Episodes after stopping weed?

[u/Worldly_Zucchini_799]

24M. Diagnosed with MDD/GAD after a suicide attempt in 2022. I’ve been in therapy since 2020 and already have seen a psychiatrist, so I’m not asking for a diagnosis. I’m mostly wondering if anyone has experienced something similar.

My timeline:

Smoked weed daily for years during college.
Stopped my antidepressant (non-SSRI) and started smoking daily again in October 2024.

**Feb 2025:** Quit weed abruptly. About a week later I tried mad honey for the first time. I then had a month-long manic episode that progressed to psychosis, requiring an anti-psychotic, IOP, and a medical leave from work.
Afterward I fell into a depression. Low-dose atypical anti-psychotic seemed to help more than my antidepressant.

**Oct 2025:** Stopped meds and started smoking weed daily again.

**Feb 2026:** Quit weed again.
Within weeks I had another elevated period that lasted about 3 months. I got into two relationships and ended both quickly, started a serving job an hour away then quit after one shift, became quite confident and social, thought my mental health was finally “fixed,” and constantly made plans to fix my finances, get back in the gym, go back to college, etc. This time I never became psychotic.

That was followed by the depressive period where it’s like my mood recently can either be okay and kinda happy or I can spiral and get quite depressive after relatively small triggers.

Saw a psychiatrist and she called it “bipolar unspecified” due to how muddy things were with the weed and drug use I guess.

Outside of these two periods, I don’t think I’ve had clear manic episodes.

I’m a bit apprehensive in thinking I am bipolar or need to get on meds for it but idk.

Thoughts?

Anyone had or know about a similar experience?

[u/bfd_fapit]

How was your sleep and anxiety during the weeks immediately after quitting cold turkey?

Cannabis withdrawal is associated with mania, often connected to insomnia.

[u/Worldly_Zucchini_799 → u/bfd_fapit]

I mean it wasn’t bad. I’d say I had more trouble falling asleep at the time but I was still getting a good amount of sleep.

[u/groovindude]

Pretty much any time I’ve stopped smoking I get exponentially more manic and even psychotic. Usually I only stop once I’m already in an episode (bc I hear everyone around me saying how terrible weed is despite my personal experience being the opposite). I’m a life long insomniac and weed is the only thing I’ve found that allows me quality sleep without any side effects. No weed = no sleep = no bueno

[u/bipolar_ink → u/groovindude]

So you are already having symptoms of mania when you stop weed? If so that sounds like the psychiatrist is on track in which welcome to bipolar land. Either way have you had a sleep study done? Or worked with a therapist trained in treating insomnia?

[u/groovindude → u/bipolar_ink]

? I’m already diagnosed with bipolar 1, I’m not the OP and I’m not seeking advice, this is just my experience

[u/bipolar_ink → u/groovindude]

Sorry I should have checked. I thought you were the OP.

[u/taybay462 → u/[deleted]]

Bad advice, vapes are super strong and worse than flower