I can count on one hand the number of days I've spent sober since I was 13. They were all against my will, essentially while traveling or horribly sick. I've even brought it to states and countries where it is very illegal, risking it all. I've never had to try and quit... I always found my way around tests for jobs, and have been a "functional" user since I started.

I knew I had a problem after just a few years of using it, but the past few years I've really come face to face with my ugly addiction and have hated myself for it, despite continuing on daily. I honestly can't believe that I have made it this far, on what is my first try.

I'm so proud of myself for getting this far. I was using 1-2g/day via bong for many, many years. My parents both do it and would give it to me as a kid. What was a fun, social activity as a teen, quickly turned into an addiction that I fed all alone, all through my day. Flower had eventually become my best, and sadly, my only friend.

The first 3-4 days were difficult due to cravings and physical symptoms of course, but for some reason it felt easier than I expected. Days 5-12 were actually pretty nice, and easier to get through with every 24 hours. But days 13 and 14 (today) have been incredibly hard. I've got a never-ending headache for two days now and several things out of my control have been pissing me off.

I'm really feeling the anger, rage, and irritability now at this point. I consider myself lucky that I didn't have many triggers these past 2 weeks (I'm currently unemployed and have been able to really tend to this recovery journey in the safety of my home thus far). But man.... these emotions are such big triggers, and I'm having intense cravings for the first time since the first few days I quit.

I am determined not to relapse, I don't plan to smoke, but I'm having serious trouble processing these feelings. These feelings would have been a prime excuse for smoking my lungs out just 2 weeks ago. I know it's normal to feel this way during withdrawal, but it makes me wonder if I've always had a problem with processing emotions, anger in particular, and just masking it with weed (knowing myself and my history I'm leaning towards 'yes').

I called and made an appointment with a therapist this afternoon, for next Tuesday. I realize that I need help at this stage in my recovery to progress onward in a healthy way. I've never used formal therapy before. I hope it helps me learn how to deal and cope with these emotions and other traumas I've lived through so I can continue on in my recovery.

Reading everyone's posts here have been so helpful for me. So thank you for sharing your stories and experiences. I wish everyone the best of luck and remember -- you... we... are not actually alone. We can all do this... one day at a time.

Thanks for reading.

I’ve been smoking weed and taking edibles for about a year and I’m at the point of wanting to go cold turkey. I’m a college student and throughout my life I’ve been anxious with racing thoughts all the time, bad memory and can barely focus. I can’t tell if the weed enhances it or not (I’m at the point of believing it does), but I have a midterm on Monday and was wondering how the side effects of quitting would affect me in this aspect?

What are/were they like? Did you have dreams anything like it before quitting? I find it difficult to describe personally. It's sort of like a grungy dark unsettling mind space but its not like any bad dream before. There's like a filter or something in the mind but not quite.

Title says it all! To follow up, I made a post last week debating/hinting that I wanted to quit despite overcoming a traumatic brain injury.

I have no use to my left side, and I’ve been vaping/smoking MMJ for a few years to ease up on my muscle tone. I grew so dependent on the feeling of getting high or “relaxing”, to a point that it made me miserable.

I took someone’s advice and discussed it with my doctor first. All went well. I threw my pen out as I walked out the main door. (It’s somewhere in a landfill now)

I fought off some cravings the first day, definitely. It can be rough for some, but oddly enough, not for me. I celebrated by taking my dogs to the park and going swimming at my local YMCA pool.

My second and third day, I had work all day. Two hefty 10 hour days back to back so I was distracted for good reasons. Bonus that I ended up getting home late and straight to bed both days.

My fourth day… I got sick with a 24 hour stomach bug. I unfortunately slept all day with a little gaming.

By Day 5, I wasn’t craving anymore and I noticed my sleep drastically improved. I was dreaming again!

Fast forward to today, I looked at my medical card, and at first I wanted to cut it up, but I safely put it away to keep as a rememberance. But I can safely say, I’m never going back. (Plus I told my doctor that he no longer needs to schedule anything in my profile)

I’m not going to say it’s easy. But it’s absolutely not impossible and if you truly want to quit, just challenge yourself to a week. You can do this and I will absolutely cheer you on!

I am on day 50. I smoked every day for 12 years until I developed CHS. I loved blunts the most, the whole ritual of rolling was part of the enjoyment. I loved the smell and the heavy smoke. I started smoking joints to be “healthier,” and of course did bongs and stuff too. But I loved the rolled flower most.

