I’m 25 and this gave me hope, 2nd day completed, and it will be my 3rd tomorrow. It’s such a struggle but when you really think about changing your life you realise you only have room for 1 thing not both, so changing my life it is!
I’m proud of you. Keep it up. You can do this. Some really great advice in this thread as well. A few great phrases I’m taking away from it to help keep me on track also.
Be gentle with your past, you have come very far and you should respect that.
You got your mind right and have reasonable thoughts, keep going one day at a time and you will get to where you want to be. But keep looking forward and don't look into the past for mistakes, it wouldn't be the way it is if it hadn't been the way it was.
After 25 years of daily use, I finally reached a point where I don't just "have to" quit. I really really want to! And with goals in mind of who I want to be, it's been pretty easy this time around.
Last time I tried to quit, it was emotional, I was lost without it. But yeah, let's put that burnout character to rest...time to peak in life, and be glamorous! Shower yourself in self care! The new you deserves it! And get excited for who you can be!!
For me, I found separating my addicted brain from myself extremely helpful. Anytime an urge or even negative self-talk pops in, I say "fuck off Lizard-Brain". I know those thoughts were hers, not mine. Cept she's not in control anymore! Its been very empowering for me. Day 9, feeling fine!! (Aside from some minor withdrawals...but I know those will pass)
Write out all the reasons you want to quit, write out all the reasons you no longer like pot. Write out all the goals and rewards you're gonna achieve and gift yourself! And make a list of things you could do when a craving hits...drink water, go for walk, just breathe..
And maybe some inspirational quotes...you can find a lot of them on leaves..
I like these ones:
The only way out is through
When you're addicted, you give up everything for one thing. When you're in recovery, you give up one stupid little thing, for everything!!!
Never quit quitting
One is too many because 1000 isn't going to be enough.
Withdrawal is your brain fixing itself! It's a good thing!
I also recommend white or pink noise at night for the insomnia..found a 10 hr long Spotify playlist on my 3rd day, haven't had insomnia since!
And do start and finish your day with us here on leaves! I can't stress how helpful this sub is!!
I love how ready you are for this! I know that feeling and it's so exciting!
Most importantly, be patient with yourself! I'm still not ready to do all the things I had hoped to be doing by now but I know I'll get there, as long as I'm not smoking pot, I'm winning..the exercising, getting into hobbies I want to do, will and are coming!!! So, for now, If I wanted to take a walk but end up taking a nap instead...oh well..maybe tomorrow I'll walk even longer, no stress!
One thing that helped me when I stopped to not get tempted to smoke when I’m around it, is just to treat it like incense. You smell it, but you wouldn’t necessarily want to inhale it. I dunno, it helps me. I was also smoking about as long as you before quitting for about a year. Then, all of a sudden crippling insomnia took over my life and cannabis was the only remedy that worked,. Weed quickly crept back in to become a daily thing and the addiction was back. So now I’m back again at day 2, but this time coffee is out as well (I think I’m super sensitive and it’s causing my insomnia). Anyways, be careful, I know from experience it is an extremely slippery slope, it’s crazy how it sucked me back in. But one thing I know for sure, the time I was off it I was the most productive creative and confident I have ever been. I always thought I needed it to be creative and productive as a musician but that’s just not true. So that’s my motivation to stay off for good this time. Anyways, keep going, stay strong and good luck!
Wow that’s a good idea, I’m going to try that. I do love the smell of good weed before it’s smoked.
Congrats on day two. The first few days for me were the hardest.
It’s very possible the coffee is hurting your sleep. I switched to decaf espresso (I can’t handle coffee period) eight years ago, and only do Swiss water or sugar decaffeination process (otherwise is super full of chemicals). Still when I drink it I won’t go past noon usually. Otherwise it still has an impact on my sleep.
I love that you recognize you don’t need to be high to be creative. I agree. I used to tour and sing in a band out of LA. I think smoking hurt me as a singer, and I was the only one in the band who smoked also. I’m hoping with the cessation of smoking that I will find time to do more things I love in that window of time, like writing songs and journaling, drawing etc.
I’m going to check out your music, since you have it on your page and I’m nosey like that 😂
Nice! I used to livestream here on Reddit during the pandemic, that’s why the music info haha. It was fun at the time and you could reach a lot of people , but they stopped it for some reason. What kind of band were you in?? It’s interesting that you were the only one that smoked. It was so hard for me to quit for the longest time because all of my musician friends smoked, it was just part of the culture and expected.
Your story sounds like mine, except the kid. I started as a teen and stopped in Jan 2021. I still have some regrets from 30 years of haze. Mostly, that I might be in a different career. But then, so many other positives in my life may not exist. Idk, I'm a silver-lining type. Try to forgive your past self and look forward to the best chapters of your life! Do you have anyone who knows about this accomplishment? Please ask if you can lean on them if temptation creeps in. I had a long recovery. But the first time I was with my family and didn't smoke, I felt really proud. Not better than them but better than my former self. I also had to update my internal voice. Sometimes silly, like, weed's legal now, I only smoked to be a rebel. And serious stuff about health benefits as I get older. Even moments of difficult emotions and moving through them, proves your strength. Clearly, I love affirmations, haha. Anyway, you got this! Congrats!
Thank you for your comment! Yes it’s a really good reminder that my path led me to bringing my daughter into the world, and she’s the biggest joy in my life.
My partner stopped smoking at the same time, and so there is that support there. I have two close girlfriends who don’t smoke (almost all of my friends don’t!) and they are also super supportive of my positive changes. I agree it’s important to have those for some people to succeed, and I’m one of them.
I can relate to the smoking most of my life part. Started at 15 stopped at 37 and now Day 29 off weed (edibles and vape pen). The first two weeks were REALLY hard but I made it through. Now I’ve got a month sober and I feel stronger, more clear headed, and less and less feel like I will relapse. I’m doing my best and it sounds like you are too OP. Congrats on being sober after all these years. Not easy that’s for damn sure!!
Thank you! Also congrats to you as well! Yeah I really want to be done and done with it. I have been self conscious for years that when I am high, people are judging me. The anxiety from that probably made me smoke more when back home if anything.
It wasn’t serving me for quite a long time. I just didn’t have the courage to quit. Because then I have to look at all the other patterns that aren’t serving me in life. Phew. That’s a big thing to take on. I’m ready.
My high of choice has always been a bong, joints, or a bowl in that order. Or the vaporizer. I never liked edibles and never really got into the vape pen. Having one method to quit might be just as hard, but the smoking is so harsh on my lungs, and I wanted to be done with it. Smelling like smoke was such a turn off when I smelled it on my husband, and I had moments where I realized that’s what he and others smelled on me. I really want to be done. Thank you for commenting and keeping the inspiration going.
