Benefits of being off weed

Well said slik1! I smoked probably longer than smokemagners has been alive, I know everything there is to know about the benefits of weed. I've been a hippie, a grower, in the medical marijuana movement, etc. It's like anything, if you overdo it or do it past its time, it turns on you. We should feel sorry for smokemagners because of his arrogance, his ignorance, and his delusions. He thinks it is making him peaceful, but he registers with an addictions forum to flame people. He thinks he doesn't have a problem with weed, but he suffers from uncontrollable anger when he stops, and he feels he can't stop unless he takes up another addiction. He looks at 6 pages of benefits people have felt from stopping, and he thinks they don't add up. He thinks stopping just happens and requires no effort. He likes having a catapult take his head off. Perhaps I should add to my list of benefits that I am glad I am not fooling myself like smokemagners.

Slik1 and Sarita, You both said it more elegantly than I ever could.

Sarita: Thanks so much for posting your list of benefits, it gives me inspiration everytime I see someone post about their life changing. Also, thanks for posting some of your long history, it made me feel- once again- that we - ex pot addicts- are everywhere. And yes, everything overdone or done too long can overtake you.

Have a great day (evening for those in different time zones) everyone.

S.

There seems to be a massive increase in depression that coincides with the start of the dark months. My heart goes out to those who are feeling miserable. I am having some family crises of my own, so I cannot be anyone’s personal life-line at the moment. It might sound harsh, but sometimes we have to hit rock bottom before we can push off and get our lives back in order.

I know that what works for one person may not work for everyone, but I need to share my truth. It has now been 122 days of no weed. I have listed many benefits, and agreed whole-heartedly with other posters on this thread. The largest overall benefit that I have encountered is very wide-ranging: my life is better without cannabis addiction.

Let me elaborate: I do not get caught up in mental whirlpools of paranoid thoughts. I do better at work, so my job is easier, less stressful and more satisfying. I am not constantly craving something every time I get bored or stressed. My relationships with everyone I know (except for chronic pot smokers) have improved. My health is better, so I get sick less often. I am rested, dreaming, and waking up refreshed. I feel more intelligent than when I was smoking regularly. I know you might be getting sick of hearing how good it is for some, while others are still feeling horrible. I also know that all of these improvements were the result of making a commitment to myself to stay off weed.

Don’t quit for anyone else. Do what you know in your heart will bring you a more joyful life. I have been through the steps of addiction, withdrawal, and I am now maintaining a drug-free existence. I give you my word: it is worth it.

Peace

Just finding this site has lifted me up tremendously.. am onmy second day of cold turkey, but am determined to give up after 10 years of smoking weed, the lost weekends & evenings not to mention loss of creativity and confidence... Does this come back??? would like to hear more from long term users who have got their life back..

Just finding this site has lifted me up tremendously.. am onmy second day of cold turkey, but am determined to give up after 10 years of smoking weed, the lost weekends & evenings not to mention loss of creativity and confidence... Does this come back??? would like to hear more from long term users who have got their life back..

Just got home and your post was screaming at me. I am so glad you were guided to this forum, and congrats on TWO days of being pot free! Your on your way to freedom from the weed. Your creativity and your confidence are part of you before you even took your first toke. Yes it will come back, in fact it has never left you. I know what you mean about wondering if you will get your life back, I felt the same way when I quit my 29 year addiction to pot. If you are truly determined to quit and you can bear a week or two or three of withdrawls, you will kick this addiction. Admit to yourself that you are addicted to weed. Then you can remind yourself, that just one hit off a joint, will send you back to daily smoking. This is a wonderful forum, many here to help and support you, welcome to the family. Best wishes for a successful day 2, talk to you soon I hope,love and peace, Tina

Me too, 10 years, too long!

I'm only on day 4, but feeling better already. I just read a quote recently that I just posted, but seems so relevant to you, it's from a Course in Miracles.
"As illusions go I find the gifts illusions tried to hide."
I read this at exactly the right time, as seems to happen.......
I hope you did too!

