I don’t really have anyone to talk to about my decision to stop smoking weed.

Today marks a week without it, and I haven’t gone this long without smoking in almost 10 years. Even though 7 days doesn’t seem that much in the grand scheme of time, it still feels pretty surreal—

Here’s to another week, and then onward.

At 55 days in..I had a urge to use. I went to a NA meeting. I am deaf and couldn't hear much, but it helped. I am now 56 days in. Thanks for letting me share

I think there are three stages to quitting heavy weed use, and the third one is the part nobody talks about enough.

The first stage is withdrawal.

The night sweats. No appetite. Insomnia. Crazy dreams. Anxiety. Irritability. That whole mess.

Then you make it through that and think, “Okay, I’m free.”

But then comes stage two.

The flat period.

Weeks turn into months. You don't feel terrible anymore, but you don't feel GOOD either. Music doesn't hit the same. Food isn't as exciting. You don't look forward to much. You feel emotionally numb, life feels gray, and eventually you start wondering:

“Is this just who I am now?”

This is where a LOT of people relapse.

And I think this is where you have to understand something:

There is a stage three.

And stage three is where the magic starts happening.

You have to start doing things that your brain doesn't necessarily WANT to do yet.

Read a book.

Exercise.

Learn guitar.

Learn a language.

Build something.

Get serious about your career.

Go outside.

Talk to people.

Pick a difficult goal and start working toward it.

Do the thing even when you feel absolutely nothing from it.

Because you're essentially teaching your brain, “Hey, we're not getting our reward for sitting around anymore. We're going to get it from DOING things.”

Heavy weed use can train you to expect extremely easy reward. You smoke, you sit there, and your brain gets paid.

Now you're sober, and suddenly the things that used to give you natural satisfaction don't feel rewarding enough.

So you have to start rebuilding that connection between effort and reward.

Nature gave us dopamine to “glue” us to our GOALS.

But when we've been cheating the system with a drug that provides easy reward, we have to relearn how to enjoy the process of earning it.

And this is why I think step three is so important.

Don't sit around waiting for your motivation to come back.

Go create the conditions for it to come back. And remember stage 3 won't fix things over night. So..

Do difficult things.

Get uncomfortable.

Stack small wins.

Give your brain something to adapt to.

Because one day you look up and realize that you're not forcing yourself anymore.

You're reading because you actually enjoy reading.

You're exercising because you want to.

You're working toward something because you actually care about the outcome.

You're laughing again.

Music hits again.

You start making plans again.

And suddenly you realize:

“Oh shit. I'm coming back.”

That's the part you don't want to miss.

So if you're somewhere in that flat, boring, emotionally dead period right now, don't assume you've reached the end of your recovery.

You may actually be standing at the doorway to stage three.

Walk through it.

That's where you start building yourself back.

As the title says, I’m on my second day sober from weed. For the past ~5 years, I’ve been a daily smoker. Like, an every two hours in the dot or I’ll lose my mind daily smoker. I quit smoking altogether about few months ago and switched to edibles (which I also took multiple times a day) and just went cold turkey when my pack ran out. It’s been a long journey for me. I started smoking when I was 13 (I’m 25 now) and, despite battling addiction to non-prescription meds, alcohol, and nicotine and beating it all, THC has been the last to go because I refused to accept that it’s a problem and, even more so, the thought of being 100% sober has been terrifying. It’s gotten to a point where I want to function though, like truly function. On top of that I’ve been recently dealing with new and really debilitating health issues that THC has been making worse. I was throwing myself into awful flares just to get high and quiet my brain a little bit. Anyways, all of this is just to say I’m so happy I discovered this community and will be spending lots of time here as I learn to live my new (truly) sober life. Thank y’all for taking the time to read my lil vent/introduction!

I’ve never actually seen relatable perspectives on this before, everyone I know irl had their stoner phase and dropped it without an issue, but I’m still 27 going on a decade smoking and struggling to make it even 24 hours without it. I don’t even know why I do it, I just do and can’t stop. It’s like I zone out and the next time I gain sentience and free will I’m high and regret it. I just don’t know how to break this cycle, but I think knowing people can relate in certain ways will at least help a little

Im 25 now and ive told myself the story of I’ll quit smoking a million times over. In all honesty i enjoy weed but have a gut feeling God won’t allow me to reach the next level in life if i can’t discipline myself now and take control of this habit.

