Why do I feel depressed when I'm not smoking weed?
97 Answers
Last Updated: 08/05/2023 at 3:26am
Moderated by
Lisa Groesz, PhD
Psychologist
With evidenced based therapies, we find the root of the problem together to implement solutions. We all face crises, transitions, or disorders at some time.
Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
September 5th, 2021 3:36pm
Smoking weed causes changes in both brains and the physical self. Like any other physically addictive substance a sudden withdrawal from it can cause depression and anxiety. When smokers take in Marujiana, they feel elated. This is because the neurotransmitters, serotonin, and dopamine receive an increase and rush through our bloodstream, making us feel happy. When you suddenly deprive yourself of this substance, it is difficult for your body to handle the imbalance caused. The reduction in the amount of serotonin and dopamine then leads to depressive symptoms. So do give your body some time to adapt and tell your body that everything is ok, it's going right.
Anonymous
April 11th, 2018 10:04pm
Because weed has THC which makes you feel happy, so when you don’t smoke weed you don’t experience these happiness feelings, or atleast not without a reason.
Anonymous
March 25th, 2021 9:17pm
Weed has chemicals in it that reduces feelings like anxiety or depression. As a person smokes weed on a semi-regular basis, their system gets used to having the chemical. When you stop smoking for a period of time, your system has become accustomed to the chemicals so it has a withdrawal-like effect, making it more likely for you to feel depressed. It's likely a side-effect from smoking weed and then stopping. From what I've read, this can last from anywhere from a few days to a few months depending upon how much weed you smoke. Hope that this information is helpful!
Anonymous
December 9th, 2017 6:51am
Weed is in fact a type of drug that affects the body in multiple ways. A person can become dependent on the drug and can suffer withdrawals when not feeding the addiction. There are other symptoms that follow withdrawals which is one of the reasons why addiction is so strongly urged against. I would encourage the assistance of a substance abuse counselor to speak to.
co-dependency it sounds like. I assume you've been smoking weed for a long time. A friend of mind had this very same problem. Although he wanted to quit, he couldn't sleep at night and the way the drugs held him back in life only made him seek the escape more. It doesn't matter whether you started just for fun or from peer pressure, etc. It can be a very tough habit to break. Remind yourself the benefits of not smoking weed and also going to the right people for help quitting. Have faith in yourself that you can indeed lead a well-rounded and happy life without it. It will just take you some time.
Anonymous
October 12th, 2020 11:59pm
Let's start with the fact that I don't use marijuana but I think marijuana brings all the same benefits. This is the replenishment of state resources, as well as the benefit to people. The price after legalization also fell and became cheaper than the cost of the same cigarettes.However, you can save even more money if you buy plant and grow it on your own. Just following the instructions will do the thing, so in fact you can establish your own illegal business( I'm kidding actually), this source actually helped me to learn how to maintain my plants. However, I guess, that feeling depressed when not smoking weed may be because of the addiction
Anonymous
July 28th, 2021 1:03pm
It's likely because you are unhappy of the TRUE state of your life. You know something has to change but you either can't change it yet or don't know what it is that needs to change. So you find something that would help you cope with that reality--i.e. smoking weed. It's a form of escape. And it's very normal. People have different coping mechanisms. Some are destructive. Some are constructive. Some are just in the middle of both. Once your weed smoking becomes destructive, I suggest you tone it down a notch. And I suggest that you find a better coping mechanism that wouldn't pose a risk to your being and how you function within your own life. Also don't forget to know its effect with the people around you (and the people you care for the most).
Anonymous
June 2nd, 2017 8:59am
When you start smoking weed, it can make you feel happy, like you don't even really care about some things most times. So when you stop smoking it you can feel quite depressed sometimes and that's completely normal. I would advise seeing a therapist near you or if it gets really bad, take antidepressants
Anonymous
October 15th, 2021 5:47am
In my personal opinion, I feel as though maybe when you are smoking weed you feel you are okay, and you are happy, and having those thoughts can often make you dependent on that substance. I have learned this the hard way and I wish I had found a site like this to help me. But, I learned that when I stopped smoking weed, I felt I was not happy or was not okay. I realized that I had made myself more and more dependent on the substance than I should've been. If you are feeling depressed when you aren't smoking weed then you might try and stop or reduce smoking for a start and start exploring things that you might like to do, such as, reading a book, watching television, coloring, exercising, hanging out with friends, anything that brings happiness to you.