Then in the last 3-4 years I really pivoted from flower to high dose edibles and carts. Then straight up dabs. Shit got bad when I was waking and baking with dabs and wasn’t even feeling high. It came to a head when I had to quit because a CHS diagnosis. It was the worst experience of my life, and all I have to do is remember how sick I was and the thought of smoking is wayyyyy less appealing.

Anyway, withdrawal has been awful. This community has been so helpful though. I cried and cried and cried at nothing for weeks. Literally just driving by roadkill on the highway would make me cry because of the loss of life. A news headline would have me crying. Also, I’d be sitting on the couch, in silence, and then cry at nothing.

I also developed the most intense dreams! I would wake up and feel like I’d been on a head trip to another dimension. It was insane. I’ve never had such intense, emotional dreams. They’d stick with me all day.

Well, they seem to have finally started balancing out. Maybe 10 days ago the dreams themselves got more normal, then I quit dreaming at all. Last night I had a crazy dream with a lot of violence, but I woke up and felt fine. It didn’t stick with me at all.

The boredom is also getting more tolerable. I posted here many times for support on Sunday evenings in particular.

This group has been kind of a lifeline for me. It feels like group therapy and makes me feel less alone. Everyone in my life smokes so while they support my sobriety, it’s been isolating in a way.

Thanks for being here, you guys. If you’re going through it right now, it really does get better. The worst days were the first week or so, and breaking the habit is hard even if you’re committed. Breaking any habit is hard but the rituals, social aspects, and the emotional escape makes weed really difficult. You can do it!

Been almost 24 hours without weed. I woke up this morning and I felt like absolute shit. I think I woke up like 5 different times through out the night. Muscle aches all over my body, really bad nausea, headaches, feeling like I have a slight fever, and all I ate today was a smoothie and some yogurt. I walk around 8-10 miles a day for my job, and I felt like I was dying today. I feel a lot better now than earlier today, but I still can’t eat anything solid. I can’t even smoke a cigarette without the thought of puking.

I’ve smoked weed since 2015, and it started off with flowers and bongs. Eventually I switched to carts and have been vaping weed for the last few years or so.

I’ve taken breaks before, and suffered all the usual withdrawal symptoms. But this is the first time quitting since I started vaping. Holy fuck, these carts and disposable vapes are no joke on what it does to you if you quit. I searched “muscle aches” in this sub, and I found so many people that have experienced the same thing I’m going through. It definitely made me feel better about the withdrawal symptoms I’m experiencing.

I’m committed to this though, and I can’t wait for the muscle aches and lack of appetite to go away. I can’t wait to go on vacations and not be dependent on weed to have a good time or to enjoy food. Seeing some of the posts on here where people have been sober for years is inspiring, and makes me believe I can do it! Just wanted to vent and get this shitty day off my chest. Day 2 here we come!

Sooooo I quit smoking last year for around 6 months after 10 years of daily use. I was on vacation for Thanksgiving with my family and I convinced myself I had to be high on the holiday so I could properly enjoy the food. I took one hit of my sister’s pen and was SOOO HIGH! I immediately felt super anxious but it slowly evened out. When we got back from vacation I would hit her pen once a day and I would wake up with horrible headaches because my body was like wth are you doing? Flash forward and I realized I was smoking again every day. It started to affect my motivation heavily and I was in denial. I went right back to my old ways even though I tried to convince myself that I was able to moderate my use. The reality of it is just like any other addiction it is a slippery slope. It started off slow and then I was right back at it like I was before. Anyways I’m on day 3 1/2 of being sober and I’m looking forward to my mind being clear again. When I wasn’t smoking my anxiety was so much better, I was able to eat without worrying about smoking first. What really helps me is writing out a list of my WHYS and going over it everyday. So far I’m doing fine I just know I will have very intense dreams/nightmares for at least a month because of the REM rebound. My point is that even though I had myself convinced I was able to control my use, at some point I was right back in those imaginary handcuffs. If you are considering using weed just once or whatever it is I recommend that you go back to your why and remember why you stopped in the first place. It will take away from you and your relationships slowly over time and by the time you realize it 10 years will have gone by. You got this! I believe in all of you and myself💓

Weed is harmless.

But if you get high every day, nothing else in your life will be as exciting as your drug.. for a while. Hopes and dreams slowly die at the altar of your addiction.

