SparkleFly12 wrote:
Everyone who posts here has three things in common:
1. They were normal people with no depression, anxiety, etc.
2. Then the smoked a lot of weed
3. They started having PAWS symptoms
It came from the weed. Full stop. Suggesting that it maybe didnt come from the weed is only hurting them; implying that it is just the way they are now.
-First-
The same as nobody has claimed that withdrawal symptoms from smoking weed are not real, nobody has claimed “that is just the way you are now”.
PAWS is a made up term like all other terms. It is an acronym, a construct, a way to to help discuss real symptoms that MIGHT be related to withdrawal from weed. In this limited sense PAWS is not real. That doesn’t mean the physical symptoms a person experiences are not real.
-Second-
The chain of causation you have listed is fair; (1) eat spicy wings, (2) get heart burn, (3) must have been the spicy wings...(1) stop smoking weed, (2) experience depression, (3) must have been the weed.
The positive point that people, including myself are making, is that it isn’t always the spicy wings or symptoms of withdrawal that are causing the heart burn or the depression. These symptoms can be caused by other things. And when you have not eaten spicy wings in a few days, you might want to reconsider the cause. Maybe you might need to address a different underlying cause that is the real culprit and doing your heart some significant damage. And if it’s been a year and you feel depressed, you might want to consider other causes of that particular symptom. Same as it might no longer be the spicy wings, it may very well no longer be lingering chemicals in your brain from marijuana.
You seem to think pointing that out is negative and that it implies it is “just the way they are now”. I don’t see it that way. I see it as helping someone by giving them room to consider alternative causes. And with alternative causes come alternative treatments.
If you believe that “help” means repeating the same few sentences for every resurfaced symptom, then I disagree. Saying, “I’ve been there, it’s normal, it’s temporary” is nice and supportive, but it could also be very, very wrong. And what might be the consequences if/when you are wrong? How many depressed people have been told, “Don’t worry, it’s PAWS, trust me, I’ve been there, it’s temporary,” and it turns out that they had other causes of the depression that they didn’t consider because you reassured them it was PAWS? You don’t know, because for you it is always, always PAWS full stop. And you don’t know, because possibly the person never returned to talk with you again having failed to address the real cause and they hurt themselves or worse.
The above paragraph is known as survivor bias. The people that tell you thanks for your help, that definitely it was PAWS and keep coming back for more continue to survive and reinforce the narrative. Those that say thanks, but then never return you don’t know what happened to them. Maybe it wasn’t PAWS after all, but you will never know. It becomes a self fulfilling cycle that feeds itself the same reassurances that there is no room for alternate cause.
-Third-
A forum is a place of public discourse. It is not a therapy group, it is not a safe space, it is not a place where everyone shares their experiences and opinions, but only if they agree with everyone else in the group and don’t offend anyone or make them uncomfortable in anyway.
As a forum for discussion it is meant for disagreements of opinion just like we are having right now. Your post is very helpful, because it shows the contrast between our views. This contrast allows for readers, it allows for people experiencing anxiety or depression having stopped smoking weed to consider, “Huh, maybe there could be other causes, maybe other things could be causing my symptoms and that might be something worth actively exploring.”
The bottom line, differences of opinion are welcome in a public forum.