By Kate Morgan
It took me years to realize that my Sunday night anxiety is actually quite common. Why I didn’t realize it is because, frankly, no one speaks about it. Interestingly enough, once I launched my first company, I stopped with the feeling of impending doom typically reserved for Sundays. I probably just spread it out during the week for various reasons now, so it is not as intense. I do recall those intense waves of panic that would come seemingly from nowhere starting around 6pm Sunday evenings. My heart would race and I would grasp for anything to distract me but the feelings were so overwhelming that it was physically uncomfortable.
I was reminded of my personal struggles after talking with a friend, Amelia. Amelia has always considered herself a successful professional. She is highly regarded at her company and has advanced significantly over the 4 years with her firm. “My racing heart, the surge of adrenaline...I feel...it’s all very real. But I have no logical reason for why”, Amelia said. This is pretty much the case for most people that experience “Sunday Night Scaries”. “Something about the anticipation of going into the work week is like waiting for the gun to go off before running a race. Not an easy frame of mind to nod off to”, she continued. Amelia hadn’t given much thought to her Sunday night dread when we met late that week, however as Sunday came around, she realized that the Scaries would be coming. Now armed with some cannabis fruit chews, she decided to see if they could help her keep her panic attacks away.
That evening, Amelia timed it so she could plan to feel the full effects around 8pm. She had some concerns that she may experience paranoia because of the THC so she only ate half of the 5mg dosed chew. While Amelia said she didn’t feel “high”, she was very pleased that she did not experience her typical adrenaline infused Sunday evening. Amelia went on to say that she went to sleep with ease and did not wake up feeling hungover. “My Sunday night panic attacks have plagued me for years and I have never found anything that could help me. My doctor had suggested trying a prescription for Clonazepam, but they warned that it can be addicting, so I shied away from it”. Knowing that there is no physical addiction to cannabis, Amelia felt more comfortable giving her edible a try. “I will definitely be using them in the future to help me cope and I will probably stick with just the half dose for now as it seemed to do the trick.''
Amelia is an excellent example of thoughtful experimentation. By going low on the amount to start, she had a great baseline for seeing how it would impact her. And even at a low dose, it still was enough to curb her anxiety and avoided having to resort to pharmaceutical products.
Plan, Test, Note, Repeat
Amelia’s approach was pretty ideal. She identified the condition she wanted to manage, settled on a light dose to start, and gave herself the necessary time for an edible to take effect. With this approach she managed any negative risks of experimentation. At worst she would still have experienced her anxiety, at best...well it seems like she got the best result.
- Kate Morgan, Virescence Advisor
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