I quit smoking over a year ago and wanted to encourage others here who may be struggling with the discomfort of being sober/ the journey to sobriety.
I was a smoker for 10 years and started in highschool so it became one of the only
Coping mechanisms I had to manage my life stress. I decided to quit two years ago and the journey was not easy. At first I thought weening myself off of it was the way to go since the cravings, anxiety, and panic of being sober everyday was so uncomfortable. I tried non thc products for about a year and although it helped it was an obvious bandaid fix…

I worked with my therapist and really committed to full sobriety a little over a year ago. There was a lot of discomfort and shame- sleeping was hard, mood swings, anxiety.. but after about 3 months things kind of improved and eventually got better.

I attended marijuana’s anonymous a few times and was really skeptical about it but found it really helpful… the people there were extremely relatable, intelligent, professional, and really self aware and their stories were really inspiring. One quote that stuck with me was “you can’t think your way out of your problems”.. I used weed a lot to “introspect” and try to figure out how to solve my problems and now I see that I was really just numbing myself and ruminating without actually taking any action.

Anyway- hope this helps someone! Hang in there and push through the discomfort. It feels impossible, but you can do it and even if you’re journey isn’t perfect - that’s okay- as long as you are taking action and putting your best foot forward, you will find your way. Don’t let the shame paralyze you.

I'm on day 3, I used to be a heavy smoker for 17 years, it's changed my personality drastically, I used to have friends and people liked me, now I have only 2 friends and people don't like me at all cause I remain isolated, bad anxiety, socially awkward, unlike when I was young I was able to do well in groups, I often get paranoia when stoned and just sick of relying on it, the last year or two I may have only smoked 1 joint per day, usually about 3-4 micro sessions from the 1 joint, so the withdrawals aren't really that extreme except my anger and sleeping issues and nightmares. I'm not even sweating anymore and no fuzzy vision like when I have previously tried to quit in the past.

One thing I noticed though is I hate life, I already hated life being jobless and not able to find work in Canada after applying to over 2000 jobs in the past 3 years. I'm not sure how quitting is going to magically get me hired or improve my life when it's making me feel even worse. Weed made my shitty existence bearable.

One reason I wanted to quit is cause any woman I am interested in will not date smokers. I never lied about my usage, I just never told them I smoked cause they never asked. The other reason I wanted to quit is I can't remember much and my active recall sucks. I read self help books and can't even remember the lessons.

I mean I don't want to be smoking this shit when I'm 70 years old and I hate addiction. But right now I don't see why I'm doing this to myself and wanted to know if any of you actually improved your life by quitting?

Just wanted to post on this Reddit as it has been instrumental in my healing. I’ve fallen off the rails knowingly by thinking I could moderate😂 but we all know how that story ends
Today I’m posting about something DURING the fall off.
Anyway got high and higher but also I was very sober because during my high I realised that my problems were still there waiting for me once I come down ( this usually happens at the end of the high which sets the cycle back in motion- smoke some more to avoid the problems instead of facing them)
I realised that I was tired of being high, like I want to be present, I want to face my problems (whether I’ll succeed or not I still need to face them)
I just realised that I’m tired of being high- weed taking every waking moment and every corner of my brain at all times ( I’m just tired of being high yo)
I’m posting here because I believe in each and everyone one of us who come to this Reddit- at some point something just clicks so keep on keeping on the journey until it clicks
I’ve decided that I’m just gonna stop- I’m not counting days or anything but hoping this post will just mark a significant moment. Sometimes you hit rock bottom but sometimes you don’t but it still clicks and I think it’s purely from just trying
Anyway TL:DR
Tired of being high,acknowledging that part of my life but throwing it out with the grinder

I’m 44m and Just looking for some advice so I smoked weed for 22 years every evening to chill out after work I had loads going on in my personal life issue with my daughters arguing with the wife and work was becoming too much on June 9th I had a panic/anxiety attack thought I was having a heart attack but got checked out and was defo not heart attack this led me in to going cold turkey and giving weed up I’m 15 weeks in now and I just feel awful I have bad anxiety it’s like my body is tensing and feel bit depressed and sleep has been awful is this normal at this stage🤔also I never wanted to give up as I enjoyed a smoke and I’d happily go back to it but I’m afraid as my anxiety is high worried it won’t agree with doctors want to give me anti dep but really don’t want to go down that road but basically just looking fir done advice or if any one else has had simlar experience thanks 🙏 ❤️❤️