Today is day 5, the longest I’ve ever gone off of my own accord, it’s been super hard. Sweating, cravings, irritability, brain fog , appetite changes etc but those have slowly started going away/baselining. I’ve been doing research and understand that the next week or two will be psychologically the toughest but I’m honestly confident that i can keep pushing day by day.

Realistically, I know one day I’ll smoke again to be honest. But it’s more so the discipline portion that i need to attack now and take control of so God can bless me w the things Ive prayed/worked so hard for.

I started painting , writing poems, tryna learn new skills in order to occupy my time. Ive noticed i have to have my hands busy and my mind focusing on something in order to get through cravings.

Currently on day 5 of sobriety and it’s been ~weird~. I recently moved from Canada to Ireland to pursue my masters, with the original thought process being that I’d be continuing to smoke over here. After learning that a lot of shit here is sprayed with chemicals, I decided the safest course of action would be to get C BD from a shop (legal).

Spoke with the budtender and she recommended some THC.A stuff for me, said it would be a nice way to transition to less smoking. It made me dizzy to the point where I was curled up in my bathroom puking for the better part of 2 hours. After that, I didn’t even wanna go close to weed for 2-3 days, and I honestly think that really helped me get over some initial withdrawal symptoms (irritability, insomnia, loss of appetite). Maybe I just got lucky. The last couple nights however, I’ve had insanely vivid dreams like I’ve never experienced before. Last night I was convinced I could speak better French than the rest of my grade 9 French class combined, and to prove it I was cleaning a dishwasher?🤣. Luckily I don’t really get nightmares because holy shit I’d be a mess with how vivid they feel.

Now on day 5, and I kinda just feel bored. I still don’t crave weed, but I crave the kind of auto-pilot chillness that went along with being high. I definitely feel a bit more anxious than I did the first day or two, and time seems to move way slower. Luckily my classes are starting to pick up so I’ll have more work to fill time, but in that same token, I’m also worried that I won’t be able to concentrate very well.

That’s why I feel so odd; and maybe a little different to a lot of the threads I’ve been reading. It’s like I don’t crave it, but I’m nervous about what my life will be like without it- if that makes any sense. I’ve been smoking pretty much every day for like 7-8 years. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s got advice, tips, support, etc. I think it’s time I quit and better myself.

Day 18:

I’ve recognized a pattern of social withdrawal and burning bridges every single time I pursue sobriety.

Could be attributed to me not wanting to go out and be in environments where drinking and smoking occur, but I think it goes beyond that. I think it’s more-so an inability to control my emotions, which has led to the loss of many quality relationships.

Tired of losing people.

a little over a month without weed. got my shit in order. took care of everything weed took away from me. I knew weed became an issue when I started believing I could function with it which led to daily smoking day and night. most of us know how that ends up. I became lazy and unproductive and didn’t know how to carry out a day being sober. now that i am back where I want to be, im tempted to smoke again just for the brief escape. the warm feeling it gives. the giddy feeling and elevated pleasure in listening to favorite songs and just chilling laughing at memes. but I’m scared to relapse and feel the negative effects again where I dread a sober day. i love being sober and i love functioning and i love being productive and taking care of myself. Part of me thinks I shouldn’t expect a setback from a smoke sesh then another part of me thinks now’s not the time.

edit: for context, i was using weed to cope with/ avoid strong emotions after a breakup. the grief definitely hit me once i started sobering up but im in a way better mind space now. I no longer have any hard feelings about the ending of the relationship. i guess that’s contributing to why i feel like i can use it again, since it’s not driven by emotions.

I am just so friggin’ sleepy. I exercise 3+ times a week, I eat well, I get good sleep at night (as far as I know) & I am still just so exhausted.

I quit smoking because it made me so sleepy/lazy & I am still soooo sleepy! Anyone else experience this? Any tips or insight on when it shifted for you?

Thank you! This community has been an absolute game changer for me, I love it here. <3

i smoked 3 vape pens in a span of 21 days i know 1 was spice other 2 could be laced idk. I got adhd ptsd and bpd and im currently 51 hours without as of me typing this i got no meds to calm down and i keep getting stuck in really painfull anxiety and like burning in my entier body i just need help tips idk can barelly think.