It sounds like you are too reliant on it. You may think you need it, but you don't. Whether you do it to have fun, or to forget problems, it is not the right thing to do. It may seem great at the moment, but once it's gone, what happens? You start to feel as if you need it. Like you can't live without it. But that is very much false. Even if someone is peer pressuring you, it is not good to give in. Being independent is good. Surround yourself with inspiring or fun things. Friends and family can help with this issue.
In a practical sense, weed temporarily elevates your serotonin and dopamine levels, but leaves a diminished supply afterwards. A person will build up to whatever level they're comfortable with to maintain.
When I used to be a weed smoker, I had often felt like I needed it to mitigate stress and anxiety from situations people couldn't help me with.
I was abusing it though, and thankfully it is not the hardest drug to leave behind. When the desire was gone, I was able to walk away from the habit.
Anonymous
May 10th, 2019 9:21pm
Maybe you feel depressed when your not smoking weed because it takes your mind off of what’s really wrong. Weed tends to mix up people’s emotions when being used. So it’s very much possible that your brain is being chemical altered to feel happy. But when in fact you feel sad, so in order to not feel sad you need to figure out the roots to your sadness in order to feel happy with drugs. Weed is said to be a gateway drug, and if your only using it to feel happy, then it could cause you to do more hard core drugs which could end up killing you
Anonymous
January 7th, 2018 3:20am
These are the few reason why you may feel that way: 1. You're an occasional smoker, when you're bored you smoke and you tend to smoke whenever you think you could doesn't matter if you need it or not. This can cause your dopamine level to differ. 2. You feel like you have nothing to do when you're off smoking
Because you are depressed and smoking weed causes you to get high. When you are high, you are delirious and therefore can ignore the emotions and issues that would be plaguing you normally. Smoking weed is only a temporary escape from problems that ought to be dealt with as soon as possible. If smoking weed and getting high feels much better than dealing with the numerous problems that plague you daily, then you are driven more and more to rely on it. Problems are to be solved with your own hands and not ignored like it isn't actually there.
Anonymous
May 29th, 2021 2:11am
You have become dependent on the feeling you get from smoking weed to be happy. You feel that when you are not high you cannot be happy. But, there are plenty of other types of things or activities that you can do that will give you the same sort of feeling without smoking weed, like things that do not involve any types of drugs. Some of my favorite things to do that make me happy are playing video games, spending time with my friends, reading a good book, drawing, and even just laying down and relaxing for a while. Sometimes it may seem like your options are limited, but there are so many things out there that you could do to make you feel even better than you do when you are high.
Anonymous
May 14th, 2021 5:03pm
Because weed is a dependant drug that stimulates the brain so when you don’t have it you are depressed and angry and easily triggered.Im not going to sit here and tell you it’s easy to quit because it’s not, And realistically your not gonna feel normal till about six months in.If you are having trouble staying motivated to quit Remeber why you want to quit and why you don’t want to feel depressed anymore quitting is the best thing you can do for your mental and physical health and you will save a lot of money to and have a New sense of inspiration and motivation
Most likely it is because of how the drugs are effecting your dopamine level. When you are smoking weed it makes your brain "happy" and increases dopamine levels , when you are not smoking weed though , your dopamine levels are very very low which causes depression. you also may feel this way because you are addicted to weed because of the happy feeling it gives to you . This is the reason to why you are feeling depressed when you are not smoking weed.