The cost of weed isn't just what you pay at the dispensary. It's also the hopes, dreams, and opportunities you give up along the way. The real price is everything.

So you decide to quit, hoping to restore all the best things in life.

But now withdrawal steals both the high and the dreams, leaving joyless emptiness in their place. For weeks you feel flat, and it's torturous. You get no pleasure from effort and no high from weed. You're stuck in no man's land, desolate and hopeless.

Then your inner voice starts to bargain.

"At least weed made your unbearable life bearable."

"But all I need is more time. Three months. Six months. Maybe a whole year."

A whole year? I can't wait a year to fix my life.

Besides, if I smoke now, I'll get so high. My tolerance is gone. And I deserve it. I can moderate my use this time. I don't even know why I quit in the first place. I'm a good person. Gotta have fun sometimes, right?

So you give in.

Just once or twice.

Or every day for the next six months.

Then you finally decide it's time to quit... and begin the same miserable cycle all over again.

Forever.

Yeah... weed's harmless, all right.

This is my 1937472th time trying to quit. It’s always “tomorrow”, but it never is. 3 dispensaries on my drive home from work.

The hardest part about all of this - worse than the zero hunger, lack of sleep, irritability and boredom - is knowing that I was sober for almost 2 months, before I went to Mexico and was offered a joint. I figured, why not? I can enjoy it casually…

Then I turn into a regular user again. There’s no in-between when it’s so available to me.

I’m feeling the weight of the world immensely right now. If it’s not shame, dread, and guilt, it’s sadness, doom scrolling, procrastination, and defeat. I wish I could skip to 2 weeks from now, and feel the clarity return, watch my creativity spark, and see myself starting to appreciate life again.

I love this sub and your stories. This community brings me so much hope. ❤️

I began smoking weed in 2022. 2023 was the best financial year of my life making more money than I ever made before and was able to have unique experiences all the time because I had the money to do it. 3 years later after chronic use and the bad decisions to go along with it I am in severe debt, unemployed, about to file bankruptcy, had to move back home with my family, and lost friendships/direction in life. It took me so long to finally quit but coming home after living alone and drowning in debt and using weed to cope, I realized the past 2 years were a complete failure due to me not being fully present due to compulsive weed usage. From sun up to sun down. I isolated heavily and that period of my life will come to be one I bury and never revisit.

I am a few weeks into sobriety and I feel all over the place mentally but it is kind of a good feeling knowing that I have already hit rock bottom and there is nowhere to go but up. I want everyone reading this to heed my story and realize that weed will never fill the hole you feel inside! I ruined my life smoking weed! But now I am fighting back! Don’t give up!

I've been fully weed free for nearly a week now. I know I can do this, because I recently went to a country where it was illegal for a whole month and was fine... but goddamn is it hard being back home. Maybe I wasn't chemically dependent, but I absolutely was emotionally dependent on it.

I work a high-stress job, and the hardest part has been losing the post-work wind down. When I had a hard day, I could look forward to smoking in the evening. Now, I feel myself getting upset on my way home from work because I get this feeling of "ugh, I have nothing to look forward to." I have plenty to do after work, so I'm not lacking hobbies. But I crave the easy and immediate stress relief smoking weed brought me.

I know this is irrational, and this feeling is going to fade with time. I'm not going to give into that urge... but goddamn does holding myself to it suck!!!!!

does anyone have advice on how to combat the feelings of frustration at losing your "easy stress reliever"?

Was using between 150-250 mg edibles and smoking all day for the last 3 years. Usage before that was more spotty but once I went “California sober” and it was all I had I couldn’t stop. I titrated my edibles down pretty steadily over a few weeks and by the time I got below 50 a day the anxiety and dread was scathing. Since I went to nothing on July 6th, I definitely had a few really anxious weeks but I will say that lately it’s improving. I have a lot more energy and have been going to the gym which was something you couldn’t pay me to do when I was stoned. I’ve been watching more movies and even read a book and a half. The anxiety has started to disappear more than it’s been present. Maybe some comes over me for 90 mins but then it fades without me using. This community and your stories have really been what has kept me motivated. For those of you on your first 24 hours or shorter I’m hoping my story can give you hope. Keep pushing. Life doesn’t become perfect but I’m on vacation right now and enjoying myself and not constantly calibrating “do I feel high” “do I need more” “how much have I spent on weed this week” and that’s brought me a lot of peace. Best of luck to all of us reformed stoners. We can do it!

