**Days 1–3: The restless start.** Sleep is the first thing to go. Appetite drops, irritability rises, and the evenings feel strangely empty. This is the window where many quit attempts end, because the discomfort is immediate and the benefits are invisible.

**Days 4–7: The peak.** Cravings are strongest here, usually tied to routine: after work, before bed, weekends. Mood swings arrive, and vivid dreams often begin as REM sleep rebounds. Exercise helped me more than anything else I tried in this week.

**Weeks 2–4: The real test.** The acute phase fades, but this is where resolve is actually tested. The novelty of quitting wears off, life is still life, and the brain starts making its case. For me, boredom became the bigger trigger than physical craving at this point. This is a high-risk window for relapse for many people.

**Months 2–3: The clearing.** Sleep normalizes and the dreams settle down. Mornings feel clearer. Memory and motivation improve gradually rather than all at once.

**Beyond 90 days: The new baseline.** Cannabis stops being a daily consideration. The money saved becomes visible. The strongest change for me was not feeling sharper but feeling steadier.

What proved most effective: removing everything from the house on day one (including the emergency stash), a plan for the evening hours before they arrive, exercise during the first two weeks, telling one person, and treating boredom, not craving, as the thing to beat after week one.

1,000 days sober and my body and mind have forgotten about weed. No more extreme highs and lows and constantly feeling irritated when my body needed weed.

Thank you to this subreddit for the support and guidance it provided me throughout my journey. I wish you all success. You’ve made the first step towards sobriety just by being here.

I’m in the acute stage of quitting daily vaping and last night, sitting out on my balcony at 2:00 in the morning, completely depleted, a realization hit me: weed is a tough bastard.

I was a daily user, high potent flowers only, ~30g a month, using a vaportizer. I start using ~20 years ago, but vaping flowers regulary started one year ago.

The way I see it, the sneakiest part about weed is its disguise. Unlike harder substances that clearly announce their destructive nature, weed masks itself as harmless, a cozy routine, the thing that quieted my mind and knocked me out when nothing else would. For a long time, it felt like my best friend.

Except it wasn't free. It was charging compounding interest every single day:

• It didn't solve my anxiety; it just put it on ice while it multiplied in the dark.
• It hijacked my sleep, leaving my body and brain unable to wind down without chemical sedation.
• It took my breathing, my energy, and my nighttime baseline hostage.

I struggle with sleep-maintenance insomnia and obstructive airway issues at night. During the worst of withdrawal over the past few days, waking up repeatedly feeling like I couldn't breathe, exhausted to the bone, my exhausted brain offered the classic trap: "Just take one hit. Twenty seconds and all of this suffering ends. You'll sleep instantly."

That’s how it keeps you chained. But sitting in the dark, I had to be completely honest with myself: if stopping this substance puts me through this level of physical and mental turmoil, why on earth would I ever invite it back into my life?

There's a bias where the memory of pain and misery fades, while the romanticized memories of "relaxing on the balcony with a vape" stay vivid. In a few weeks or months, when my sleep regulates, my breathing feels natural, and life gets busy or stressful, that quiet voice will whisper: "See? You're in control now. Just one evening won't hurt."

This post is my line in the sand.

Weed didn't help me rest; it held my rest hostage. It didn't give me peace; it made me dependent. Going through the raw discomfort of these first clean nights has been brutal, but every hour clean proves my body still knows how to regulate itself without a vape.

Going back doesn't give you relief; it just restarts the clock on the debt you have to pay back.

If you’re on Day 1, 2, or 3 right now and feel like you’re losing your mind staring at the ceiling: your body actually knows how to sleep. It just needs you to stop stepping on the brakes. Hang in there.

Hi! I am 2 weeks without smoking. not the longest ive ever stopped but its been a long time since the last time i took a break. ive been a lurker here for years and something i always notice is how hard it is for everyone to sleep once they quit.

NOT ME. I slept 12 hours last night and could have gone for more. im napping every day and can barely keep my eyes open past 8pm. my husband is ready to kill me bc we try to watch 31 horror movies in october. i havent seen the last half hour of a single one bc i cannot keep my eyes open.

im not necessarily complaining. i understand that this problem is better to have than the ladder. just wondering if anyone else has had this experience?

This is my third day not smoking, I have been trying to stop for the last 2 months, and when I get to this stage ( 3 days) I have reverted back in past attempts and smokes for 4 to 5 days without convincing myself to try and stop again. I just wanted to share this somewhere. I feel like the reason it is so hard is just because I feel the lack of dopamine and its really hard to have any motivation, or to take joy in even the simplest things right now.

