Thank you. I needed to hear this, I’m trying to empower myself instead of beat myself down. Reminding myself I’m going through one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and I need to be patient and just remain calm. I’m trying to read a book but I feel like my minds going a mile a minute and it’s kind of hard to sit still right now.
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Yeah while your minds racing it’s hard to concentrate if it’s not working do something else good luck do it we’ve got you 
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Welcome 
Although alcohol was my first(and worst) addiction, weed followed shortly behind and got just as much ahold on me. When I was your age, I’d been smoking 5 years and was the same as you. I had to smoke before I did absolutely anything. Wake 'n bake, blunt after blunt, all day long. It’s the reason I dropped out of college. I was even selling it for a while too. From there I got into much harder drugs. As they say, it’s the ‘gateway drug’. I always thought that was a stupid saying but I guess it turned out to be true. In the end, alcohol took over, but weed never left the picture. When I was 26, I began having trouble breathing. I was exceptionally fit, so I assumed I just had an infection and needed antibiotics to clear it up. After weeks of x-rays and tests, I was diagnosed with COPD. My doctor said my lungs looked like they belonged to a 90yo man. (Never knew why he said man 
) He told me I had to quit smoking weed, and after 12 straight years, I did. Then my idiotic drunk ass started smoking cigarettes at 30, but that’s different story. Anyway, life is better when you’re not living in a haze all the time. Clearer thoughts, better memories, and real connections. Good luck on your journey 
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I’m 2 years ~4 months sober from weed. Plus booze and other recreational drugs. Weed was the big one, and it made me crazy in the end. Like you, it took over my life, identity, etc. Except I’d been smoking for 14 years straight, similarly hiding the trauma under the weed nugs I was loading.
I’d tried to quit for years but never made it more than 2 months (once), it’s so normalized that a lot of people scoff at the thought of it being addictive. It really is, and I’m a parent of 2 so for reference it did hurt my ability to be a good parent, regulate my emotions and be present mentally for their lives.
It’s soo socialized as a “no big deal” thing, but that really fucks with people who have addictive lizard brain.
Also I found out the cool fun way that it was causing my (then undiagnosed until age 33) bipolar 1 episodes to sky rocket. I was faced with an ultimatum to either quit and get meds/therapy or lose my family and end up in the psych ward (family almost sent me 3 times).
It’s not a good time or even a fun time when it’s become that though. I still, to this day, struggle sometimes but it’s definitely a lot easier to just be like no thanks with everything I’ve been able to accomplish after finally ripping it away from who I am.
I’m just going to let you know right now the biggest thing that you need to work on is filling the time and replacing the rituals. Loading a bowl setting up some music and sometimes even having my cup of coffee was a full ritual and it took me a really long time to find some other things to replace it.
I definitely got more into coffees and trying different varieties and a morning routine with all of that to kind of fill the gap. I was faced with having to get back into my other hobbies which took A WHILE. Just be patient with yourself and remember your neural pathways are literally having to rebuild highways they close down a while ago.
You got this, you don’t have to be defined by weed and like you said you’re young now and you have so much time to establish yourself as who you have yet to be.
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Thank you for sharing your story with me, and congratulations on your journey! I’ve noticed through the years how much I get shortness of breath after doing literally nothing. This last weekend I had hit my pen a bunch before going to bed, when I woke up I felt like my lung had collapsed, it hurt so bad to breathe in. Luckily my mom’s a nurse ( funny enough since she gave me the green light to smoke) and after a while, it passed with the comfort that if i were to stop breathing at least she’s with me (sounds horrible typing that out lol). It scared me a lot though and I started getting that feeling every time I smoked and it is one of the 1000s of reasons that convinced me I need to stop. I can’t tell you how many times I thought I was going to need to go to the hospital when I smoked. Half paranoia from the anxiety weed gave me, and half because deep down I can feel how ruined every organ in my body is from smoking so much. Thanks again for your kind words, it really helps so much <3
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Congratulations on your journey and being sober for not only you but your kids, that’s really amazing you were able to find yourself again. I think that’s what I might struggle the most with, doing it for me and no one else. A lot of people from my generation is obsessed with weed and alcohol and probably even harder drugs. I worry that if I’m in a situation where I’m offered weed again, I won’t have the self control and spiral again. And the morning routine advice does help a lot, I’ve been wondering all day today what every day this week will feel like, and the moments that I’ll be alone not working. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve thought about just screwing all my progress and smoking like 50 times every minute it feels. But then I remind myself with the thought that the clock will restart and I have to be back at where I was today all over again, and I don’t want to feel how I felt today ever again. I also know now that I’ve waited this many hours, if I do smoke now, it will just result in an anxiety attack knowing all progress is gone. Thank you for relating and sharing your tips, it helps more than you know 
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Thats another interesting thought you bring up
At the time we think hey this is cool and fun, no harm done.
Then
Bam it hits our life hard and impacts everything
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Congrats on making the decision to quit smoking weed. I know how you feel, I also used to be a heavy smoker plus a drinker and I needed my high all the time. I’m only day 16 and I have had massive cravings to smoke weed, but I’m still sober. I’m not gonna give up because I know how weed can trick my brains to feel good but it’s a false feeling. Now I get naturally high from walking and running and it feels so good to be sober.
I wish you all the best! Stay strong, we all get through this! We got this!
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Hi! Sorry, the app told me I had to wait 7 hours to post any more comments since I exceeded the limit. I’m on hour 35 and I’m feeling good. I couldn’t sleep till 1 am, and kept waking up through the night every hour. And work was harder than expected, I made sure to eat breakfast and lunch with snacks between but while at work I started getting the shakes really bad and that came with lots of anxiety. I felt like I was gonna pass out and my body felt really sick. I took some Tylenol and ate dinner once I got home and I’m starting to feel better! More than anything it’s just a crazy feeling mentally and physically. I can’t stop thinking about how this is the longest I’ve ever been without weed in years, but in a good way.
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Thank you, my cravings are pretty intense as well which I expected in the beginning. I find being out of the house is what helps the most too. I plan on starting to go on morning walks/runs to start my day off with something positive. I also think the exercise might help me get more sleepy when it comes to night time. We got this and I’m here if you need to talk too! Congrats on 16 days!!!
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Thanks, my friend. You’re right, exercising really helps. I’m also doing long walks and shorter runs until I’m capable to run longer distances. Stay strong, we got this!
Edit: those cravings come and goes. Part of the game. For example I had massive cravings yesterday but I survived them sober. Small steps at a time!
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Keeping busy helps a lot. Because it takes your mind off the addiction. I always felt I smoked more when I was bored or just laying around at home.
Nice job on staying strong
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Continuing the discussion from I wish someone told me you can get severely addicted to weed as much as any other drug:
Oh yeah @Chaz i forgot about the wait, I posted so much it made me wait 16 hours 
I was gutted lol and I’m really proud of you 
your taking the advice and your doing it . My anxiety was terrible in the first week your body and mind are trying adjust but it really does get easier The longer you go the less the cravings and thought s come . It’s brilliant that your eating so well. Some of us have a word that helps it’s H.A.L.T hungry angry lonely tired if we’re craving we stop and think are we any of these things ,we normally are and we address which one it is and we see to it rather than using, it helps me anyway .keep on keeping on and keep it in the day 
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Sorry @Chaz I didn’t mean to continue discussion I’m a 
with this I phone I keep doing things wrong !
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I’m officially one week clean! My brain can’t even comprehend that I’m actually doing this. It’s felt like the LONGEST week of my life.
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Congrats on 1 week. Stay strong!
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You got this! One day at a time. Congrats!!
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