That is actually a multilayered answer that based not only in psychology but neurology. Im only a psych student so I cannot fully answer the question but i can explain per what ive been taught and show you some places you where you can do some research. I do ask you double check with your mental health care provider as well. So, in many cases (not all) you begin per chronic stress, curiosity, peer pressure, etc. You like the euphoric feeling and begin to search for it again. Now, you're going to gain tolerance after constant use (how much is up to your genetics and the strength of it). From what I've been taught (per the peer reviewed studies), when you smoke, you're causing a dopamine spike which is part of what's needed to make you motivated or happy. Again, you gain a tolerance and also cause a psychological dependence. I do not know the full science behind it, but I do know that the transmission of neurochemicals is affected. This ultimately means you don't have the same levels of dopamine that you did pre-smoking. Here on some peer reviewed studies and if you do not understand them, please talk to a provider about them to get a better understanding. Again, im only a psych student with limited info about the science, but i do understand enough to explain some things (just copy and paste the citations into your browser and scroll to the bottom to find results. PLEASE read the entire conclusion before and discussion for better/ in depth explanations):
Dierker, L., Selya, A., Lanza, S., Li, R., & Rose, J. (2017, August 18). Depression and marijuana use disorder symptoms among current marijuana users. Addictive Behaviors. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306460317303131?casa_token=xAVNakMDVF4AAAAA%3AKuPPkH_6EQsJjfpSX6tjUCBj4w_tC2ZiIKa5ygv8v5MLRv7Y6MkuSDMzWGhouvqE7G0Vjz8VLJM
Pacheco-Colón, I., Limia, J. M., & Gonzalez, R. (2018). Nonacute effects of cannabis use on motivation and reward sensitivity in humans: A systematic review. Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 32(5), 497–507. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000380
Anonymous
March 10th, 2021 6:27pm
Sometimes the use of substances distracts us from coping with the problems in our lives. If you find that you are depressed when you are not engaging in substance use, it is likely that when you are sober, you recognize the issues you are facing or changes that need to be made. Coming to terms with these issues can be overwhelming, unsettling, or upsetting. Dealing with problems can sometimes feel onerous, tedious, or frustrating, and these feelings can lead to feelings of anxiety or depression. It's possible that not wanting to feel these feelings is perpetuating your substance use, however, putting off dealing with the underlying issues and the depression itself, is not a sustainable answer. If you need help getting the the source of the feeling, therapy may be able to help. You can look into therapy here: https://www.7cups.com/therapists/search.php Or, chat with an online therapist here: https://www.7cups.com/online-therapy/?ob=1
It's all about your depression, which you are not treating but only relieving the symptoms by smoking pot. You first need to get treatment from a psychotherapist, and then you will achieve relief. In your case, smoking pot has only a negative effect in the long run. While you are undergoing treatment, you can, for example, use the delta 8 gummies brand to reduce your addiction to weed. You will have a long way to go to feel healthy, but I am sure you will succeed. You can also take the help of a psychologist who will talk about the causes of depression.
Anonymous
August 6th, 2020 3:58am
smoking week triggers a hormone anandamide in the body that produce a heightened sense of joy and happiness, and its only temporary so when you don't smoke it may seem as if u aren't happy, but it mostly because you don't feel the same amount of joy. a way to adjust this feeling of unhappiness is to find other activities and hobbies that stimulate those happy hormones. enjoying simple things as reading, cooking, running around stimulates the part of the brain responsible for happiness and produce dopamine which is the same as anandamide just lasts longer. hope this helps
Well I would go so far as calling a low a dépression, if you feel low it may be becouse the effects of the drug haven't given you the feeling you have searched for when you started smoking, the question is why does one smoke weed, well there are the medical benefits, some smoke only casually and socially, others do it for creativity, some started for one of these reasons but now are too addicted to quit, this could be one reason for feeling "depressed" ultimately one has to look at the reason they smoke and then judge if that is what they are looking for
its all about knowing yourself better, whats causing that depression in you? what are you doing to make it better? do you actually want to make it better?, those are things we get to ask ourselves, "marihuana" is used as antidepressant on medical use, makes you stop overthinking about that which is causing your depression, it doesnt mean its healing it as it will continue to be there for as long as you let it be, no one has the capacity to find the cause of your depression but yourself, you need to comprehend yourself to have the leads of your mind and "weed" will be just recreational thereafter
Anonymous
July 15th, 2018 7:55am
Probably if u smoke alot it makes u fell depressed cuz you don't know what it's like to not be high
The brain is wired in a way that makes us crave things that are supposedly good for us and our survival. But certain drugs hijack those mechanisms in the brain so they make us feel as if we are experiencing pleasure, relaxation or any other emotion/sensation... You should understand that the brain gets used to the same stimulus and reacts to it less with time. This is why a drug addict will be less and less satisfied with the pleasure a specific dose of drug provides and be likely to overdose. To overcome this, change the way you view pleasure. If you eat something delicious, play some game, take a walk or smoke you get the same thing: pleasure. The only way to get rid of an addiction is by acquiring another healthier addiction/addictions. When you feel depressed, try to find other sources of pleasure instead of weed and you'll feel less and less dependent on weed. If you find it too difficult, try reaching out to some addiction rehabilitation center.
