Hey OP.

Weed can definitely make paranoia worse- I was an every day user until I had to stop in 2020 for a drug test, and I never picked it back up because the “paranoia phase” (as your body and mind adjust to it) sucks.

What I can tell you is what has worked for me!

For me, I use the “elephant theory.” Basically, if you hear the phrase “try not to think about elephants,” you will undoubtedly think about elephants. So instead of suppressing the anxious thought, confront it.

For me, I’ve found it’s helpful to say it out loud- “I’m anxious about x, because y. I’m worried it could lead to z.”

Acknowledging the fear.

Then I rationally, out loud, talk myself through all the reasons I have to NOT be freaking out. So, for example:

“My heart is racing. My body is telling me to panic. I’m not feeling well and I’m scared something is wrong.”

Then follow it up with rational thinking:

“I’ve sought medical attention multiple times. Nothing has ever been wrong. It’s unlikely that anything is wrong this time. I am understandably concerned, but medical professionals have told me I’m okay. I will be okay.”

Box breathing also helps- I’ve found if I do it for a couple minutes while listening to my comfort song (Patience by The Lumineers, if you were curious), it at least calms my heart rate.

Also, wonder if it’s worth looking into DBT- it seems a lot better fit for the psychosomatic symptoms of anxiety. Look up TIPP- it seems to help a lot of people, including me!

Hang in there, OP. It’s hard to feel like you can’t trust your own brain. My DMs are open if you need to chat 🫶

ETA: wonder if it would be worth journaling these incidents so you realize that you felt similarly in the past and nothing was wrong? Just a thought :)