Why Does Weed Give Me Anxiety?

The emotion of anxiety is experienced by everyone at some point or another in their lives, whether it’s before an important test or the moments leading up to a significant job interview, but over time, if performed enough times, a layer of confidence will blanket these anxious moments allowing you to act and perform more adequately.  This is not the case with constant marijuana consumption, however, as nine times out of ten, the feeling of an anxiety will always envelop the user to some degree, making it an expected and defining feature of the drug. While the concept of desensitization – graduated exposure therapy, has been shown to be useful for treating those with anxiety disorders, such as arachnophobia (the fear of spiders), the anxiety experienced with marijuana consumption may be unavoidable in most and due to the direct stimulation of the area in the brain responsible for the anxiety response, but the precise nature of this event has yet to be established.

The symptoms of anxiety can be described as:

• Excessive, irrational, or uncontrollable feelings of worry and dread
• Sensations of panic for no apparent reason
• Obsessive thoughts
• Heart palpations
• Muscle tension
• Sweating
• Rapid breathing, or hyperventilation
• Inability to remain calm

This is thought to be the case as the level of anxiety has been seen to be related to the dose of THC in the particular strain of marijuana being consumed. Low doses of THC can be sedating, while higher levels can induce intense episodes of anxiety.  Cannabinoids like THC work directly on the brain as it contains several receptors specifically designed for them. The amygdala is an almond-shaped set of neurons located in the brain’s temporal lobe and is known to play a key role in processing emotions in both animals and humans. Conditions such as anxiety, anger, happiness, and pleasure are linked to this subcortical brain structure and can be influenced by the consumption of marijuana.

When THC is consumed it enters the blood stream and travels to receptors found in the brain, of which many are focused on the amygdala. When THC binds to this area of the brain, it modifies the neural communications, overexciting neural pathways. In those who are not accustomed to the effects of marijuana, they may become filled with feelings of anxiety and paranoia. This may be partly due to the fact that marijuana is considered an illicit drug and wrong in the eyes of many, triggering your brain to come become overanxious with the possibility of being discovered. In other anxiety filled situations brought on by everyday events, we can usually manage as the symptoms typically subside after a few minutes. But unfortunately, the effects of anxiety usually remain during marijuana use until its effects dissipate.

For those with existing anxiety disorders, it is still uncertain if marijuana consumption increases the risk of occurrence or whether marijuana increases the risk of developing a persistent anxiety disorder, as available studies have produced conflicting findings.