Anxiety sensitivity and cannabis use

Anxiety sensitivity can be defined as being anxious about being anxious. People with anxiety sensitivity are anxious about the physical symptoms of being anxious (an upset tummy, sweaty palms, pounding heart), mental incapacitation (losing control and not being able to think properly) and social concerns such as other people seeing them with a red face or in a panic. Some researchers think anxiety sensitivity plays a part in cannabis use and a team of researchers led by Julia D. Buckner from Louisiana State University looked into this in a study of 49 current cannabis users who were asked to fill in assessments about their mood at random times over a two-week period. The researchers found that at the start of the study fears about mental incapacitation were significantly related to more severe cannabis problems. Over the course of the study fears about mental incapacitation and social concerns were linked to subsequent cannabis use.

Buckner, Julia D. ... [et al] - Anxiety sensitivity and marijuana use: an analysis from ecological momentary assessment Depression and Anxiety DOI 10.1002/da.20816