hi guys, ive been on and off marijuana for around 4 years, started when i was 16, the most I’ve been clean for was a month, and that was the first year. I’ve lost friends, jobs, family members because of it. I hate how it feels, I hate that I cant control myself, that my mind depends on it. i decided to finally get clean for the next year and so far its been fine, tendencies here and there but nothing I’m not used. i guess the reason I’m here is for some advice, does it get better? is it as hard being clean for 1 year as it is for 1 month. i’d love to hear yall’s experiences!
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I smoked weed all day, every day when I was your age. My drinking took off at 21, which decreased my smoking, but I still did almost every day. At 26, after 12 years of daily use, I started experiencing breathing problems. My doctor told me I was developing COPD. That’s what made me quit. I had to cut back on drinking in order to do so, and soon after I became pregnant, so that obviously made it easier to abstain. During that time, I realized how much I didn’t like being high. I wasn’t as tired all the time, I remembered alot more, and mostly, I enjoyed life again. I was alot more comfortable with myself bc I wasn’t a quiet awkward weirdo all the time. It gets better. Alot better 
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Welcome to the community! Congrats on your 1 week being clean 
The journey is different for everyone. I do know that it does get easier the longer you are clean. Becoming sober is not just about giving up the substance but also about finding healthier ways to deal with life’s lifey moments so we don’t turn to numbing tendencies. Also about learning to deal with our emotions / feelings that we have kept hushed with our addiction.
I did find the first few months was all about changing up routines ad finding other ways to fill my time rather than smoking / drinking or thinking about how i was going to smoke / drink 
After that I did get urges from time to time but they were way easier to handle.
This is a wonderful community to be a part of as you are among fellow addicts who understand the struggle and can be a great resource for your journey.
Hope to see you around!
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Hey @meaf,
Thanks so much for your share 
I gather from your post you are quite young, which is something in itself to be venturing through being sober.
Personally (and thisbis just my experience), being sober becomes easier over time to the point where it becomes automatic and you dont even think about it anymore. Around 1 month people likely still experience cravings and desires, and this can go away at different points in time for everyone. Something I think that helps in this process and just generally for my life and well being is working on myself (around my drinking and who I am, my fears, past, angers, trauma, etc.) and having a community of people is I think pretty vital.
While not drinking can become automatic and its own way of being, I do believe that all kinds of things can lead people to either try ddinking again or to relapse/go back out. I was 20 when I quit, and at 30 I tried drinking again…Id say part of me was curious if I could, part of me was in a really difficult mental space; and I no longer had my sober/active community. Im so grateful to have found this place.
In short I think being sober becomss easief, but life continues to happen and just because we get sobef doesnt mean life is just always going to flow or be easy, and that our sobriety wont be challenged or that something wr found to help us/something we thought was working wont stop; and we have to try again to grow and find help in new ways. I know one thing is for SURE, it is SO MUCH EASIER and more joyful/solid feeling to be sober thrn it is to drink, in almost any circumstance and stage of life. I know it may seem easier to drink then to get sober, but really I think of how difficult my life was when I was drinking (even when nothing bad was actually happening because of my drinking, but just the inner emotional turmoil and ick) and it is 100% easier tobbe sober then to live my life around my drinking. I wish you all the best and hope to see you around
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I could think of 1million excuses to use but I just need 1 reason to stop
I hate weed
It was my doc for almost 16 years and I never learned how to control my obsession with it but I recently became over 100 days clear of it. Sence I hit 100 days I have 0 cravings. I feel proud of myself
Let’s say you have 20$ for 1 week
What sounds better
A 20bag of pot up in smoke or some food for the week
If you were out and no money would you pick it up off the ground
If you did have money how long would you look to buy some be4 you realize the dealers can’t meet you
Pot robbed me of so much and because I’m sober, nothing bad has happened because I don’t drink or smoke weed. Bad things happen but not because I’m sober
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Appreciate your lengthy post in reponse to the OP, but it may be worth noticing that alcohol is not everyone’s DOC and instead @meaf struggles with marijuana. Some of your experience/advice still stands, but coming off different DOCs presents different challenges.
Re. your question, @meaf: my understanding is that prolonged use of marijuana changes neural pathways in the brain and it takes a while to undo those changes. With that in mind, you could probably expect not to notice much change in the 1st month but should definitely feel a difference after the 1st year.
If anyone has a better response based on experience or medical expertise, please do chime in!
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My apologies! My brain was reading fast (as she tends to do), and for some reason I read it that you had been sober 4 years off of weed and now trying to get sober frpm alcohol…I appear to have added something. I think some of what I talk about with reference to being sober stands, but I do understand each DOC is different…again my apologies and thanks @Dirk for pointing this out.
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Welcome @meaf to a great place. You’re choosing the healthiest way to live - drink/drug free! Everyone’s experience, strength and hope offered here is helpful, I feel.
Yes, it gets better the longer we abstain. When it seems like it’s feeling a bit stagnant that’s when working a program can help make this life a lot more fun & interesting.
I’m a very fortunate drunk. Grateful for my Higher Power & my recovery beyond measures. In my last job I did primary care and addiction medicine in a behavioral health clinic. Our mental health providers would not even entertain completing a comprehensive mental health assessment until the client had 6 months clean/sober.
So, at 6 months you will likely be at your new baseline. I’m not saying life will be amazing but you will likely be as clear minded as one can hope to be away from weed. Cannabis Use Disorder is common, especially if you did dabs, oil/shatter. Weed’s THC is way more concentrated these days and thus tolerance and dependency develop rapidly with frequent use. And, starting young affects judgement and cognition (pretty word for thought process).
You’re kicking pot’s ass! Keep it going, friend.
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