“This is the last time I would be calling my dealer.” And then it happens again. Have you been trapped in this cycle just like I was for many years?
Then read this post that explains how you can successfully quit weed once and forever to start living a beautiful sober life.
Quitting weed can be tough due to the nature of this drug.
Unlike drugs like alcohol or heroin that can completely flip your life, life can be managed just fine even under the intoxication of weed. That’s both the good and the bad part about this drug. So, I like to call it the INSIDIOUS WEED.
It’s true that weed won’t kill you but it does kill away your potential and waste away your life. It makes you its slave while slowly deteriorating all your mental capabilities. And nothing could be worse than that.
But one thing.
You would keep using it to escape all that. You would keep believing it’s doing the opposite.
I have been there. However, life on this side is so much beautiful, fulfilling, productive and real. Deep inside, you know that too. Let me share with you some solid tips that can help you quit weed.
- 1. Make a strong commitment
- 2. Inform your weed tribe and give yourself some space
- 3. Understand and embrace withdrawals
- 4. Do not mope about weed, rather cherish the sobriety
- 5. Start adding meaningful habits to your routine (right from day 1)
- 6. List some exciting goals and slowly, start working on them
- 7. Take life one day at a time
1. Make a strong commitment
When you get dependent on weed, a part of you doesn’t want to let go of it. Mere thinking about that creates fear, anxiety, panic and many other negative emotions.
Add to that, you have your logical proof as you must have failed numerous times when trying to quit weed.
Don’t worry. You have been falling since you never truly made a strong commitment. You kind of want sobriety to happen magically instead of actually working for it.
Just make a strong commitment. A commitment to keep trying until victory is ensured. A commitment to keep desiring for complete sobriety. A commitment to better physical, mental, spiritual and financial life that’s screaming to be claimed.
2. Inform your weed tribe and give yourself some space
You must be having a group of smoking buddies who may not have much in common except the mutual dependency and need of weed.
Naturally, a strong bond gets formed with them as you smoke together, share talks, hang out, watch content, play games and even share food. Their place, face, vibes and frequencies naturally pull you towards using cannabis.
If you are serious about sobriety, separating yourself from them could be a wise move. In fact, it may be necessary.
Inform them about your decision. If calling about this seems awkward and fearful, drop a text. Just let them so they won’t bother you.
And don’t worry even if you fail. At least you tried. You would even command some respect (and some mockery too!) from your buddies for at least trying to make the attempt.
3. Understand and embrace withdrawals
Understand that you have been subjecting your body and mind to many chemical stimulants that aren’t absolutely needed. Your progressive use has disturbed intricate chemical biochemistry of your system.
When you quit weed, your body has to undo those changes.
And when that happens, certain physical and mental symptoms may manifest. These are withdrawals.
Don’t be afraid of them.
Consider them as little punishment for your years of weed abuse. And remember the resetting and healing function going inside your body during this phase.
Withdrawals are temporary and should be all gone within 3 weeks. And let me give you some things that you can do during that phase.
4. Do not mope about weed, rather cherish the sobriety
You must rewire your moping thoughts and emotions. Instead of remembering what weed did for you, remember what it did to you and your life.
Whenever you feel deprived of your reward or miss weed, repeat, “I am a sober (wo)man. I am free.”
Remember to feel good when you say so.
Repeat this often and you will begin to cherish sobriety.
5. Start adding meaningful habits to your routine (right from day 1)
Time to get back in the game of life. It’s true that you may already have some meaningful habits in your life as a weed smoker but doesn’t it become tough to execute them on a daily basis when life isn’t your priority.
That may change as you decide to step into a new and a better phase of your life.
The key is to start small. Build your life slowly while trying to strengthen your sobriety pillar.
Exercising and eating nutritious food can be two good habits, to begin with. Both of these activities help your body as well as your mind.
Below I list a few more habits that you can incorporate in your life over time –
- Meditation (great for improving mental strength)
- Reading good books
- Spending time in nature
- Journal writing
- Socializing with sober people
From instantly rewarding behaviours, you should try to focus on habits that improves your self-respect, makes you feel fulfilling and reward you in the long run.
6. List some exciting goals and slowly, start working on them
Smoking weed everyday (or frequently) makes you complacent with life. Sober people in your circle keep making progress with their life while you stay contended in the smoke of cannabinoids.
Such comparisons can be somewhat helpful to assess effects of addiction but free yourself over stressing about that.
Grab a notebook. Sit alone. Think about some goals. Big goals split into quarterly, monthly and weekly goals. Or just reverse the sequence.
How can you improve your physical health? What can be done to accomplish that? How about mental health? How about some spiritual goals? How about some relationship-based goals? How about financial ones?
Isn’t now the time that you start thinking about them?
7. Take life one day at a time
It can feel overwhelming to know that you can’t have weed for the rest of your life. In truth, you can have it but you are deciding to end the relationship. It’s not serving you.
When you quit weed, just take life one day at a time. Try to be free from weed for just this one specific day. Weeks come and pass by pretty quickly and as your sobriety streak moves forward, all the past impressions of weed would start diminishing away.
Live the life you were meant to live.
Also read: Why your willpower won’t help you to quit smoking
On the third day of being sober, I woke up to Rion prodding me at 6:30 AM, making extremely urgent facial expressions and arm movements. For some reason, we had masochistically decided the night before to try and get to the gym before work. Reluctantly, I sat up in bed and made a big show of unhappiness. I had hardly gotten any sleep in between strange dreams, though it was better than the first night, when I had a panic attack. The melatonin I started taking, in lieu of a fat bowl, helped.
Stealing or lying to secure weed: If you are so desperate for marijuana that you have resorted to lying or stealing to feed your habit, your smoking may have gone too far. Disinterest in life without weed: If marijuana is standing in your way of living a full and enriching life when you re not high, your habits are indicative of a problem.
Completely agree with you brother. I did reach both these instances that you’re talking about and knew that it was time to let go of marijuana. BTW, how long did you use weed?