Benefits of being off weed

Happy 2020!

So grateful for the recent posts, keeping this thread relevant and inspiring. Back from vacation with my family (11 of us gathered for a week in Mexico). Not being a pot head anymore allowed me to engage more fully with my wife's family-- something that would have been more challenging if I'd been slowed down by weed detox (never travelled with it in the past) or scoring, smoking and hiding out in a foreign country.

So, SO very glad I have stuck with this decision to put that plant in the past. There were many good times, but inevitably the downsides consistently outweighed any small benefits offered by smoking cannabis.

As someone prone to seasonal depression (exacerbated by the holiday hoopla and consumerist crap grab), I am being kinder to my mental and emotional circuitry by leaving weed aside. For me, for now, a life free from my limiting addiction to cannabis feels vivid and real. I am pushing forward into a new year with eyes wide open.

New year's blessings to you all!

WL

Just made it a little over four months weed free! There have been ups and downs for sure, but I feel like I'm finally free in a lot of ways. Cannabis created this prison in which I had to hide from everyone and was constantly tired and having to push thru it. The anxiety even when I was on it was bad, but the anxiety when off was worse. I have sooooo much more energy today. I've harnessed much of that into working out and just joined a new boxing class. I was never able to stay consistent when on it. I've had paws at times and for me, I think it was severely aggravated by alcohol consumption. Once I started reading more about seratonin from alcohol and cannabis, I realized I might be throwing my head into turbulence every time I would drink as that's exactly what I was trying to recover from with cannabis use. It's made a world of difference for me. I always saw the two as completely different, but there is a big overlap in the fact it initiates a fake euphoria by the release of seratonin. For me, it would result in a high followed by a couple of low days. I never understood it could be more than just a mood. By staying away from both and more compensating with working out for more the natural high, I feel like I've really leveled off. I finally feel like I'm getting to some sort of norm without cannabis in my life. It's been so long since I didn't have this dependence. Feels great!

Hello everyone, posting from Massachusetts in the United States here, and simply put, without the help of this forum, I would have not been able to get a solid grip on my life. Ever since moving back to a Massachusetts from North Carolina at the age of 16, I have pretty much been a daily smoker. Heavy quantities of marijuana everyday. Since the age of 16, I was smoking 20 grams a week if not more, depending on if I had heavy smoke sessions with my friends. I was able to graduate high school with good grades, but dropped out of community college after one year due to my total elimination of motivation as a result of heavy marijuana usage. I began using daily because at first, the highs were great. I felt as if my problems disappeared and all my issues were resolved at the bottom of a bowl pack. Well, eventually I developed a heavy tolerance to the herb and became highly addicted to the plant which I previously thought was a cure all. My first worry all day everyday was how much marijuana I had left in my mason jar. I only worked just to blow my paycheck on weed, and never stopped thinking about weed at work. I would treat customers poorly and had to make conscious efforts to simply make eye contact with customers. Marijuana destroyed who I was as a person. I’m one of the “all or nothing” people that I have seen throughout this forum. I’ve read all 174 pages of this forum, all the stories, struggles and improvement people have made in their struggles with marijuana addiction, which is a real and legitimate thing. Most people think it’s harmless and non-addictive, which is just being ignorant of facts. When the brain becomes used to the daily intake of heavy amounts of THC, it is difficult to imagine life without it. Eventually, since my tolerance became so high, I started the use concentrates to achieve the highs I used to get, and this only worsened my situation. Dabbing 80-90% THC oil daily for about a year not only destroyed my finances, but destroyed my perception of life and my social interactions. Anyway, I am now 13 days free of any type of THC product, and I feel great. I can be around my mother when she’s smoking and refuse to take a hit. My will power has increased every single day and I finally feel confident and almost like the old me. Without the help of this forum I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I truly believe the most powerful thing in this life is being able to relate to others, understand their trials and tribulations and how we overcome obstacles and roadblocks in life. I truly cannot express how thankful I am for these posts, from people all over the world it is just such a powerful thing to have a connection with peoples stories (even though I’ve never met anyone on here) and be able to feel as if I’m not alone. I had some issues with sleep and irritability the first 4-5 days but since finding this forum I am absolutely never looking back, I am ready to become more motivated to move up in my career, and perhaps go back to school. I am not going to smoke or intake any THC for the foreseeable future, and I mean perhaps decades. Had I known the negative side effects of excessive marijuana use on a habitual basis, I would have never picked the stuff up. Natural highs from being
Social and renewed interests in things I previously needed weed to enjoy are much better than the synthetic high produced by marijuana. Though I believe it should be legal and has many medicinal uses, it is not for me and I’m glad I have untangled myself from this net which has had me trapped for too long. It’s all or nothing, and I choose nothing. I haven’t felt so powerful and in control in my entire life- this forum must continue as it is the most helpful and enlightening resource I have come across to help me with my problem. I will be providing updates and responding to others. We are all in this together, all from different parts of the globe. What a wonderful forum this is. Basically, this forum saved my life from being wasted being blazed all day every day. I feel as if I want to (and can) learn new things now. I am likely not the only one whose life has been saved by this forum. Wakinglife, thank you for posting back in 2006 (I was in 2nd grade at the time), without the Initial post In this forum followed by all the powerful stories in here, I would have been 30 before I knew stoned out of my mind looking back with regret. I am glad I’m being enlightened at 22. I have so much life ahead of me and look forward to making real, and genuine friends who are not part of my old stoner group.

