Posted by Cam W. on November 22, 2001, at 4:10:32
In reply to Re: the Evil Killer Weed, posted by wendy b. on November 21, 2001, at 10:33:02
Wendy - I think that what your therapist is trying to get at is that your using marijuana is taking you beyond a therapeutic response to an altering of reality. Yes, smoking pot does make you feel better, but, as James said, it takes you beyond "normal" to the point of escapism. I would think that altering of your medication, as proposed by your therapist, once you are pot-free, would be an effort to try to relieve your depression symptoms. This would mean trying to "fix" your body's stress repsonse mechanism (ie. the HPA axis; the fight-or-flight reponses) so that when you are exposed to stress your body will be better able to cope with that stress, instead of escaping from it (as your are essentially doing with marijuana).
I believe that it is far better (and healthier) to deal with the stress than to escape from it. I would think that this is what your therapist is trying to convey to you.
I am not saying that the occasional escape from reality is not healthy. This can also reduce stress. But to escape from "reality" on a daily basis is not productive. It prevents one from living life to the fullest. Occasionally letting loose in the form of a few beers, or joints, or whatever while socializing friends does relieve stress.
This stress relief can also be done without "artificial joy", although sometimes; and I do stress "sometimes" an altered state of reality can make certain events (eg. a concert, a social gathering, etc.) more enjoyable. The key is not to alter reality on a daily basis. This is counter-productive to enjoying a full life.
The choice of the form of escape must also be made responsibly. The guideline that I use is how does the form escape affect one's health. Usually moderation is the key, but there are exceptions to this guideline.
I believe that one has to draw the line at taking anything that can potentially cause permanent damage to the body. For example, taking PCP would not be a choice I would make, neither is cocaine nor heroin. I have seen both destroy lives. Granted, cocaine and heroin, if pure and done in moderation, does not cause permanent damage to the body, but one has to consider the addictive potential of these drugs.
Each person must consider the addictive potential of the drug they may choose and also how much of an addictive personality that person has. Each drug used for escape has a different potential for addiction. For crack cocaine that addictive potential appears to be high; perhaps it is slightly less for methamphetamine; less still for nicotine; less stil for heroin; less still for alcohol; less still for marijuana; less still for caffiene; and less still for LSD and magic mushrooms. The order of this list is an example or generalization and will be different for each individual, depending upon their personality, genetic make-up and social influences.
So, I believe what your therapist is trying to tell you is that she will try to help you relieve your depressive symptoms, but not through escapism. She will do it by helping you to deal with what caused the depression by either helping you to resolve the problems that caused the depression in the first place (ie. a reactive depression due to an adverse life event) or teach to live within and cope with a chronic (eg. genetic defect or reactive depression that has been cycle accelerated).
I hope that this makes some sense. Again, my limited command of the english language has made it hard for me to explain the concepts that I am trying to convey. Perhaps someone may understand what I am trying to say, and be able to write it in a more understandable way (Mair, Scott, James, Elizabeth, etc - are you willing to give it a shot - I'd also be interested to hear your comments on this). - Cam
poster:Cam W.
thread:1748
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011113/msgs/84895.html