Cannabis and Mood Swings: A Caution About Self-Medicating

Good mood or bad, there’s much more to mood than you might think. Moods come and go, pick you up and let you down with such frequency and subtlety you don’t make much of them. But, they are emotional states tightly if mysteriously tied to body and brain systems. And, we’re interested in how cannabis might affect mood for the better—or the bad.

Good moods

Good moods are characterized by positive feelings. They are triggered by certain events and pleasing people. People may not identify the trigger, but it needn’t be more than a good night’s sleep.

Research on moods has focused on many areas:

• The positive influence of good mood on problem-solving and creative thinking
• The positive influence of cognitive development and practice
• The connection between nutrition and good mood
• The influence of mood and the brain development among adolescents
• The distraction created by good mood.

Bad moods

A mad mood may be an occasional sad feeling. It might be prompted by bad weather, some lonely event, or a disappointment. But, it can reveal a more serious condition like depression, chronic stress, bipolar disorder, or more.

Those conditions can be minor or incapacitating. And, research focuses on:

• The genetics of mood disorders
• Mood disorders as a function of age
• The correlation between mood disorders and medical conditions
• The connection between mood disorders and substance abuse
• Treatment therapies for mood disorders

Cannabis is a two-sided threat.

Many cannabis strains provide an uplifting euphoria. Cannabis pulls this off in several ways:

• Its influence on the sensory perception of time, space, color, music, and more
• Its modulation on the energy and traffic on the Central Nervous System
• Its deployment of hormones including dopamine
• Its interference with the absorption of anandamide, “the bliss principle.”

However, certain strains can affect certain people in unpredictable ways pushing them to paranoia. It can harm people with existing panic disorders, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorders.

People often react to panic with anger, sadness, or helplessness, marijuana can sometimes trigger these intense emotions. So, you want to prefer cannabis strains that do not aggravate those triggers. However, the mood-regulating properties of cannabis usually cause these emotions to subside.

The best strains of mood-altering cannabis have a low THC: CBD ratio. You can also seek out weed strains good for anxiety since they have a lower risk of triggering extreme responses. Cannabis’ ability to reduce stress also produces some memory loss. As it does in the treatment of PTSD, cannabis relieves the memory of painful images so mood and emotions improve.

As it routinely relieves depression, it improves self-possession and mood. And, as it stabilizes neurotransmitters, cannabis soothes and calms to enable clearer thinking and positive feelings to emerge.

Popular cannabis strains for positive mood effects

Moderation in cannabis consumption remains a positive value. And, research had created some concern for comorbidity arising from heavy chronic use. So, we want to list the strains that produce desired and moderate effects.

1. Northern Lights is a renowned Indica that numbs the mind and body, stimulating appetite, and triggering complete relaxation and sedation. The average THC content is 16.73-18.24% producing uplifting moods, bouts of creativity, and lots of giggles.
2. Lamb’s Bread is a Sativa-heavy hybrid for fighting stress and depression. An energizer, it produces good feelings with a combination of 16-21% THC and 1% CBD. The effects are immediate and long-lasting cerebral. It produces euphoria and creativity for a long buzz free of negative emotions.
3. Frank’s Gift, a Sativa-strong, contains 20%CBD and less than 5% THC. The virtual absence of psychoactive effects improves mood and relieves pain. Frank’s Gift produces a relaxing euphoric lift, leaving you feeling happy with a slight increase in energy. As your mood improves, the body relaxes and reduces any physical aches and pains numbing negative and racing thoughts.
4. Pineapple Kush is a 70% Sativa-dominant hybrid with 16% THC. Users find it the key to creative, happy, and sociable moods. Mood swing sufferers like it because it treats chronic pain, depression, mood swings, and bipolar disorder without the user getting a “high effect.”
5. Bubba Kush is a straight Indica that brings you a potent 27% THC. With all that going for it, you can expect a relaxing couch-locked body high. Patients go for this strain because it alleviates insomnia, depression, stress, and/or ADD/ADHD.

Other strains that relieve stress and strain include Blue Dream, Catatonic, Jack Herer, and Girl Scout Cookies.

Cannabis and mood swings: a caution

Cannabis can trigger both positive and negative mood swings. Managing that can be a matter of trial-and-error until you find the strain that works best in your case.

Cannabis has research-confirmed properties for calming brain and body, so it’s often a matter of finding the strain and dosage that offer the results you want.

However, this self-medication assumes that your mood swings are stress-prompted, and that’s a big assumption. Your mood swings can be a sign of deeper mental or physical problems. Mood swings may be evidence of hormonal problems, and bipolar disorders and manic-depressive moods should not be treated lightly.

If you or those around you notice changes in behavior related to mood, those behaviors require analysis by a medical doctor or psychiatrist before you look for solutions in cannabis. When these changes in behavior present a risk to you or those around you, therapies should include medications and/or cognitive behavioral counseling.

On the other hand, if you are a casual or moderate user of cannabis, you can probably work out a regimen that lightens your mood when you’re down or reduces the physical and mental antagonists that launch your mood swings. If you are a chronic user of high THC cannabis, you may find that cannabis only exacerbates your problems. So, proceed prudently in treating mood swings with cannabis.