Burn out and vaping

[Dutch-Mic]

I have a wife, a young kid and two jobs. For more than three/four months I experience restlessness, a shorter temper, tensed muscles, less concentration and am less productive at work and in the household. This weekend I had tremors, panic attacks and started suddenly with crying. I think I'm in an early stage of a burn-out and hit the brakes: didn't went to work today and will visit a doc to discuss this situation.

I vape daily do cope with ADHD and chronic pain, but realized that I also used herbs to suppress all the warning signals.
Now I'm more aware of suppressing the warning signals it helps me also, paradoxically, to be more aware of my body and state of mind.

I was wondering if my fellow fc'ers also have or had burn out symptoms or a beginning of a burn out, how you coped with it and what kind of role cannabis played during that time.

 

[TommyDee]

Us Dutch peeps tend to have a particularly hard time with this. We are critical by nature. We tend to be our own worst enemy. It's not a secret. I could be wrong of course. Its happened at least once before.

Talking with professionals is the right move. Something obviously needs a shift in your life. I do understand well where you're coming from. Not sure I could provide practical advice. All the best Mic.

 

[invertedisdead]

Bro half the time I vape I ask myself if I even still like getting lifted.

I call it herbal existentialism; you might be surprised how many regulars tell me they feel similar.

It just loses its luster when the habit becomes stronger than the reward.

I think that's why so many people are interested in microdosing these days, for many folks its the last ditch effort to quitting canna entirely and seeing if they can truly moderate.

We just have to recognize that these vaporizers allow one to consume more cannabinoids than has ever been possible in the history of the universe, and it's easy to lose control and spin out when we're breaking world records.

So how do we build a better relationship? Most would say a t-break is in order, but most people who take t-breaks revert to their same usage habits soon enough. Kinda have to break down all the hemp concrete walls we've built and start over with a new frame. It's definitely not easy either, I feel like anyone who is actively on any hobby forum is already so vested into the activity that it's especially hard to take that step back to re-evaluate.

 

[proceeds_the_weedian]

First of all,good on you for recognizing and addressing this before things go totally sideways. I was in a similar situation 3-ish years ago,and I could have taken charge waaay earlier. Herb was kind of a two edged sword for me,as like you say,on the one hand it's a nice little break from the bullshit,but on the other hand you might be masking stuff you should be taking care of.

It's had to give concrete advice,but I just felt like replying and offering some support/input. But,what started the ball rolling for me was some self-auditing and reflection. Basically a pros and cons list,but with as large a perspective as possible. Are you taking care of yourself? Are you engaging with the people around you? How do these interactions make you feel? Do you have stuff you look forward to? If you could decide for yourself,where would you be this time next year etc. A good therapist could help in this process,but in the end you are doing the work.

All the best,dude! There is light at the end of the tunnel!

 

[howie105]

I was wondering if my fellow fc'ers also have or had burn out symptoms or a beginning of a burn out, how you coped with it and what kind of role cannabis played during that time.

How do I cope, by knowing what I am looking at when I get stressed, doing what I can to address the situation and then moving on. As to cannibals it is only as good or as bad as I make it or let it become. So pot is a small factor in my overall emotional state.

 

[justcametomind]

Avoid wake and bake on week days. If it’s hard reducing the amount you vape, start reducing the amount of hours a day you spend baked. Cut as well the time you spend browsing about vaporizers or cannabis. If you end up buying a new vape each couple of months (or keep being exposed to people who do) you will hardly have any break. Engage in some sort of physical activity regularly and get dietary advice. Don’t get advice from my avatar pic and postpone your cannabis consumption to after you have done everything you need to do each day, try to include the gym to it 2/3 times per week and in 6 months you will be a different person.

 

[Dutch-Mic]

Thanks for all the input everyone! Read it all and have implemented some little changes this week that already have an impact. I'll respond shortly on every post:

Us Dutch peeps tend to have a particularly hard time with this. We are critical by nature. We tend to be our own worst enemy. It's not a secret. I could be wrong of course. Its happened at least once before.

Talking with professionals is the right move. Something obviously needs a shift in your life. I do understand well where you're coming from. Not sure I could provide practical advice. All the best Mic.

Thank you! Yeah I'm a perfectionist. After a week of rest and consulting a professional I see which parts of my life needs a change.

