Hello everyone, I know we all get those nightmares once we quit but I never realized it was actually helping me not to get those dark thoughts back

I struggle a lot atm, I feel like disappearing, if someone is struggling with the same thing please lmk

I was sober for about a month and something happened and I bought a pen to cope. It’s now been almost a month. Life feels so much better when I’m sober and I’m completely aware of it so why do I always go back to something that i know is not good for me?

It gets worse every time I start again. This is the first time I’m like damn i seriously have a problem. I know recognizing it is the first step but then you think of tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. And then yes I know that’s why you take it one day at a time but ugh. I’m tired of hearing the same old shit. Like give me something new to think of. Idk.

I guess I’m just frustrated with myself. I know what I want, I know how much better I feel without it and yet I keep finding myself back in the same place. LOL

I dont know if im posting correctly also this is my first time doing this.

Hello everyone, great day to be pursuing sobriety!

Background: So, I've been a cart smoker for about 7 years, with one year of sobriety about three years ago. Before and after that single sober year, I was an all day every day cart user– at my peak, I would smoke the second I didn't feel high.

I've been trying to quit for about 5 months now with no luck. I'd toss a cart and go through this whole "I'm done smoking" ritual but I'd always just go buy another within 3 days. Mind you, I needed to stop for external reasons, and this still wasn't enough to support my willpower. My dispensary uses a point system for every dollar spent and within the last 5 months, this method of quitting costed me money I did not really have! It was getting really bad and desperate.

The solution: Get your community involved! All you really need is one person. In this last attempt at quitting, two weeks ago, I decided that instead of tossing the cart (and buying another...) I would give it to my friend to hold on to (she doesn't like weed, so there is no fear of her hitting it/pulling her into this mess). This works because technically we do have an agreement that she will give it back to me in the next few days, but I sort of always intended that once we get to that date, I'd tell her to hold onto it for another few weeks. This disrupts the cycle of buying weed because technically I have weed! (This could also work with grinders, bongs/pipes/papers, etc.?).

It's worth noting that it was possible I would cave and go buy another cart anyway. To me, that would have been an indication that I'd need formal rehab or some sort of other serious intervention. I was also considering giving someone all my cards and money, should that have happened.

Closing thoughts: I think quitting is definitely a trial and error type of ordeal. What works for someone might not work for someone else. I'm sharing this because I really hope this method can work for at least one other person. This method is nice because it quitting is an extremely tough battle and every relapse feels like a personal failure. It's not personal! And there's no reason you should have to face it alone. It's easier when there are people rooting for you, and are actively helping you. Open yourself up to your village and allow yourself to feel their support.

Good luck gang!

Hey guys, I hope you're all doing well! I've been clean for 2.5 months. I am doing much better than before. I have gotten a job, better focus on my studies, started losing weight by weight lifting and running as well as playing badminton.

I'm having a hard time properly relaxing though. I can when I'm with friends or family but it's like any activity that isn't "productive" is not good when I'm by myself. It's draining and I genuinely want to be able to chill by myself as I live alone. It makes me reminisce about when I smoked. The ritual of making it, going outside and finding a good spot to "enjoy" it. It gave my brain a break, where I didn't think about anything else.

Don't get me wrong, I have no intentions of smoking. I just miss the break it enabled me to have. So my question to you guys is, how do you do it? Have you experienced a similar thing after quitting? I have thought about activities that could maybe help me like fishing, which I think could work, but it's winter in my country soon. Walks have not helped me as I had hoped.

Hope you guys have a few tips for me. Anyways good luck on your journeys!

I'm about to quit. Myself and m partner have been getting high pretty much everyday for 5 years. We have some issues to work through, and although I don't believe weed is the only problem, I do think it makes handling issues a lot more difficult and confusing.

Just take this post as me venting

I smoked almost daily for 4 years (iirc) and I stopped three days ago and the cravings are INTENSE and I have absolutely no motivation to do ANYTHING, even drawing feels mentally and physically taxing, I know I have a LONG way to go before I feel normal again but it feels so fucking exhausting holding myself back from smoking again, even as I am typing this, I am holding myself back from smoking again, the cravings are intense and it is all I can think about but I know I will feel better in the long run, it is just so fucking difficult right now, if anyone can offer support, that would be great

The only time quitting weed "stuck" is when I dove head first into the challenge..

