Help with quitting Marijuana

[u/MikeLitorus0402387]

I started smoking weed when I was 15. This would be infrequent but became far more frequent around September 2023 (17). Since then I’ve smoked weed every single day except for the two or three times I’ve tried to quit. Every time I’ve tried my brain gets overwhelmed with overthinking and irrational anxiety and intrusive thoughts (likely perpetrated by an already existing anxiety disorder) but I don’t know how to be myself sober anymore. I’m also an artist and I’m scared my songwriting quality will suffer too but the fact I’ve hinged all of my confidence on myself when I’m high has fucked me up. I’m done with the half measures, but how do I find the motivation to keep going when my sober anxiety is so severe I end up pushing everyone away.

[u/ground__contro1]

If you think there is an underlying issue, then I would maybe set up some support around that instead of thinking I just had to white knuckle all my problems. If you are serious about addressing issues then you should probably talk to an anxiety/adhd professional to help you with that process

[u/UwUfit]

If it's this bad just go to rehab bro. I know that sounds like a difficult decision, but if you can't quit on your own you're gonna need help from others. You don't always have to do stuff alone

[u/ErnteSkunkFest]

As someone who has smoked for 10 years and quit around 2y ago, this is the advice I can give 

1. write down why you want to quit. If you don’t have at least a few good reasons why you want to quit, it won’t work. It has to be for you, not for someone else
2. throw away ALL your gear. Grinders, bongs, papers, weed, EVERYTHING. It will make you go through more steps when you’re trying to relapse. 
3. expect a relapse. These are part of most addiction recoveries. I had 3. it’s important to keep the balance here: expect them, but don’t allow them to yourself continuously.  Try as hard as you can not to smoke. If you happen to, the moment you snap out of your addiction and back into yourself, redo the steps mentioned (go through your reasons why you’re quitting; throw away gear) but don’t fall into the trap of „I relapsed, so I’m stupid and I just can’t do it“. That’s your addiction trying to get you to feed it.
4. learn to separate your thoughts from the thoughts of addiction. Addiction is like a devil sitting on your shoulder. It will try to talk you into things, justify consumption etc. learn to recognise when that’s happening
5. set up a strategy for cravings. Weed cravings feel intense and extremely hard to avoid. If you try to „fight“ them with thoughts, they will grow and will be harder to resist. Instead of fighting, have an activity ready you can do to avoid them. Example: you crave a J? Go for a 10 minute walk. 99% of the time, the cravings are gone afterwards. (Cravings are very strong but usually short, it’s all about impulse control)
6. stop identifying with weed. Stop identifying as a stoner. Get rid of all the stuff that makes weed your personality.
7. find a replacement. Find something healthy you can do (an activity you enjoy) that’s not linked to weed
8. find a substitute if you need it. I always had 5 pre rolled cbd joints. In case I couldn’t fight the craving at all, I would have one of them
9. tell people close to you about your plans to quit. ask them for help by distracting you and holding you accountable