Wow, D-Teigh! Thank you so much for your post. Your story really hit me. You went the the extreme with cannabis and have discovered that life is actually better once you've been released from its compelling grasp. I applaud you. Your post (and the follow up posts I'm hoping you'll share) are going to make a lasting impact on this forum.

I wish you well, my virtual friend!

WL

Wow! nine months THC free, and I am enjoying everyday of this new lease on life. Thinking clearer, breathing better and maturing emotionally, overall I can feel myself becoming a better, more rounded person. When I smoked or ate pot I was very one dimensional and closed off, I don’t know how or why my spouse put up with my addiction, but I’m glad she did.

When I started this journey, my plan was to quit for three months. After that time, I was feeling pretty good, so I thought let’s go for a six month goal. Now I’ve set my sights on a year weed free and that is within sight. After each one of these baby steps I would tell myself I could have a puff as a “reward”, however I find that the benefits of being sober are the true rewards, and that’s all I need.

I LOVE the positive vibration of this thread!

Kudos and blessings to you all.

Day 23 off weed for me and the biggest benefit for me has been my emotional and interpersonal stability. I no longer go through a day and only enjoy my first twenty minutes because I’m high. I interact with people and actually enjoy doing it. I’m not completely back to where I was before smoking chronically, but I’m committed to finding happiness through a 100% sober lifestyle. As I said; I can’t do things in moderation so I am never touching the stuff again. The dark racing thoughts that went through my brain were horrible and they don’t happen when I’m sober. I am in control of myself now and can enjoy small things like a ray of sunshine hitting my face or going to play basketball, or whatever It May be... and I don’t have to worry about calling my dealer to see if I can get weed beforehand just to enjoy whatever it was I was doing because when I wasn’t high I was just at rock bottom and didn’t want to do Anything besides get high. I’m glad I freed myself from the chains of cannabis and can now get to learn more about myself and other people around me who love me. My connections and listening skills with people have improved and I already feel more wholesome. Like i said, I will be providing incremental updates for as long as I am experiencing the benefits. Thank you to everyone here for their honesty. Without this I would still be stuck in the mud.

So for the past 25 years I have been subjected to random drug testing for my career. Although random, I usually had an inkling when one was coming or, when surprised, would fake an illness and go on an intensive de-tox process. I used all the tricks in the book, from buying fake urine to using a friend’s clean stuff, it was an exhausting game of cat and mouse. Then I would sit on pins and needles for a week or two waiting for a call from HR that never came (Whew!)

