Marijuana Addiction & Recovery Support Group
This community is dedicated to those looking to overcome their addiction to marijuana, a drug produced from parts of the cannabis plant. Join the group to find support among people who are also looking to cease their habit of smoking marijuana, share your experience, and get advice. It's not easy to kick the habit, but together we can.
SO hello Daily Strength because i honestly need it..
Just a little background..
Ive been a chronic user of weed for about... 7 years..
im only 18 turning 19 but thats beside the point.
I came to a conclusion that since my life has been strictly revolved around weed i never really had the opportunity to learn what sober people did in their normal days in life.
For me it used to be.. wake up, smoke, school.. leave, smoke or even in the middle of school.. smoke.. go home smoke.. chill with "friends" smoke, go back home eat. smoke, sleep and repeat.. after doing that for so many years i have NO CLUE what sober people do.
Now back to my conclusion, ive been honestly trying to stop smoking, ive tried methods like being E-cigs to confuse my body with smoke.. except for craving weed, i craved smoke.. So when the E-cig ran out, ive just kept the days going after that. Im in college so i could lift when the need is necessary but the thing is.. My social skills for life has only been looking for a dealer, associating with dealers, finding people who smoke, smoking with people who smoke, and just doing that every day..
So i need someone who has been through the hell of quitting and let me know what are something that you guys do that you do sober.. I know normal activities like go out for a walk, bowling, meet new people.. But i need a more in depth answer of What to do when the need is always there.. Like now my dorm, my suite mates ALL smoke weed.. id walk in the suite, they rolling up and i just go to my room say hello to my bob marley carpet and scream in a pillow because i want to run over to the ATM so bad grab a 20, 40, 60 and say lets get on my level.. its hard its honestly hard..
& oh im reaching about 1 week of not smoking.. I have a girl that goes to a different college that i promised her that i would only smoke weed if im with her.. and she rarely smokes so its not like im pressed to do it with her all the time because she can tell me no to.
& if someone reads my post and says, "just stop smoking and do something else".. I want to give you a PERSONAL cyber slap to your face.
Thanks for the advice for whoever responds.
Just a little background..
Ive been a chronic user of weed for about... 7 years..
im only 18 turning 19 but thats beside the point.
I came to a conclusion that since my life has been strictly revolved around weed i never really had the opportunity to learn what sober people did in their normal days in life.
For me it used to be.. wake up, smoke, school.. leave, smoke or even in the middle of school.. smoke.. go home smoke.. chill with "friends" smoke, go back home eat. smoke, sleep and repeat.. after doing that for so many years i have NO CLUE what sober people do.
Now back to my conclusion, ive been honestly trying to stop smoking, ive tried methods like being E-cigs to confuse my body with smoke.. except for craving weed, i craved smoke.. So when the E-cig ran out, ive just kept the days going after that. Im in college so i could lift when the need is necessary but the thing is.. My social skills for life has only been looking for a dealer, associating with dealers, finding people who smoke, smoking with people who smoke, and just doing that every day..
So i need someone who has been through the hell of quitting and let me know what are something that you guys do that you do sober.. I know normal activities like go out for a walk, bowling, meet new people.. But i need a more in depth answer of What to do when the need is always there.. Like now my dorm, my suite mates ALL smoke weed.. id walk in the suite, they rolling up and i just go to my room say hello to my bob marley carpet and scream in a pillow because i want to run over to the ATM so bad grab a 20, 40, 60 and say lets get on my level.. its hard its honestly hard..
& oh im reaching about 1 week of not smoking.. I have a girl that goes to a different college that i promised her that i would only smoke weed if im with her.. and she rarely smokes so its not like im pressed to do it with her all the time because she can tell me no to.
& if someone reads my post and says, "just stop smoking and do something else".. I want to give you a PERSONAL cyber slap to your face.
Thanks for the advice for whoever responds.
I feel for your situation. I've been there. Over and over and over. This board is full of posts about numerous ways we've all tried to quit. I've added a bazillion entries about my experiences, and they sometimes overlap with other people's experiences. Sometimes things work for others than don't work for me, and vice versa.
Just like you I started smoking at a very young age, and had been smoking daily for years by the time I was 18. I too tried to quit when I was 18, and then again at 19, and I tried to quit very seriously at least once a year for the next 20 years. (I'm 41 now). Sometimes I'd make it a month, or 2 or 3 months. Once I made it to 4.5 months, once to 6 and once to 8.5 months. Overall, trying to quit has been nearly impossible, and my self-esteem has gone down both by being chronically stoned, and also by seeing that I just couldn't quit. I really love the feeling of weed, much more than alcohol. I associate it with everything. Everything. Just like you, all my friends smoke too.