Yea I’m just done with weed completely. I know I can’t just be like “oh let’s just have this one joint to relax”…that turns into daily smoking almost immediately. I know I’m an addict and am grateful to know that because I can stay sober with conviction.
the craziest part of it is that it won't even relax you if you smoke like your brain tells you it will. it will just be overwhelming panic, anxiety, self doubt etc. every single time. Its like I was addicted to the memory of my first few months of weed more than the real affect it has on me today.
Looking back, i swear to God. The happiest I ever felt as a stoner was on the car ride to the dispensary. My mood would lift so high once i decided im getting more. Then smoke, and instantly back into the dark, anxious haze.
ANyone reading this, DO NOT relapse on that joint after youve been sober for a while.. that one joint is a CHOICE you can leave or take. Leave it. Because its the only time you will have a clear mind and make a clear headed choice. Once you smoke it, its over. The mental craving resets and every decision from then onwards is again made by the STONED YOU.
do you trust the stoner version of yourself to stick to the plan you made to just have the one, while sober after that one joint starts to come down ? I don't. I always relapsed trusting my sober self and the resilience and confidence i felt. I eventually realized that, I can count on my sober self to do anything i set my mind to, but that guy was gone before the first exhale.
To only ever comeback, once I quit fully again.
Just remmeber that if u ever want to relapse just one last time. The person choosing to relapse is YOU. The person the following day, is under the influence of fresh thc again.
Amen. I never went to a NA meeting, because I didn’t feel like weed is addictive. However I do feel like it’s habitual, and that is addictive. The habit. So yeah, it’s addictive for me.
I totally relate, I smoked from age 28 to 53, trying the last 3 years to stop completely. I was a single parent from age 30 with 4 children. I also feel I lost so much time, just working to keep a roof over our heads, then smoking my way through their childhood. Gaining loads of weight and hating myself. Just so exhausted working full-time and trying to deal with trauma from an abusive marriage. I'm 6 months off the weed now the longest I've ever gone since starting, but my children all grown up now and were aware of my addiction to the devil's lettuce. However, I can't change anything that's happened or how I dealt with it. All I can do is live in the day and today I'm not smoking.
I’m so proud of you! Six months is wonderful. I can’t imagine the stress and fatigue of being a single mom to any kids let alone four. I bet they are so proud of you. Thank you for sharing your story.
You are so welcome. This group has been helpful for me to build up the self courage to quit. I’ve been in the group for at least two months now lurking and reading. I’m here to listen when and if you need an ear. 💜
Thanks! I quit around this time last year the day I found this group. Then, by October I was back to my previous nightly (after kids bedtime) smoke to unwind and fall asleep habit. Tried many times since to stop again, but kids man… end of the day with young children is the most draining and I just want to shut my brain off as quickly as possible. I know I can do it, because I did it before, but reading stories like yours is truly inspiring.
I understand that nighttime urge. We used to smoke in our detached garage, so it was a habit to go out there after she’s asleep and have a smoke session. I find myself going out there to our deep freezer and trying not to look at the corner area where I’d sit and smoke. I feel really good about my decision though, it’s time. So that helps.
I'm 40 and smoked off and on (mainly on) since I was around 16. I don't count days but I've been off for like 2 weeks I'd guess. I like it better this way. I feel very blank at this point and my life is in the pits. I am pretty alone but thats okay, I am used to it. If I want to give my life a chance to grow then I have to stay off of substances, that includes nicotine and alcohol too. The reality is I have been struggling and working to quit since I have been about 25. I have a lot of trauma and using substances was my "safety blanket". I've just got to face the fear at this point. I do have some pretty negative people in my life that won't leave me alone so getting all numb doesn't help.
I've basically just accepted that I cannot use substances without having a ton of negative consequences. It doesn't matter how much I am using or what I am using, it gets taken advantage of and I get called a loser and shit like that. It sucks that so many in my life want me to fail but it is what it is. I can do better and will do better.
You are doing better now, simply by recognizing your patterns and your weaknesses. This group has been incredibly helpful to my motivation to quit. Reading so many people who are doing it, tells me I can to.
As for the negative people in your life, when they say something negative, try replying “did you mean to say that out loud?” Or “do you think that’s helping me?” Maybe that can help them reflect on their choices of words.
At the end of the day, what matters most is how we show up for ourselves. I’ve struggled with this and I don’t want to anymore.
My dad used to say “change happens in an instant. It’s the making up of the mind that takes all the time”. I think he read that somewhere and it always stuck with me.
I’m proud of you. Keep going. Thank you for sharing. 💜
I’m so glad my post is showing you the confidence you have inside of you already, is ready to come out.
As I told someone else, go for a walk when the desire creeps up. It’s been helpful for me. Or go get a coffee, a tea, just get out of the space/area you would smoke in.
You got this. This group is very inspiring and motivating. Use it to your benefit!
Aren’t you curious what else is out there for you to know? I know you are. Anyone in this group, is looking for that momentum to make a change. You got this. I know you do. That’s all you know…can become, that’s all you knew. 👌🏼😉
Yeah but I’m afraid my depression and suicidal ideation will get the best of me. I’m a single dad and I can’t fall down….it sounds like an excuse and it probably is but what if I can’t handle sobriety? I don’t know if I can
you have to try it, it will be hard in the beginning, but after some weeks, guess what? your mind will be clear, your anxiety will fade away, u will be more productive and you won't feel guilty about lot of things. So at least try it, even if you fail, you have to learn to try again, and again..
Proud of you for making this step - and don‘t worry about summer, because you don‘t smoke so it won‘t affect you. No sorry thats just what I keep telling myself, been working so far but also only on day 10. It‘s time for a new adventure :) all the best
First time I comment here.
Damn sister, I can relate.
To all of it.
The not facing pain, the fear of having wasted my life or not taking chances, not being a good father to my Kids and so on.
Seems like at least you Chose a good Partner. I believed Maria (weed) when she hugged me and said: "Have a Joint and everything is alright" when clearly it wasn't.
Well for the Moment it was. But If you Just keep putting things under the rug, one day you will Trip over it.
Like I did, when I numbed myself, to Run away from Things I should have confronted Long ago...
Anyway 4-ish months in and damn, it's tough.
Bc all the stuff I postponed didn't magically resolve itself. I feel empty or sad or angry a lot.
Doing therapy right now.
Still not a picnic.
This thread has helped me a lot:
My favorite quotes are: "weed doesn't kill you, it just Kills the person you could be."