Because something could have happened in your life that you are trying to deal with. You like myself use to bottle up your emotions till you become that emotionless that you just become depressed. It's completely natural that your body is doing this. But if it has been happening for a long time it would be good to go see a doctor. They can determine what is the cause. Also talking to one of our trained professionals would be good or talking about your problems to one of our trained listeners. I hope this helped you a bit.
From caringdimi xx
Sometimes we depend on stimulants to feel good. Emotional dependency on marijuana is very common. We get used to it being there and can tend to use it as a coping skill. Learn to process your emotions and manage them without substances and you may find yourself less dependent on them. Find coping skills that aren’t smoking, like writing down your feelings, listening to music, going for a walk. Pick up a hobby. Something that will always be available and try that next time you think smoking will make you feel better. You may find yourself resolving and bettering your feeling without weed.
Well, smoking causes fluctuations of serotonin in your brain so when you are smoking you start feeling really good but once you stop serotonin (which is the hormone that makes our mood better) its levels go down in our brain and sometimes the level of serotonin crashes and we stop being able to produce the chemical without smoking and this specifically happens if you have been relying on smoking for so long to be happier. This is also part of the reason why you can become addicted quickly, we start feeling like we can only be happy (from increased serotonin levels) when we are smoking.
Anonymous
June 3rd, 2020 2:32am
You could feel depressed because of extensive use with this drug allowing a link between weed and happiness to occur. This depressed state could be a result of the extensive overuse of this drug. I had friends that felt the same way and isolated themselves when they weren't smoking weed. Once they cut back on the use of this drug I began to see a link between their change in mood and not smoking as frequently. I know that it can be challenging to change habits, but slowly over time, your mood will become less dependent on this drug.
Anonymous
February 3rd, 2021 9:58pm
Many people use weed as a coping mechanism when their feelings grow uncomfortable or overwhelming because weed can help numb those feelings. Since you may have smoked weed to escape your feelings associated with depression (e.g. anger, sadness, fear, etc.), if that's the case, those feelings haven't actually gone away. They're still there, in your body and mind, and while smoking weed may have helped you ignore them temporarily once the weed wears off those feelings will come back.
Weed can be helpful and therapeutic, but if you're relying on weed to help you overcome painful emotions, it's likely hurting you more in the long-term than it is helping. As long as you remember you'll have to face your feelings eventually, and weed will only hold off the inevitable, you may be better equipped to understand how best to manage your smoking habits.
Talk to an expert therapist
Dr. Tara Davis has been really helpful with processing difficult emotions and...
Reviewed Dec 5, 2024
Talk to Tara NowRelated Questions: Why do I feel depressed when I'm not smoking weed?
What is considered substance abuse?Why should I stop drinking?How to trust someone again who has consistently lied?How can I stop drinking or taking drugs?Why do I feel unable to focus when I'm not smoking weed?How to use Amethyst for sobriety? I've heard people say they bathe with it. How is it to be used?Can you become phychotic from quitting drugs cold turkey? Particularily cocaine?I have no clue on how to handle even one of my emotions. Please any advice?How do I help someone I have a hard time relating to? How do I deal with the stigma of IV use when I need to use in public places?