Time to Quit Marijuana

I know exercise will be a major part of my recovery effort, I'm gong to see my doctor about depressions meds to since I know I will come crashing down without weed, I'm also open to any hypnotic methods, anyone have any other suggestions?

Hi Dreamscape,
Welcome. You know from the four months you quit how your dreams become more vivid and your sleep, though disrupted at first, will become a normal, very satisfying thing again. You probably will have the night sweats and a few days of real physical change. Eat well & drink juice.
I know how you feel. I know you are scared, but I think you are brave, too.
Whatever has brought you to this point can always be worth it.
Keep posting...Tarrantx is a game guy, too and a very wise soul; read some of his posts.
Hang in there, remember your reasons,
Peggy

Hiya Dreamscape,

I think you are a wise man to stop smoking weed because it is bad news. Reading your post brought back memories of the exact same experience as yours.

At least you're realistic, you know that the first day will be hell and it certainly is, I quit around 6 months ago because I am sure that I was becoming psychotic. Weed just slows your life down, that high is basically a substitute for getting a job, house, car, girlfriend etc etc. Certainly in my experience anyway.

My advice to you mate is to be persistent, don't give up because everyday that you give in to the devils herb wastes another week of your life trying to quit. Go to websites that give you the true insight into how Cannabis really damages biochemistry of the brain's neurotransmitters. Watch the video on here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/p ... 082196.stm this will put things in perspective for you.

You're not getting any younger mate, 28, living at home with no job isn't a great situation and I would say that this is all down to your past drug experiences. I'm 25 and I have only just sorted myself out after years of drug abuse. I too live at home, but I am starting to progress as I now have a very good job (luckily) and fully believe that weed (amongst other things) has wasted a huge portion of my life.

Hang in there dude!

Lee

I relate to a lot of what you said Dreamscape
I am everything I never wanted to be and it really hurts when I have to talk about who I am now and my reality now
Change is possible but it is so hard to forgive and forget
Hope everything works out for all of us and that we find happiness at the end of this long road
Take care

Dreamscape, you can beat this!!! I won't lie and say it will be easy but it can be conquered. I can't be an advocate for anything that I do not do, so I'll just say that working out and eating good will work wonders. Weed tends to leave one in a dull state. I read a quote once and it said weed gives one the power of imagination but takes away your ability to profit from it. That can't be more true. While smoking one can come up with all kinds of great ideas and philosophies but can do nothing about it. When everyone around you or anyone is high everything makes sense to those people. And the more smoking, the moe talking and the more nothing gets done. I love a verbal debate as much as anyone. But try having one of those when you are high with someone who is not and 9 times out of ten they will make you feel stupid. Drugs and alcohol are all masks, they are not real. You may feel great while on them but once they wear off then what, you will still be stuck with you. One could almost same the same about medicine but that's something I'm not really qualified to speak on. Just concentrate for 1 week on quitting then after that decide who and what it is you want to be and dedicate yourself to achieving that. That in itself can take a lifetime and then you won't want to smoke anymore.

Hey guys thx for all the wonderful support, lp_ultra I watched the video you linked and it was really sobering. I definitley believe I have developed some psychotic tendencies when smoking marijuana now. Its like instantaneous anxiety panic and worry set in all at the same time. Listen guys I ended up going to a friends house after a half of day and he suggested we get together for one last toke and then quit together and I went along with it. I had a little rez left in my pipe today and smoked it all and now I've crushed my pipe in a plastic bag into a million little pieces. After I orginally posted and then smoked , I felt ashamed ofcourse but its like the paranoia was stronger then ever, and now I know without a doubt I want to quit this sh**. It was totally not worth it, all I did is get really paranoid and want to leave the whole time, then I went manic and got depressed on the way home. I feel this experience was only confirmation that the time to quit marijuana is now. I have disposed of all paraphanelia and let all my friends know I"m done. Tommorow is day 1 , I know what to expect, I will have some beers I'm sure, I know its not the best thing to substitute, but I feel quitting both is too much to ask right now, I need to focus on weed first. I have a message for Mary Jane :

I don't enjoy you anymore, you are holding me down, you make me paranoid, you prevent me from following through on thoughts and dreams, you make my lungs hurt, you make my anxiety multiply x 10, you bind me to the past , I must defeat you

Thanks again for the support and so the Journey now truley begins . . talk to you soon , I gotta f***in beat this its gonna be hell

Good on yer pal. Basically, without wanting to sound patronising, I have been exactly where you are, was totally addicted to Ganja, did everything on it, totally ruled my life. I have now come to the conclusion that Cannabis is a pile of toss. It's just a shitty little plant that gives you a rush the same as any other drug. It's no better than sniffing glue as it is practically the same really (although completely different pharmacologically), inhale and a rush begins.