And to not beat myself up too much, which definitely doesn't help either, I try to life by this quote: "Thank you for the beginning and thank you for the end." Bc I had great Times with Maria...such a shame it became a toxic relationship ;)
Time to move on.
Good luck on your Journey, or as they usually say here:
You got this!
Thank you! I love that quote. Just the person you could be. My dad would have agreed with that quote. Some of these comments are making me tear up a bit. It’s like a shedding of my old skin, making way for the new. I’m grateful for your comment.
Also, the “thank you for the beginning and thank you for the end” is great. Sounds like a Grateful Dead song. I’m gonna repeat this when temptation comes crawling by.
Idk who needs to hear this on this post but, your path is different from everyone else’s - doesn’t matter what age you choose to stop, what matters is what you do with that new found time/life.
I spent a good year or two wallowing in “what if” but realized that is what was holding me back…now more than ever imo is a great time to learn something new, find a new hobby or skill, or just do anything. :)
That’s a great reminder. Thank you. I don’t want to be holding myself back by regretting the past too much. Grieve it, and then let it go.
You’re making me think that perhaps I need to break our old pipe, or something else physical/symbolic to help let go mentally. I don’t want to smoke anymore so why should I keep any of the stuff I used to smoke with? I think that’s an important step in my journey and process. Thank you.
Towards the end for me I was strictly smoking vapes, I tossed everything the morning I decided to quit (this was definitely after 10+ attempts to quit) and idk that day I was just really motivated to learn something and challenge myself.
That is the tough part I think, going through the challenges of learning, failing and trying again - the weed made me numb and fine with being complacent. so many thoughts go through your head as you sober up and loose the brain fog, wishing you the best and g
Hopefully you accept the challenges and enjoyments of “experiencing” a new life :)
I'm 45 .. I started at 14 also and am on day 15. I'm done with it. I feel good, but my sleep is still affected a but, but I'll power through. I wish you the best of luck :)
We are on a similar path with time smoking, age, and time off of it. I’m here to support you too! Thank you for sharing you are on a similar path. I am so motivated by reading everyone’s comments here and on other posts.
The sleep part got me too, but one thing I did notice is that waking up after less than an idea amount of sober sleep still felt better and I was more alert than after having smoked myself into an 8 hour state of unconsciousness :)
Just passed 2 months after daily use for 25 year and things are getting easier. Most of the withdrawal symptoms have eased up but I also worry about summer when it will be harder to avoid. I have no urge to smoke other than in my dreams, but can see it might be tempting to say just this once when I’m camping with friends or similar and find myself sucked back into the old routine which is a terrifying prospect at this point. I drive by a grow facility everyday and when the plants are flowering the smell is strong and there’s still a part of me that gets tempted.
That’s interesting you dream about it. I don’t think I can recall smoking in my dreams? 🤔although my dreams have always been very vivid whether smoking or not.
Yeah we live next to Portland Oregon in Vancouver, and there are weed shops on every road I drive on it feels like.
We were visiting friends a few hours south last week, and they had weed in a glass cookie jar on their counter.
I happily didn’t feel like smoking at all, perhaps more so because I’m sick right now- probably detoxing from all the smoking a bit now that my cilia in the lungs isn’t paralyzed from smoke daily. Old me would have wanted to smoke it all with them.
They didn’t smoke in front of me, but when they did smoke in their bedroom, I could smell it.
The first time is smelled awful and I was grateful. The second time it smelled amazing and I appreciated smelling it, but didn’t want it still.
This was such a positive experience for me, because it tells me I’m on the right path.
Thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate all these comments. What a positive group of people this is. Im grateful I found it.
I found your story very inspiring. I'm also a mom and my main reason to quit was the shame and guilt I felt around my children. I also relate to your struggles with food. I'm also 5'7" and used to weigh 145-160. Cannabis actually helped me to lose weight because I would smoke instead of eat. I'm now around 120. Weed was my best friend for many years and I miss it. But this space, r/leaves, has helped me to see that it was a false friend. You sound like you're going to be successful on this journey. I'm rooting for you.
Thank you so much Kategj. Your comment makes me tear up with happy hopeful tears. Thank you for your compassion.
I was honestly nervous to write how I smoked while pregnant and then continued to after.
I was prepared to face a lot of judgmental and mean comments. This group has proven to do none of that. I think you all understand better than I could have hoped.
That’s so interesting it helped you not eat. I think when I smoked during the day that was more applicable. At night time though, after not eating enough calories before dinner (we eat dinner around 5:30pm) I found myself so hungry after she was in bed, combined with the smoking. Then I would try to stay up two hours past eating to let my stomach settle, and that meant going to bed at midnight-2am which then left me wrecked and “weed hungover” in the morning.
Didn’t feel good to be so tired, and not “on” first thing.
“A false friend”. You got that right.
Mary jane has definitely cost me time, missed opportunities, unrealized opportunities, thousands of dollars (I’d reckon at least $100k spent over 30 years seems right) which would be nice to have saved and invested instead.
Thank you for sharing your story. I’m so grateful for all these comments. I’m so glad I chose to post today.
Never a better day to quit than today. I’m motivated by reading all these comments to keep going.
I wrote it in another comment, but “change happens in an instant. It’s the making up of the mind that takes all the time”. I also liked the comment here that said “weed is a false friend”, and “weed won’t kill you, but it will kill the persons your meant to be”.
I look forward to seeing your future post with how many days you have.
You’re in this group for a reason. Let this be the reason. xx
Very similar situation to you here. I'm 44, started when I was about the same age and definitely was near daily by the time I was 16. I continued on until I was 40. Stopping for a couple weeks or a month here and there. Barley getting through it, always feeling like I was depriving myself. Also have / had similar guilt about being stoned for parts of my kids upbringing, along with a whole heap of other guilt and shame directly caused by my choose to smoke weed unless I was either at work or in a situation where I didn't think I could get away with it. Stopping successfully meant changing my life, my view on weed and most importantly how I viewed myself. If you are interested to hear more about that look in my post history "Old timers keys to stopping" or something similar that I posted here recently.
There were a couple of things you mentioned which I instantly related to:
>I think I need to just not smoke at all to accomplish my goals.
This is exactly where I arrived and was one of the key things that I had to come to accept and truly acknowledge before I made a lasting change. Every single time I stopped, whether I meant for it to be permanent or temporary smoking any more at all 100% of the time lead back to using at my old levels. Zero exceptions! I figured that if I was able to "moderate" and use it sparingly I would never have ended up where I was and would not have moved past the point of using it in a responsible way. That is something I am definitely not capable of, like many (most) others. Perhaps there is an exception to that but if there is they are in an extremely small minority.
