Benefits of quitting cannabis

I am 30 years old. I have 2 kids and I have a very good job. I smoke Skunk every day, a 20 bag a day and have done for years. I am a moody person and deep down I know I am not. I have the worst mood swings and I have a big personality so people around me are effected by the moods I am in. I was in a 4 year relationship until 18 months ago, I lived with the girl and we had 2 kids and everything was great. She found it more and more difficult to live with me because of my unpredictability, in the end she left with the kids and I was alone. I got over her and 8 months ago I met another girl. I feel in love with this girl and everything was good but again the unpredictability and mood swings caused many arguments. She has recently decided to end the relationship thinking I am a crank and crazy or something. I know this isnt me and the weed is really effecting me. When I drink if I get really drunk I can be aggresive at times because I have paranoid feelings and jeolousy kick in and again this is because I feel paranoid from smoking weed. I need to stop and I have tried on several occasions and just seem to end up finding myself building a splif at home. I beed to stop or I will spend the rest of my life alone. Not to mention the money, I spend a fortune on it and sometimes will run out of money before all my bills are paid. I need any advice and help thats out there. Ben

Ben - welcome to the forum. The most important thing is you accept your life would be better without weed in it ....Try planning a quit date and posting in the forum where others can support you .

The first 3 days are the hardest.... You can do this, how long have you quit for in the past ?

All the best

Soph

hi ben im a newbie myself and man i have alot of the same problems im on day 6 dreams are weird but there must be light at the end of the tunnel hopefully chatting about it will help us

peace 

Hi Chronic-

How's your quit going - I was going good for months, and fell badly off the wagon - I feel terrible and I'm starting back on the wagon today .

I am going to start a new thread for my new quit but feel sad it's come to that .

sophie

ThisIsIt at February 6, 2011 at 3:41 AM

Hi Chronic-

How's your quit going - I was going good for months, and fell badly off the wagon - I feel terrible and I'm starting back on the wagon today .

I am going to start a new thread for my new quit but feel sad it's come to that .

sophie

Hi sophie, i guess u fallin off the wagon is y i hadnt heard from u for a while:(. No matter as the movie says, why do we fall down? So we can learn to pick ourselves up again;). No need to preachto u, u know whats best for u and what u have to do, 2 really make yourselffeel truely better. So dont dwell on falllin off. Get back on and go at itagain.... Rome wasnt built in a day....Even took god 7days to build theearth  the heavens

hey   sophie its not easy but keep trying im close to falling off myself alot of stress in my life at the minute and was very close to fallen off the wagon myself.i had a few mates over last night for couple of bevs and one of them was going outside to toke.if i canmake it through today i will be confident bout the rest of the week.the weekends seem to be the hardest.you will feel better in a few days.its not easy but we are trying that is the main thing.try not to dweel on it too much.

peace chronic pain

Been clean since the 17th of last month.  It's a whole lot tougher than I would have ever thought!  Just now am finding that there are others going through the same thing.  Really appreciate you guys!

Ben - Terri - and all of you.  I haven't visited this site in months.  I got message in my e-mail from Terri and decided to visit.  After more than 10 years of smoking pot (I started the year I turned 50) I had actually given up on myself.  I tried and failed SO MANY TIMES.  I am happy to report that I am smokefree since sometime last September.  I haven't kept track of the date because it kept me in a mindset of "well I made it one month, lets see how much farther I can go until I fail again!"    This last time I just said "I'm done - finished - and it's worked.  I won't even say "so far" because there is NO TURNING BACK for me.  Like many of you, I thought I'd never be able to say that.  I smoked as much or more as all of you put together - and each time I tried to quite and made it a few weeks I would go back to it with a vengeance and double my consumption. 

Like you, Terri, health issues were a big part of it.  I didn't want to die an 'addict'.  I didn't want a substance to determine my fate.

For all of you, the first couple of days of a quit are always the hardest.  Once you get past that you need to change a

few 'habits'.  When you're used to picking up a crutch each time you walk, it's difficult to learn that you really can move forward without - even if you have to crawl for a few days.  You will eventually learn that you can put one foot in front of the other without leaning on that 'crutch' - that you are really not a cripple after all (though the drug will always want to convince you of that.)

I will try and check in more often.  Then woman who started this site has become one of my dearest friends in the world.  We've never met in person, but she has given me back my life - as have many of the others who have struggled here over the past couple of years. 

Be patient with yourselves.  Love yourselves enough to know that you don't have to let addiction define you - I thought I would NEVER be able to get past it - but I have.

Baby steps.  You CAN do it!!!!

LOVE YOU

Grandma

hey grandma your story is a real help im only on day 7 im 30 yrs old and smoking daily since i was 13.i tried n.a meetings in the past but im not great at speaking in groups face to face.im determined this time to suceed for me and my 10yr old son.i find during the week ok to handle because im working its the weekend that is my big struggle,anyway thanks for the post it gives me inspiration.i can see there is light at the end of the tunnel.:)

Soph - you sound like a wise soul - I hope to get to know you better - chronic-pain, I hope you can change your name soon!!!   I really have neglected this site for way too long and feel a need to be here now to let you all know that no one has FAILED as stupendously as I for way too many years - but I'm well now - I feel whole.  I don't NEED or WANT cannabis in my life any more and I never thought I would be able to say that.   The first couple of days can be really tought - then you'll go through some calm - then the dreams begin.  Be prepared for the dreams! - at some point the 'smoking dream' will appear out of nowhere and you will make in a panic that you smoked again - get over it - you don't need it.   When you're feeling really secure, after a month or two you'll think "oh, one toke won't hurt - I'll get a little buzz on and tomorrow it will be back to abstinence" - and for a FEW people that might work - for most of us it's the beginning of a downward spiral into increased consumption and dependence.  Avoid this step if possible!!!!  and just keep on with the quit.  With every day your mind will be clearer - the self loathing will soon dissappear.  If you started very young (chronic pain - 13 is VERY YOUNG) you may find that you missed a few steps in the 'growing up' process that you might need to work through - be PATIENT with yourself.  Allow yourself to make a few mistakes -

For many of us, sleep is the biggest draw back - but how many of you have gotten to the point that you can't get through the night even without waking up to smoke.  Do what you have to in order to REST - hypnosis works, meditation works - benadryl works - see a doctor, if you need to in order to help through the transition.  5-HTP can  be helpful - explore your options.  They are all better than addiction.   Again, explore your options and, if necessary, talk to a doctor or (even better) a naturopath.  YOU'RE WORTH IT -  

If anyone had told me I could do this before I found this forum I would have (and did) laugh in their faces.  We are all here because we have realized this has created problems in our lives and we're not going to settle for it any more.

I'm here for you - any time you need me - I may only be coming out of the tunnel myself, but I have no doubt I am FINALLY out for good.  LOVE YOU ALL just for being here and caring enough about yourselves to try

Grandma

Hi, I am new to this site and just stumbled across it whilst desperately googling "help me quit the weed".  I am on day 6 of quitting and finding it really tough.  Fags just don't taste the same, rolies have something missing.  I can't sleep and the dreams are awful and I'm very tetchy.  I have been pretty much permanently stoned for the last 20 years.  The one thing that upsets me the most is that I am having trouble remembering the important milestones in my childrens life.  I also felt it was OK to shoo them away while I smoked myself into oblivion.  I really really really want to have a normal life like most other people and start feeling things - good and bad.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated. x