Depersonalization and agoraphobia associated with marijuana use.
The British journal of medical psychology June 1, 1986 C Moran
Depersonalization triggered by marijuana use can lead to agoraphobia. Six people first experienced depersonalization while using marijuana, then continued to experience it without the drug. Fear of this uncontrolled depersonalization caused anticipatory anxiety and panic attacks, eventually leading to agoraphobia. A temporal relationship between marijuana use, depersonalization, panic attacks, and agoraphobia does not imply causality. Compared to other agoraphobia clinic patients, these cases were slightly more severe, had equal gender representation versus a higher female incidence in clinic patients, and had a younger age of onset. Standard cognitive-behavioral treatment required modification to address the intense fear of depersonalization.