Drugs?

[aerosol]

Can I talk about drugs here (illegal and legal) or will it get me banned? I'm obviously too lazy to look through the list of rules (I'm sure there is one?) so if this is bad just delete it, thanks.

Anyway - drugs. I don't like drugs. But I've been thinking about them lately because my anxiety and personaliy are getting a bit too intense for me. I seem unable to function without constantly over analyzing everything and getting all emotinally wound up no matter what. I don't like prescription drugs because alls they seem to do is level you off completely, into a zombie like mode. I'm also worried that losing all of the anxiety will leave me without motivation to do anything good with my life.

I like pot, ish. It's not too bad. Is there anything else you would recommend? Keep the drugs light, I have no intentions of trying the heavy stuff. What kind of drugs do INFJ's like? How do they cope?

Thanks.

 

[Raccoon Love]

From what I've seen this place is very open when it comes to drugs, though I believe the psychology and MBTI is an open forum anyone can see..so besides that. I am certainly open to the idea of trying them, but I never have. It would be interesting to see what sort of effect they would have, all in a safe environment of course.

 

[Faye]

As long as you don't try to sell drugs, you are fine. The forum rules list is not that long.

I've found the same with prescription psychotropic drugs. You can't numb the pain without numbing everything else as well, and it does kind of suck to be a zombie. Although, you don't really realize it as much when you are a zombie; it can really make you loose a sense of yourself.

I think a big reason why pot is not legal is that drug companies lobby against it; that is a theory anyway. Drugs are one of the largest industries in the US (maybe the largest?), and if people could use marijuana as an alternative to their weird synthetic stuff, they'd lose a ton of money.

Some anxiety is good, but too much obviously is counter productive. You want the right amount of tension, ideally.

 

[Wyote]

Why don't you take the natural route and meditate.

You can also consume these in various ways:

Kava Kava
Valerian
Ashwagandha
Chamomile
Salvia

 

[aerosol]

I think a big reason why pot is not legal is that drug companies lobby against it; that is a theory anyway. Drugs are one of the largest industries in the US (maybe the largest?), and if people could use marijuana as an alternative to their weird synthetic stuff, they'd lose a ton of money.

Okay. Note to self: never try to sell drugs on internet forums. It will get me banned.

As far as pot goes - yeah, the government doesn't have a way to profit off of it, so they're not gonna legalize it. Prescription drugs though, wow... The commercials try to target everyone and try to make it seem like any little mental ailment could, ney SHOULD be treated by using them. Nervermind the fact that they are far more addictive and harmful to the body than pot could ever dream of being.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR4aQoezl-U"]YouTube - Doug Stanhope - You're Taking the Wrong Drugs[/ame]

Very... uhhh.. graphic as he gets into it. But he gets the point across.

 

[aerosol]

Why don't you take the natural route and meditate.

You can also consume these in various ways:

Kava Kava
Valerian
Ashwagandha
Chamomile
Salvia

The stuff I've read about Salvia scares the sh*t out of me. What do the other ones do? Do they have calming effects? I'm not looking for psychoactive drugs too much.

 

[Wyote]

The stuff I've read about Salvia scares the sh*t out of me. What do the other ones do? Do they have calming effects? I'm not looking for psychoactive drugs too much.

Don't smoke the stuff, just make tea with it. They're all calming.

 

[bamf]

Why don't you take the natural route and meditate.

You can also consume these in various ways:

Kava Kava
Valerian
Ashwagandha
Chamomile
Salvia

Lol, Kava kava...a bunch of easy stuff...then Salvia.

 

[donkeybals]

Exactly like you. My mom took anti depressants and it changed her personality, she used to be caring, now she's not. It's like she took an inconsiderate pill.

I always thought a drug that changes the chemical makeup of your brain permanently is just weird. Anyway, I went through some hard times, good old vodka got me through the toughest of the tough.

 

[IndigoSensor]

I only advocate the use of some kind of antidepressent, antispychotic, or the like in extreme cases. Such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression/anxiety that is so severe that one truly can not function (meaning they cant hold a job, fail to eat, etc). It sounds to me like you are very high up there in the ways of anxiety and stress, but you seem to still be able to function alright. What you really should do is seek a therapist and make it a regular thing to go there. You might be able to benifit from cognitive behavioral therapy. Again I see a lot of myself in you, and the exact same concerns you have had have crossed my mind as well. In all honesty, I likely should be medicated. Last time I went to a therapist I was told "it is highly highly reccommended you seek a medical consultation". I am going to be seeing a therapist again this semester, and I am likely going to be told the exact same thing again. To which I am likely going to say "Up yours! I ain't taking no damn pill!". Of course I won't say exactly that .

