Never Give Up.
My background: Started smoking weed in high school. After high school, I had a powerful motivation to quit because I wanted a government career and I quit for six years. In psychological circles, they call this the power of WHY. Your Why*-Power* will keep you going when going through horrible withdrawal symptoms and questioning if you should just F it and relapse back. A strong enough reason to quit. After career path change, I went back to smoking weed on and off throughout the last decade (I'm middle aged now), but since covid I've been using THC every single day.
At last, THC stopped being that dopamine super booster for me and I decided to quit permanently this time.
I'm a high functioning pothead (wake and bake, smoke all day, smoke all night until I pass out)
Lurking in this subreddit and hearing your struggles helped me during the darkest of times to know that I am not alone in my withdrawal symptoms and I feel obligated by God to give back.
For me, since legalization and seeing cannabis products with 30-50% THC levels...obviously this isn't the same THC level products we had back in high school. If it works for you, god speed.
But I'm the addictive personality category of cannabis users and its no longer serving me. I've got plenty of friends that do fine on weed no matter how much or how little they smoke and its all good.
I could list all the withdrawal symptoms I've experienced...But you've heard it all in here.
For me, I need my creative juices back to pursue another professional career and THC is no longer serving me with the "creativity" anymore. Call it a spiritual awakening if you will. If it works for you, god speed. I don't blame the weed. Just ain't for me no more.
This time, I've been a month free and the withdrawal is hard because the THC levels today are so effin strong that I haven't experienced such a challenging time quitting.
Solutions:
Through trial and error, I know for me what works best to speed up the dopamine reset my brain so desperately needs to get back to normal so I can get those creative juices back and much deprived REM sleep and massively reduce the withdrawal symptoms. Take what you will from me and I hope you reach your own breakthrough to quit.
1. Exercise. Its true, this is the best thing to combat heavy withdrawal symptoms. I've gone through this amazing subreddit and even posts from several years back or more have recommended this as the number one gameplan. Its true. Lifting weights at the gym, going for a walk, jog/sprints helps to work off all that anxious withdrawal symptom energy. Especially if you're experiencing raging, angry hot thoughts, mood swings, and all that.
If lifting weights, playing sports, swimming, or jogging/running isn't something you can get into right away, the next best option is combination hot sauna/steam room/cold plunge. You'll feel incredible after. Just know, during withdrawal, its always ups and downs up and downs in mood, energy, motivation. Accept that this is the natural progression towards recovery. You're not alone. You got this.
2. Diet. Stay the F away from junk food. Eat as healthy as you can. Healthy diet staves off the withdrawal symptoms much better than greasy and sugary junk food.
3. Meditation. 5-10 minute sessions in the morning or whenever you get a chance during the day or night is incredible for settling the brain waves. Helped me with reducing the withdrawal symptoms of anxiousness, overthinking, brain fog, and irritation and moodiness. There are meditation apps and youtube channels with it. Long as you experience the mental and emotional benefits.
4. Social Media Detox. Another dopamine addiction. For me it helped tremendously to get my attention span, focus, and concentration and energy back. I deleted all the apps: tiktok IG facebook. Such a liberating feeling...so much valuable time of my life back to pursue reading and productive hobbies that move me forward in life. For me this was great because sometimes we end up trading one dopamine addiction for another: going through THC withdrawals and replacing it with dopamine addicting doom scrolling.
5. Friendship circles. We become the people we hang around with. I began minimizing my time hanging out with friends that love the weed and actually...because my brain has been recovering the past month...I don't feel the need to socialize. Because of my creative career pursuit, I deeply enjoy my alone time being productive in reading, learning, writing, deep cleaning the house, quality conversations with my partner...I realized in my life, the saying misery loves company is very true but addiction loves company is equally true. Once I woken up from the THC slumber holding me down, the epiphany hit me that some friendships aren't worth maintaining because you see the light once you are no longer fogged by THC...you see those friendships for what they really are...This is just my life. Do whatever works best for you. Some friendships are just enablers and being around them is hard for you to quit. They love having you around because addiction loves company. Its like subconsciously they don't want you to succeed because you're leaving them in the trenches.
6. Spiritual Life. You don't have to believe in traditional religion. Just believe in a higher power in the universe that is guiding you. I look my life situation and intending to quit permanently this time around as spiritual awakening. Trust your gut feeling about people and your life path.
7. Venting. Do whichever method works for you: open up word doc and journal out all your thoughts and feelings when going through the withdrawal symptoms. You'll feel so much better after. Some people prefer journaling by pen, keyboard, voice recorder (replay it back to yourself and you'd be surprised how you feel about your life situation and thc withdrawal. Vent out loud or to a trusted friend or partner. You'd feel better for it. Clarifies the mind.
That's all I got in the tank. Hope that helps those in similar withdrawal situations as I towards making this permanent in my life. Had a fantastic run with THC, on and off, throughout the past two decades but its time to carve out a new life path. Just know, its a roller coaster going through ups and downs with the withdrawal symptoms...its not that its not working...your brain is so used to THC dopamine that it needs time to reset itself. Brain chemistry reconfiguring itself. Have a strong powerful WHY you want to quit and it helps you get those those dark thoughts, mood swings, angry raging thoughts, feelings of despair, hopelessness, depression-like thoughts.
Know that it is temporary. The fact you're even lurking in this subreddit means that you are making progress towards that end goal of quitting.
I don't hate mary jane it just ain't for me another. I have to admit, I have an addictive personality to THC, even though I am high functioning in my personal life but its no longer serving me. The first two weeks are F***ing brutal for me...Just as I've read from the posts in here and listening to podcasts of psychologists/psychiatrists...first two weeks are the worse. The next week weeks are better, but you'll still go through ups and downs and know that its temporary. No idea how long your withdrawal symptoms will last. Everybody is different obviously, but I know the gameplan I wrote above helped me massively in recovery. Hope that helps. Stay strong. You got this.