I found that the path to mental strength and lasting contentment was to get off of all easy dopamine (weed) and then do hard things until they were no longer difficult.

That's how I rebuilt my brain's resilience.

Weed made me less social, less motivated, less focused, and less confident. Escapism diminished me.

We grow through effort. Weed stole that effort from me. Knowing this, I decided to go all in by not only quitting weed, but by filling my day with playing catch-up, catching up on all the real-life engagement I was avoiding.

I write for two hours a day. I read books. I'm doing artwork. I'm creating content. I'm working out six days a week.. and more

None of it felt good for the first two to three months, but I knew that going in. Every time my brain screamed for pleasure, I said, Bullsh*t, we're doing even more hard work!

I did this over and over for six full months, hoping I would eventually rekindle what had been lost from years of pleasure-seeking.

I went from feeling flat and unmotivated to feeling neutral to eventually actually wanting to do the work.

I'm F-ing getting dopamine from effort again, not drugs. So don't be afraid of the challenge, because if you push through to the other side, you'll find someone you forgotten existed: your healthy, motivated, authentic self.

Hi guys hope everyone is doing well!!

I am 11 days in to my current attempt at quitting, I’ve had many previous unsuccessful attempts. And honestly things are going really really well - physical symptoms are more minimal than previous times and I’m overall more at peace with my decision to quit.

What I’m still struggling with is really intense feelings of loneliness.

I initially started smoking as a way to cope with this. I was at a time in my life where a lot of my friends were getting into relationships and prioritizing time with their significant others over time with their friends and my nights in alone felt a lot better and easier when I was high.

This really quickly spiraled into a habit of getting high all day every day that I wasn’t going to work. Obviously this is not sustainable, but even while it was going on I was still doing really well at work, meeting my fitness goals, and spending time with friends. Externally you’d never guess that I was struggling with my weed usage.

What I feel like I missed most during this time, was time to build a romantic relationship, I was so content to sit at home and get high that it never really bothered me, but now that I’m trying to quit my big feelings of loneliness are back and honestly a lot worse than they were before.

I’m once again finding that there are many times when my friends all have plans with significant others and I’m left home alone.

My issue is I have no skills at all to cope with this besides getting high. Quitting has gone so well this time and I’m really scared of relapsing, but I just do not know what to do with myself. I’m so lonely and I feel like I’ve missed so much that I’m never going to get back, to the point where it feels like I’m never going to catch up.

Anyways just looking for any suggestions on things that have worked for you to deal with this. I do fine while I’m out and busy but the second I’m left alone I feel like I can’t do it anymore.

I hate myself for all the time I spent getting high and I wish I could take it all back, I know I’d be at a much happier spot in my life if I’d never started smoking in the first place.

I've been sober before a few times and they usually were the best times of my life tbh. I quit smoking again this past week and it's not as bad as I thought it would be but since the last time I was sober, I have developed a few different chronic pain/illness issues. I've been journaling and doing breathwork a lot to process withdrawing and thinking thoughts again but I worry I won't be able to sustain sobriety because of the chronic pain. In the 2 years it's been going on, I have not found really any healthy way of coping with the constant discomfort. Are there any other chronic pain baddies in here that have any advice? Unfortunately OTC pain meds don't really do anything for me and the other pain meds I've been given don't help much either so I don't really get any relief and am confined to my bed or my job. Any advice is appreciated.

Hey there I’m a 40+ year smoker and 4 years ago I had quit for 5 months. The first 3 months were absolutely hell with night sweats, nightmares, insomnia, no appetite, and constipation (sorry TMI). I just want to quit without that happening again… ugh!! I was unemployed last time, but this time I’m not and I’m so f’n scared of the withdrawals. Had a strange dream last night… they always involve my ex-husband, who divorced me after he grew out of the habit, but I did not.
I’m wondering if anyone out there can tell me if this will be as bad as last time?? Seems like it will be from what I’m reading… Thanks and best wishes to all!!

