neither of the above mentioned studies were the first in the field. Previous studies showed the anxiety-alleviating effects of marijuana and how it helps the calming of social anxiety and social stress. Newer research is also undergoing as to the effects of cannabidiol oil for treating anxiety-Meditation For Anxiety
Meditation on the other hand has strong proof about its effectiveness in treatment of rumination, anxiety, and persistent depression. Several studies have shown that meditation can help treat depression as well as prevent a relapse. It can thus be seen that meditation is better when it comes to long-term easement of depression as marijuana does not offer this benefit.
Both meditation and medical marijuana can help ease anxiety. However, people who suffer from depression and anxiety should opt for meditation as a secondary treatment option to a proven CBT based method as its effects are more positive and better known and understood.
I can’t even stand alcoholic beverages… my anxiety strikes when I start to feel dizzy, it makes me feel even more confused and nervous than usual….. if I would smoke pod I would go crazy inmediately no doubt…
I’ve been there Neftaly. These resources will help I’m sure.
I stay off drink me im everyones best friend but the anxiety gets in the way drinking dont help at all but sometimes in just the company and enviroment but i make that link to alchol and round and round we go lol
Thanks for your input Darrell.
Weed: It can increase anxiety especially in a panic attack but it does help to relax the body helps me sleep but the thc can be addictive cause some paranoia dont know if thats just because its illegal in uk cbd oil on other hand i found best for sleep and as a calming effect like meditation meditation i find hard at times didtracting thoughts etc but when i smoke or have a couple drops cbd oil i dont over think as much my focus turns to food lol so its another down side if your trying to stay off carbs etc over all it is a tool that not suits all its not a cure like most things challenging thoughts and emotions cbt will always be #1 for addressing your anxiety directly for the long term along with plenty exercise and rest
Thanks for sharing Darrell.
I smoked marijuana once and it just put me to sleep. I have wondered what CBD would be like, if it would help or not. I have been doing meditation for years and occasionaly it will make me feel good but not often…. always wonder why some get a great help from it but I don’t…..
Core beliefs and trapped emotion normally don’t go away through meditation alone. But CBT and NLP type methods combined with meiditation work wonders for many.
Meditation is the best Denis! it produce melatonin, it does not have any negative impacts, and other many …. study shows excessive use of marijuana can affect brain so the question could be between yoga vs meditation but not marijuana.
I am not sure if I am on point …
Thanks for your feedback Riz 🙏❤️
I do not recommend any sensitive people to use weed or alcohol … it can kill you ….
You cannot die from using marijuana. However, there are many prescribed drugs, especially for mental illness that interact very poorly with alcohol. I think that both can be abused, but this article was instead trying to focus on the medicinal value of marijuana and not promote it as a recreational drug.
I hate how marijuana has been demonized and classified as having no medicinal value. I’m glad that studies like this are really interrogating the benefits of medical marijuana instead of simply dismissing it like many people do.
I’ve been smoking weed for the past 7 ish years since my boyfriend introduced it to me at 18. In the beginning it was mostly a social/fun thing, but then I realized it helped my insomnia so much (I used to be up until 4 am going through sleeping techniques desperately trying to sleep since I was SO TIRED). I used to smoke it only in the evenings as a way to wind down from a stressful day of work, kind of like a little glass of wine at the end of the day. After I had my child though, I started to lean on it more heavily as a means to escape my anxiety and depression (since I wasn’t in a workplace). I don’t smoke like crazy but instead of dealing with my issues, I simply go downstairs and take a quick little single puff to take the edge off and get back to washing the dishes a little less sadly (I often get excessively bored with the stay at home mom life, but have no career to go back to so weed really “helped”).
What I’ve been noticing is that my ability to deal with my issues is… well, not terribly strong. I tried to quit weed cold turkey in the pursuit of lucid dreaming (weed can make you dream less) and a desire to have stronger control over my emotions. I relapsed hard after 5 days and self harmed, something I haven’t done since high school.
I swallowed my pride started smoking again as smoking weed here and there is a lot less harmful to you and your mind than self harm is. After a few weeks I decided to try again, I didn’t smoke at all yesterday. I decided I’m going to do one day on one day off for now and gradually extend those days.
I guess my main point with this is, I do love weed and I don’t think it’s terrible but I also don’t think it’s the end all cure all that people seem to think it is. I don’t want to quit forever and I’d love to be able to smoke it occasionally for recreational reasons in the future, but people tend to think that just because it doesn’t have nicotine it’s not addictive, but it really is. Addiction can happen with anything. People have coffee addictions, sugar addictions, workout addictions, tv addictions, and that’s what I am. Addicted to cannabis. I have realized that and want to make a change to improve myself for the better. All I can say is, insomnia fudging sucks lol.
It’s also insanely annoying because I know what I need to do to help myself (eat good, regular exercise etc), but hot damn those can be so hard to keep up with and really easy to let slip and fall back into depression 😓 anyways! That’s my possibly rambling rant. I wish the best for everyone, especially the poor souls coping with anxiety and depression caused by modern western society (at least that’s what I believe, can I just go live like my ancestors armed with modern knowledge now, please?)