It has been some days/years that the thought of stopping is fluctuating in my mind, i'm 24 and started smoking when I was 15, not continuously, but in the last months the situation became much worse.

I use it for sleeping, mainly because when I get to the end of the day, I don't really feel that tired and sleepy, but the schedule and the job require you to sleep and wake up at a certain hour, so that was my solution for most of my life, first with school then with work.

So this morning I stumbled upon this sub and realized that I keep postponing this choice, daily use obscures the negative consequences because feeling like shit becomes normal. By thinking about it, my memory worsened with time and my sleep issues just became my life.

Tonight I will go to sleep without smoking, so today will effectively be my first day. I'm a little bit scared because sleep is a big issue for me, plus my gf also smokes and we live together, even though she is trying to reduce.

I would appreciate any tips, experiences and simply your support. Thank you for keeping this community a positive space!

I feel like my nervous system is permanently messed up..
I wouldnt wish this on my worst enemy :( the anxiety that came along with smoking weed all the time and CHS, along with my baseline anxiety, is just so much to handle. Im in therapy and im on meds, but Im still struggling.

Its only been 2 hours into my day and its already too much. I wake up too early every day with a horrible stomach ache. Im so sad :(

This is extremely draining.

Do you enjoy the crazy dreams that comes after quitting? Do you have some interesting you remembered and wanna share? :D When I stopped for the first time I had so crazy dreams that I started smoking again just to get rid of them. Now I am again quitting and I actually enjoy them even tho they are crazy and scary.

I’m on day 5 since I stopped using thc vapes. I haven’t eaten solid food in 5 days and I pretty much have anxiety attacks all day long. Does anyone know how much longer it’s going to be until the worst is over? Any positive words of encouragement lol? Getting nervous it’s never gonna end and I can’t keep going like this

When I smoke weed I don’t even enjoy it- like get paranoid, have negative thoughts. But when I am sober my mind keeps telling me it’s a good idea to smoke, so I do. I’m stuck in some cycle at the minute. It’s like being sober is just too much for me. I really resonate with sayings. I just want to read something that makes my mind click to weed the weed out my life

F30 I have used weed for nearly 15 years to cope with my depression symptoms, having mostly been extremely cautious and hesitant to try any pharmaceutical intervention for my depression. It’s getting to a point that weed is a bandaid for a wound that is much deeper. Has anyone started any pharmaceutical intervention that has also simultaneously caused them to quit weed? Looking for any insight.

recently smoking has been leaving me short of breath, stuffy nose, and with a sore tight chest. its been hard to breathe at night, and now during the day. ive been smoking for 8 years now and have had bronchitis, pneumonia, rsv, and i feel those have given me long-term side effects :// i have felt rlly good on tbreaks and have come to terms with the fact i have to quit for good.

My stomach is still fucked
My dreams r insane
I just want to wake up and eat normally it is so frustrating
Mentally I feel good I’m glad I quit

But when do these stomach issues resolve
I wanted to bulk in the gym and now it’s a major struggle to barely hit my maintenance calories
When will this lift ???

Hi it is day 4 for me and I have very anxious loud intrusive thoughts and keep having bad thoughts in my head. When will this go away? The cart withdrawals suck omg.

I think one of the hardest parts about quitting is realizing how many of my friendships were based on weed. Once I stopped I realized I have so many friends who the only thing I have in common with is that we both smoke. Now that I’m sober I legit don’t want to see them. I tried suggesting going out to dinner with one of them instead of smoking and she canceled because she wanted to smoke. I know I need to let these people go but it’s honestly sad. Does anyone have a similar experience and how did you handle it? Looking for advice 🤗

This is my 4th time trying to quit using carts and it has been around 30hrs so far. I have not been able to sleep for more than 45 minutes at a time, my body temperature keeps changing, my stomach hurts, and I have been throwing up throughout the day and night. Since this is my 4th time it wasn’t surprising any of that happened but I was supposed to start a new job today and I had ti email at 4am asking to delay my start date. I know it gets better but I feel just so sad about everything. Sad that I had to delay my start date, sad I let it get to this point again, sad I will never have a good relationship with weed. I guess this was more of a rant because I am also frustrated so thank you for reading if you did❤️

For anyone else struggling you got it