Intentions for 2007

**Posts:** 752 · by **HDog455** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 5:55 am

Hey dubbyah, sorry mate, I meant to answer your question in my earlier post but forgot - it would seem that my short term memory is still not fully repaired :lol:

But seriously, I started feeling a lot better within a few weeks of quitting. I first noticed a clear headed alertness in myself that was kind of a shock because, having smoked daily for 3 decades, I had totally forgotten what it was like to be a normal everyday non pot smoking person.

The other major benefit was being able to take a deep breath - it took longer to reach that point after probably 6 weeks of coughing up all sorts of muck after waking every morning.

Best of all is the freedom that comes with not thinking about the next session or how long it would be before having to visit the supplier for a another ounce of pot. It's a mental state that I achieved the day after I smoked my last joint and I have posted a lot of content explaining this aspect of how I managed to kick the bad habit. In a nutshell, it finally dawned on me that I was totally fed up with pot and wasn't getting ANY enjoyment from it anymore. This made the whole quitting challenge a lot easier for me because there was nothing good left to crave.

Funnily enough, the process was very similar to when I gave up smoking cigarettes in my eraly 20s. It got to the point where I wasn't even enjoying the After the Meal smoke - so I went cold turkey because it just didn't make sense doing something that was only really making me feel sick.

Nowadays I think of pot as something in my past and have absolutely no wish to ever revisit that scene. There is so much wonder and beauty in this world to be enjoyed as natural highs, but I had to break totally free of the bonds of addiction before I could fully appreciate all that God has given me.

**Posts:** 1503 · by **wakinglife** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 5:08 pm

dubbyah wrote:So my question is, in your experience, what did you notice at the 3 month mark, 6 month mark, 1 year mark, 1 year 3 month mark, 1 year 6 month mark, and 2 year mark, in terms of your thoughts becoming clearer, not feeling spaced out, being able to concentrate and think in depth, not being confused and feeling BURNT OUT, as so many people report, and as I have personally experienced even up to 8 months quitting not feeling totally better.

I know people who have gone 6 months and still haven't gotten the full cognitive repair they desire and need. I tell them if you smoke for so many years, it's going to take more than 6 months for a full rebuilding. Do you agree with this? Does it get better and better past the 6 month mark? Does it get exponentially better as time passes? The THC is out of the body after 6 months, but I believe that after a few months is really when the real repairs begin. Was wondering if you could comment on 'rebuilding time' and things of this issue.

Often people are told that they will be 'totally back to normal' in 3-6 months, and when they definitely aren't (after having smoked for 20 years nonstop), they go back to smoking again because they think things are doomed!

It's tragic that people don't realize that 3 months isn't enough time. What do you think is enough time? Thoughts? Please try to be as detailed/lengthy as possible That's originally why I wanted to PM you about this, because I want as much information as you can possibly bestow on the essential issue of physiological, neurological and neurochemical repair-time! Not so much do I mean in terms of getting new behavioral habits and ways to generate pleasure/happiness sober, things in the realm of the day to day, but more I mean in terms of the brain itself rebuilding structurally and biologically, the brain fog dissipating, the memory issues getting better, the vague confusion and cloudiness that SO MANY report even up to years after they're done smoking! Thanks muchly!!!

You raise valid questions, Dubbyah. Remember that I am one person, giving my own experiences. Although I am highly interested in brain plasticity and psychology, I am an expert on neither of these. For those individuals who smoked for over ten years (21 in my case), I would suggest they might experience the following stages in recovery. (Please note that, although I relapsed many times in the past, this time I did not ingest any cannabis during my recovery.)
1st: 30 days (most of the THC is cleared out) and you feel relatively clear-headed when compared to being chronically stoned or burnt out.
2nd: 100 days (3-4 months) brain feels 'normal' but mood swings and depressive thoughts are still present.
3rd: 200 days (6 months) a breakthrough on the magnitude of making the initial 30 days; a fog lifts from the brain and psyche.
4th: 300-400 days (one year) a sense that the addiction is behind you; cravings are virtually nil; you feel like a non-drug-user, with all of the normal thought processes and emotions that accompany human existence in the modern world.
5th: two years and things keep on improving. You shift focus from dealing with cravings and thoughts about addiction to ways to improve your life. This could be through personal growth, relationship work, or other goals that imbue your life with meaning.

I agree that six months is a marker of things really starting to improve, but it is all relative: one person's normal may be another person's dazed. The keys to my success revolve around expressing myself honestly (via this forum), pursuing increased health (exercise and diet), and taking stock of what ingredients must be part of my life to make it truly satisfying (relationships, connection to nature, stimulating thoughts, inner feelings of well-being). Maintaining a positive outlook helps buoy you through some of the darker times: rather than dwelling on what was lost, focus on what you have gained.

Intentions for 2007

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