So my question revolves around quitting marijuana and the effects of brain fog after you decide to remain abstinent from it. A little context, I started smoking when I was 17, about 8 years ago. It started off as a thing to get my mind off of my ex girlfriend at the time then by the time I was in college I was a full blown stoner ripping thc carts and it was a daily usage thing. I have had periods of sobriety since 2022 where I have gone 3-4 months of not smoking any weed. Typically my brain function, cognitive abilities, and energy levels return to normal within a week or so and I feel much better. I was sober from January to April this year and it honestly was the best 4 month period of my life, I have a really good job that pays extremely well but it is high intensity that needs me to be sober to be able to function at the highest possible level I can. I started slowly allowing myself to get back into smoking in May and by the time June rolled around I was smoking every night. I decided to get clean again on July 7th. This time my brain fog has not disappeared and has remained constant over the last two weeks and I feel fatigued every single day. I want to ask if this is normal to some people? I usually get my energy and clear mind back so much quicker than this and it is starting to worry me. More context, I take priority in my health. I work out 3x a week, sauna nearly every day and generally eat healthy so i’m just getting anxious that this is permanent because I need to be clear minded for my job. Has anyone else had this problem before?

Hiiii!
I thought I'd come back and leave something positive for anyone maybe going through what I did.
I was a pretty heavy THC smoker but eventually it did nothing for me. I thought it would help me gain weight but I maintained more than anything.
I decided to go clean also in efforts for my partner to get a new job. I went through it for real, I made so many posts because I was desperate. 1-2 months later my appetite came back SO strong. Honestly when people told me this wild happened I laughed and felt as if it wasn't true. I was 90 ish lbs and now I'm 130🥹 ever since I was young gaining weight was so hard for me. It was also a healing moment for my mom when I told her how much I weighed. Any ways, it's tough & still think about going back but all this hard work didn't happen for NO reason. Keep pushing you got this 💞

Hi all

I have been on and off the sober train. Today is my first day sober again.

What weed in particular support groups are out there?

I am aware I can’t do this without support.

I’m in therapy she knows everything.

For me personally, a reward system helps me achieve goals. Let’s say after 5 days, 10 days sober etc i allow myself something. But this usually translates to shopping or sweet treats etc. does anyone have any rewards they use for themselves that doesnt include spending money?

M32. I've seen from other posts that it can take 3-6 months and maybe longer for anything to change, I just hate the way I'm feeling at the moment. I eat clean, excersize daily and get good amounts of sleep, but my dopamine receptors are fried and i'm getting little to no joy out of life at the moment. Heart rate/blood pressure is also up which doesn't help the situation. I just want my libido back and to be interested in sex again, as of now it's stressing me out greatly. Getting an erection is doable but maintaining it is impossible, my mind wonders and it just doesn't feel that great self pleasuring. Just feels crazy that i'm 32, at a point in life where I should be seriously horny, but just arn't. I absolutely used weed over the past 10 years as a sexual aid, I could be rock hard and go for a good hour....now there's no stamina nor erection quality. Bummer

For further context I had to stop after 10 years daily 420 use due to having CHS symptoms, signifanct abdominal cramps and nausea. So it's not really an option to go back to 420....

Need to get my thoughts out..

Smoked weed for the first time when I was an 18 year old freshman in college. It didn’t start out as an every day habit, but it’s turned into one over the years. I’m turning 27 this year.

I’ve said this more times than I can count, but I want to quit. I’m going to quit.

I was able to stop smoking last year when I moved back home for a few months due to life circumstances. The first day I moved into my new apartment, I got a new grinder and pipe. Threw them out recently, so some progress there.

I want to quit so I can reconnect with myself and the people around me. I want to quit so I can feel alive again. I want to quit so I can be healthy and not throw my future years away.

I don’t want to 30, 35, etc. asking myself what I could’ve done with all the money, health, energy, and dedication that I have sunk into smoking weed.

I’m already asking myself that at 26.

I know I can’t rely on other people to get me out of this hole I’ve dug myself into. I can’t blame others for the position I find myself in either. My girlfriend smokes a lot of weed, and we smoke together pretty much every time we hang out. I’m a little worried about how this (desired) change will impact our relationship down the line.

I’m sitting here in my apartment after work wanting to smoke. It’s (another) Day 1 for me. I’ve downloaded a habit tracker so I have some sort of progress I can physically look at. Maybe that will help.

Any advice, tips tricks, etc, all appreciated.