Good luck and good energy to you!

stace wrote:loss of creativity and confidence... Does this come back??? would like to hear more from long term users who have got their life back..

The longer you go without weed, the more you will realise how much it was bringing you down. I will admit that the first few days and weeks are really tough . . . thinking about it lots, needing to keep busy with other things. I would say that it took about a month for my full confidence to return. Creativity definitely returns as soon as you get out of the tired phase (also a few weeks long).

As for your request to hear from more long term users who have gotten their lives back, it is hard to track them all down. Once people get back on track with their lives, they seem to forget about the people they left in the addictions forum (Flowerchild is one notable exception to this phenomenon). Here is the call to all you success stories: check back in and let us know how you are doing now that you have stayed off cannabis for several weeks/months/years. All success stories offer hope to those that are just deciding to start a new chapter in their lives.

Post your progress here!

Peace

Wakinglife thank you for wonderful comment about me. I WILL be around for awhile. I am so grateful to God that I got through some really dark days, that I feel obliged to help others, and let them know there is life after pot is out of your life!! Take care, so glad you are still pot free. Talk to you later, love and peace, Tina

im 15, nd bin on weed almost 2 yrs. I used 2 enjoy blazin, but after a bad trip 1 night, it sorta got me fuked up. after that i didnt enjoy blazin 4 a long while but still did it. Then i realised the only way 2 enjoy it was 2 get pissed and stoned together. so here i am now and recently have been considering quiting. ive found out it is a lot harder then i fort, simply due 2 peer pressure. most of my m8s r older then me and r on coke nd pillz. i dont want 2 do that sh**, but have bin close so many times. i dont no however if i see any benefits of quittin, wot shall i do?

Hi Auzzy,

Remember that doing what other people want will not make you happy in life. Only what you want can do that. So don't let anyone make you do something you don't want...weather it's drugs or any other thing. Remember that you, and only you, are gonna deal with the consequence of the choises you make. NOT the people who put preassure on you!

I think first step is to let your friends know that you feel uncomfortable smoking and that you are trying to quit. Usually the friends of someone trying to quit, don't think any less of that person because of it. And those who do are not really your friends anyway.

Try to keep in mind that you are still developing (we homo sapiens take a while to develop fully). Doing both boze and weed is a dangerous combination for someone your age.

It has helped me to check in to this forum everyday...maybe it can help you too. I still smoke...but I smoke a lot less, now that I got the support of all the great people here. Keep posting Auzzy...you'll see it is not impossible

Alright Auzzy?
you say you don't know if you see any benefits of quitting.....
Well, maybe it's cos you're 15 and have onlt been smokin for 2 years, see I started smokin the same age as you 13yrs and was a propa stoner from morning till night for 14yrs..... it took me a long time to realise how spliff was f*ckin me up, its a pretty tricky plant in that when you first start it seems as if it actually makes your life better..... Once you have gone through school, maybe done a bit of uni, or work you will see how it holds you back....thing is i never heard from anyone who had actually smoked skunk for ages and then quit, all i was exposed to were teachers, counselors etc that just said weed was bad and i used to think to myself " what the f*ck to these w*nkers know, they haven't even had a spliff before"......
But have a read on this forum, you will see loads of ex-and trying to be ex-stoners who have been through it and most of us have done pills, charlie and the rest of it too.... I'll give you some advice as a person who knows spliff is very tricky, be careful, before you know it it will make you think it is who you are and not something you do recreationally.... Everyone says spliff is not addictive and I used to preach that myself, arguin against all who would listen, spliff was my best friend and my way of life......recently i've had to admit to myself that all i believed about weed and it's part in my life was b*llocks thats one of the hardest lessons I've had to learn in life.....
I used to think i was alone in this situation til i found this place, take a look around, i was definitely wrong in that too....