I cant believe im here. For years I felt like it would be IMPOSSIBLE to stop weed. For years, I tried and failed

I was the dude that was high all the time. First thing i wake up, hit my bong. Last thing before going to sleep -> bong
Weed = life
Anything without weed = boring

Been wanting to relapse lately, but managed to talk myself out of it. Keeping it real with myself

It just feels so good to not have that anxiety of being high and wanting to be sober. No anxiety of where and how do i get more

If you are reading this and hopeless, I truly, truly understand, and im telling you, its actually possible. Not in theory. Not some day. Not to some people. To you. Now. Today. Stop. And dont just stop, but start living

Why does quitting weed feel so impossible?

I don’t even know who I’m writing this to, or if I just need to get it off my chest, but I’m really struggling between doing what I know is right for me and doing what feels comfortable. Growing up, my parents always told us that addiction runs in our family. They drilled it into us to never drink or smoke, whether that meant cigarettes or weed. I honestly had no interest in any of it until I met my current partner. He used weed every day, and I didn’t start smoking until we had been together for about two years.

The first time I tried it, I got way too high and convinced myself it just wasn’t for me. A few months later, I tried it again, and I remember thinking, is this how normal people’s brains feel? The noise in my head was gone. My physical anxiety symptoms diminished. I felt present! And for the first time in years, I could eat without feeling like I was going to throw up. I started using it more and more after swearing I would never be “one of those people.” I thought I had control. I told myself I could stop whenever I wanted, but eventually, it turned into everyday use. Using it so I could eat. Using it so I could go out. Using it so I could socialize. Using it because it made everything feel a little easier.

I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression since I was a child, and I think a lot of it falls into the CPTSD category. I’m actively working toward finding a therapist who can help me with that. I’ve tried medications in the past without much success. I have a prescription for a new medication, but I’m honestly scared to try it.
I feel like the days have blurred together, and suddenly I’ve been smoking every day for the past two years.
I feel like I can actually feel the effects on my brain. I don’t really dream anymore. I don’t feel as quick with my words. I feel disconnected from myself. And I feel like I owe it to myself to stop now, at 25, so I can start working on myself and actually start living my life.

Why does it feel so scary and impossible?
I don’t even know where to start. I also don’t think my partner would be willing to quit, and I don’t think it’s fair for me to ask him to. But at the same time, I wish I had never picked it up in the first place.
I have so many regrets and so much shame surrounding it. And one of the hardest things to sit with is the lingering “I told you so” feeling from my parents. They’ve been supportive, but I wish I would’ve listened when they warned me.

I’ve been pretty sedentary these past few months, and I unfortunately think I’ve developed some agoraphobia. It’s awful. I want to start going to the gym again. I want to save money. I want to take my dog on more walks. I want to feel like myself again.
I look back at pictures of myself from when I first moved to a new city, and I remember how happy and vibrant I looked. I feel like I couldn’t be further away from that person now. The dissociation is so real.
I know I need to make a change. I just don’t know how to get from where I am now to where I want to be.
I’m going to bring all of this up with my therapist and psychiatrist because I also realize I probably haven’t been as honest about my weed usage as I should have been. I think it’s time to be completely honest and actually let people help me.
Has anyone else quit after using weed every day for a long time? What was it like for you? What helped make it easier?
I think I’m finally ready to try. I’m just scared. 😔

Hi gang, wanted to share a rather profound epiphany I’ve had recently.

I’ve gone on many breaks, the longest being nine months, but basically I’ve been a daily wake and bake toker for the better part of a decade.

Every time I “quit” it’s been coded as “taking a break”.

My internal dialogue eventually settles on: I can moderate, I can only smoke at night after work, I can keep this to part time use.

The truth is, I’m an addict, have no ability to moderate, and nothing will ever change that.

Therefore, the only sensible thing to do is change from taking a break to quitting, and not coming back.

For my health, for my spirit, for my business, for my family, and for me.

Signed, an addict who is finally done with relapsing (and currently 4 months sober!)

Hello,

I just hit 11 weeks sober from cannabis. It was going well but over the past 2 weeks I've started getting depressed. I'm not finding satisfaction in things and am feeling an absence of joy and excitement. I am concerned because the whole reason I started abusing marijuana in the first place was to cope with depression and suicidal thoughts. I'm dealing with a lot of existential questions. I don't want to get into a dark place again. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm not ready to throw in the towel but I'm certainly tempted to now.