Hi all, I hope you are all doing well 💕

I am really proud of myself for hitting 10 days, but I am still really struggling with waking up in the morning. I just can’t get out of bed, and keep setting alarms etc. I sleep well, for a full amount of time (7.5-8.5 hours) and take iron tablets for my low iron.

Just wondering if maybe it’s related to me going sober. Has anyone else had this and found it hard to shake? Thanks x

I feel like I literally can’t stop smoking weed. I first started smoking 5 years ago only at nights for the first 2 months then it quickly led to a 5 year period of all day everyday. From the minute I woke up to the moment I fall asleep I’d smoke. I’ve had periods of working throughout but I’ll still smoking the minute I walk through the door. It causes me health problems and it has been for months and I still use it. It’s been making my heart pound for the past 12 months every time I smoke yet I’ll still smoke. I’ve had holidays which are for not smoking and I’ll smoke either while their somehow or slowly from once at night then all day everyday again once I’m home. I want to stop so badly and I plan to just go cold turkey from once I wake up i don’t enjoy it one bit.

Lifelong user quit cold turkey. So it’s been quite difficult so far. Sleep is bad but that’s always been an issue with me hence why I started the Penjamin, also depression is back and that’s not ideal. However due to promotion at work I need my head clear and safe to say it’s getting clearer I feel like the old me again.

Pros Started to date again Exercising again Apartment is clean Eating healthy no more binge eating

Cons Bored out of my mind Rage is uncontrollable Anxiety Breathing feels difficult?? Miss the feeling of just forgetting the world

I feel motivated again and started to build apps to fill the boredom and let the creative side of me out. Thinking of making a tracker app to help us quit THC pens, would love any ideas you guys have!

This subreddit has helped me so much, thank you guys!!

I used to use everyday multiple times a day for almost 10 years when I decided to finally quit thanks to this sub. After 155 days I thought I could give it a try again since I had a vacation coming up so I got a pen. I finished the pen before even going on vacation after I said I’d just try it at night to see how it was. Night quickly turned into days which turned into mornings which turned into 24/7. One pen then turned into 3 pens. This continued into my vacation until I ran out on the last day. Im now back and am trying to go back to being on track. Ive realized I could never be a casual user so here we are back on day 4 again. There’s no physical withdrawal symptoms like when I stopped the first time except maybe for sleep but it’s a lot mentally again. Im so disappointed in myself and lack of self control.

I feel like I've done this so many times where I quit smoking weed, then my nicotine/vaping ramps up like crazy, I eventually cave and go back to both. Same has happened where I quit vaping then I'm smoking way more weed and it's such a crappy cycle and place to be at. It just feels like continuing one leads me to justify starting back the other and I'm tired of playing this game with myself. I know my triggers for smoking in general are from stress but idk how to push through those stressful moments like a non addicted person. I just feel embarrassed I'm so reliant on these things and I feel like caving all the time. It's the hardest at nights because I usually smoked weed to unwind the day but vaping is an all day thing. Seriously any advice on how to push through this stuff is appreciated because the weed is one thing but losing that makes me fall into vaping more and I just wanna stop

3 days in. Been thinking about letting the flower go for a while now. Life's been an uphill battle, I decided recently I'd rather confront the emotions than mask them. 33M, 15 years of regular evening/weekend use. Last night I couldn't sleep at all, felt like shit. Whoop says I slept for 2hrs 7 mins, typical sleep for me is 8hrs 5mins. I walked downstairs to load up a bowl, but I opened this page first and read all of your journeys' & experiences and decided to stay in the fight!!!!

I got myself into this situation, and god damn it, I am going to get myself out of it!!!! my wife and kids deserve me at my best and I am driving hard to get there!!

Hi friends. I am early on in completely quitting weed. I feel really ready and resolute, and I'm doing really OK so far.

The thing is, I've realized I used weed a lot to avoid hard things in my life. My wonderful live-in boyfriend of 7 years drinks too much. Like, way too much. He is an obnoxious drunk. I used to just smoke when this got uncomfortable....now I need to face it.

I am resolved to talk to him this week. My therapist says that I need to state MY boundaries, and not put it on him, but let him know I dont want my partner to drink excessively. That won't be a part of my future.

I'm terribly avoidance (see: above) and take meds for depression and anxiety already....any tips for how to make this talk go easier for both me and him?

Thank you so much to this community, for helping me get to this point. ❤️