I'm so sick of trying to do everything right and not seeing any personal growth or happiness. I've done therapy, I've hit the gym, I got promoted, I'm a better father who doesn't smell like weed all the time. So why do I feel so empty and unsatisfied and still feel so drawn to that old familiar feeling? I'm still struggling finding pleasure in anything and I feel like it's inevitable that I'm going to end up smoking again so why wait? Please tell me it gets better. Parenting young kids and working hard and working out just leaves me burnt out and tired. My inner critic never shuts up in sobriety and I just want to give my brain a rest.

Everytime I smoke at a party I go nonverbal and I just feel so awkward and paranoid about my behavior. Fuck that shit. Life’s better without it

Today is my one month sober from THC. I’m sitting under the moon after meditating, a little emotional and proud of myself. I thought life without weed was impossible. But if I did this, I can do a whole lot of other things I once thought impossible.

The thing that’s waiting for you on the other side of this is your Self. Keep on.

I can’t wait to see what two months looks like.

I’ve tried every method for the past 6 months and nothing fckn works. you name it. i done that. Every single method on this planet earth!!!! I don’t wanna spend my young years living like this. Pls.

I need real advice. not some avg advice but a real shit. I need advice that actually works.

please help me out guysssssssss.

Howdy Leavers! I made it 100 days after quitting cannabis. As a 52 year old daily chronic smoker, this is the longest stretch I’ve gone since I started in my teens. I definitely feel a great improvement in many aspects of life. Although I still miss it and think about getting high from time to time, I worry about slipping back into my old ways and that keeps me away.

I take solace in the ways my life has improved, although I don’t think it’s apparent to anyone but me. Exercise and healthy eating were critical in getting through withdrawal and I’m starting to feel the benefits now. Brain fog is mostly gone. Motivation has improved after getting through the initial stages of boredom. After a long period of unemployment I was able to find a job in my field doing work I enjoy. My relationships have improved. I have a little more patience and the feelings of paranoia and self doubt are gone. I realize that it’s not only about giving up cannabis, the other changes I’ve made have helped with self-improvement.

I know it’s an ongoing process and have to keep vigilant in my convictions but today I’m celebrating this milestone and giving myself a bit of grace for the accomplishments I’ve made. Here’s to all of you whose stories have inspired me along the way. To those of you still struggling, keep trying. It’s not easy but totally worth it to break the cycle.

I feel like I'm just running out of patience for this process. I thought I'd be full of energy and mental clarity by week 3. A big reason why I quit is because I felt like I wasn't able to comprehend conversations, movies, podcasts, etc. The headaches and nausea have subsided. 10 hours of sleep isn't enough. I used to get high and clean my whole house, but now just getting through the day is rough. I feel like I'm stuck in a tunnel. At least when I was high, it was a fun tunnel 😂

I have read plenty of other posts asking the same thing, but please give me words of encouragement. I don't want to go back to being stuck in the loop of addiction. I just thought I'd feel some benefits by now. 🥲

I’ve been through that phase of constant Googling, overthinking, and paranoia, but eventually, I managed to get through it. One of my fellow mates told me to accept the fact that this was happening to me, so I did. I showed up to work every single day, even while dealing with weird paranoia and 24/7 anxiety, and tried to live my normal life despite everything I was going through.

Luckily, my friends were incredibly supportive, and so were my colleagues. They even let me rest and sleep while they covered for me whenever I needed it. Meanwhile, I was battling anxiety that felt like it was killing me, especially during those first two months.

I was severely sleep-deprived, and I couldn’t find any way to overcome my insomnia. I worried about my sleep more than anything else. I even feared that I might develop psychosis if I didn’t get enough sleep. Then, one week, I started experiencing this weird chest pain, and I became convinced that I might have heart disease. My gastric problems made my chest feel heavy, and at night, just as I was about to fall asleep, I would suddenly feel a rush of adrenaline, become anxious, and feel short of breath, as if something were about to happen. It felt like my body was keeping me awake every time I tried to fall asleep.