Got the call to report yesterday, went in immediately with not a worry in the world. Did the test and have since forgotten about it since it’s been over 9 months since I stopped using. What a feeling of FREEDOM! Add another benefit to my ever growing list.

FreedomFighter- that is awesome. It’s definitely a weight off our shoulders to not having a chemical dependency on weed anymore to the point that we would prioritize it over everything else in life. There’s so many more opportunities with a sober lifestyle. Today is one month free of the stuff for me and my biggest improvement has been having more patience with people in general. I have a renewed sense of empathy for others and just am a better person off the stuff. I wish everyone the best in their endeavors continuing with a sober, happy, and healthy lifestyle. Here’s to many more opportunities for all of us without the chains of cannabis wrapped around us

Absolutely D-Teigh, I hope that with every day off the weed you’ll find, as I am finding, your list of benefits keep growing. The feelings of accomplishment, awareness, a healthier, happier lifestyle and being a better all round person far outweigh any PAW symptoms or the desire to get high.
As I close in on 10 months free, the idea of getting high seems repugnant and gross.

Benefit: woke up clear headed this morning. I have the confidence to go dance at a weekly Sunday morning conscious dance event called Dance Temple (like an AM nouveau-hippy rave).

Life is magical, friends!

(That is all.)

WL

5000 days!

Absolutely amazed that I have reached such a milestone. I used a day counter a few weeks ago, then set a reminder in my phone to tell me that today marks five thousand days free from cannabis.

Back when I arrived on this forum in 2006 I couldn't have predicted my streak would go this long. Thanks to all of you for your support over the years. Feeling like I have a safe space (where others who have struggled with problematic cannabis use understand me) has been one of the fundamental pieces to freeing myself from my addictive patterns.

I am feeling so much better than I did as a pot smoker. I hope that you're able to achieve any goal you have set for yourself. We're all in this together!

WL

On another thread the question of meditation for treating addiction was raised. Here are my experiences:

Meditation can be helpful for reducing anxiety and gaining self-awareness of your body/mind/emotional state. There are many excellent meditations free on YouTube. Personally, I have tried four mainstream mindfulness apps, all of which have strengths and shortcomings. I suggest doing a free trial (most give you about one week for free, or limited content free, then move to a monthly or yearly subscription model). Here is a brief recap:

Headspace- great introduction to solid meditation techniques. Mainly narrated by the creator, Andy Puddicome (sp?), a British guy. I used it for one year, and found it excellent.

Calm - It has one main narrator (smooth, female voice, very calming). I like this one for the Bedtime Body Scan-- I use this for 3 minutes to start my classes.

Waking Up - Sam Harris narrates. in my judgment, just bare bones, straight up meditation instruction. Tried this one for a few weeks. Slightly too "austere" for my tastes (but a friend of mine switched to this after a year of Headspace and says it deepened his practice profoundly).

10% Happier - my personal favourite at the moment. I love the variety of instructors and the many styles of meditation offered. I am personally really vibing on the soft and gentle ones involving Gratitude, Loving Kindness, and Body Awareness.

Try a few. See what works for you. I have personally found mindfulness has helped me stay off cannabis by helping me get in touch with the underlying feelings I'm experiencing, rather than rushing to reflexively numbing or escaping.

Sending peaceful, heartfelt encouragement your way!

WL

Unless I smoke some, I can't concentrate, my mind is racing, and I get overwhelemed.

Burnilobo wrote:Unless I smoke some, I can't concentrate, my mind is racing, and I get overwhelemed.

That's likely withdrawal, unless you actually have some real medical need. I can definitely relate.

I'm now 2 weeks into my break, and some of the benefits of being off of it for me that i've really noticed:

-no more night sweats
-no more getting up in the middle of the night to piss
-feel so clear headed in the morning
-morning dreams
-nocturnal/morning erections
-feel super happy
-no anxiety
-no depression
-no cravings