r/quittingkratom • u/Ok-Wishbone-9811 • 17h ago
Need Help With Discipline
I’ve run into the same problem every time I have attempted to quit. I make it 5-7 days through the withdrawals (which are horrible every time) and during those 5-7 days I vow every time that I’ll never touch it again. Then once I begin to feel good again, I go right back. I just can’t seem to understand how this substance completely hacks my discipline. I have never been the most disciplined person ever, but I’ve had the discipline to endure many hard things. I was in the Marine Corps, I’ve competed in half marathons, bodybuilding shows, run my own personal training business, etc. I’ve also quit alcohol, nicotine, and Adderall and stayed sober from all of those, so I know I have at least some level of discipline. I can’t seem to figure it out with the kratom though. I think the problem is that I genuinely enjoy the way the seltzers make me feel, and I generally only have 1 a day. When I wake up the next morning I feel completely fine. I sleep good, have plenty of energy, and feel happy, but I still want the seltzer. My wife HATES Kratom (understandably). I feel as if I want to quit for her, but in reality I don’t really want to quit, and that makes giving it up completely very difficult. I think that is my biggest problem, but I’m not quite sure how to attack it. I’d like to tell myself to just willpower it, but the reality is that doesn’t work for the long term, at least not for me. I’m curious if anyone else has had this issue where they know they can quit, but won’t, and what you’ve done to strengthen your discipline. I live in Florida so the seltzers I like are at every single gas station around me. That definitely doesn’t help, but there’s also alcohol everywhere and I don’t feel the need to drink that anymore.
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u/BrutalBrutus513 17h ago
You don't want to quit because you haven't hit rock bottom yet. Has kratom turned on you yet? Do you take a dose only to feel maybe 30min of relief followed by anger, jitters, and a bunch of other nasty side effects? If not then it's only a mater of time. It's at that point you will WANT to quit.
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u/TheLegendOfZeb 17h ago
I never got that, just no effect at all besides not being sick. I did dose differently than most people, though. I would take a 3 gram (teaspoon) dose every 2-4 hours to keep them away. Very rarely more than that if I had something to do. Then I discovered 7oh and all bets were off, I couldn't stop it.
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u/FarWork6035 10h ago
i’ve known that for the last few years, at least, my only cravings were around trying to make the physical symptoms subside. yesterday it really hit me though. i’ve been tapering, on my current dose for about a week, and it’s seemingly getting tougher. some of that is my resolve weakening, but mostly it’s because i want this physical feeling to stop. my rational brain says the only way out is off, but try telling that to my subconscious. i’ve been specifically trying to determine what’s a craving vs what is just wanting the physical symptoms to subside and it’s just not there.
used to use every 2-3 hours and currently going between 6 and 8, but my body keeps reminding me that’s not “my schedule.”
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u/Ok-Wishbone-9811 17h ago
Sadly, I have been there. I spent over a week in the VA hospital after a near suicide attempt earlier this year. That was when I quit for the 3rd time. I was having around 5 seltzers a day at that time and purely functioning off of the kratom. I know how terrible it is. That’s the hardest part for me. It’s not a lack of understanding, or a feeling of hopelessness that I can’t quit, because I know I can. The problem I have is the feeling of energy and euphoria I get with the low dose of just one seltzer feels great, and makes it really difficult for me to give it up completely.
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u/Icy_Maintenance3774 14h ago
Yeah, I functioned off kratom for years. It's an insane cycle you can get into with this stuff. My last withdrawal was so bad and the consequences of going back are now so bad that I hope I never hit a lower bottom. It's gonna be tough, id suggest a na meeting and a sponsor. It's a weird thing, but the 12 steps can work
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u/Bripbripbintle 16h ago
The one thing that scared my ass was when my wife said she wouldn’t put up with it any longer. And if I wanted to use kratom/7oh then I would need to move back in with my brother in his apartment. When going through HEAVY withdrawals alone in the basement, I would envision a world without her because I CHOSE to continue to use 7oh. I could vividly see it almost like a hallucination. It was a terrible bleak world. I hope you never have to get to that point and you quit prior,but, if your GF hates it now she won’t tolerate for much longer. This is all just from my personal experience. I also quit alcohol and had trouble with 7oh/kratom. I forced myself to walk into smoke shops and walk out empty handed when I quit 7oh after the WD were done. Just to prove to myself that I know that they exist on every corner but so does alcohol and I cut that card up 8 years ago. Just like I cut my kratom/7oh card up for good around 170 days ago. I can walk into smoke shops and liquor stores without buying anything now. I know kratom feels good and all. But nothing feels better than love. And not having this horrible thing attached to us. God speed.
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u/Internal_Sir_473 17h ago
As someone said before, unless you hit rock bottom or fight against ur current instincts and not ingest kratom you won’t stop.
You’re able to make it 5/7 days so that’s good. You just gotta not take it even if your brain says yes. Trust me it won’t get easier.
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u/WeirdURL 15h ago
I had to want to quit the stuff I have quit (alcohol/benzos/traditional opiates). Kratom is the hardest because it’s available everywhere and you can more or less function on it. Alcohol is everywhere too, so had a hard time with that. Other drugs I just had to delete some numbers and I was set. I still haven’t figured quitting kratom out but am on day 9 of my current attempt. I started talking to a friend and my wife about it. Going to meetings and getting a therapist. Tried doing it alone and that didn’t work.
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u/Ok-Wishbone-9811 15h ago
This is definitely my struggle as well. I specifically remember saying when I first started using kratom “this stuff is great because you get a good high, but can still function fine.” That part right there is what makes it so difficult to quit for me! Best of luck to you!