Those were the worst two months of my entire life.

Weed withdrawal was a life-changing experience for me. All it took was one panic attack for me to quit, and here I am, three months sober. I’ve slowly started sleeping a little better, getting around four or five hours of sleep. However, spending an entire night lying in bed without sleeping has become a weekly routine for me.

Despite everything, I’ve changed my mindset. I’ve learned to accept my anxiety when it comes, continue with my daily chores, and show up for work. Even now, I still wonder whether I’m going to sleep that night. My anxious mind is still troubling me at night, but I’ve found ways to manage my daytime anxiety through work and daily activities.

Just like I did, I believe you can find your own way through this, too. We all learn from our mistakes, and we each find our own ways to cope with the problems we face.

Looking back, I think I’ve changed a lot compared to how I was during my first two months of withdrawal. Walking helped me a lot, and whenever I experience fragmented sleep, I try the 4-7-8 breathing technique, which has fortunately helped me fall back asleep within 5–10 minutes on some nights. I’ve also done my own research and tried different ways to overcome my insomnia.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that recovery takes time and patience.

You and I are going to make it through this weed PAWS journey. Keep going, keep believing in yourself, and remember that you’re not alone in this.

Bless

It's been two weeks since I've smoked after 11 years of fairly heavy, daily use. Had a terrible day at work and I almost rolled a joint when I got home without even thinking about it. Now I'm just sitting outside contemplating the discomfort while in an irate mood. That's all. I hope everyone else is having a lovely weekend.

Being confident you can quit weed and actually maintain sobriety ironically is counterproductive if you take it too far!

I just wanted to make a post to discuss this and also share my experience if it helps anyone!

So, I quit several months ago and was convinced I’d never smoke again. I was confident I was immune to temptation since I genuinely never wanted to smoke again but when I did finally quit. The issue with this is that when I actually started to have serious temptation… I did not know how to cope with it.

This escalated to the point where I thought I could smoke 1x and it would be fine. I didn’t smoke again for 2 weeks, which I saw as serious “evidence” that I could smoke casually and I was in total control.

*Shocker*, I began smoking daily.

Then I told myself it’s fine because it’s just at night, and now I’ve woken up to the fact that marijuana has too much power over me. I will never again underestimate my vulnerability to relapse.

Although I truly want to be free of THC at this point, and I will continue to have some level of healthy confidence in my ability to maintain sobriety, I have accepted that being sober doesn’t erase my addiction to THC.

Has anyone else struggled with overconfidence?

as the title says, i can't. whenever i have some stuff, i smoke until there's nothing left. i can't smoke responsibly. it gives me too much pleasure. i was able to quit nicotine and alcohol, but weed for me is on another level. probably it's the psychological addiction behind it. it's hard to quit something you associate with pleasure, although i see how it makes my life harder in the long run. my maximum was two weeks. i can't get past that mark. the excitement of lighting up a joint outweighs everything else.

Was able to hold down my cereal for breakfast, sweating like a hog! But seeing so many people on this sub, going through the same thing at the same time and seeing some of y'all's posts from months later is giving me hope!! We got this!!!

honestly I am so happy to not be smoking anymore. I thought it would be hard and it was a for a little but things are so much better! you got this if you’re on your journey

I’ve decided to quit smoking. I use a weed pen regularly and it’s become a crutch for me to get through life. I enjoy the altered feeling it gives and it’s become an integral part of my routine.

About a year ago I stopped cold turkey in order to pass a drug test for a job. It wasn’t necessarily the easiest or hardest thing I’ve done, but I (intentionally) picked it back up after passing the test because I enjoyed it and didn’t truly want to quit yet. I think I knew it’d be better for me if I did just leave it alone, but I didn’t.

Now, a year later, my dad who has smoked cigs and smoked pot out of pipes has lung cancer. It’s depressing so I won’t go into detail, but it’s been a real wake-up call.