So I've smoked cannabis since I was 17 started smoking joints with solid hash and tobacco and quickly became a heavy user.

Over the years I moved on to grass and actually stopped smoking tobacco and started using pipes or buckets or bongs or recently dry herb vapes. My whole life revolves around weed, it always has and I've been a slave for years.

I've missed parties, family gatherings, time with my children. Just to sit alone and smoke weed.

I've sacrificed relationships with friends and family and myself just to be stoned when and how often as I want, which nowadays is from sunrise to sunset.

I've never been to a foreign country, I've barely travelled my own country, I don't go out because I only want to smoke weed.

Financially it is ruining me and I will frequently skimp on food to make sure I can afford my £60 bit of weed every week, although iltl probably only last me 3 days.

I am sick of living my life like this I feel trapped, I've tried cutting down and stopping before but always end up back smoking again and now at 52 time is running out to stop,.

I've just spent £120 on weed that lasted me 6 days I can't do it anymore I feel I'm at make or break.

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

So 44m used for 22 years I gave up june12th had crazy anxiety/panic attack which I think was stress related not weed. but any way I gave up cold turkey and il be honest it feels like I’m getting worse anxiety is really bad not sleeping body aching ankles and wrist hurt and I feel sick with no energy yet I was told it would be the best thing I done🤣I’m struggling quite bad and feel like I’m slipping in to bit of depression I just don’t know what to do I can’t carry on like this 🙏🤣

I did it! I made it to 30 days after over 30 years!🎉 I'd been wanting to quit for years and tried a couple times before.. Once I reconciled in my mind that it was not adding value to my life, hadn't been fun for years and was possibly affecting my mental health, quitting became easier. Only the first few days were tough since it was a DAILY HABIT that I'd had for many years. I was someone who couldn't do anything or go anywhere without pre-gaming AND bringing with. My mind and life revolved around it. If you're struggling, you can do it! If I can, anyone can.💪♥️

Hi everyone. I’m posting here because I’m really struggling at the moment and don’t know where else to turn for advice or support. I’ve been dealing with an eating disorder for a while, and even before quitting cannabis, I struggled immensely with eating. I honestly can’t remember the last time I ate a proper meal, and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to eat or even feel hungry. I used to smoke cannabis excessively, and tomorrow will mark seven days since I stopped. Since quitting, my appetite has become even worse, and I’m struggling to figure out how to get it back. I’m also experiencing a significant increase in my anxiety, and finding it difficult to cope emotionally. I know quitting cannabis is a positive step for me, but I wasn’t prepared for how difficult the adjustment would be, especially when I’m already struggling with my relationship with food and my mental health. I’m looking for advice from anyone who has experienced something similar. How did you manage to regain your appetite after quitting cannabis, especially if you were already struggling with an eating disorder? Did your anxiety and depression get worse after quitting, and if so, what helped you cope?

That’s about it. Four or so days clean after smoking carts daily since 2021.

No serious nausea or anything, so I count myself lucky but these bowel issues are just terrible. I hope it gets better soon because I’m on vacation for the next week.

I’ve been a heavy smoker for a few years now, my heaviest use was in the past two years. I knew I needed to quit and along with other reasons I ended up moving to TN. I separated myself from the source. I’m on day 2 of withdrawals and it’s rough. my body feels so out of wack, i can’t eat, i have indigestion, i’m restless, i want to sleep but can’t, sometimes i want to throw up but can’t. i hate not being able to eat. it makes everything worse. time goes by so much slower now too. please someone tell me this will pass soon. i’m struggling with all of the physical symptoms and it’s misery.

I’m on day 20 and it is getting easier but today I spoke on the phone to my longtime stoner friends. I have only one friend in town that I smoke with and don’t see her very often so that’s easier. These other two friends are long distance and unfortunately, they mostly wanna talk about smoke, and now why I have quit. I really don’t wanna have that conversation again, but want to talk to these folks for both our sakes. Tips for me? Should I request no conversation about MJ?

It's been a month without, I have some here and I'm trying so hard not to use it but I've half convinced myself to just do it 5 times in the last hour. Tell me why not.