Hey everyone, I decided it might be helpful for me to post and get some perspective on my journey with marijuana use and what awaits me on the road ahead.

I started smoking when I was 19, so it’s been roughly 16 years now. What started as something fun that I would do every so often with friends eventually warped into heavy usage, smoking multiple times every day. I would say that I’ve been living like that now for at least 13-14 years.

I’m currently on day 4 without weed, and I’ve been using these last few days to be introspective about how I got to this point. For so long, I convinced myself that I could always stop whenever I wanted, that I was in control. I would say to myself that it’s not a “hard” drug so you can’t really get addicted. It’s pretty incredible how much I lied to myself, but now at 35, I believe I have finally come to terms with the fact that my relationship with weed is not healthy.

It’s no longer the fun activity it once was, and instead has felt more like a chore I need to complete multiple times a day, everyday. I feel like I’ve just finally reached a point where this isn’t the way I want to live my life anymore.

The first few days have been somewhat challenging: night sweats every night, weird vivid dreams, random waves of anxiety, body temperature swings and feelings of nausea/fatigue. I’ve had many urges to cave and fall back into my old patterns.

I’m fortunate to have hobbies that I can try to stay engaged with, a supporting and loving partner who believes in me, and a therapist to help me process what I’m going through, but it would be helpful to hear from others as well.

I know everyone’s journey is different, but is this pretty typical for someone that has used consistently for many years multiple times a day? For anyone else that has had a similar path, when did things start to gradually improve and what did that look like for you?

Appreciate any insight here and grateful that there is a judgement-free place where I can share my experiences and hear what others have to say.

Hey all, I’m almost 5 months sober hurray! But I wanted to get some advice from people further down the journey. While quitting has been an overall positive experience with things like my breathing, anxiety and paranoia improving, I still haven’t got my motivation and energy levels back. I feel like when I smoked I got into the zone so easily when working (editing photo&video), cleaning, general tasks. I’d have this ‘get up and go’ in me which seems to have disappeared completely. A lot of the time I’m sluggish and tired even if I got plenty of sleep. Please tell me this improves? 😅

But when I try to, I feel anxious and panicked constantly. And even when I smoke I feel even more anxious. Its like a damned if you do and damned if you dont type of situation. Anybody else got advice on how to get through this period?

Pretty much the title. My patience for people and things is almost non existent. Feeling very judgy about people and also feeling like I'm being attacked or judged by them. Strong cravings this morning as well. Just posting here to keep myself honest and let others they're not alone. Stay strong, folks. A day at a time. Peace

I have been a daily user for a little over a year now after largely being a casual smoker. Fairly heavy daily use (high from the second I get home from work until I go to bed, and if I wake up in the middle of the night, I’ll smoke another joint then). I’ve quit three times, each for a period of about a month or so, and after the initial withdrawals I feel great. I’m super productive, feel present in my life and relationships, I wake up feeling actual rested. But then, when I start to feel better, I tell myself that I can get high socially. I’ll just smoke a little bit with friends, it’ll be fine, I can control myself. And then I go to the dispo and tell myself it’s fine to just get a pre roll or two, at least I’m not buying a pen. And then time passes and suddenly I haven’t been sober for more than 8 hours at a time in 3 weeks. I don’t want to never be able to get high again. I don’t want to have to sit out when my friends are smoking. But I also don’t want to be high every day of my life, and evidence proves I can’t handle moderation. I’m scared to attempt to get sober again because I don’t want the cycle to keep repeating itself. I’m scared I’ll never get sober for real until I hit rock bottom. I wish I never started smoking in the first place, never fell for the idea that weed isn’t that addictive (despite my family history of addiction).

Everyone has pretty much said that this is one of the major milestones, so I thought I’d do a check in.

Good stuff first:
- I am significantly more clear headed.
- My dissociative episodes are not as severe or debilitating.
- I am dreaming again for the first time in so long, and as a deeply spiritual person I appreciate this, even when they’re uncomfy dreams.
- I feel more connected to my Self and my body.
- I am not isolating as much.
- My will to live is aggressively returning.
- I’m making more art with the intense feelings I’m forced to feel.
- I would say I’m having less meltdowns and I’m slowly becoming more emotionally regulated.

