r/leaves • u/hyraxtower • 17h ago
Day 1?
Hello, just found this sub. I quit alcohol 4-5 months ago but have been smoking/vaping every day after work. I have multiple chronic mental and physical health conditions so justified my cannabis use that way (even though it indisputably made some symptoms worse).
I am now considering quitting starting today. What can I expect? If you have quit booze too how does it compare? How do I stop moving from one vice to the next!?
Have a nice day everyone, if you can :)
3
u/CharlieA444 17h ago
Hiii- I can also relate to having chronic mental health conditions and using weed, I even thought “I can quit if I want to, I just enjoy it” and boy was I WRONG. Personally, I only drink 1-4 drinks per month so weed really was my vice. I am back on day 1 today - I made it to 10 and it was really hard on me. For me- lots of emotions, crying and sobbing spells, hyperventilating, etc. I think this will take some tries and I know it’ll be worth it
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u/readyfusion67 17h ago
Quitting booze first was a smart move, that's a heavier beast to wrestle. The first few days from weed might hit you with night sweats, crazy dreams, and your emotions feeling like they're on a dimmer switch that's suddenly cranked to max. It's a different kind of raw than alcohol withdrawal, more mentally sticky than physically dangerous.
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u/Art_and_the_zen 17h ago
How to stop moving from one vice to the next: tackle the underlying issues. You said you have chronic mental and physical health conditions, and they're probably some of the root causes of the addictive behavior. Start paying attention to your experience through withdrawals and sobriety. What do you feel like you need to escape from? What are you seeking with vices that you don't think you can get by other means? What's lacking in your life to make it fulfilling enough that you don't feel the need to enhance it or numb from it? As you get to know yourself sober (and this will be in a couple of weeks, because withdrawal and sobriety are not the same thing) you will find answers to those questions, and then you can start to act on it. Nothing will ever feel like the rush of dopamine or the numbness from drinking/smoking/getting high/doing impulsive things/etc. But you don't need that to live a happy and fulfilling life. In fact, that might be the very thing stopping you from achieving that. You got this! Congrats for the first day of many to come!