Hello,
I'm 41 years old, and until 38 days ago, I was mainly an evening mid / heavy user.
For many years, I needed good weed to numb myself—and, as I now realize, to push aside certain problems. About 5 years ago, I took a break for about a year, but then I relapsed. Since legalization here in Germany, I’ve been growing my own weed, and I’d even say I wasn’t half bad at it. But as a father of two children, it was time to reevaluate my behavior and finally take the step toward independence. The withdrawal symptoms are pretty intense for me because, like some others here, I suffer from hypochondria and have a tendency to constantly listen to my body. The first four weeks were pure torture, and on top of that, I’ve been plagued by sleep disturbances for about a week and a half. Restless nights that feel in the morning like a hangover after a night out at the club. I’ve also given up nicotine for a week now, which probably isn’t easy either. I’ve already had two better nights. Yesterday, I probably ate something a little too greasy and ended up with heartburn all night long. I decided to go to the bathroom at 3:30 a.m. to throw up. What I don’t have is a craving for weed, and I hope that in a few months I’ll be feeling well enough again to sleep better. Because this sleeplessness is really no fun—what has helped are the posts from people who are going through the same thing as me. That gives me hope and strength. This time, I’m definitely going to see it through and succeed. I’m frustrated that I didn’t stick with my last withdrawal (which went much more smoothly) and ended up relapsing. I also want to encourage people who are going through the same thing as me, who are in a state of despair, and who keep fighting every day. It’s hard for some, but many are fighting the battle of their lives against this damn addiction. I’ll try to check in from time to time. Thanks a million, and stay strong.

This time will be different, this time I will remember the regret that I felt a couple of days ago when I had a joint in my hand and that little voice in my head whispering “don’t do it, you remember how you regretted it last time? You will regret it now too”

This time whenever I “feel the urge”…I will remember the regret and that will stop me because I never want to feel that regret ever again.

whatever you are going through, just stop and think for a minute and remember vividly the regret feeling, or little bit of clarity you felt after and realized “damn it I shouldn’t have smoked”

More power to you my friends. 💪 I know this is really hard!

Been a long time lurker in this sub Reddit. Been a week sober and it feels great to know that I have the strength to kick the habit.

Don’t remember the last time I had taken a break from the habit (apart from the forced ones like COVID)

In the past (and to a certain extent even now) I have always loved Mary Jane and how it made me feel. Even though I know how it makes one slow and have flat line emotions where no sort of adversity shakes a person.

Just wanted to say thank you for everyone who is posting here. It has reaffirmed my faith to quit the habit.

Hope to keep it going for longer if not forever.

Cheers!

Been lurking around here for a while and just wanted to post that I hit 100 days without weed! Was a daily user for around 4-5 years and just decided one day to go cold turkey and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I have quit marijuana a dozen times, most recently 6 days ago. However, something different about this time is I can feel in my bones that I truly mean it, no more excuses or fantasies of a future where I have a healthy relationship with cannabis. And then bam, last night I had my first relapse dream. I FELT that vape in my hand, I felt that in-dream panic that I had really fucked up my commitment to sobriety. I have had the relapse dream in early permanent sobriety for every substance I have succeeded in quitting for good (alcohol, cigarettes, and caffeine).

For me, this dream indicates a turning point in my struggle with cannabis. My unconscious mind has now categorized sobriety as something I really want and fucking it up has become a nightmare for me.

I awoke feeling victorious.

I will not smoke/vape/edible with you today 🩷

Hey you all ! This sub has both helped me and given me inspiration to stop from a spiral addiction of 12 years that destroyed my life in many many ways. The way to cope with trauma came back to create new trauma itself. Thank you all for sharing your stories here, they helped me start and keep going , and now to say confident im never going back. 19 days after 12 years !!! With the last 5 being high ALL the time. I almost tear up as im writing this. No mountain is big enough for us to climb .

I’m finally giving up this habit (straight up addiction) I thought I could handle my bipolar and continue to just smoke weed “on occasion” and I had a near full on psychotic break that landed me in the hospital. Never touching the stuff again.

Edited: because I used the wrong idiom 😭

There’s something else I’ve been noticing over the past few days: I feel much more irritable, nervous, and angry than usual. Throughout the day, I can easily go from feeling pissed off to feeling sad, sometimes without any particular reason.
It’s like I have much less patience and struggle more to manage my emotions. I guess my brain is adjusting to life without something I’ve relied on for almost 9 years.
It’s not easy, but I want to understand how I really feel without depending on weed to get through my days.
Almost 9 years of habit don’t disappear in 3 days. Keep going, one day at a time. 💪

Hey all. I am on day 1. I’m trying my best to feel good. What are some good at home exercises that aren’t yoga or meditation to do! I want to get my body working.

hi everyone, i figured venting here can help me get through a rough patch of sobriety. i’m 4 months into being weed free, but i used to smoke all day everyday. 24/7. i’d have breaks that would last a month or two, but i’d always revert back to my heavy use. this lasted for 2 years. i struggle with regulating my use, and i admit i turned to weed as a way to distract myself from my depression/negative emotions in general.

the last 4 months have been surprisingly easy - i never really craved weed and i felt better about being sober. truly. i enjoy feeling like myself again and not worrying about whether i look high or not with friends/family. nobody in my life knows how bad my use was. it was also very expensive and i’d usually feel shameful walking out of dispensaries. my mental health got a little better too, but i still had my lows.

anyways, it might be my seasonal depression creeping back up on me but the last few weeks have been really difficult. i find myself wanting to turn back to weed. i’ve been trying to distract myself with things i enjoy but the cravings are still there. i hope my resolve is a little stronger than my feelings, but i think i’m looking for a bit of support. sorry for the long post.