Sobriety feels like a punishment. So many times I’ve tried to stop smoking and I keep coming back. I was able to finally stop drinking crazy last year ( for reference I’ve only drank 3 times this year and only once did I have more than 3 beers)

I guess the point to what I’m trying to say is that sobriety isn’t something I actually want.

I want to have kids one day and I don’t want to pass on my bad coping skills so I’ve convinced myself I need to sort all this out first. I feel like sober is a punishment. Or maybe it just feels like there is no reward. Like yay I’m sober. I feel like bashing my head into a wall is more fun than this shit. Why am I even doing this? I jsut keep waiting for my life to get magically better now that I’m not smoking. But there’s not a finish line. Sober not something you do it’s something you become.

I’m waiting for something that’s never going to come. Sober is sober is sober. Why do I feel like I have to hit milestones for it to matter. The longest I did without was 4 months so if I fail before the 4 months it’s like it doesn’t matter bc it’s not the new record.

Everything is all fucking grey and flat. What’s even the fucking point. Oh boy. I can’t wait to get out of bed and be fucking miserable all day. I wish I could just sleep through it all. If I could jsut skip to the part where my life is magically better.

Day 2 and I might not even leave my bed bc what’s the fucking point. I know it’s normal to erratically swing between anger and hopelessness. I do. I get that. But I’m a fucking live wire or so fucking low I can’t function. I just want to sleep through this part and wake up when everything is better. I don’t want to deal with the consequences of my own actions.

I feel like I’m cosplaying as someone that wants to quit.

Hello everybody,

I have smoked for over 20years,, everyday 4 to 6 joints. I quitted now 3 weeks ago and the nightmares are killing me... this night I had 3!! I try some tips people gave me, like:

- no caffeine after 14pm

- no alcohol before sleep or in the evening (I never drink btw)

- going to sleep when I feel tired, not force it

- enough exercise during the day

- waking up at the same hour every morning

....

I mostly smoked to reduce stress and to have/find some rest.

Do you have other tips that helped you to reduce the nightmares?

or should I just endure this and wait a few more weeks until it gradually passes?

One thing is sure, I'm never smoking again! F*ck that!

Thanks for reading ❤️

I almost had a bloody panic attack when I woke from a super realistic dream of going to a dispensary and getting edibles. I’m about six months weed free after a few years of regular edible use. It has been 100% worth it, my life has changed so significantly since stopping. No longer numbing myself to reality gave me the strength to leave my marriage, file for divorce, and get my own place. It has been so healing and worth it, and I’m rediscovering myself after losing myself to substances and verbal/emotional abuse for so long. If someone would have told me that my life would have looked like this after quitting, I would not have believed them! I have my motivation back, my energy back, I physically feel better, and I’m planning and dreaming about the future again. I’m coping better with life, which never stopped being stressful, but stopping allowed me to work on learning to cope rather than taking a chemical shortcut. Trauma therapy has been so helpful during this process, helping me learn how to live my emotional life anew.

So this post is reminder to myself that I don’t want this dream to become reality, because I have worked so hard to start over! I don’t want to go back to the numbness, the settling, and the lows. I celebrated my transformation with my first tattoo yesterday, so maybe the dream was a physical stress response.

I have quit smoking before and would like to do it again. I know I can do it but I’m dealing with way more anxiety and what I guess i’d call confusion or brain fog this time around. it’s like I cannot think clearly until I smoke. I’m wondering if there’s anything I can do to alleviate this besides just pushing through. thank you all

Hey everyone, I’m 19 and recently decided to quit pot for my own sake. It takes a heavy toll on my mental health, so I decided 3 weeks ago to stop. Well all was going well until the past weekend; some college buddies came back from out of town and I figured why the hell not?

They were smoking so I decided to join, i figured it was just a one off but then I started drinking the alcohol they left for the rest of this week. When I ran out yesterday I entered of fiendish state, and I texted my local friend asking to go smoke with him. Last night I got high again and I woke up feeling really horrible about it.

I’m wondering if I can get some tips here on how to stop. I plan on telling my mother about it cuz it’s weighing on me. I also hate that I left almost a month of progress go down the drain.