need to stop marijuana use help

[solace]

I don't believe in addiction to marijuana, yet I incorporate it so much into my life it's hard to resist - such as for sleep, meditation, etc.... but i've let it get out of hand - some people can just smoke and smoke and smoke and be fine with life, me though - I get way to lazy and let shit get out of hand. I've abused it. And no longer get that amazing buzz... use it merely for the burnout much needed for sleep.

I miss the buzz though, I need a break, I mean a serious long break this time - I need at least a one year break! It's been 8 years and i have worn out my lungs, I need to let them repair a bit and get my stamina up.

I need help stopping cause I obviously have made it a habit, a habit is different from an addiction we all know... yet they are hard to break.

I can't get help from anyone with this besides from a psych or shrink... but they are pricey.

Has anyone else here tried to quit out of CHOICE, while still not being against it (obviously if your here...), and not just because you were getting a job that tested or w/e.

And also, a question for anyone who has had to quit due to any reason - what are some tips/tricks.... or a good book that may not necessarily address marijuana... just self control..


I have horrible self control when it comes to what i know is good for me.

 

[theHIGHlander]

all day evreyday for the last 17 year,,,hears to another 17....

Just stop, simple no?....find something else to do,,,somthing that with burn the energy so you will fall asleep better...sport,shagging,new hobbie........good luck

keep it green
highlander

 

[SOTF420]

Just slowly cut down until you phase it out of your lifestyle for awhile and if possible find alternatives to smoking it in the mean time if you are having issues from the smoke. If you are not using a vaporizer yet then you should be. A nice glass of Red Wine is very healthy for you and easily helps to fall asleep at night. No real reason to stop toking though, maybe just establish more balance in your life regarding your usage. It is admirable though that you are doing some self reflection on this matter proactively. +rep to you, good luck!

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

I don't believe in addiction to marijuana,

Good, because you cannot get addicted to Cannabis,

There is simply no chemical substance in Cannabis that creates addiction (such as ethanol in alcohol, or nicotine in tobacco).

If you're a chronic smoker and stop, you will probably experience slight withdrawal symptoms, because your body is habituated to the substance, that's all.

You can get psychologically addicted, but then again you can get psychologically addicted to just about everything, such as junk food, video games, shopping, etc.

I'm not sure you have a problem with Cannabis. I believe you have an existential problem, perhaps a personality disorder, and you're making it easy for yourself by putting the blame on the smoke.

You might need to make some drastic changes in your life, if you're smoking so much that you don't get anything done you need to cut back, but don't blame the drug because you can't use it to your own advantage.

 

[flubnutz]

set a simple rule. assuming you buy, only buy say a quarter every paycheck (say you get paid every other week). payday comes, you jump into the deep end (make sure you've got everthing that needs to be done, done first, before the FIRST TOKE even). when it's gone ... tough titties, you have to wait til the next payday. you'll burn thru it all and have to go dry, learn to save because you want some for that party friday nite, won't throw it around like a big shot, whatever.

if you can't come up with enough will power to do that, i guess you need someone to come at random hours and kick the shit out of you if they find you stoned at some point you have to take charge of yourself; otherwise, you gotta go to the clinic. we've ALL got our weakness.

if you grow, cut it back until it becomes barely enough ... something precious, it'll taste all the better. good luck bro'

 

[statusquo]

You certainly can get addicted to cannabis. People that are chronic smokers get noticeable wd symptoms when they cut usage. Irritability , loss of appetite, boredom, anxiety, difficulty concentrating.

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

You certainly can get addicted to cannabis. People that are chronic smokers get noticeable wd symptoms when they cut usage. Irritability , loss of appetite, boredom, anxiety, difficulty concentrating.

It's called withdrawal symptom, it's not addiction.

Drink ten cups of coffee every day for years, then stop and see what happens. Same thing.

 

[Lil 'o Me]

Well.... caffeine is VERY addictive, so I dont see how you could compare it to cannabis.

I just started my hiatus. I haven't smoked since Monday morning. Im stopping for personal reasons. Im dealing with some depression right now and I need a clear head. Lately when I smoke, all I do is think and dwell on some bad chit that I need to be putting behind me. Its sitting right up there, in my desk.... believe me, its tempting as hell! But I just have to remind myself why I cant do that right now.