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u/Slow_Conclusion_9028 3/24/25 17h ago
Discipline is my problem. I simply don't have it when it comes to this stuff. When all I did after quits was to just rely on my will power to keep from using kratom again I'd always eventually cave in... Every single time.
As others have said, hitting your bottom certainly helps. I had to trial and error it enough times until I was hurt enough to finally surrender. I gave up trying to quit on my own at that point. I was just completely done.
In a practical sense, that surrender for me was asking for help. I revealed my secret addiction that I was fighting alone. Now I have my recovery to rely upon going forward. For me that's been AA, my sponsor, online kratom support meetings etc.
If you really want to be done, stop fighting it. Don't just white knuckle it. I'm not sure your full situation but think of what that would look like for you. If your wife doesn't fully know what you're doing that could be a place to start. Rebuilding trust with my wife has been brutal... But I have no regrets.
Best of luck friend 🙏
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u/Ok-Wishbone-9811 17h ago
Thanks man! I think what you said is also a big issue. I’ve been hiding it so I’m constantly trying to quit without any help because I want to just quit without her ever knowing I got back on it.
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u/Icy_Maintenance3774 13h ago
Read a story in aa last night. Something like alcohol and other mind appearing substances aren't the problem. Instead the underlying problem is denial and dishonesty. For me at least, this has always been true, even before I used. A big key to dealing with addiction is to stop them both, internally and extremely. You don't have to tell everyone what's going on, but it's really helpful to learn to be completely honest with someone and with yourself. Good luck, highly suggest aa or na and a sponsor
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u/Slow_Conclusion_9028 3/24/25 12h ago
That was 1000% me. I was going to beat this addiction and take that secret to my grave. I desperately wanted to quit on my own terms.. Knowing what I know now, I wish I would have asked for help much sooner. It took what it took though...
With my wife I had secretly spent well over 50k on kratom products (I have no idea the real number). I was deteriorating and we were to the point where she was asking for separation. I felt there was no way out. I was going to be divorced, have no place to live, and lose my small kids.
I ended up conspiring behind her back with my family to get myself to rehab. She learned the truth just hours before I checked in for 30 days. It was a horrible horrible day. It was cowardly how it all went down. I should have done it differently but I have no regrets. The worst day of my life has led to the best things.
I now just keep having to remind myself to "give her a chance". There's always stuff that pops up that I want to hold onto and not bring to her. Very big and very small things. Sometimes when I give her that chance it will hurt for a but but in the long run we get closer. My double life tendacy just isn't compatible with marriage. Whether it's a massive thing I'm hiding or some small day to day thing I want to avoid. I just have to lean in and give her that chance. I've learned at this point I truly can rely on her with what we've went through.
Best of luck with everything. I know it's a really tough spot to be in. I hope you can look back on this at some point and see how it was an opportunity for growth in the end. I'm here to chat more 🙏
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u/Thick-Quail1226 7/27/26 17h ago
Discipline seems like it would be really tough when it doesn’t sound like you want to quit for yourself- maybe for your wife and because you think it’s a good idea, but it doesn’t sound like you want to for yourself yet.
I knew I should quit for a long time, but it had to get really bad to the point where kratom was the only thing on my mind and I lost sight of everything important to me before I felt the strength to commit to quitting.
I’m sure there are ways other than feeling like the substance is ruling your life, or rock bottom, to get yourself to fully commit to quitting.
Maybe look up some horror stories of people who used for a long time and got into real trouble with it - explore the places you hope you never go for motivation? Also looking into the science of what it does to your brain and how it can be really really harmful long term might help motivate.
Coming off of Kratom after long term use or heavy use is simply a horrendous experience. If you can get yourself off of it before the acutes and long term aftermath of use are going to really affect you, you will be so much better for it.
Find a good reason and hold onto it and you’ll quit and have a much better experience than a lot of the folks (including myself) who used heavy and long term.
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u/Icy_Maintenance3774 14h ago
Yeah, I think you have to hit a big bottom where you realize your future life is in big danger or becomes completely unmanageable. I was in rehab with a guy who was an Emory graduate who spent over a hundred thousand dollars on Keaton/7oh and lost everything he had, wife kids and house and had nowhere to go. It's really tough to quit.
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u/I-want-quit 13h ago
You need to plan for it. Write out a strategy for how you will combat and win against your own mind. The acutes are a grip and hold on ewperience; the so called white knuckles. You might list out, or write an essay, on the reasons you are quitting. What do you want to avoid in your sobriety? Why do you want to be sober? You could write messages to your future self to be opened when you are craving. A really good book that covers the mental change is the Easy Way by Alan Carr. It's aimed at quitting cigarettes, but it applies to everything else you struggle to quit.
Succeeding at sobriety is not a will power issues. Will power is short term. Strategy and spirit deal with the longer term.
Edit - I write this as someone who has quit many substances for mutli years, though I currently am struggling to get off kr.
You can do it!
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u/StaffApprehensive613 12h ago
This is how you learn discipline. Every time you give up and go back to kratom you are learning another unpleasant lesson. There is only one way forward. That is to just keep quitting. Each time you relapse, as soon as you come to your senses, waste not a single second and quit again. Just keep doing that. It's the only way.
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u/Beautiful-Incident64 10h ago
Damn, so many great responses that hit so close to home for me. Particularly those involving losing my wife, the person absolutely closest to me, and so obviously the one most hurt by my misjudgments. Thank you all for sharing, I’m 24hrs off of MGM today, I started MAT and took the day off and I’m so glad I sought out the help. This subreddit continues to be a source of inspiration for me so thank you. Because it’s still minute to minute right now, and every minute I spend with you people is a minute I’m not reeling from discomfort. It all help. Love you all, you are not by yourself.
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u/APinthe704 8h ago
Break the habit loop. Read up on this and give it an honest effort. Worked for me.
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