Benefits of being off weed

Hey All!

I was away from the computer for a few days, so it is great to see that people are staying strong, and laying off the pipe!

Quitting pot is like waking up after sleeping for way, way too long. I have so much time to make up for. I feel like at teenager trapped in the body of a 33-yr-old. Let me explain: I had smoked for so long, and for so many reasons, that I had not developed mature, competent coping mechanisms. If anything got tough, I just packed my pipe, and away the problem went. (Or so the delusion told me.) I am now learning that life is not quite so simple. You need different strategies to thrive in this game. I am now doing my best to learn some more productive ones!

Peace.

I just wanted to take a moment to welcome Robert, Meeshi, and J. Sorry I haven't done this sooner, there are just so many threads and so many people to talk to. J I know what you mean about looking for help on the internet. This place is awesome. Everyone here is quitting, in the process of quitting, some have failed and trying again, etc...... Real people with real addictions. I like to tell the new people(if they didn't already read it)that I quit a 29 yr. addiction to marijuana on Jan. 05. So if I can quit, anyone can. I still find this site very theraputic, and I have made some good friends that I will never meet, but we all have this connection. Fighting the habit of smoking pot. Good luck to you all, I hope we talk soon, take care. Love and peace,Flower

Thanks for the welcome Flowerchild.

Add another soul to the quitter's club. Day 1 is underway.

I'd just like to thank the original poster for one of the best lists of benefits that I have ever seen. I am going to print it out and use it for inspiration when I start jones'in.

Tonight when I get home from work will be tough but I'll be here instead of out in the garage smoking up.

i have tried to get support i go to addaction centre, but its not that helpful, got an appointment in abit not sure whether to go as i feel guilty for lapsing,
i know what its like i have my face which i put on for family i also come across strong i have a decent job and education (my personal achievements) but underneath this adiction is really getting to me.
i wouldnt feel so outa control if i hadnt smoked last night back in the cycle i feel negative and out of control .
Thats weird you saying bout the kickboxing thing cause someone gave me a flyer for that today and i said i would try it!
i go to the gym went once this week, but my membership is wasted like me cause i am too tired to go most days cause of smoking then work its well expensive gym, too so it really doesnt make sense me not using it.

i will set a date of monday after weekend and see how i go to quit again.

good luck j and the offtheweed and well done keep it hopefully i will be joining you soon

Yes, the subject line is the title of a movie about quantum physics and how we co-create our own reality. I highly recommend it! I know that different people are at different stages: from a few hours, to days, months and years without. When I first joined, I was still in withdrawals, so I gained help from hearing how bad other people had it (misery loves company!) After about a month is when this thread was born: somewhere to focus on the positives.

I firmly believe that what we focus on, we feel the most. (Yeah, pretty obvious, you might say.) If all of our time is spent thinking about how bad life is without pot, life tends to suck. Once a couple of days of clarity has ‘cleared the smoke’ from our heads, it becomes more important to focus on what we want. We want to be happy without burning and inhaling stuff. We want to enjoy to the fullest our families, jobs, free time, hobbies, and passions.

We are here on this planet to live! The problem for some of us was that we got side-tracked down that dead end that has a bong at the end of it. We took something that we used to ‘enjoy’ life more, and did it until it made life worse. All of us ended up here, sharing our stories, supporting one another, and speaking our truths.

I want to shout out for the entire world to hear it: “You are amazing! Each person who can find the silver lining to this cloud is showing the rest of us how they succeeded. The kind words expressed, the compassion and support that is coming across on these boards renews my faith in humanity. Give yourself some huge credit: you made it this far, and things are only getting better!”

Peace.