Bro half the time I vape I ask myself if I even still like getting lifted.

I call it herbal existentialism; you might be surprised how many regulars tell me they feel similar.

It just loses its luster when the habit becomes stronger than the reward.

I think that's why so many people are interested in microdosing these days, for many folks its the last ditch effort to quitting canna entirely and seeing if they can truly moderate.

We just have to recognize that these vaporizers allow one to consume more cannabinoids than has ever been possible in the history of the universe, and it's easy to lose control and spin out when we're breaking world records.

So how do we build a better relationship? Most would say a t-break is in order, but most people who take t-breaks revert to their same usage habits soon enough. Kinda have to break down all the hemp concrete walls we've built and start over with a new frame. It's definitely not easy either, I feel like anyone who is actively on any hobby forum is already so vested into the activity that it's especially hard to take that step back to re-evaluate.

Had a small T-break. Now I vape max three Vapcap bowls with a high CBD strain (unground nugs) and a pinch of a high THC strain before bedtime to fall asleep. My wife assured me that my usage helps me to cope with ADHD/chronic pain......but all the vaporizers???

First of all,good on you for recognizing and addressing this before things go totally sideways. I was in a similar situation 3-ish years ago,and I could have taken charge waaay earlier. Herb was kind of a two edged sword for me,as like you say,on the one hand it's a nice little break from the bullshit,but on the other hand you might be masking stuff you should be taking care of.

It's had to give concrete advice,but I just felt like replying and offering some support/input. But,what started the ball rolling for me was some self-auditing and reflection. Basically a pros and cons list,but with as large a perspective as possible. Are you taking care of yourself? Are you engaging with the people around you? How do these interactions make you feel? Do you have stuff you look forward to? If you could decide for yourself,where would you be this time next year etc. A good therapist could help in this process,but in the end you are doing the work.

All the best,dude! There is light at the end of the tunnel!

Thanks bro! I took a meta perspective (good advice about the list) on my life, finally had the feeling I has the time for it (already had the time for it of course, but didn't see that at the time).

How do I cope, by knowing what I am looking at when I get stressed, doing what I can to address the situation and then moving on.

Haha love it how you wrote that down! I'm mostly in assessment and resting mode at the moment. One of the biggest factors is my phone usage after work, didn't help me to get more rest!

Cut as well the time you spend browsing about vaporizers or cannabis. If you end up buying a new vape each couple of months (or keep being exposed to people who do) you will hardly have any break

About phone usage: this was the primary reason, along with discovering new music,that I spent way too much time on it. Cut back heavily my phone usage and that helps already.

Movement is so important now, I totally agree! My mind/body is still exhausted, so I only walk/cycle each day and do some light yoga and muscle exercises.

 

[uncanni]

I was wondering if my fellow fc'ers also have or had burn out symptoms or a beginning of a burn out, how you coped with it and what kind of role cannabis played during that time.

At the age of 66, I've come to realize that the kind of situation you describe--the kind of crisis, from which I've suffered all my life--is actually good old ptsd from childhood and family trauma. It gets all kinds of labels, definitely including ADHD, which is pure and simple ptsd reaction, racing thoughts, panic disorder, a feeling like the world is about to cave in on one. It's a state of deep despair if I'm not mistaken; it certainly always is in my case.

One huge difference in my life during the last 4 years: I started cultivating my own Cannabis, and I fell so in love with her and her powers that it totally changed my relationship to using her. Now I always see it as medicinal--especially when I get high af. That's when I get tremendous insights into the nature of the ptsd, and I begin the process of separating out the tangled threads of past history from my situations in the present moment of my life.

It never ceases to amaze me how we are able to conjure up such a perfect reaction to the present as if it were the past--as if we were the helpless child in the face of unspeakable terror, or betrayal, broken heart, abandonment, etc. But Cannabis has definitely helped me to work hard on untangling all these delicate threads. When I can live in the present moment without hearing the hand grenades and bombs going off all around me, limbs and other body parts flying through the dark, smokey air, gripped in terror--then I know I'm making some progress. It's an arduous process, Dutch, but life is fucking hard and I think most of us suffered the same kinds of traumas at home that come back to haunt us in our own families. The goal is to do way, way better by your kids than your parents did by you. And to have an authentic relationship with your partner.