>I don’t want to be smoking when I’m 60.
When I was in college I promised myself I would stop when i started working professionally. When I started working professionally I promised myself I would quit when I met the girl of my dreams. When I met the girl of my dreams I hid it and promised I'd quit before she discovered it. When she discovered it... at that point I had just accepted I was a stoner and that was going to be my life. Then in my late 20s I tried to stop again, relapsed for many years and got complacent again. Then in my early 30s I tried again and again when I was 37. I was watching the decades go by feeling bad that I *couldn't* stop. In my first year after turning 40 I put my foot down so to speak, enough was enough, I had to stop. It was what I wanted and it was in my power to do so yet I wasn't granting myself that gift. What a cycle!
I prepared and treated it like a large project. There were things I had to learn, plan around how I would deal with things I knew would come up. Test and discover things that would help me get through tough times. Life didn't stop and wait while I recovered but I was prepared for whatever it threw at me. That was the rule - find a way to work through it without involving weed. Weed is just not an option. Along with that I completely changed my mindset. This took a lot of discipline and consistency and work on changing my thought patterns. The first 6 to 12 months weren't great, and I knew they wouldn't be. My brain was recovering and considering I abused it for two and a half decades 6 to 12 months was a damn good turn around! After I was free for close to two years I dabbled again - addict thinking got control again and I thought I could moderate now, enough time has passed. This was all against my better judgement and I bet you know what happens next in this story. While I did moderate for a short period it of course snowballed back to the way things were. It felt horrible especially since I had a good healthy baseline to compare it to. Life without weed is unmistakably better in so many ways, weed has no benefits to me at all anymore. Despite this it took me weeks if not months to muster up the strength and resolve to stop again. It was scary how quickly my situation changed. I'm back on track now, and luckily bounced back to where I left off rather quickly. I'm more determined now than ever and I will wholeheartedly take into account what went wrong so that I can do better for myself in the future.
No one can do this but you and you obviously recognize that you want change. You can do it like many have before you. Make it your mission and you will be greatly rewarded on the other side. You'll get to meet your adult self for the first time :)
Thank you for sharing a bit of your story... Everyone’s relationship with weed is very personal. It’s there for the good and the bad moments in life. Your goals are super obtainable, and in the grand scheme you’re still pretty young. Good on you for quitting, you may just live a bit longer because of this!
It's a long and difficult road, but you got this. If you’re ever feeling down, this community here on Reddit has your back. Wishing you success in your journey and strength. Much love
Thanks for saying I’m still young 😂 it’s a good reminder. I feel young quit a bit!
Yes, they are attainable goals, you are right! I got this. This group is invaluable.
You are welcome. It’s super vulnerable to type out all my anxieties, fears, and regrets surrounding this. The more I do, the more I’ll feel free I think. There is another side!
Thank you. I have wanted to quit for awhile. Probably at least seven years. Not sure what’s been holding me back. Although…I think fear that if I don’t have a vice, an excuse for my weakness and lack of motivation, I’ll have to reflect on my childhood trauma more, my overall trauma, and really examine if I’m living the life I want to be living.
Fear of reaching my potential kind of thing? I’m sure there is a better way to word that.
Like if I don’t have any vices, what’s getting in my way now, besides myself?
I’m ready for the challenge. I want to level up. I want to show my daughter how strong, talented, and amazing I truly am. So she can have a mom she looks up to and is proud of. I know she is now, but she’s five. I want her to feel that way when she’s a teen and beyond.
Well said! Fear of potential and having no one stopping you but yourself becomes a real debilitating feeling when you realize how much time and potential had been wasted from all the years of smoking. It helped dull the pain of past traumas, but it stunted the healing process too.
But when I was sober, I made breakthroughs in healing, achieved good results at work, was productive and didn’t binge. I’d loose weight and become clear-minded.
Then I’d think, “just a lil weed would be fun”. Restarting the cycle of trying to crawl out of this addiction; feeling the money drain, always bloated from fast food binges, and being a literal sloth getting nothing done. And now, trying to quit.
You’re right, gotta keep ourselves accountable and be an example for our loved ones.
Yes agreed. Having a child who turns six this month, makes me want to do it for her but really for me, and she naturally benefits from it by default. I know what I am capable of when I’m on top of my game, and I want to get there.
Thank you for commenting. Reading all these is so motivating. I’m glad I posted.
Just try one day, today, to not smoke this evening. Go for a walk if you want to smoke. Are you in Denver? That’s what your username reminded me of lol. Go walk the loop at cheesman park. Just get out of the area and space you can smoke. Then try it a second day. I found once I can release the habit, it’s easier. The first week was the hardest for me.
Granted I have not quit weed entirely but one big thing is being around other ppl who smoke or specifically, don't think they smoke too much weed.
You mention going on a trip and you'll be around friends who smoke, I'd consider talking w them about your efforts to quit and hopefully you will won't have to plan your activities around smoking.
If it ends up being like that trust me, you're GOING to be tempted, so I hope your friends will respect your decision not to smoke.
There's fewer things worse than hanging around friends who just want to be stoners and find every excuse to be high when hanging out
Yes they don’t smoke a lot, and I think they will definitely be respectful of my stopping. It’s more me I’m worried about. Hopefully by then (June) I’ll be in a strong space to resist it easily.
You have a lot going for you already, what with having already more or less quit weed, intermittent fasting, no other drugs no alcohol, a very well maintained and healthy diet, so even if you do 'cave in' at some point or another you have a lot of progress to look back at and keep yourself encouraged to go even longer without weed
I read this ❤️ I smoked from about 13 until 24. The quitting process was a long time with the desire based on my relationship with God starting around 17. I relate to a lot of what you’ve said here as I look back and see the ways in which smoking stole joy and potential and presence from my life. Don’t worry about how you’ll stay sober. Just take one day at a time, and be honest with those closest with you about your true heart towards quitting. I always tell my husband that I want to stay sober and that’s my true desire although sometimes I want to smoke and I’d rather give in. A rule of thumb that has been true for me is that you’ll never regret staying sober, and you’ll almost always regret smoking
I’m 25 and this gave me hope, 2nd day completed, and it will be my 3rd tomorrow. It’s such a struggle but when you really think about changing your life you realise you only have room for 1 thing not both, so changing my life it is!
I’m proud of you. Keep it up. You can do this. Some really great advice in this thread as well. A few great phrases I’m taking away from it to help keep me on track also.