For some reason it makes you believe that it is all that matters but in a spiritual kind of way. It says "smoke me and you'll feel mint and know everything about life", but in reality, it is saying "smoke me and you'll turn into a person who cannot be arsed to do anything, don't want to work, can't or don't want to socialise, all I want to do is to smoke and try to get high like I used to". But of course this isn't possible anymore, the body and mind get used to it and the magic wears off... Just like XTC for instance.

Don't be tempted again mate, because it will continue to make you paranoid and anxious everytime. Try and put all of your energies into sorting your life out, such as getting a decent job (because you do sound like an intelligent person) and show your family that you are capable of this. Pot not only takes away your life, but it damages your family's as well. If you find it hard, just keep watching that video that I sent to you and search on Google for people who have become psychotic etc etc. Just put yourself off it, declare war on all drugs, I have done! I'm totally happy now, happier than I ever was on drugs. There is more to life than getting high man...

it will be hard dreamscape, but you can do it, up until 8 days ago i was a daily smoker, when i say daily i mean from like an hour of me getting up till i went to bed, an eighth of green wouldnt last me more than a day or two. like you it was simply to block my social anxiety out, smoking put me in my own bubble and everything seemed like it wasn't that bad, but deep down i knew that it was and needed to do something, been taking citalopram for a week now and not smoking at all, taking it day by day but i hope to be feeling better soon so i can tackle my problems.

i used to take a lot of mdma & coke a few years back too aswell as dabbling with acid & shrooms, which i think has also added to my social anxiety & depression, from now on i will be living a narcotic free life.

btw is your name anything to do with dreamscape the raves? i used to attend them a lot years back in my pre anxiety days if so.

hi guys!
I've read alot of your posts and like you I have decided enough is enough!
I'm only in my late teens and sometimes I feel like my lungs are about to collapse!
I have quit for 2 days up to now. I have a 1 skinner upstairs for when the going gets tough. I've told myself this will be the last joint to ever touch my lips, and I hope I keep to it.
First I started smoking ganja to socialise with my mates, but soon I couldn't stop.
Anyone who says that cannabis is not addictive is lying. Everyone who I have spoke to who has smoked it for longer than a year finds it increasingly harder to stop the longer they smoke it.
I've only smoked it for five years but it feels like an eternity.

It makes it ten times as hard because everywhere I look people seem to be smoking it.

I don't think I am ready to give up cigarettes just yet as they will help me quit weed.

Let me know how that goes..I am having a similar problem with weed.

welcome aboard! I a came across the site in mid-Feb. and aside from one episode haven't smoked since. It gets easier every day. Don't get discouraged early on. There IS a physical addiction and withdrawal component that isn't widely acknowledged but DOES exist (read these boards and you'll see all the proof you need).

Another issue that takes a little time is that we all use weed as a coping skill, so our natural coping skills are a bit atrophied. Don't let this wig you out -- see it for what it is. Realize that what you think about and how you think about it is going to affect your mood. If negative thoughts enter your mind acknowledge it at the time, and try to turn the thought around into a positive one. Instead of thinking --- "sh**, I've really wasted years of my life on weed" turn it around. Say to yourself, "I am looking forward to a year of amazing growth and clarity. I am proud of myself for taking this step."


Drink lots of water. You probably won't sleep well for a week or two -- that's completely normal and will go away. Your dreams will get more vivid as your brain wakes up. Take vitamins. Go on walks. Get some exercise. Don't forget to have some fun. Go to movies. Read books.

Most importantly, talk to other people about what you're going through. This board is also a great outlet. You can post here any time of day or night.

I've found writing to be a huge release. I wrote this back in February after I'd been off weed for about a month. I kept having a reoccuring vision of a garden:





Stress of daily living

Pot turns my mind into a beautiful windswept desert with a sky dark blue and cloudless.

No plants no living things beautiful and simple

Off pot, seedlings sprout in my desert. They sting as they push upward and break through the dry crust. These are living and complex. Some are prickly and daunting. Others are tiny colorful jewels that need water and patience to grow.