I have had experience with other psychadelic drugs (which I do understand you are not seeking). I can tell you it does not fix you. It is only an escape for a short term period. For me all it did was make things worse. I am a high anxiety individual and if you are anything like me, your brain chemistry is likely different from most and any kind of drug or medication will not help. I am going to suggest you follow what wyote is suggesting. Try meditation. Look into natural homeopathic methods to help calm yourself down. Above all though, I strongly reccomend you seek a therapist, and make it a regular weekly thing. Fixing things won't happen over night. It can sometimes take years of therapy before you start to truly recover. Nevertheless, all you can ask of yourself is to try. Ask yourself: "What do I have to lose?".

 

[Neuropedia]

honestly the best thing for anxiety is just facing it head on. It gets better I promise. If you start dealing with it by using drugs you're probably just going to make your psychological landscape much more complex, and more difficult to handle sober, if only by relative state of mind. I've found even depressant drugs can make my anxieties worse at time because I have alot memories that I suppress on a day-to-day basis, or don't remember at all. Using drugs tends to bring those up for me.

If you're going to use drugs, I've heard that the prescription ones are highly addictive, and I have been strongly warned against taking them. As far as narcatic drugs go, marijuana is probably your best bet (but long term use messes with your dopamine receptor, so, again, using it to cope with anxiety you experience on a regular basis prolly isn't your best strategy). Oh, and I've never seen psychedelics and anxiety get along well.

Honestly, I advise just facing your anxiety. I'm not tying to be your franklin d roosevelt or anything but, the things people tend to be anxious about are usually far less detrimental than the anxiety itself.


I'm adding this image 'cause it's vaguely related to the topic, and it made me smile when i first saw it

 

[deivejek2|9]

The stuff I've read about Salvia scares the sh*t out of me. What do the other ones do? Do they have calming effects? I'm not looking for psychoactive drugs too much.

Salvia's pretty mild. I think people make it out to be scarier than it is. That said, it's not worth your time.

Kava is awesome. I've been drinking it for years and love it. They have kava bars in Hawaii, which is where I first experienced it in full effect (fresh kava is quite potent). To be honest, it doesn't do much. It releases the tension in my body (a good thing for an INFJ), makes it easier to talk to strangers (re: kava bar), and sometimes things are a bit funnier for a short time. A good kava buzz only lasts about half an hour. It doesn't change your perceptions of things and won't make you think you're a caterpillar or anything like that.

You can buy kava powder at various locations on/offline, or you can go all out and get the root (more work). I have the powder, which I share when friends come over, but lately I've just been buying boxes of Yogi Tea's Kava Stress Relief. It's not as strong as regular kava, so you may not notice the effects or know what to expect if you start with that. Kava doesn't usually cause a response the first couple times you drink it (unless you have fresh kava). Not sure why that is, but it's been the case with a bunch of my friends.

As for other drugs... it's been over a decade since I've used them and I don't plan on doing so in the future, but I was enthusiastic about psychedelics and empathogens for a year or two after high school. I had generally positive experiences, and grew spiritually and mentally through their use, but I did months of research before putting anything into my body and always made sure I had a good set and setting. I don't regret these experiences and have good memories (not all of my friends do), but now that I've had some time away from them I've discovered dozens of alternatives to drugs that are just as powerful and less mind-consuming.

To a certain degree I'd say that experimenting with drugs is healthy, but remember that any drug (even the natural ones) should be approached with care and respect. I don't think anyone here wants to see you hurt yourself. Anyway, if not already apparent, my vote's for kava.

 

[bamf]

Salvia's pretty mild. I think people make it out to be scarier than it is. That said, it's not worth your time.

I wouldn't say it's scary, but if it's a homemade extract it is anything but mild.

 

[acd]

I can relate to the OP...

I have anxiety issues.. Some nights I can't sleep at all, which makes me even more frustrated because I know that my body and mind need the rest to accomplish overcoming whatever challenges happen to be terrifying me... Last night I laid awake in bed and thought of that 'It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia' episode where the characters live in a really shitty apartment complex with howling cats that make it impossible to fall sleep... so in order to go to sleep, they eat cat food and huff glue until they are so ill they have to pass out.

