{"id":11062,"date":"2018-04-24T19:46:27","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T02:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/?p=11062"},"modified":"2018-05-16T18:40:04","modified_gmt":"2018-05-17T01:40:04","slug":"bipolar-cannabis-and-psychosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/bipolar-cannabis-and-psychosis\/","title":{"rendered":"Bipolar, Cannabis and Psychosis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bipolar<\/span><\/span> and <\/span>Cannabis<\/span><\/span>: I’m now in my 8th year of educating our bipolar and mental health community in general about the effects of THC on our brains. At first, I sounded the alarm because I was alarmed by what I saw in my coaching practice! Then, I injured my back, dislocated my hip and got a right brain injury from a biking accident in 2012 and used medical marijuana for pain relief. <\/span><\/div>\n
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I experienced the negative effects of cannabis first hand. I didn’t regulate the THC in the medical marijuana I got from the dispensary well enough and went into a full blown manic and psychotic episode. This was scary as I have bipolar two and have never had a full blown manic episode.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I now research the topic and learn from cannabis experts about the uses of cannabis in the medical world in order to provide up to date information on marijuana …so that people can make their own decisions about cannabis use. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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There is more and more research to back up my original worries, but I have also learned how to help people who do continue to use how to stay safe.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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THC is a hallucinogenic that greatly increases the risk of psychosis in people with bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder. In my experience, it also causes dysphoric mania. I call it a hallucinogenic stimulant.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I teach a harm reduction system to all of my clients (and anyone else who will listen!) that explains the differences between CBD and THC.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Cannabis comes in many forms that vary in THC content. If you have bipolar, I suggest staying away from cannabis in all forms until it is better regulated. I found myself manic and psychotic even from low THC cannabis. I know many will not listen to this and that is ok. The next step is to at least know the risks.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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If \u00a0you are going to use, educate yourself and go for a CBD only product that is lab tested for purity. Its more expensive, but a lot less expensive than a trip to the psych ward. Ask questions when you buy and keep away from street weed as it will almost always be high in THC. <\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
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I wish you luck in your journey to finding peace. I wish I could smoke a bowl and deal with my anxiety, but I can’t. The bowl can send me to the hospital. I choose stability.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I am not anti marijuana. It has its uses and for many, doesn’t cause any problems. This is not a witch hunt. It’s a desire for health and a desire to help others find stability.<\/div>\n
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People without mental health disorders can do what they want- my concern is in our community. If you have bipolar or schizoaffective, THC is not safe for your brain. Please think before you use.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Click here to read more about\u00a0The link between cannabis and psychosis: Who is most at risk of dangerous side effects from marijuana and why.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n
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Julie <\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Bipolar and Cannabis: I’m now in my 8th year of educating our bipolar and mental health community in general about the effects of THC on our brains. At first, I sounded the alarm because I was alarmed by what I saw in my coaching practice! Then, I injured my back, dislocated my hip and got a right brain injury from a biking accident in 2012 and used medical marijuana for pain relief. I experienced the negative effects of cannabis first hand. I didn’t regulate the THC in the medical marijuana I got from the dispensary well enough and went into a full blown manic and psychotic episode. This was scary as I have bipolar two and have never had a full blown manic episode. I now research the topic and learn from cannabis experts about the [ Read More ]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[2429],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11062"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11062"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12316,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11062\/revisions\/12316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}