Some times, you just have to remind yourself of your own reasons.

 

[facelift]

I still don;t grow enough to last me so I run out from time to time. I love smoking pot, but when I'm out I don't go a buying. I go without. The last time I intentionally took a break, was a long time ago. I just quit. It lasted 2.5 years. I think I replaced it with sex. I was dating a non-smoker when I stopped.

If you continue to have a restless time with it, get out and get some exercise while you smoke instead melting into the couch. I know I'm getting out this week even if it is only 35 degrees. I have state parks within 90 minutes so out by 8 home by 5 gives me 6 hours of hiking and panoramic vistas. Not to mention the rushing water and cascades.

Good Luck!

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Take up swimming or some other good exercise that will actually give you a better buzz than cannabis if you feel the need to take a break.....so replacing the high....

Cannabis is not good for everyone and not everyone can take it on a regular basis without feeling some sort of negative effect to their lives(procrastination e.t.c.)......so either go into moderation mode or completely quit by replacing it with the endorphins that you will get from a good work-out....

 

[Bobby Stainless]

Exercise will do wonders.

 

[sorcival]

Smoked and toked for over 50 yrs. I take some time off every now and again for
personal reasons in my life and heres how I do it.
Reefer is NOT addictive, however for some people the NEED of being comforted or of
feeling warm and secure is as necessary as the air we breathe. That being said,
the mind IS stronger than a bodys needs and therefore the mind CAN be conditioned
to resist the needs of the body.
Even though I WANT to toke all the time, I limit my smoking to just three hits or a
third of a joint (equal to 2-3 hits from a small bowl pipe) twice daily. Once in the
mid-morning and again just before bedtime. I fill the rest of my day with the activities
that are necessary for my continued survival and happiness.
I do not carry my stash around with me.
I do not hang out all day everyday with fellow tokers. Space is needed sometimes.
I do not go to areas where smoke and toke references are prevalent.
I do not make reefer my conversational piece topic among business or friends.
Each time I feel the want/need to get high, I look at my watch and remember my
toking schedule and the reasons why. Within a few days, I find the overwhelming
need and urge to get high all the time fading to the point I can deal with it.

Remember that ALL things done to excess can be addictive, either physically,
mentaly, or emotionally...AND anything if done to excess for long enough can
lead to a serious debilitation of the mind, body, and morals of anyone. No-one
has the strength of will to deny themselves pleasure on a continual basis, because
we are all human and are born from and into a world of physical sensation that is
either in part or in whole derived from pure pleasure...therefore we REQUIRE
pleasure in some form to keep us sane.
Be yourself, BUT...be the person you WANT to be, not what your surroundings
allow you to be.
peace

 

[Bobby Stainless]

I smoke all day everyday, and I feel great.

 

[billy_big_bud!]

quitting is no problem. i quit smoking every night. i usually start again the next day though...

 

[MoldyFrogToe]

Hey Solace, I don't know how much useful advice I have to give, but....

It sucks, doesn't it. Addiction, withdrawal, dependency, whatever, who cares what it's called, you know what it feels like & that's all we should care about.
After a while you just feel like you're abusing it....Just smoking it like a programmed robot.....Can't even enjoy from it what you used to.....Sounds too familiar.

So far, I've found I can only break this cycle if I keep myself busy, or have some external control on me to make me stop - which, lets face it, is the weak way out.
If I work, it really helps me cut down bc I simply can't work stoned, I'd be fired in a sec for making inevitable mistakes.
Exercise is good too once you get over the hump of those first few days without.
When I stop obligating myself to do things, my self control goes down the drain, which is happens to be my problem.

When stopping cold, it's really the first few days that suck the most. After that it's easy.
I even remember telling myself last time I took a break how worth it it was, how focused I was, how much motivation I had back, how good I felt..
I felt so good, even compared to when I smoke just 1-2x daily, not to mention compared to recently, which has been more like 10x a day @ 3.5g a day or something..

On a day like today, being the first time I haven't gotten baked before 12pm in weeks,
I feel nauseated, I won't be eating much at all today, and will get unreasonably agitated later, predictably..
Good thing is, if you can deal with it it'll go away pretty quickly, after all, it's just weed!