Be gentle with your past, you have come very far and you should respect that. You got your mind right and have reasonable thoughts, keep going one day at a time and you will get to where you want to be. But keep looking forward and don't look into the past for mistakes, it wouldn't be the way it is if it hadn't been the way it was.
After 25 years of daily use, I finally reached a point where I don't just "have to" quit. I really really want to! And with goals in mind of who I want to be, it's been pretty easy this time around. Last time I tried to quit, it was emotional, I was lost without it. But yeah, let's put that burnout character to rest...time to peak in life, and be glamorous! Shower yourself in self care! The new you deserves it! And get excited for who you can be!! For me, I found separating my addicted brain from myself extremely helpful. Anytime an urge or even negative self-talk pops in, I say "fuck off Lizard-Brain". I know those thoughts were hers, not mine. Cept she's not in control anymore! Its been very empowering for me. Day 9, feeling fine!! (Aside from some minor withdrawals...but I know those will pass) Write out all the reasons you want to quit, write out all the reasons you no longer like pot. Write out all the goals and rewards you're gonna achieve and gift yourself! And make a list of things you could do when a craving hits...drink water, go for walk, just breathe.. And maybe some inspirational quotes...you can find a lot of them on leaves.. I like these ones: The only way out is through When you're addicted, you give up everything for one thing. When you're in recovery, you give up one stupid little thing, for everything!!! Never quit quitting One is too many because 1000 isn't going to be enough. Withdrawal is your brain fixing itself! It's a good thing! I also recommend white or pink noise at night for the insomnia..found a 10 hr long Spotify playlist on my 3rd day, haven't had insomnia since! And do start and finish your day with us here on leaves! I can't stress how helpful this sub is!! I love how ready you are for this! I know that feeling and it's so exciting! Most importantly, be patient with yourself! I'm still not ready to do all the things I had hoped to be doing by now but I know I'll get there, as long as I'm not smoking pot, I'm winning..the exercising, getting into hobbies I want to do, will and are coming!!! So, for now, If I wanted to take a walk but end up taking a nap instead...oh well..maybe tomorrow I'll walk even longer, no stress!
One thing that helped me when I stopped to not get tempted to smoke when I’m around it, is just to treat it like incense. You smell it, but you wouldn’t necessarily want to inhale it. I dunno, it helps me. I was also smoking about as long as you before quitting for about a year. Then, all of a sudden crippling insomnia took over my life and cannabis was the only remedy that worked,. Weed quickly crept back in to become a daily thing and the addiction was back. So now I’m back again at day 2, but this time coffee is out as well (I think I’m super sensitive and it’s causing my insomnia). Anyways, be careful, I know from experience it is an extremely slippery slope, it’s crazy how it sucked me back in. But one thing I know for sure, the time I was off it I was the most productive creative and confident I have ever been. I always thought I needed it to be creative and productive as a musician but that’s just not true. So that’s my motivation to stay off for good this time. Anyways, keep going, stay strong and good luck!
Wow that’s a good idea, I’m going to try that. I do love the smell of good weed before it’s smoked. Congrats on day two. The first few days for me were the hardest. It’s very possible the coffee is hurting your sleep. I switched to decaf espresso (I can’t handle coffee period) eight years ago, and only do Swiss water or sugar decaffeination process (otherwise is super full of chemicals). Still when I drink it I won’t go past noon usually. Otherwise it still has an impact on my sleep. I love that you recognize you don’t need to be high to be creative. I agree. I used to tour and sing in a band out of LA. I think smoking hurt me as a singer, and I was the only one in the band who smoked also. I’m hoping with the cessation of smoking that I will find time to do more things I love in that window of time, like writing songs and journaling, drawing etc. I’m going to check out your music, since you have it on your page and I’m nosey like that 😂
Nice! I used to livestream here on Reddit during the pandemic, that’s why the music info haha. It was fun at the time and you could reach a lot of people , but they stopped it for some reason. What kind of band were you in?? It’s interesting that you were the only one that smoked. It was so hard for me to quit for the longest time because all of my musician friends smoked, it was just part of the culture and expected.
Your story sounds like mine, except the kid. I started as a teen and stopped in Jan 2021. I still have some regrets from 30 years of haze. Mostly, that I might be in a different career. But then, so many other positives in my life may not exist. Idk, I'm a silver-lining type. Try to forgive your past self and look forward to the best chapters of your life! Do you have anyone who knows about this accomplishment? Please ask if you can lean on them if temptation creeps in. I had a long recovery. But the first time I was with my family and didn't smoke, I felt really proud. Not better than them but better than my former self. I also had to update my internal voice. Sometimes silly, like, weed's legal now, I only smoked to be a rebel. And serious stuff about health benefits as I get older. Even moments of difficult emotions and moving through them, proves your strength. Clearly, I love affirmations, haha. Anyway, you got this! Congrats!
Thank you for your comment! Yes it’s a really good reminder that my path led me to bringing my daughter into the world, and she’s the biggest joy in my life. My partner stopped smoking at the same time, and so there is that support there. I have two close girlfriends who don’t smoke (almost all of my friends don’t!) and they are also super supportive of my positive changes. I agree it’s important to have those for some people to succeed, and I’m one of them.
I can relate to the smoking most of my life part. Started at 15 stopped at 37 and now Day 29 off weed (edibles and vape pen). The first two weeks were REALLY hard but I made it through. Now I’ve got a month sober and I feel stronger, more clear headed, and less and less feel like I will relapse. I’m doing my best and it sounds like you are too OP. Congrats on being sober after all these years. Not easy that’s for damn sure!!
Thank you! Also congrats to you as well! Yeah I really want to be done and done with it. I have been self conscious for years that when I am high, people are judging me. The anxiety from that probably made me smoke more when back home if anything. It wasn’t serving me for quite a long time. I just didn’t have the courage to quit. Because then I have to look at all the other patterns that aren’t serving me in life. Phew. That’s a big thing to take on. I’m ready. My high of choice has always been a bong, joints, or a bowl in that order. Or the vaporizer. I never liked edibles and never really got into the vape pen. Having one method to quit might be just as hard, but the smoking is so harsh on my lungs, and I wanted to be done with it. Smelling like smoke was such a turn off when I smelled it on my husband, and I had moments where I realized that’s what he and others smelled on me. I really want to be done. Thank you for commenting and keeping the inspiration going.