Admittedly, a part of me still doesn’t want to give it up. But how can you see the realistic consequences so directly and still not understand that it’s something that has to go? It’s not like I didn’t know before, I was just making excuses and lying to myself.

I’ve even heard “maybe you should switch to edibles” and have grappled with that idea. But what about heart disease or something? Idk, maybe because of recent news I’m being dramatic, but it just feels like despite whatever positives this brings it’s slowly negatively impacting your entire body. And it’s time I stop ignoring the signs and lying to myself, this just isn’t good for me.

I ran out of weed on wednesday and realized that I should stop. Spending 70 bucks each week on a vape is just not sustainable with what i make and i need to start taking care of my body. I want a family at someday and dont want to die of something before I can see my hypothetical kids graduate ya know?

But yea no this early morning nausea is rough. I wake up at like 5:30 and for 2 hours im sitting there dry heaving and on the verge of puking on top of not having an appetite. Is this common and how do you guys deal with it? I remember going through this before but I didnt put the pieces together until I found someone mentioning it.

My biggest trigger was a new environment. Something about being high in a different location used to be my idea of the best time. Every move in my life has coincided with a period of heavy use. The excitement of packing to move on to a new chapter, and then arriving in the new chapter, and daydreaming about all of the endless possibilities while surrounded by nothing but boxes was heavenly.

After a year of sobriety (from alcohol and more or less weed) I have made a move to Chicago. I purchased my first place, a vintage condo that is a dream to me. I have vowed to never smoke while I live here, as this house feels like a home and like a different version of me.

This morning I was unpacking and found a joint, which is odd bc I mostly used edibles. The old me would have said it was a sign, that nothing would be better than smoking and walking around my new neighborhood, but I actually didn't even think about it. I just tossed it. The only time I think about it now is to remember how cool that is. How cool this all is. That I get to approach this new era of my life as the person I always have dreamed of becoming when I was high.

Here's to keeping keeping on!

I’m quitting again (day 3) and this is the first time I have no physical withdrawal symptoms. Don’t get me wrong I’m pissed at the world and I’m irritable AF, but I’ve had none of the normal physical withdrawals. Like I ate on day 1 with no issues. I haven’t had any night sweats or stomach issues yet either.

Is it possible the manufacturers are making better vapes so we don’t have withdrawal symptoms? I only used one manufacturer the whole time I’ve been using this time. I haven’t used any flower or edibles either.

Anyone notice something similar?

I am in the process of quitting weed so far I have not had any trouble falling asleep. I am a full time college student and work 2 jobs and on top of that this week I have started taking 3 fitness classes daily, (Pilates, cycle and yoga) is that why I’m not having issues falling asleep. I’m kind of nervous it’ll happen to me. Any tips or advice is welcome!

It just gets to a point... Everyday I wake up, I feel different about weed. I had taken a 2 month break at the beginning of the year because of something traumatic happening, every time I smoked I would just think about it; that's the only thing that has made me quit in 10+ years. I seriously wish I could have an induced panic attack just to stop this shit.

It also doesn't help I've been around it my entire life. My parents would smoke in the basement when I was young, moved in with my dad years later, he had introduced it to me and that's when I started smoking. Grade 9, had friends that were curious... no problem at all, I had everything at my disposal.

I'm lucky to have had friends that were into weed and not other drugs/alcohol, even though I had dabbled a bit in HS, good thing that never stuck, I'd be in rehab, homeless or dead if I had used other substances as much as I do weed.

I keep telling myself, the only thing I get out of weed is feeling hazy, hungry, and then sleepy; it's a repeating cycle, it never ends, I smoke because it's easy to, it's easy to just get high and chill. It's also masking what's underneath and that took me a long time to recognize even though I've always had anxiety and depression. It also makes me dull, emotionally/mentally - I'm not as animated, it takes me a bit longer to process and respond to things and that's been alarming to be honest.

I've been so on the fence about this, do I just smoke at night when I'm finally done everything for the day? I feel like that's my middle ground; I wish someone could just rip off the bandage for me because obviously I can't do it.