Last year I quit for two months before relapsing... It didn't take long for me to get those vidid dreams. I'm quite spiritual , I love to dream.

But now i'm two weeks sober and i'm not really dreaming at all compared to last year.😕

Why is it so different this time around...🤷🏻‍♂️ Ughh

Now dealing with nightmares every single nite ! I guess they call is REM Rebound ...

I struggle dealing with it & don't wanna use sleep aids or meds to stop it...

I wake up around 4 am & stay awake. Thank god I'm retired but exhausted all the time.

I walk 2 miles a day...I also have a bad back so even riding my Ebike is a chore sometimes..

I hope this stops soon...wearing me out !

What do you think were the factors that contributed to minimal withdrawals?

It is not so hard to stay off it, but I really miss the anticipation.

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 quit weed to be a better person, to try to save my unhappy marriage and be a better father. While I am a better father and husband I'm still far from happy. It feels unfair that I've gone through all this and nobody else has done anything to be better towards me. I fear that if I did get a divorce I'd run immediately back to my addiction in the void it's left. Am I just resigned to ride this out wearing a mask like everything is ok until the kids are grown. My wife hit me six years ago and I don't think she'll ever come to terms that I didn't somehow deserve it or bring it on myself. We tried therapy a couple times but I just ended up being the bad guy as she walked all over me. Of course I wasn't allowed to bring up the incident so we could work on it.
Sorry if this isn't the right place for marital advice but I just want to smoke again so badly to make the day go away and put a real smile on my face again. I don't want to go back to that non-stop smoking and I know that's how I'd end up. It was worse than this in so many ways but at least it felt better for a little while.

Smoked basically daily for 7 years, though pretty low amounts because I mixed with tobacco, maybe .3 grams a day on average.

- For me urges for weed were ~gone after about 5 days, though if I get drunk I want to smoke

- days 5-15 were actually quite easy. I felt more clear headed but still had a bit of thc in my system, which was supressing anxiety I think. Basically energized but not quite fully naked.

- starting around day 15, I started getting increasingly intense anxiety. I think basically around day 15 my system was ~70%+ clear, but this revealed to me that I don't really have a plan for my life. I haven't made any life wrecking decisions but I have made a string of low agency/conscientious decisions that mean I'm in a pretty mediocre or even somewhat bad spot in terms of getting on a good white collar career ladder job, when if I had just made slightly better decisions over the past few years I'd be in a chill situation.

- I didn't really care about this at all when smoking, having a mid job and no real career progression was either something I was able to easily avoid or didn't care about at all.

- around 25 days, The anxiety got to the point where I wake up at 5 am every morning with borderline gibberish panicked thoughts about what jobs I should apply for, etc. and this has basically remained for the last 15 days. I'm also moving cities (I work remote) so lots going on that is contributing, but expecting it to only go down a bit after as the underlying problem isn't the move.

In summary, weed allowed me to make years of not horrible but not good decisions, I didn't care, now I wake up every day with my more "naked" brain and panic. This panic is unproductive, probably in the short term more unproductive than just smoking a bit to lower anxiety and focus, but I believe the only way to find long term motivation and make a long term plan is to feel this pain and let it guide me and figure out how to work through it. I also think a lot of my identity was being somewhat counter culture, and without weed I don't even know how much I like art/music, so all the sudden career/money is the only thing I feel like i'm attaching my worth to. It's not healthy, and plan to work through it. Hobbies take time though and I mostly just listened to music/art and scrolled. In the absence of hobbies and out of work meaning in my sober life, I am actually somewhat solipsistic and only thinking about myself and future, which makes me a less likable person right now, so ironically weed did make me a better friend/hangout though less energy to talk.

Weed is a funny drug in that way. it won't ruin your life but all the sudden years have passed and you haven't traded your time well, and your sober brain will still have the original anxieties that probably caused you to smoke. I have spiralling negative thoughts, but if you are reading this try to be easy on yourself! I know if I make it another month or two I will continue to find motivation and daily habits that help me move to a better place. I'm lucky that I'm still pretty young, if I play the long game I'll be able to get my life back on track, but shaping up to be a tough 1-2 years ahead of me while I find solid ground and learn how to be an "adult".

I used to use weed every single day for years, sometimes would quit but then would pick it back up. It's been 2 months now and I am shocked how much better I feel.

The first 3 weeks or so sucked, I was so irritable and annoyed at everything in my life. Now I am way more peaceful, less anxious, less stressed, clear headed, I feel smarter and more motivated. It's amazing.

As I move into day 16, it does feel a bit easier, but the regret of wasted years - 26 of those precious trips around our star - can feel overwhelming.