Optimizing Cognition and Memory Post Trauma and Chronic THC use
Hi! I am a fourth year UCLA psychobiology major (Male, 22) and want to share some of the work i've done to mitigate chronic cart abuse.
Throughout much of my freshman and sophomore year, I chronically abused high THC carts such as Plug n Play, etc. as a means of avoiding trauma and anxiety. Early on in college, I experienced a traumatic event involving the loss of autonomy during a sexual encounter. Shortly thereafter, I developed agoraphobia, hyperhidrosis, and severe social anxiety. I was able to eventually deal with some of my trauma, and by junior year was able to decrease weed use significantly and land straight A's most quarters, as well as repair my social sphere and enter a healthy relationship with a girl I love dearly, who I am with to this day :)
Although my cognition seemed to hold up decently, I did notice memory loss and processing speed decreases throughout my heaviest periods of THC usage. Midway through senior year, I eventually quit THC usage entirely, and within a week of abstinence, found myself increasingly sharper, and more motivated (I also began using retatrutide to get shredded, but found the decrease in VTA dopamine associated with reward to be helpful in declining weed use). Even with this chronic usage, I received an acceptance to a Doctorate Program in Clinical Psychology, and performed extremely well in my interview. I decided to turn down the acceptance once I got sober in order to pursue med school, realizing it is what I always wanted before my self-esteem was eradicated by trauma and addiction.
Now I am obsessed with reaching optimal cognition, in order to land a high MCAT score, which is one of the hardest tests one can take Lol. In the last week, I decided to indulge in weed sporadically, using my birthday and other stressful situations (friend going through neurosurgery etc.) as a cope excuse for my return. I noticed the cognitive drop immediately, even from taking two or three rips of a pen in the evening, 2-3 days out of the week. I also got high as hell, and experienced a feeling I had not been able to achieve since I started my chronic usage (caught the dragon).
I am currently convinced that any THC usage in this upcoming period before I take the MCAT is detrimental, and should be avoided. I have also explored many nootropics to aid in my cognition in the meantime.
TL;DR: I had bad trauma from an assault, coped with chronic weed usage, eventually found stability and tapered usage, now sober and pursuing med school while looking to optimize cognition.
Stack
Current (Active)
L-Tyrosine — 1000mg upon waking
Caffeine (200mg) + L-Theanine (200-400mg)
Alpha GPC (300mg)
Focalin IR — 5/10mg (3-5 days of the week, deep work days)
Rhodiola Rosea (500 mg as needed for wakefulness)
Lion's Mane (1,050 mg daily)
DHA (500mg daily)
Ashwagandha (300 mg as needed)
Retatrutide (2mg weekly, appetite control, hedonic dampening)
CBD pen — 0.02% THC (Mood regulator, relapse fall back as needed)
Magnesium Glycinate (400 mg before bed, daily)
Melatonin (3mg as needed 1 hour before bed)
Planned / Incoming
Semax — 10mg x2 vials, SubQ, starting around 500mcg/day (2mL reconstitution = 500mcg per 0.1mL)
Phenylpiracetam — holding for later, saving tolerance for MCAT prep, 100 mg on full length practice days
Methylene Blue — 1–4mg range, low dose (maybe)
I just wanted to share this and document this for my own peace of mind. Curious about other's thoughts on my stack, and approach to optimizing my cognition, specifically memory encoding, processing speed, and motivation. Suggestions are welcome!