Question

Elpino91 wrote:Hi UC

Just a quick question - I’ve been off marijuana for 5 months.

My understand is that my recovery will be affected if I smoked pot again. But just wanted to check this was right ?

Yes, it is highly probable it will be affected.

A sugar addict cuts out sugar. 5 months later they eat a little piece of a chocolate cake. What happens? The brain centers related to sugar suddenly wake up. Neurons that had been dormant begin to fire and strengthen again. The body sends a nice shot of dopamine into the system.

Will it affect recovery from sugar addiction? Most likely yes. It is not a guarantee. Maybe this one piece of cake can be managed, but most likely the reawakened pleasure centers will be calling out for even more sugar.

Something similar happens with pot, alcohol…pretty much any addiction. Even a little bit and the brain will wake up and the cravings will return.

Worse, if you somehow successfully manage the cravings, you then begin to rationalize that if you smoked a little and managed, then it’s okay to smoke a little more. This turns into the common phrase, “Falling off the wagon”.

Richard@DecisionSkills wrote:

Elpino91 wrote:Hi UC

Just a quick question - I’ve been off marijuana for 5 months.

My understand is that my recovery will be affected if I smoked pot again. But just wanted to check this was right ?

Yes, it is highly probable it will be affected.

A sugar addict cuts out sugar. 5 months later they eat a little piece of a chocolate cake. What happens? The brain centers related to sugar suddenly wake up. Neurons that had been dormant begin to fire and strengthen again. The body sends a nice shot of dopamine into the system.

Will it affect recovery from sugar addiction? Most likely yes. It is not a guarantee. Maybe this one piece of cake can be managed, but most likely the reawakened pleasure centers will be calling out for even more sugar.

Something similar happens with pot, alcohol…pretty much any addiction. Even a little bit and the brain will wake up and the cravings will return.

Worse, if you somehow successfully manage the cravings, you then begin to rationalize that if you smoked a little and managed, then it’s okay to smoke a little more. This turns into the common phrase, “Falling off the wagon”.

Thank you for your answer.

A few weeks ago I feeling good and I got drunk and smoked a couple of tokes of a cigarette. Next felt good and happy that I felt like myself again. So this doesn’t affect my marijuana recovery ? Just to be clear I have no interest in smoking the green again.

Elpino91 wrote: So this doesn’t affect my marijuana recovery ?

The short answer is no...it doesn't affect marijuana recovery. But be very cautious. Be careful that you don't end up trading one addiction for another.

A question to ask yourself is why drink alcohol, why smoke cigarettes? Why did you smoke marijuana? Why do we do those things that lead to addictions?

Because those things feel good. And like you said, drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes made you feel like your old self. And presumably you liked that feeling. So what is to stop you from drinking more alcohol and smoking more cigarettes anytime you want to feel good? It is a slippery slope, especially for anyone that has struggled with addiction.

Most of us, including me, will justify that it is simply stress relief. We will justify that we are adults and that life isn't worth living without at least some indulgence. We all need at least some vice, right? I mean, how else are we to deal with the stress of life? And we see other people seemingly drinking, smoking, and managing not to get addicted, so why not us?

The reason for all of the above is that your question sounds like you are fishing a bit. it sounds like you are asking for permission to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes as a repslacedment or substitute for weed. Be careful.

It’s been a hellish 5 months since I stopped smoking and I guess like you said I needed that relief ! I smoked for 12+ years and I’m fully committed to go over all these symptômes + going through a breakup which doesn’t help.

I just wanted to make sure I didn’t **** yo my recovery as I don’t want to go through this twice in my life.

Appreciate your feedback !