I've thought of downing a bottle of wine a night.. but then I think that overall, becoming an alcoholic would only make things way worse and create tons more problems to boot. I've just been trying to take it slow... figure I'll worry about what is immediate because I can deal with that. I've also come up with a mantra that goes something like, 'the main reason I fail is because I'm afraid to step out of my comfort zone.' I'm trying to take a difference perspective... instead of becoming overwhelmed, I'm trying to see my current under takings as a challenge that I can overcome with a little more effort and courage than I'm used to applying...

Take care.

 

[aerosol]

Exactly like you. My mom took anti depressants and it changed her personality, she used to be caring, now she's not. It's like she took an inconsiderate pill.

I always thought a drug that changes the chemical makeup of your brain permanently is just weird. Anyway, I went through some hard times, good old vodka got me through the toughest of the tough.

Sorry about your mom.
Oh yeah, I forgot to address drinking. I don't enjoy drinking too much. I usually only like its effects if I'm in a really bad mental state. I like the numbing and the instant mood upper that it provides... then the day after I'll be really depressed.
But I do also like that I can talk to people normally when I'm drunk. I probably don't even seem drunk to strangers, because all it'll do is make me small talk like people usually do. I've been trying to figure out how to be more sociable without having to be under the influence of whatever.

 

[bickelz]

The stuff I've read about Salvia scares the sh*t out of me. What do the other ones do? Do they have calming effects? I'm not looking for psychoactive drugs too much.

Salvia ain't too bad. Just do a lower power and you'll have 30 minutes of fun. But in all honesty, i have heard about some bad experiences about it. A friend told me he couldn't tell up from down for a while but that stuff rarely happens. It just made me feel like i lost my balance and was outside myself for a bit (like 30 minutes). I also had the strong urge to take my clothes off, which didn't get very far. The good news with salvia is that the worst effects are over in about a minute and the trail off is about an hour while it is perfectly legal (at least in the pacific northwest).

 

[middle1]

Lol, Kava kava...a bunch of easy stuff...then Salvia.

Um, where would one find this stuff?

 

[middle1]

Salvia ain't too bad. Just do a lower power and you'll have 30 minutes of fun. But in all honesty, i have heard about some bad experiences about it. A friend told me he couldn't tell up from down for a while but that stuff rarely happens. It just made me feel like i lost my balance and was outside myself for a bit (like 30 minutes). I also had the strong urge to take my clothes off, which didn't get very far. The good news with salvia is that the worst effects are over in about a minute and the trail off is about an hour while it is perfectly legal (at least in the pacific northwest).

Oh, never mind the former post.

 

[bickelz]

Oh, never mind the former post.

Um, why? Have you done it?

If you do 20x, you have to take like 5 hits before you actually feel anything *serious face*.

In Washington state, you get it at the smoke shops where it is stored in the counter. Probably the same in other states too.

 

[aerosol]

I only advocate the use of some kind of antidepressent, antispychotic, or the like in extreme cases. Such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression/anxiety that is so severe that one truly can not function (meaning they cant hold a job, fail to eat, etc). It sounds to me like you are very high up there in the ways of anxiety and stress, but you seem to still be able to function alright. What you really should do is seek a therapist and make it a regular thing to go there. You might be able to benifit from cognitive behavioral therapy. Again I see a lot of myself in you, and the exact same concerns you have had have crossed my mind as well. In all honesty, I likely should be medicated. Last time I went to a therapist I was told "it is highly highly reccommended you seek a medical consultation". I am going to be seeing a therapist again this semester, and I am likely going to be told the exact same thing again. To which I am likely going to say "Up yours! I ain't taking no damn pill!". Of course I won't say exactly that .

I have had experience with other psychadelic drugs (which I do understand you are not seeking). I can tell you it does not fix you. It is only an escape for a short term period. For me all it did was make things worse. I am a high anxiety individual and if you are anything like me, your brain chemistry is likely different from most and any kind of drug or medication will not help. I am going to suggest you follow what wyote is suggesting. Try meditation. Look into natural homeopathic methods to help calm yourself down. Above all though, I strongly reccomend you seek a therapist, and make it a regular weekly thing. Fixing things won't happen over night. It can sometimes take years of therapy before you start to truly recover. Nevertheless, all you can ask of yourself is to try. Ask yourself: "What do I have to lose?".

You know, I'd like to try therapy but I'd probably hate the therapist. I guess people annoy me really easily in person, and it's hard for me to confide in someone I dislike, obviously.
I like your stance on prescription drugs. I've even heard that the drug companies pay doctors/psychologists to put people on their pills.