One moment you feel fine. Then the room begins to spin, and your stomach is churning, and you feel a feeling of panic. And that is why you might have greened out, should you have ever experienced this after taking cannabis. This unpleasant and even frightening experience occurs when one overwhelms the body with more THC than it can comfortably process.
One way that you can respond to it is by understanding what greening out feels like and knowing the symptoms so that you will know how to react to it in case it occurs to you or someone you know.
What Does Greening Out Feel Like?
Greening out is a condition that happens when one consumes excess cannabis. The experience is usually of differing intensity and usually incorporates a number of physical and psychological manifestations that appear suddenly and may be overwhelming. To a significant number of individuals, it is the time when an enjoyable elevation turns out to be a very uncomfortable experience.
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The Immediate Physical Response to Cannabis Overconsumption
As soon as you are beyond the level of THC that your body can comfortably process, you have a multi-system response. The physical experience that takes place at the moment is usually:
- Abrupt feeling of dizziness or lightheadedness, which makes it hard to stand.
- The excessive sweating, which frequently came with the sensation of being hot and cold.
- A fast heartbeat and may be pounding, irregular.
- Pale, clammy, which others can touch, even before you.
How Your Body Signals It’s Had Too Much
There are obvious methods through which your body can express that it has reached a point of over-saturation by its tolerance of THC levels. These signals are the protective mechanisms when the nervous system tries to cope with excessive stimulation.
Recognizing Greening Out Symptoms in Real Time
The recognition of the symptoms of greening out before they develop will enable quicker intervention and less distress. The progression normally takes a pattern, although there is a difference between individuals depending on tolerance, mode of consumption, and the level of cannabis taken.
Early Warning Signs Before Things Escalate
Early signs of greening out can be used to take measures that can reduce the process. Early warning signs include:
- Minor vision problems, such as loss of focus or visual problems.
- When one feels nervous or like there is something amiss.
- The sense of not belonging to your environment or your physical self.
- Problem after conversations or information processing.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) states that cannabis makes several simultaneous impacts on the brain systems, and that is why overconsumption has such a huge array of symptoms in a multiplicity of body systems.
Cannabis Dizziness and Loss of Balance
One of the most widespread and confusing features of greening out is cannabis dizziness. The feeling may be mild instability to severe vertigo when it seems that the room is rotating out of control. This is a symptom that, in most cases, causes or increases the severity of other symptoms of greening out, especially nausea and anxiety.
THC acts on the part of the brain that is involved in coordination and balancing, which is the cerebellum. With a sudden rise in the levels of THC, the brain fails to send the usual signals between the cerebellum and other brain parts, which causes the loss of balance, characteristic of the feeling that movement is dangerous or impossible.
Marijuana Nausea and Stomach Distress
The issue of marijuana nausea is one of the most physically unpleasant variables of greening out. The gastrointestinal discomfort may be mild and characterized by a feeling of queasiness or severe and accompanied by vomiting, which makes the individual do nothing but wait until the feeling subsides.
Why Your Digestive System Reacts to Excess THC
Cannabinoid receptors that react to THC are found in the digestive system. In case of excessive stimulation of these receptors, the regular functioning of the digestive system is disturbed, which causes nausea, stomach cramps, and even vomiting. The factors contributing to it include:
- Explicit actuation of cannabinoid receptors in the intestinal lining.
- Fluctuations in blood pressure that influence the digestive system.
- Physical reaction is being added to by stomach distress caused by anxiety.
- Disturbance of the connection between the digestive system and the brain.
Managing Nausea When Greening Out Occurs
Even though time is the only inevitable solution to nausea through green out, there are some measures to assist in the treatment. Seeking a cool and quiet spot to lie back, breathing slowly and deeply, keeping fluids coming with small amounts of water, and concentrating on a point of focus can all help a bit as THC levels just drop.
Weed Anxiety and Panic Response During Overconsumption
The correlation between the response to anxiety and the physical symptoms during greening out is explained in the following table:
| Physical Symptom | Anxiety Response |
| Rapid heartbeat | Fear of a heart attack or cardiac event |
| Difficulty breathing | Panic about suffocation or inability to breathe |
| Dizziness and disorientation | Fear of fainting or losing consciousness |
| Nausea and stomach distress | Worry about vomiting in public or losing control |
| Tingling or numbness | Concern about stroke or neurological damage |
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The Spinning Sensation and Vertigo Effects
The greening out sensation of spinning can be a very uncomfortable phenomenon. Such vertigo prevents any attempts to define yourself in space and frequently provokes or aggravates nausea. It has been described by many as how they feel they are on a carnival ride that they can never get off.
How THC Affects Your Inner Ear and Equilibrium
THC also acts on the inner ear parts of the vestibular system that generate balance and spatial orientation. When THC levels become overwhelming, the delicate systems will get contradictory or overloading signals, and this will give the typical spinning effect.
Cannabis Overwhelm and Sensory Overload
The issue of cannabis overwhelm is not confined to personal effects but rather to the entire world, where everything is too much. The lights are too bright, the sounds too loud, and the senses too strong. This overloading of the senses is the reaction of the nervous system to the amount of THC that it is unable to properly deal with.
When Your Nervous System Goes Into Overdrive
THC overloading in the nervous system leads to hyperactivation of the nervous system instead of the normal filtering of sensory input. This results in the usual cannabis overload when normal stimuli become unbearable. Symptoms that indicate that the nervous system has overworked include:
- Photophobia
- Sound distortion
- Tactile overwhelm
- Racing thoughts
- Distortion of time
A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that the effects of cannabis differ in various factors depending on the tolerance, potency, and individual physiology, which is why some individuals have serious reactions to cannabis, whereas others do not.
Recovery and Support at Silicon Valley Recovery
Although one greening out episode does not mean that a person has a problem with substance use, recurring episodes or the use of cannabis in spite of adverse effects are possible indications that he/she would need the help of a professional.
At Silicon Valley Recovery, we know that the use of cannabis is not a binary, and not all problematic users require such vigorous care. We provide evaluations, education, and care, which can be outpatient counseling, as well as extensive treatment services based on the needs and situation of the individual.
Contact Silicon Valley Recovery today for a confidential consultation.
FAQs
How long does greening out typically last after consuming too much cannabis?
The majority of episodes of greening out are between 30 minutes and several hours, and the worst symptoms usually fade away within the first hour or two. The time varies according to the dosage intake, the route of drug usage, and personal metabolism.
Can greening out cause permanent damage to your nervous system or inner ear?
Greening out does not permanently affect the nervous system or inner ear, but the process can be very terrifying during the process. The symptoms disappear entirely as soon as the level of THC is restored to normal.
Why does cannabis dizziness worsen when you close your eyes during overconsumption?
When you shut your eyes, you remove the visual points of reference with which your brain compensates the signals in the vestibular system that are no longer present. The conflicting balance indications are even more vivid without visual anchoring, making the feeling of spinning even stronger.
What’s the fastest way to stop marijuana nausea and reduce panic symptoms?
Symptoms may be managed by finding a comfortable and quiet place, lying down, staying hydrated, and slow, deep breathing as the THC levels return to normal. It may help to remind oneself that it is just a temporary experience, and there is nothing to be scared of.
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Does greening out happen to regular cannabis users or only occasional consumers?
Although less tolerant, occasional users are more prone to greening out, regular users are also prone to greening out when taking higher potency products or more than they normally do. Tolerance offers some form of protection but does not rule the possibility out completely.