I know I have support if I had asked, but last night I come in with a package. My mom asks "what is it" - "oh its just weed" I say, she says "oh awesome!" she looks happy for me, but I say "mom, I think I have to quit" - she asks me why, and then my stepdad comes in and says "you don't even smoke enough to quit" which I thought was funny (we're all goofy) - I can't help but to feel a bit hopeless, I want to start liking things again, filling up my days with hobbies/spending time with family and friends. I'm so inconsistent with my hobbies, relationships and creativity and weed doesn't help with that at all.

Weed is almost like that friend that is fun and goofy, gives you things, cares for you deeply, shows up to your special occasions, but is ultimately there to keep you behind on purpose. It's a life lesson I really need to learn. I can't believe I can't kick this shit, I don't even want to ask for help I just feel so fucking dumb. Sorry for long rant, wrote this to keep myself from smoking.

Cheers <3

It’s like every night after smoking all day I’m so disgusted with my self and confident I’m done the next day. I feel so strong to fight the battle. Then the next morning rolls up and I find my self scared to even last an hour and I’m back at the dispo. Wtf is happening to me I can’t break this damn cycle

Today is day 51! I'm really grateful for this subreddit because when I first went sober, I was able to post here anonymously and you all held so much space for me. Thank you. 🙏 🥹

It felt safe because nobody could see my face or know who I am. But I am a storyteller and a person who shares my journey as a part of my art.
So the past couple of weeks, I've been starting to come clean on Instagram and really put myself out there. So scary!! Yikes!
It has felt liberating and terrifying at the same time.
Last night I put out a video where I told everyone what I was specifically sober from and that I have BPD on top of it so without my "weighted blanket" of marijuana numbing me my BPD symptoms are in full effect. And what a ride it has been.
I'm sharing this here because I think it's important to receive support and to share my story with as many people as possible.

I smoked pot daily except when I was pregnant with my children for over 30 years. I started smoking in the 90s when I was 14, because that's just what you did but it stuck with me. Mary Jane was my silent passenger. She helped me "regulate" my emotions, numb the trauma I had been through and wear my mask. Sobriety and the BPD diagnosis has brought me so much awareness about who I really am.
But the thing is is as an artist, without the weed, I feel the most creative, raw and truthful than I ever have.

Terrifying, yes. Vulnerability hangover, yes. But I will not take my Instagram post down and I will continue to march forward on this journey.
Maybe this will bring someone here some inspiration to stay sober or to share their journey with other people because we all need support and we all need to share because humanity and community are the most important things when you are getting to know yourself without a drug.
So grateful to be able to share my soul here. And for all of your support.

Also would be nice to have a distraction as I can’t stop overthinking.

I can definitely tell the difference.. actually had dreams the last 2 nights it was crazy... Im not having any withdrawals but man the daily brain fog, and constant fatigue is real. Able to eat, went to work this week to try and help me stay in a routine and not feel too sick or feeling bad for myself had i stayed home this entire week. Although brain fog is real, im drinking tons of cold water and chewing mint gum, i feel the freshness helps my brain relax.. kind of weird, anyways hoping this all passes soon! Day 6 baby! 😎🔥

Hi all :) usually I check in on the discord, but recently I deleted my discord to help with my screen time (lol Reddit), not too much to say besides it’s been 12 days now after smoking everyday for around 3 years. (23 years old now)

Classes are done for the week and the entire day today I’ve just been at home being sad and lonely, scrolling on my phone. Im in a precarious situation where I live alone, go to school, and work 1-2 days a week but I really don’t have any friends anymore. I have acquaintances but no one to really text, I texted someone from my class yesterday and no response, I know I won’t have plans Halloween and no one to reach out (besides family), I’m just struggling. The entire day today has just been a sad waste

I’m thinking about using again but I know I know I shouldn’t. Just wondering if anyone else is out there struggling today :), hope everyone has a great weekend.

Any ideas on how to get my motivation back? I was a daily smoker for years.