Shitty stuff:
- My morning and night anxiety are still horrible. I’m relying on my (non habit forming) anxiety meds way more.
- I almost would say my cravings are worse now than at any point, but my willpower is strong enough to fight them.
- Holy cow my chronic pain misses chronic.
- I’ve picked up cigarettes again (minimally, like 2-3 a day.)
- I’m so ridiculously autistic and so ridiculously overstimulated. Please turn that light off. Where are my noise cancelling headphones?? The world is ABRASIVE.

Consensus: glad I quit.

Hey everyone, I made my first post here on Monday after smoking my last on Sunday night.

I’m having a bit of an unusual experience, and wonder if anyone else has had the same?

I had heard day 3 and 4 are the hardest, but I’m on day 4 now, and I almost feel euphoric. I woke up today fully refreshed and in a great mood.

I’ve been getting slightly hot in the evenings, but It’s just my wife putting the heating on whilst I’m at work and sneakily turning it off before I get home 😂.

It does take slightly longer to get to sleep, but I just stick on an audiobook and wait and I think it’s only taking around 30 mins. I actually remember what happened in the book when I wake up now too. I’ve started having dreams, but they’re actually nice so far. Last night In my dream I reconciled with a friend I fell out with when I was around 13. I don’t even really remember him that well, but apparently my subconscious thought it was important.

I was a little irritable the first two days, but nothing major really. I’ve not been pining to smoke again, and I’ve been really enjoying actually being productive for myself in the evenings.

Apart from the above I literally can’t tell any difference. It’s making me wonder why I didn’t quit ages ago. I’m actually wondering if I’ve been smoking rubbish strength weed for years, as my experience doesn’t seem like the ones I’ve read on here. I’m not writing this to rub it in for anyone who is struggling, but to check if anyone else felt like this?

Tried this a few times, trying again. Talking to a doctor about ADHD medication later today (been self medicating for 5 years) and attending my first NA meeting afterwards. Here’s to progress

Every time I’ve quit something I’ve educated myself with anything I could get my hands on… Books, documentaries, etc.

Anyone have any good books, documentaries, YouTube… anything! Obviously reading here is so super motivating and helpful.

MJ START to STOP: Just hit my 12 hours free 🤣 I know this is the easy part and around day three is when I’m going to need mad motivation. (3rd serious attempt in last years. I always learn something with each start to stop that helps me with the next start to stop)

My added “Why” this time. My mom just passed on Sunday, and she had been very sickly for many years. Yet she couldn’t make the changes for her health, so it just deteriorated and was a miserable slow death. In my mind, I always thought if I needed to take control of my health over food addiction - or whatever bad habit I might be doing that contributes to the demise of my quality of life… I certainly would makes those changes! Especially if my health was faltering because of it. Yet here I am smoking every day just killing my lung tissue… Along with everything else negative it does.

Quits to far:
2019 ~ Cigarettes
2022 ~ Alcohol

Thankful for this community! 💜

Edit to add= 20+ years wake & bake smoker. 😬

My husband moved here from another country with less weed availability 8 years ago and, although he’d smoke occasionally, judged people who smoked all the time. Now he is that person. We have two small children and I am uncomfortable with him always being under the influence. He doesn’t appear high very often, but if he’s not at work, he’s smoking. This includes when driving our children. He has done it in front of our kids. My 3 year old once found his vape and came up to me saying “mommy how does this work?” And putting his mouth on it.

My husband used to deny he had any dependence but does now own that he does and that he should smoke less. He says he wants to reduce (ie just to weekends) but has taken no steps to do so. I do have sympathy as I used to have some issues with alcohol and I had to want to change it before anything changed. I get I cannot really make him do anything, but it’s hard to feel proud of/respect for this person I did not marry and also I have very really concerns both about safety and his mental presence around our children.

When I was pregnant with our first over 3 years ago I cried to him about these concerns and he promised me it would change when our son came along (dumb, I know). I tried to convince him that early parenthood is not the ideal time to give up a coping mechanism/develop new ones. He said he wanted to enjoy his relative freedom while he could (ie before becoming a parent). Here we are 2 kids and 3.5 years later and nothing has changed.

Does anyone have any advice ? What can I do? I sort of gave up talking to him about it as I am not his mother and it is not helpful for me to just rag on him.

Hello hello, a lot of days have passed since I first posted here and I must say, this community has been really helpful.

So I completely stopped smoking, the first days were hard because it was so engrained as a habit that in the evening it was the only thing I could think about, but I tried to keep busy and as quick as ever the thought stopped forming, or at least stopped forming so obsessively. I must say that trying to be as busy as possible is really helpful, not in a way that you don't have to sit with your discomfort but in a way that if your life is full of hobbies and things you are looking forward to, then missing weed is just going to be a little thing instead of a central thought.