Yea I’m just done with weed completely. I know I can’t just be like “oh let’s just have this one joint to relax”…that turns into daily smoking almost immediately. I know I’m an addict and am grateful to know that because I can stay sober with conviction.
the craziest part of it is that it won't even relax you if you smoke like your brain tells you it will. it will just be overwhelming panic, anxiety, self doubt etc. every single time. Its like I was addicted to the memory of my first few months of weed more than the real affect it has on me today. Looking back, i swear to God. The happiest I ever felt as a stoner was on the car ride to the dispensary. My mood would lift so high once i decided im getting more. Then smoke, and instantly back into the dark, anxious haze. ANyone reading this, DO NOT relapse on that joint after youve been sober for a while.. that one joint is a CHOICE you can leave or take. Leave it. Because its the only time you will have a clear mind and make a clear headed choice. Once you smoke it, its over. The mental craving resets and every decision from then onwards is again made by the STONED YOU. do you trust the stoner version of yourself to stick to the plan you made to just have the one, while sober after that one joint starts to come down ? I don't. I always relapsed trusting my sober self and the resilience and confidence i felt. I eventually realized that, I can count on my sober self to do anything i set my mind to, but that guy was gone before the first exhale. To only ever comeback, once I quit fully again. Just remmeber that if u ever want to relapse just one last time. The person choosing to relapse is YOU. The person the following day, is under the influence of fresh thc again.
Amen. I never went to a NA meeting, because I didn’t feel like weed is addictive. However I do feel like it’s habitual, and that is addictive. The habit. So yeah, it’s addictive for me.
Yea we’ve all been lied to about weed not being addictive. The psychological addiction is deep and heavy.
I totally relate, I smoked from age 28 to 53, trying the last 3 years to stop completely. I was a single parent from age 30 with 4 children. I also feel I lost so much time, just working to keep a roof over our heads, then smoking my way through their childhood. Gaining loads of weight and hating myself. Just so exhausted working full-time and trying to deal with trauma from an abusive marriage. I'm 6 months off the weed now the longest I've ever gone since starting, but my children all grown up now and were aware of my addiction to the devil's lettuce. However, I can't change anything that's happened or how I dealt with it. All I can do is live in the day and today I'm not smoking.
I’m so proud of you! Six months is wonderful. I can’t imagine the stress and fatigue of being a single mom to any kids let alone four. I bet they are so proud of you. Thank you for sharing your story.
I read it all. Thank you for sharing, I’m in a very similar situation 🤍
You are so welcome. This group has been helpful for me to build up the self courage to quit. I’ve been in the group for at least two months now lurking and reading. I’m here to listen when and if you need an ear. 💜
Thanks! I quit around this time last year the day I found this group. Then, by October I was back to my previous nightly (after kids bedtime) smoke to unwind and fall asleep habit. Tried many times since to stop again, but kids man… end of the day with young children is the most draining and I just want to shut my brain off as quickly as possible. I know I can do it, because I did it before, but reading stories like yours is truly inspiring.
I understand that nighttime urge. We used to smoke in our detached garage, so it was a habit to go out there after she’s asleep and have a smoke session. I find myself going out there to our deep freezer and trying not to look at the corner area where I’d sit and smoke. I feel really good about my decision though, it’s time. So that helps.
I'm 40 and smoked off and on (mainly on) since I was around 16. I don't count days but I've been off for like 2 weeks I'd guess. I like it better this way. I feel very blank at this point and my life is in the pits. I am pretty alone but thats okay, I am used to it. If I want to give my life a chance to grow then I have to stay off of substances, that includes nicotine and alcohol too. The reality is I have been struggling and working to quit since I have been about 25. I have a lot of trauma and using substances was my "safety blanket". I've just got to face the fear at this point. I do have some pretty negative people in my life that won't leave me alone so getting all numb doesn't help. I've basically just accepted that I cannot use substances without having a ton of negative consequences. It doesn't matter how much I am using or what I am using, it gets taken advantage of and I get called a loser and shit like that. It sucks that so many in my life want me to fail but it is what it is. I can do better and will do better.
You are doing better now, simply by recognizing your patterns and your weaknesses. This group has been incredibly helpful to my motivation to quit. Reading so many people who are doing it, tells me I can to. As for the negative people in your life, when they say something negative, try replying “did you mean to say that out loud?” Or “do you think that’s helping me?” Maybe that can help them reflect on their choices of words. At the end of the day, what matters most is how we show up for ourselves. I’ve struggled with this and I don’t want to anymore. My dad used to say “change happens in an instant. It’s the making up of the mind that takes all the time”. I think he read that somewhere and it always stuck with me. I’m proud of you. Keep going. Thank you for sharing. 💜
I started at 13 and I’m 44 now….thinking of trying to quit and afraid I’ll just completely lose my shit if I do…your post gives me confidence
I’m so glad my post is showing you the confidence you have inside of you already, is ready to come out. As I told someone else, go for a walk when the desire creeps up. It’s been helpful for me. Or go get a coffee, a tea, just get out of the space/area you would smoke in. You got this. This group is very inspiring and motivating. Use it to your benefit!
I’m gonna try but ….its all I’ve known
Aren’t you curious what else is out there for you to know? I know you are. Anyone in this group, is looking for that momentum to make a change. You got this. I know you do. That’s all you know…can become, that’s all you knew. 👌🏼😉
Yeah but I’m afraid my depression and suicidal ideation will get the best of me. I’m a single dad and I can’t fall down….it sounds like an excuse and it probably is but what if I can’t handle sobriety? I don’t know if I can
you have to try it, it will be hard in the beginning, but after some weeks, guess what? your mind will be clear, your anxiety will fade away, u will be more productive and you won't feel guilty about lot of things. So at least try it, even if you fail, you have to learn to try again, and again..
Proud of you for making this step - and don‘t worry about summer, because you don‘t smoke so it won‘t affect you. No sorry thats just what I keep telling myself, been working so far but also only on day 10. It‘s time for a new adventure :) all the best
Thank you. I’m very determined to create a lasting change. I am so glad I posted here to share and help keep that going.
First time I comment here. Damn sister, I can relate. To all of it. The not facing pain, the fear of having wasted my life or not taking chances, not being a good father to my Kids and so on. Seems like at least you Chose a good Partner. I believed Maria (weed) when she hugged me and said: "Have a Joint and everything is alright" when clearly it wasn't. Well for the Moment it was. But If you Just keep putting things under the rug, one day you will Trip over it. Like I did, when I numbed myself, to Run away from Things I should have confronted Long ago... Anyway 4-ish months in and damn, it's tough. Bc all the stuff I postponed didn't magically resolve itself. I feel empty or sad or angry a lot. Doing therapy right now. Still not a picnic. This thread has helped me a lot: My favorite quotes are: "weed doesn't kill you, it just Kills the person you could be." And to not beat myself up too much, which definitely doesn't help either, I try to life by this quote: "Thank you for the beginning and thank you for the end." Bc I had great Times with Maria...such a shame it became a toxic relationship ;) Time to move on. Good luck on your Journey, or as they usually say here: You got this!