I really feel your joy! I agree with everything you said

meeshi25 wrote:i have tried to get support i go to addaction centre, but its not that helpful, got an appointment in abit not sure whether to go as i feel guilty for lapsing,
i know what its like i have my face which i put on for family i also come across strong i have a decent job and education (my personal achievements) but underneath this adiction is really getting to me.
i wouldnt feel so outa control if i hadnt smoked last night back in the cycle i feel negative and out of control .
Thats weird you saying bout the kickboxing thing cause someone gave me a flyer for that today and i said i would try it!
i go to the gym went once this week, but my membership is wasted like me cause i am too tired to go most days cause of smoking then work its well expensive gym, too so it really doesnt make sense me not using it.

i will set a date of monday after weekend and see how i go to quit again.

good luck j and the offtheweed and well done keep it hopefully i will be joining you soon

Hey Meeshi25 i read your post and i thought i'd add my two cents for what its worth....firstly i wanted to say congratulations on attempting to quit, this alone is something to be proud of regardless of whether you lapsed or not....it has taken me 14 years to make that same decision and i know how difficult it is to make...secondly dont feel guilty about lapsing, as long as you dont give up trying you haven't lost the fight my friend...sometimes you gotta get knocked down a few times as long as you keep standing up again you will win......keep fighting keep strong we are all behind you and will support you every step of the way, through successes and failures....
And finally i'm in now way trying to discourage you from seeking professional help because for some it really does work....but from my personal experience(i have been to a counsellor before) you have to help yourself before anyone can help you....another thing is although these counsellors are trained proffesionals(albeit to varying degrees) they have no direct experience of what it is really like to be addicted to spliff....take a look around on this forum Meeshi25 you are surrounded by courageous, experienced and loving people, who although are strangers, have more of a connection with you and me than most....i have only been clean for 2 days now but these people have helped me in ways no therapist ever could.
So Meeshi, come monday we will be here for you, we wont judge.....
you can do it....we all can.

thanks for your reply, i think your right professional help means they have been trained in what to say. Real help comes from people who have experienced what you go through and i do find this site more encouraging.
Thanks for your support i will try again,
p.s i have been smoking for 3 years about 1 year was hard, i have smoked from a 1/4 a week at worse to just £10 a week now, so if i look i am slowing it down, i just want to get to the stage of not needing it anymore and find joy in life dont get me wrong, i do things and have a life but the end of every day i get this 'its time for a spliff now feeling' (that i cant/ dont want/find it hard to/how ever i put it )i'm finding it difficult to change if i just try abit harder again and keep at it. one day it will work.
Thanks all ill be here tom

Hey Meeshi25, glad to hear from ya....
Just a thought, i find it really hard to deal with the thought of never smokin spliff again, for so long it has been who i am and i believed me mary jane belonged together, i was her advocate for years, aggressively arguing against anyone who spoke up against her.....So how about doin what i'm doin at the mo.....just tell yourself you're gonna stop skanking for 1 month and see how you feel at thje end of it and then make a decision.....
one month is a lot easier to handle than forever.......
i'm writing this on day 3 of the first time i've ever tried to stop and i'm clucking bad..... your use sounds alot more moderate than mine, where from the age of 15 up until 3 days ago i was smoking at least a henry every two days, so it may seem to you that its not too bad.....but you're obviously here for a reason, something must be making you want to stop....focus on this feeling and see where it leads you.....if you read a few of these threads you'll notice all of us have one thing in common....we cut down, we starting spoliffing more and more then we're back to where we started.....i am positive we all have different levels of self control as we are all individuals, therefore it is my conclusion that it must be spliff that takes away any control we have as all of us here seem helpless to control her(mary jane).
Hey meeshi25, see you on monday yeah?
P.s feel free to join mine and j's thread he's been clean one day longer than me, but we are goin through this sh*t together, so if you want you're more than welcome to join the ride...
Hang tough my friend

hi every1 i think the time has come to share my story, ive been using for aprox 7 years (non stop for about 5 years). i made the decision to stop last wk end and came across this site, i had my last j on the sunday (7 days today yippee). up til now i didnt feel like i had the strength to make a post, this site has helped me so much, its opened my eyes to everyone else being in the same position as me.