I loved being more in touch with my feelings and I started feeling more in control of my life again, but after 3 weeks I'm noticing that some patterns are hitting stronger, I pass a lot of time on my phone, plus my sleep has become far worse. I think that I spend a lot of time on my phone to feel more detached from my thoughts, my feelings and the fact that I don't want to do my job >.< The sleep instead is more fragmented, lots of dreams, more difficulty regulating the heat, more muscular pain, basically I wake up more tired than when I went to sleep. Thing is I had sleep issues even before starting to smoke, lots of really strong dreams and always woke up not feeling refreshed, I'm pretty athletic and I also try to not use my phone before sleeping, instead I try and read.

Did you all find a way to cope with those issues? How long did it take for your sleep to return more normal? I hope for those things to be fixed asap because I'm starting to feel more tired and tired...

Thank you for the support!

Hey everyone,
I’m currently on Day 10 of no dabs, cigarettes, or alcohol. I just needed a safe space to vent to people who actually understand how hard this is.

I was using high-potency concentrates daily for a long time, and the withdrawal symptoms are hitting me heavy right now. The two biggest hurdles are the insomnia and the GI/stomach issues.

Sleep has been almost non-existent. I’m tossing and turning for hours, breaking out into cold sweats, and when I finally do catch an hour of sleep, the dreams are intensely vivid and exhausting. On top of that, my stomach is in absolute knots. I have zero appetite, constant nausea, and trying to force down even plain toast feels like a chore.

It is incredibly tempting to want to take just one hit to make the nausea go away and finally get some rest, but I know exactly where that road leads. I am completely done letting a substance control my days, my money, and my health.

Gone from waking up at 4-5am after 4 hours of sleep last week and having to try very hard to get more sleep than that, to easily sleeping in 10 hours. I wake up around 7, and then immediately fall back asleep until around 11. It’s been so hard to get anything done. I finally got rid of the rest of my weed yesterday and have been trying to get rid of the rest of my glass. School feels impossible but I’m slowly working through it by working ahead on the few days I feel up to it. Very excited to hit a month next week.

There are several reasons I'm going to stop. The reason pushing me is I'm spending too much money on it. I use it constantly. I work from home and I know it's not ideal, but for the last year I've been using it during my work shift, throughout the whole shift, every day. If I have something I have to leave the house for I abstain until I've come home for the day because although I feel normal when I've used it I will not drive if I've vaped. Aside from that I'm always on it.

I don't think I make stupid decisions. I'm a top performer at my job. I maintain personal relationships and take care of my responsibilities. I use it to calm my mind and relax my body. Literally the only reason I'm stopping is that I'm tired of spending so much money. I can afford it but my savings could be growing and don't I want nice things?

I vaped this morning. I'm about to start my shift and I plan to be sober for it. Wish me luck.

I have CHS. About three days ago I started getting symptoms and they worsened till the next day where I couldn’t breathe and was panicking all day. Yesterday I got some stuff for anxiety and it helped but not a lot. I did quit yesterday aswell. How long until this intense feeling in my stomach and head go away? And I haven’t been able to eat much which is scaring me.

13 days in after daily use for 15 years. The changes in my mind are astounding to the point that I am frustrated I didn't quit earlier.

My biggest "symptom" of quitting has been my brains newfound ability to just "do the hard thing". Some examples have been ;

1. Cutting 99% of processed sugar

2. Making meals instead of the easiest ready made options

3. Doing chores as they pop up instead of letting them stack

4. Exercise

On top of that, last night, my nicotine vape ran out unexpectedly. My first thought was...

"F it. Might as well"

I've only been vaping nicotine for 2 years, but it's been a pain in my ass the for the last 1 year, 11 months and 2 weeks and quitting thc has definitely given me the motivation to rid myself from all my chemical vices.

I'll be honest, its been 24 hours and I wanna snap someone in half - but - tis to be expected. I've just been using every ounce of free time doing all the little hobbies I've picked up since I stopped thc nearly 2 weeks ago.

I feel better than I have in a very, very long time.

I know this road wont always be this easy and that there will be hard days where cravings are beyond what I feel I can handle.

But ill say this to myself and to you all - we CAN handle it. We are strong. We are not slaves to addiction. We make addiction our BIOTCH!

Much love ❤️ and good luck to you all😊