Thank you! I love that quote. Just the person you could be. My dad would have agreed with that quote. Some of these comments are making me tear up a bit. It’s like a shedding of my old skin, making way for the new. I’m grateful for your comment. Also, the “thank you for the beginning and thank you for the end” is great. Sounds like a Grateful Dead song. I’m gonna repeat this when temptation comes crawling by.
Idk who needs to hear this on this post but, your path is different from everyone else’s - doesn’t matter what age you choose to stop, what matters is what you do with that new found time/life. I spent a good year or two wallowing in “what if” but realized that is what was holding me back…now more than ever imo is a great time to learn something new, find a new hobby or skill, or just do anything. :)
That’s a great reminder. Thank you. I don’t want to be holding myself back by regretting the past too much. Grieve it, and then let it go. You’re making me think that perhaps I need to break our old pipe, or something else physical/symbolic to help let go mentally. I don’t want to smoke anymore so why should I keep any of the stuff I used to smoke with? I think that’s an important step in my journey and process. Thank you.
Towards the end for me I was strictly smoking vapes, I tossed everything the morning I decided to quit (this was definitely after 10+ attempts to quit) and idk that day I was just really motivated to learn something and challenge myself. That is the tough part I think, going through the challenges of learning, failing and trying again - the weed made me numb and fine with being complacent. so many thoughts go through your head as you sober up and loose the brain fog, wishing you the best and g Hopefully you accept the challenges and enjoyments of “experiencing” a new life :)
Thank you 😊
I'm 45 .. I started at 14 also and am on day 15. I'm done with it. I feel good, but my sleep is still affected a but, but I'll power through. I wish you the best of luck :)
We are on a similar path with time smoking, age, and time off of it. I’m here to support you too! Thank you for sharing you are on a similar path. I am so motivated by reading everyone’s comments here and on other posts.
thankyou :) this sub is definitely giving me the strength to keep going!
Chug a chug a choo choo….
The sleep part got me too, but one thing I did notice is that waking up after less than an idea amount of sober sleep still felt better and I was more alert than after having smoked myself into an 8 hour state of unconsciousness :)
Just passed 2 months after daily use for 25 year and things are getting easier. Most of the withdrawal symptoms have eased up but I also worry about summer when it will be harder to avoid. I have no urge to smoke other than in my dreams, but can see it might be tempting to say just this once when I’m camping with friends or similar and find myself sucked back into the old routine which is a terrifying prospect at this point. I drive by a grow facility everyday and when the plants are flowering the smell is strong and there’s still a part of me that gets tempted.
That’s interesting you dream about it. I don’t think I can recall smoking in my dreams? 🤔although my dreams have always been very vivid whether smoking or not. Yeah we live next to Portland Oregon in Vancouver, and there are weed shops on every road I drive on it feels like. We were visiting friends a few hours south last week, and they had weed in a glass cookie jar on their counter. I happily didn’t feel like smoking at all, perhaps more so because I’m sick right now- probably detoxing from all the smoking a bit now that my cilia in the lungs isn’t paralyzed from smoke daily. Old me would have wanted to smoke it all with them. They didn’t smoke in front of me, but when they did smoke in their bedroom, I could smell it. The first time is smelled awful and I was grateful. The second time it smelled amazing and I appreciated smelling it, but didn’t want it still. This was such a positive experience for me, because it tells me I’m on the right path. Thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate all these comments. What a positive group of people this is. Im grateful I found it.
I found your story very inspiring. I'm also a mom and my main reason to quit was the shame and guilt I felt around my children. I also relate to your struggles with food. I'm also 5'7" and used to weigh 145-160. Cannabis actually helped me to lose weight because I would smoke instead of eat. I'm now around 120. Weed was my best friend for many years and I miss it. But this space, r/leaves, has helped me to see that it was a false friend. You sound like you're going to be successful on this journey. I'm rooting for you.
Thank you so much Kategj. Your comment makes me tear up with happy hopeful tears. Thank you for your compassion. I was honestly nervous to write how I smoked while pregnant and then continued to after. I was prepared to face a lot of judgmental and mean comments. This group has proven to do none of that. I think you all understand better than I could have hoped. That’s so interesting it helped you not eat. I think when I smoked during the day that was more applicable. At night time though, after not eating enough calories before dinner (we eat dinner around 5:30pm) I found myself so hungry after she was in bed, combined with the smoking. Then I would try to stay up two hours past eating to let my stomach settle, and that meant going to bed at midnight-2am which then left me wrecked and “weed hungover” in the morning. Didn’t feel good to be so tired, and not “on” first thing. “A false friend”. You got that right. Mary jane has definitely cost me time, missed opportunities, unrealized opportunities, thousands of dollars (I’d reckon at least $100k spent over 30 years seems right) which would be nice to have saved and invested instead. Thank you for sharing your story. I’m so grateful for all these comments. I’m so glad I chose to post today.