For me i feel like its now or never, the stoner life has realy took its toll on me, im fed up feelin like a waste of space and worrying about where my next bit is coming from, i havent given myself a certain time off it because i know if i even have a couple of j`s il b back at square one and have to do this all over again.
this site has given me so much inspiration, wakinglife ur posts have given me so much advice and u r a godsend to everyone trying to stop.

meeshi25 ive been in your position so many times and always end up back at the start, if i can do it anyone can, hope u manage to join the club 2morow, for me ive had to have something to focus on like doing it for my family ( i dont want to be uncle stoner anymore because thats how i see myself)
well done to everyone taking this first ste and i know there is defenatly light at the end of this tunnel

fresh start wrote:hi every1 i think the time has come to share my story, ive been using for aprox 7 years (non stop for about 5 years). i made the decision to stop last wk end and came across this site, i had my last j on the sunday (7 days today yippee). up til now i didnt feel like i had the strength to make a post, this site has helped me so much, its opened my eyes to everyone else being in the same position as me.

For me i feel like its now or never, the stoner life has realy took its toll on me, im fed up feelin like a waste of space and worrying about where my next bit is coming from, i havent given myself a certain time off it because i know if i even have a couple of j`s il b back at square one and have to do this all over again.
this site has given me so much inspiration, wakinglife ur posts have given me so much advice and u r a godsend to everyone trying to stop.

meeshi25 ive been in your position so many times and always end up back at the start, if i can do it anyone can, hope u manage to join the club 2morow, for me ive had to have something to focus on like doing it for my family ( i dont want to be uncle stoner anymore because thats how i see myself)
well done to everyone taking this first ste and i know there is defenatly light at the end of this tunnel

Congrats on the seven days without freshstart... big thumbs up to that. I'm going into day 5 tomorrow and the hardcore cravings are still pretty strong. I quit smoking cigs too and my lungs are really missing some sort of smoke.

Just wanted to let you know that every time I see a new member, my heart lifts a little more and I get the strength I need to carry on.

I want to personally welcome you to this community of which I am a new member myself.

Every person here is a success story in one way or another just for joining. I will be here for the highs and the lows of the battles we go though - I am here to stay. I'm so glad you joined. Keep up the fight because I am in your corner.

hi j thanks for the welcome, well done to 5 days today, its breaking the habit thats the most difficult part, well done on the cigs too im on 20+ a day to take the edge off it.

its great to get support from people in the same position. i wish i had advice about the cravings but all i can say is they get easier to cope with.

ive had alot of mixed emotions but im just trying to focus on the good ones because i know through time il feel like that more often and the bad ones will slowly go away or get easier.
ive been getting wee feelings of how life was before the weed journey ( is that u reality)
day no 8 now and im so glad i made this decision to stop. time is certainly a healer and weve all just got see it through

hi fresh start, big up for finding the streanth to share your story i no personally how hard the first steps are.
also hi to j and everyone else ive not been on site for a few days, ive not relapsed but had a bit of an emotional crash im pretty down just now but tomorrow ive promised myself ill come back on and well share just whats happened since saturday ( i feel to embaressed to talk just now) take care all
robert

i love this forum. i've been looking at this site for months now and just signed up. i had quit weed a few times before without support or acknowledging that i had actually quit but was merely 'taking a break' which gave me plenty of wiggle room to backslide. i told my bong buddies that i'm done this time around, so i'm hoping for the best. the first 10 days or so is pretty rugged, but being able to have a clear eye when dealing with things is awesome. sometimes it's that reality prompting me to get back on the chronic but i want to engage things instead of hiding behind weed. it's only been a week and my break record within the past 3 years is 6 weeks, so we'll see waht happens. already feeling like myself a bit more and need to work on the easily agitated aspect during the first 10 days to 2 weeks. that's my biggest trigger.

Wreckoning82,

Glad to see another new voice out there! It is great that you know your triggers, so now you can be ready . . .

The benefit of having a clear head is that you aren't on auto-pilot as much, so you can make a sane decision as to what's best in the long run. In the past it has always been old friends who seem to get me smoking it once, which leads to moderate, which leads right back to chronic-land.

If I ever have a super-stressful day, I am now learning other ways to deal with it (exercise, music (making it and listening to it), getting out and doing something fun). I have to say that it is truly enriching my life to have all of these other positive outlets!

Feeling listened to and understood is a massive help during the down times.

Thanks to all who share!