Everyone here has good advice, sorcival's stands out for one thing though: self control
Self control is better than just keeping busy to avoid your dependency.
With self control you have the upper hand.
My prob is, I get nugs infront of me and I'll wolf them down too easily.
I need to work on the self control thing - even when it's right infront of me I should be able to listen to my mind over my MJ-urges.
Sounds like you need to do the same. It took me a while to realize all this but it's also taking a long time to perfect the self control thing.
For me, I think part of it boils down to lacking in other areas of life that I need to fulfill. Maybe you're the same, maybe not.
I have a feeling, once I fulfill what I'm missing, self control won't be such an issue, because I'll be fulfilled in other aspects of life that cause my self control to lack.

Maybe I am wrong, and it's more plain than that, such as sorcival's advice which I like because it has helped me, as well.
Like sorcival said, if I can just take the step to keep myself from too much weed, I do better.
Don't carry it around with you, don't center your day around it, etc etc etc. Listen to his advice & use it!
It's really like you have to step outside of your-weed-fiending-self and cut off the connection before that alter ego can take advantage of your weakness.

Weed is great, until you let it get the best of you.
Hopefully we can both get a better hang of things, feel free to send a message any time.
Good luck bud,

Be yourself, BUT...be the person you WANT to be, not what your surroundings
allow you to be.
peace

PS: Aside from all of the other golden advice in that quote, this is one I really liked.

 

[whiterabbit9]

I'm not sure if smoking can help meditation

from what I heard, it's like another reality
someone chime in

+

I know how it is to have herb a big part of your life
you'll feel much better when you know you can dettach yourself, taste soberness

and build on some hobbies, relationships
other then with the plant,
and when you are ready (if you want to) you can always come back

 

[J. Greenstein]

Look into hypnosis...when I needed a break from the herb the only thing that helped was hypnosis.

 

[Sam the Caveman]

If you are at the point where every part of your everyday environment is cannabis related, it will be very difficult to stop and continue to be in that environment.

If that is the case, get involved with other things, whether it be exercise or whatever hobbies you may have. There needs to be a balance of activities rather than replacing one consuming habit with another.

Self-control, initially it will be telling youself NO, many times per day. Start doing deep meditation every morning until you are completely calm with no thoughts and then focus your intent for the day ahead. You will notice a difference the first day, if you get to the point of no thoughts in your meditation and rest there for a while.

Once you start meditating, you will have more control over your thoughts and you can steer them in whatever direction you like, then you will start to control your thoughts and emotions resulting from those thoughts and they won't be controlling or directing you.

Just my 2cents

 

[cobcoop]

Take up swimming or some other good exercise that will actually give you a better buzz than cannabis if you feel the need to take a break.....so replacing the high....

Cannabis is not good for everyone and not everyone can take it on a regular basis without feeling some sort of negative effect to their lives(procrastination e.t.c.)......so either go into moderation mode or completely quit by replacing it with the endorphins that you will get from a good work-out....

Exercise will do wonders.

Agreed, get into some kind exercise, it helped me tremendously when I had to stop smoking (due to reasons outside of my control). Try to make sure it is something you enjoy doing though so you don't get bored. And yeah getting to sleep will suck for awhile, but it wears off after about a week.

Good luck to ya!

 

[Moldy Dreads]

Good, because you cannot get addicted to Cannabis,

There is simply no chemical substance in Cannabis that creates addiction (such as ethanol in alcohol, or nicotine in tobacco).

If you're a chronic smoker and stop, you will probably experience slight withdrawal symptoms, because your body is habituated to the substance, that's all.

You can get psychologically addicted, but then again you can get psychologically addicted to just about everything, such as junk food, video games, shopping, etc.

I'm not sure you have a problem with Cannabis. I believe you have an existential problem, perhaps a personality disorder, and you're making it easy for yourself by putting the blame on the smoke.

You might need to make some drastic changes in your life, if you're smoking so much that you don't get anything done you need to cut back, but don't blame the drug because you can't use it to your own advantage.

Take up swimming or some other good exercise that will actually give you a better buzz than cannabis if you feel the need to take a break.....so replacing the high....

Cannabis is not good for everyone and not everyone can take it on a regular basis without feeling some sort of negative effect to their lives(procrastination e.t.c.)......so either go into moderation mode or completely quit by replacing it with the endorphins that you will get from a good work-out....

Alot of good advice, but YOU are the only one who can change your lazy life!

Best of luck!