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Comment by nappy-doo | Hacker News Reader

slightly offtopic:

I have struggled with anxiety. It's always been a low-level constant in my life with suicidal ideation and mild panic attacks. I have never treated it beyond irregular talk therapy and CBT.

The lockdown in the US and the safety of my family has triggered me severely. I found myself unable to function, and would doom surf, opening tabs, refreshing news, watching graphs move up and to the right. No thought, just monkey level reactions.

I started taking medical THC, and my life has changed for the better. I can focus. I can relax. I can live a normal life. I can approach the covid situation with thought, not gut level reaction.

All of this is to say, if the article's drugs work for some, they need to be available. Legal marijuana in my state has made a huge difference in my life -- if other psychotropics or psychedelics help others, then let's get them out there.

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I feel bad for people that aren't in a pot-legal state during this. I've definitely added some munchie weight beyond my usual but I've barely drank a drop since April. If I hop on twitter it seems like one of the common conversations is drinking nightly, same with my colleagues.

I hope people with addiction problems are able to get support and help through this. If I hadn't moved here years ago I'd probably be right there with you and waking up like every day was groundhog day again.

Now I just need to flip this lazy-pot-smoking-time-spent back into a workout routine which will take about 3-4 weeks of me working out consistently to a strict habit for myself, motivation there is almost non-existent though. Thankfully I've gone through ups and downs with exercise so many times now that I know not doing it is self fulfilling prophecy and leads to no improvements.

now to just.. do it..

> I found myself unable to function, and would doom surf, opening tabs, refreshing news, watching graphs move up and to the right. No thought, just monkey level reactions.

Are you trying to make fun of me?

No, but it's how I recognized something was wrong with me. I recognized I wasn't me.

I'm not saying I need pot to be me, but I need a little help to get through this, and right now THC is helping me. I can be more patient with my family. I can let myself explore my work, and I am a little more relaxed to step back and look at my problems, and say, "I can fix these, let's start on this one."

If your reply isn't a joke, maybe you need to find your outlet. It doesn't have to be what I found, maybe yours is painting models, or writing a screenplay, or playing video games. I hope you find it.

"I can fix these, let's start with this one."

That's my new mantra. It sums up nicely what anxiety makes it hard to see.

FWIW, I really liked learning about System 1 and System 2 thinking[0], based only on “No thought, just monkey level reactions” you might also enjoy reading more about it.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow

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