I tried moderation, tried to do it, "only with so-and so", tried to smoke only on weekends, or evenings or days off, bla bla bla. All the games of trying to control the usage. Always led right back to full blown stoned (and eventually low energy and non-productive life). Also, every time I tried to substitute a few drinks here and there for weed, it would always just lead to more drinking, and since that isn't my buzz of choice, that would eventually lead back to just more weed anyway.
As far as the activities/distractions/healthy substitutes/self-knowledge paths I took, they all worked for awhile, but since the desire to smoke was so strong, and since my lifestyle and friends were all about the weed (or the alcohol, which again, always leads back to weed), none of the activities worked in the long run. Sure, they got me through some sober time, but in the end, I caved in and said "fuck it". For the record, those activities included: exercise, yoga, meditation, journaling, new jobs, new relationships, moving to new apartments, hiking, reading, art projects, workaholism, online groups like this, reading about addiction etc. There's hundreds of just suggestions on this forum.
So here's where I'm at now: A week ago I just broke my 26+ year record of sober days: Am less than a week away from 9 months. I still have cravings, both to escape negative feelings/experiences and also to reward myself or or enhance positive experience. Sometimes I jones to smoke just to escape the neutral feelings. After all, I do seem to have a penchant for drama. So, it isn't always easy. However, this run of sobriety feels totally different than any other attempt. The main difference is that I totally completely have made, "recovery" the up front and main theme in my life. It is now The Thing I'm doing. Not just a part time focus. This means that all of my reading and writing is about sobriety and recovery from addiction. This means that I've completely stopped hanging out with weed and drinking friends (once I get more time and stability under me, I know we'll resume, but I won't be just idly going to bars or hang out sessions in their houses with a circle of weed smokers. Anything we do will have to have a positive other focus, like a hike, picnic, game...something of an activity with a beginning/middle and end, where I wouldn't just be a fly on the wall sitting around while people get loaded and talk shit and get more loaded. Those days are done. In other words, I don't intend to be a complete cold ex-friend, but if friendship is based only on getting high or drunk, I have to move on, and have different friends). I've continued all the other activities, like hiking, yoga, meditation, journaling, hobbies. This helps to keep me active so I'm not just sitting there in a craving cycle of agitation. And then easily the main difference this time around, in order to keep sobriety at the top of the list - and dude this is going to be a tough one for you to swallow if you aren't ready for it, I know I wasn't ready for the first 26 years of getting high daily: I've joined 12 steps programs. I go to meetings almost daily, I have made a network of absolutely sober new friends, we make daily check-in phone calls, we do things together that have nothing to do with getting high. I got a sponsor, I have been doing the steps. It has made an enormously positive difference this time. Yes, I tried to do it on my own, or with just reading and writing and online groups forever, but it never was enough. Not even this online forum. In fact, this group has great members, but is pretty dead half the time. Even when it has gone through times of being busy, it was never enough (for me). I found that in person, face to face fellowship made a difference. And the steps themselves are a huge help. Huge. Though weed is my main thing, I also joined AA - because even a few beers leads me right back to weed. And the only requirement to join is a desire to not drink or use intoxicants. I also go to Marijuana Anonymous meetings, but those don't exist in many places. AA is enough actually, but I like the weed-specific meetings. Some people get turned off by the "god thing" at AA. I have found that it works just fine for people whom aren't into the "god thing". They also talk about "higher power" as a synonym for "God", and everyone defines what that is for themselves. To some, it is just the group, or "reality" or "nature." So overall, it is pretty open-to-interpretation.
So, you asked for what's worked for us, and I'm sharing that the only thing that has really been working for me is EVERYTHING in the standard list of distractions and positive re-directing of energy, plus many in-person, face to face groups. (There are alternatives to 12 step groups, by the way, if you want to search for them). Part of the 12 step philosophy is that when we are of service to other addicts, it helps us stay sober. I just spent 30 minutes (which I frankly don't have today) to write this message. Guaranteed, just by reflecting on your situation, remembering how it was for myself, recounting my attempts, and writing about my day-to-day solution, it is now forefront in my mind for the moment. I'll go to a meeting later, and chances are I won't get loaded today.
Best wishes. Please keep us posted. And don't go losing 26+ more years of your life like I did. It is a slow killer. Drains feelings and perception, energy, motivation, not to mention relationships, creativity, money.