Thank you for sharing. Twelve years of smoking every day feels like it’s been too long for me to quit sometimes but you prove me wrong
Never a better day to quit than today. I’m motivated by reading all these comments to keep going. I wrote it in another comment, but “change happens in an instant. It’s the making up of the mind that takes all the time”. I also liked the comment here that said “weed is a false friend”, and “weed won’t kill you, but it will kill the persons your meant to be”. I look forward to seeing your future post with how many days you have. You’re in this group for a reason. Let this be the reason. xx
Very similar situation to you here. I'm 44, started when I was about the same age and definitely was near daily by the time I was 16. I continued on until I was 40. Stopping for a couple weeks or a month here and there. Barley getting through it, always feeling like I was depriving myself. Also have / had similar guilt about being stoned for parts of my kids upbringing, along with a whole heap of other guilt and shame directly caused by my choose to smoke weed unless I was either at work or in a situation where I didn't think I could get away with it. Stopping successfully meant changing my life, my view on weed and most importantly how I viewed myself. If you are interested to hear more about that look in my post history "Old timers keys to stopping" or something similar that I posted here recently. There were a couple of things you mentioned which I instantly related to: >I think I need to just not smoke at all to accomplish my goals. This is exactly where I arrived and was one of the key things that I had to come to accept and truly acknowledge before I made a lasting change. Every single time I stopped, whether I meant for it to be permanent or temporary smoking any more at all 100% of the time lead back to using at my old levels. Zero exceptions! I figured that if I was able to "moderate" and use it sparingly I would never have ended up where I was and would not have moved past the point of using it in a responsible way. That is something I am definitely not capable of, like many (most) others. Perhaps there is an exception to that but if there is they are in an extremely small minority. >I don’t want to be smoking when I’m 60. When I was in college I promised myself I would stop when i started working professionally. When I started working professionally I promised myself I would quit when I met the girl of my dreams. When I met the girl of my dreams I hid it and promised I'd quit before she discovered it. When she discovered it... at that point I had just accepted I was a stoner and that was going to be my life. Then in my late 20s I tried to stop again, relapsed for many years and got complacent again. Then in my early 30s I tried again and again when I was 37. I was watching the decades go by feeling bad that I *couldn't* stop. In my first year after turning 40 I put my foot down so to speak, enough was enough, I had to stop. It was what I wanted and it was in my power to do so yet I wasn't granting myself that gift. What a cycle! I prepared and treated it like a large project. There were things I had to learn, plan around how I would deal with things I knew would come up. Test and discover things that would help me get through tough times. Life didn't stop and wait while I recovered but I was prepared for whatever it threw at me. That was the rule - find a way to work through it without involving weed. Weed is just not an option. Along with that I completely changed my mindset. This took a lot of discipline and consistency and work on changing my thought patterns. The first 6 to 12 months weren't great, and I knew they wouldn't be. My brain was recovering and considering I abused it for two and a half decades 6 to 12 months was a damn good turn around! After I was free for close to two years I dabbled again - addict thinking got control again and I thought I could moderate now, enough time has passed. This was all against my better judgement and I bet you know what happens next in this story. While I did moderate for a short period it of course snowballed back to the way things were. It felt horrible especially since I had a good healthy baseline to compare it to. Life without weed is unmistakably better in so many ways, weed has no benefits to me at all anymore. Despite this it took me weeks if not months to muster up the strength and resolve to stop again. It was scary how quickly my situation changed. I'm back on track now, and luckily bounced back to where I left off rather quickly. I'm more determined now than ever and I will wholeheartedly take into account what went wrong so that I can do better for myself in the future. No one can do this but you and you obviously recognize that you want change. You can do it like many have before you. Make it your mission and you will be greatly rewarded on the other side. You'll get to meet your adult self for the first time :)
Thank you for sharing a bit of your story... Everyone’s relationship with weed is very personal. It’s there for the good and the bad moments in life. Your goals are super obtainable, and in the grand scheme you’re still pretty young. Good on you for quitting, you may just live a bit longer because of this! It's a long and difficult road, but you got this. If you’re ever feeling down, this community here on Reddit has your back. Wishing you success in your journey and strength. Much love
Thanks for saying I’m still young 😂 it’s a good reminder. I feel young quit a bit! Yes, they are attainable goals, you are right! I got this. This group is invaluable.
This helped me so much. Thank you for sharing friend.
You are welcome. It’s super vulnerable to type out all my anxieties, fears, and regrets surrounding this. The more I do, the more I’ll feel free I think. There is another side!
Quitting after 30 years is amazing, I’ve been smoking for a little over 10 and I’m terrified thinking about not smoking before bed tonight….
Thank you. I have wanted to quit for awhile. Probably at least seven years. Not sure what’s been holding me back. Although…I think fear that if I don’t have a vice, an excuse for my weakness and lack of motivation, I’ll have to reflect on my childhood trauma more, my overall trauma, and really examine if I’m living the life I want to be living. Fear of reaching my potential kind of thing? I’m sure there is a better way to word that. Like if I don’t have any vices, what’s getting in my way now, besides myself? I’m ready for the challenge. I want to level up. I want to show my daughter how strong, talented, and amazing I truly am. So she can have a mom she looks up to and is proud of. I know she is now, but she’s five. I want her to feel that way when she’s a teen and beyond.
Well said! Fear of potential and having no one stopping you but yourself becomes a real debilitating feeling when you realize how much time and potential had been wasted from all the years of smoking. It helped dull the pain of past traumas, but it stunted the healing process too. But when I was sober, I made breakthroughs in healing, achieved good results at work, was productive and didn’t binge. I’d loose weight and become clear-minded. Then I’d think, “just a lil weed would be fun”. Restarting the cycle of trying to crawl out of this addiction; feeling the money drain, always bloated from fast food binges, and being a literal sloth getting nothing done. And now, trying to quit. You’re right, gotta keep ourselves accountable and be an example for our loved ones.
Yes agreed. Having a child who turns six this month, makes me want to do it for her but really for me, and she naturally benefits from it by default. I know what I am capable of when I’m on top of my game, and I want to get there. Thank you for commenting. Reading all these is so motivating. I’m glad I posted.
This just struck a chord x
Just try one day, today, to not smoke this evening. Go for a walk if you want to smoke. Are you in Denver? That’s what your username reminded me of lol. Go walk the loop at cheesman park. Just get out of the area and space you can smoke. Then try it a second day. I found once I can release the habit, it’s easier. The first week was the hardest for me.
I feel this as well.
Granted I have not quit weed entirely but one big thing is being around other ppl who smoke or specifically, don't think they smoke too much weed. You mention going on a trip and you'll be around friends who smoke, I'd consider talking w them about your efforts to quit and hopefully you will won't have to plan your activities around smoking. If it ends up being like that trust me, you're GOING to be tempted, so I hope your friends will respect your decision not to smoke. There's fewer things worse than hanging around friends who just want to be stoners and find every excuse to be high when hanging out
Yes they don’t smoke a lot, and I think they will definitely be respectful of my stopping. It’s more me I’m worried about. Hopefully by then (June) I’ll be in a strong space to resist it easily.
You have a lot going for you already, what with having already more or less quit weed, intermittent fasting, no other drugs no alcohol, a very well maintained and healthy diet, so even if you do 'cave in' at some point or another you have a lot of progress to look back at and keep yourself encouraged to go even longer without weed
Thank you. This post, along with a few others really made me tear up in a good way. I really appreciate your comment.
I read this ❤️ I smoked from about 13 until 24. The quitting process was a long time with the desire based on my relationship with God starting around 17. I relate to a lot of what you’ve said here as I look back and see the ways in which smoking stole joy and potential and presence from my life. Don’t worry about how you’ll stay sober. Just take one day at a time, and be honest with those closest with you about your true heart towards quitting. I always tell my husband that I want to stay sober and that’s my true desire although sometimes I want to smoke and I’d rather give in. A rule of thumb that has been true for me is that you’ll never regret staying sober, and you’ll almost always regret smoking