I don't know what else to tell you matey, would you listen anyway? I think a big "problem" with myself is that i would never believe anything just cos someone told me it was like that, i always have to see for myself.....

would things have been different if i had heard from all the people here when i was just starting out smokin? truth is i don't know........
but if you believe what we are writing here is true, remember it, hopefully it can be some help to you in your decision about quitting.....

do you have any other reasons why you want to quit besides your one freakout? just remember that though your mates might be older than you, most of us here have been smokin for 10yrs plus, who you gonna believe?
mates who are true mates, and there are few in this world, i believe somone said once: the man who can count his true friends on one hand is lucky and the man who has more is a fool....your mates shouldn't expect you to do sh*t you don't want to just cos they do, these aren't mates trust me, i learnt that the hard way too.....

take it easy auzzy, think long and hard bout what you want from life....

Hey Auzzy,

You say that you are finding it hard to quit due to peer pressure and a lack of benefits of quitting. First, if your friends are encouraging you to do something you don't enjoy, you might want to question how much they care about you. Second, the benefits of quitting don't magically appear the first day you quit: it takes a while to see them.

I'm glad to hear that you are strong enough to stay away from the coke and pills! Weed steals your life slowly, without you realizing it. The harder drugs just bring you down that much more quickly.

Find one true friend that you can confide in (maybe it is someone your age, or a family member you relate to who won't judge you). Be sure you have someone to talk to about your situation, and decide what steps you need to take to enjoy your life to the fullest. You end your post asking what you should do, but only you know the answer to that question.

We're here to hear your struggle, and help you through the rough patches.

Peace

wakinglife wrote:

stace wrote:Here is the call to all you success stories: check back in and let us know how you are doing now that you have stayed off cannabis for several weeks/months/years. All success stories offer hope to those that are just deciding to start a new chapter in their lives.

Post your progress here!

Peace

Hi WakingLife,

Just responding to your call out... I smoked about 12 yrs, chronically, - lost track at some point, lol, everyday, the longest I was ever off was a few weeks, once, and a few days a couple of times when I had to leave the country to visit family (and, regretably, they had to experience a very grumpy version of myself).

I've been off pot for 40 days (the amount of time the jews were originally supposed to be in the desert).

Some changes that have really been obvious in the last few weeks:

- my health feels ten times better- breathing, exercising more
- when i get stressed out, i am a lot more likely to actually deal with the thing stressing me out, resulting in a lot less stress overall
- everyone tells me I look better and healthier
- I thank a lot of things- my friends, this forum, the universe, etc, almost everyday for the relief of no longer being under the control of pot
- I have a lot more time on my hands, which I enjoy once I got past the boredom
- I no longer delay visits with family, friends, put off school and paid work tasks just to get home and smoke pot earlier. Overall I think i'm a better, less angry person with the people I love
- my skin is clearer
- i'm more interesting, according to my girlfriend, lol
- I eat better and don't junk out at night
- i have more energy
- i keep a better sleep schedule, sleeping earlier and waking up earlier feeling refreshed, and don't, after the first two weeks passed, have problems really getting to sleep as long as i actually lay myself down and try
- i feel less pain in my body
- i get more work done
- my clothes don't stink and i never have to worry about other people smelling pot on me
- i don't have to worry about being searched at the border or being found with pot on me or being paranoid that one days I'll be so stoned that I'll accidentally pull my bag out in front of the wrong people
- I don't feel like I'm lying to people all the time, and hiding something- probably cause I'm not lying to people and hiding something
- I have more money
- i'm way less cranky, especially in the mornings
- i can eat without pot, and have way less stomach problems
- my apartment is cleaner
- overall, I am much happier

Not to say that there aren't still some hard, testing moments. But overall, I'm feeling good. Thanks to all of you who inspired me to get here and inspire me to stay here. I'm sticking by this forum hoping to give back at least a bit of what I got.

Smokedout,

You speak the truth that so many of us are realizing. Once you get over the intial first few weeks, life gets WAY better without using weed. By sharing what we've seen happen to us we give hope to those who are depressed with smoking, but need some extra incentive to get off the pipe.

Each new person seeing benefits strengthens my resolve to stay on this path of learning more about who I truly am.

Blissing in cyberspace,

WOOT