The cacophony of plants overtakes my desert. Some plants sicken and die. Others grow like weeds. My garden has no order. It is untamed and unformed. I look at other peoples' gardens with neat rows built deliberately over time and it pains me.

I yearn for the desert again. But there is no garden there for my wife to visit. No food for my children.

Death can wait.






I'm happy to say that this poem means less to me now. But it still means something.

Best to you....

i have never posted here before. i have never admited to anyone that i have a problem, but i do.
i began smoking when i was 18, just for kicks, but about three years ago it became an every day thing. i smoked every day, but not a lot. an 1/8 would last me a month, but still i looked forward to going home everyday being by myself and lighting up. i know i wasn't smoking a lot, but i loved it, i thought about it.
i don't think my social skills have suffered too much, i have a job where it is extremely important that i can socialize with a bunch of different people very well. but i don't really know how pot has affected me- i've been too long with it to know anymore.
i realized it was a problem when i found myself saying (to myself while high) "perhaps i can't figure this problem out because i'm high? or perhaps i'm overly emotional because i am high? or maybe i'm blowing things out of proportion because i am on drugs."
i tried to cut back, but couldn't. i want to do this cold turkey and so far so good. i feel committed to this although it is very scary. i realize boredom will ensue and i have to keep myself busy.

my question to ya'll out there is this: do i have to tell people that i have a problem and that i'm quitting? and also does anyone out there smoke the way i do or hopefully the way i used to?

thank you

its so true that weed aint what it used to be, in the old days it really was an escape, now it has become much more of a habit, a little demon controlling me. I dont feel that relaxed anymore when im stoned, it just makes me more anxious and worried than normal. but whenever im sober there is a little voice in my head going "skin up, skin up, skin up" and it's very hard to ignore. it feels like weed is what makes me complete when in fact the exact opposite is true. its hard to quit but you know it's the right thing to do, without any doubt whatsoever.

one thing that made it hard was that i have had friends with addiction to coke or alcohol or speed, and generally the consensus is that weed is fine, its not a real drug, and i have friends who smoke more bud than me and never see it as a problem. i end up thinking why is my life so f***ed up when all i do is smoke weed, what is wrong with me?

thats why this site is such a help because you realise theres a million other people in exactly the same situation thinking exactlly the same things as you, every day i check here there is someone new or even a few new people trying to quit weed, the so called harmless non-addictive drug.

hey rosalee i used to smoke in the same way as you, just a little bit every night before bed, up til a few days ago (i think 5...), i used to smoke with friends as well but much more enjoyed it on my own, when i wasnt getting paranoid about what i said or how i acted, and could just drift off into my own world.
it is such a great help to have people supporting you, my advice would be to tell people, maybe not all your friends but the ones you care about the most, who can inspire you the most. thankfully i still have friends who arent stoners and they have been amazingly supportive, i think they have more respect for me for trying to quit and this support and respect has been a huge inspiration.
of course everyone is different and you may have your own reasons for not wanting to tell people about it. if you really dont want to tell anyone then definately keep coming back to this site because it has been an inspiration for me as much as my real world friends have been. you might be able to do it on your own but remember the more people who are backing you, the harder it will be to justify drifting back to your old ways.

much love and good luck, stick at it and remember how great life in the real world can be!

My habits were very similar to yours, Rosalee. I would generally smoke at the end of my day and really enjoyed it for a long time. I'm 28 and I've been smoking since high school. But, I''ve decided to quit because it has taken too much of a hold on me, and I see how it can create anxiety and irritability in me sometimes. I ask myself the same question, "Am I really feeling irritable or so emotional about this, or is it just the effects of the weed?"

Also, like you, I'm functioning pretty well in life. I have a job I like and I'm in school and get really good grades, but, like I said, the weed smoking isn't the fun that it used to be. I find that I use it as an emotional crutch when I"ve had a bad day, and sometimes I just can't resist smoking before work-- which isn't a good thing. I tend to be more forgetful and make mistakes when I do this, but sometimes I just couldn't help myself, I couldn't resist it.

I've stopped smoking weed for about 4 days now, it's going okay, but I'm afraid I smoke again if I have a really bad day at work.

I really appreciate the posts, guys, it helps a lot to see people genuinely supporting one another. Stay strong and keep trying!