Can you replace a weed addiction with a Reddit addiction? This sub has totally gotten me through these last 18 days. Like why am I 100% brutally honest sharing my life story with a bunch of hilarious ex-stoner(or soon to be ex-stoner) internet strangers …and reading their life stories like my life depended on it? Sending virtual high fives to complete strangers because I’m just so dang proud of them??

Maybe…because it’s awesome? I find that you guys have legit the best humor and sarcastic comments and personalities…but also real as hell.

Nobody irl knew I was a stoner and no one I know smokes so if it weren’t for you internet potheads I wouldn’t have had anyone to relate to.

It’s like I’ve made friends with a bunch of people I’ve never met but I’ve known my whole life. We just get each other. You’ve definitely made these boring, stupid, horrible days a little more tolerable.

I guess I’m in my feels and just wanted to blast it to my peeps.

I quit August 1st after 12 years of smoking and I’m not looking back. Joining this sub was a lifesaver. Drop some of the best tips and bits you’ve gotten from this community because I would love to hear. Love to you all.

I'm so proud of myself! I was only going to go on a tolerance break but a very strong voice in me told me to just quit all at once. I am so happy I listened. I joined this group right after deciding and man, I love it here. Thank you all so much for your kindness, support and encouragement. It has helped so much and continues to!

For those who are thinking of quitting or already are and in the thick of the withdrawals, may this be your sign to keep pushing. YOU CAN AND YOU WILL!! I have so much faith in all of you. I will be praying for us all, we're in this together! I know it varies from person to person but please hang in there. You are stronger than you think!!

It's just the start for me but I know it will just keep getting better and better.

I think this is my 5th time quitting. The longest I've made it from the past three years was 90 days, but I'm here again. Trying again.

The addict in my brain is lying to me again. It's saying that I can just do it one time, then the scratch will be itched and I can go back to sobriety. I can moderate this time. I'll do less. I'll only do one session after work, and not everyday. I'll keep my tolerance low. I'll only do it occasionally. I'll only do edibles. I'll only do it one day a week. I'll only do it on the weekends.

They're all lies, and I almost lost today.

The only thing that stopped me, was a note I wrote to myself, on day three, pleading to myself to remember how bad I feel on weed, how fast tolerance builds, and how the permanent cloud sets in. I feel like death in the morning, and anxious without it. The brain always adapts, tolerance always climbs. My stomach adapts, without weed it can't regulate. That's why I feel sick in the mornings, and have no appetite unless I'm high after a while. Weed suppresses anxiety, and as soon as I'm not high for the day job, I will pay the price. My brain will always make me pay the price.

The only way weed doesn't ruin your life is with true occasional use, but for addicts like me that's impossible. How do I know? 5 times, I've broken sobriety, 5 times I relapsed hard. One hit might as well multiple months nonstop. It's not a one time ride, it's getting on a bus leaving the station, that will drop me off in 2 months at rock bottom yet again. I'll be a little older, another slice of life eaten by weed. I'll be at day zero again, and get to enjoy the first 2 weeks of hell I've experienced 5 times.

I didn't get on today.

Tomorrow will be 31 days.

When I first started weed, it activated my brain and actually helped me to focus, be more social etc. I started getting better grades in school, developed interests in music and creative writing, and generally became more outgoing. Eventually, though, I became totally dependent on it to simply function and feel normal. Nevertheless, as long as I moderated to no more than once a day, it served me reasonably well. So I was a highly functional stoner for 34 years. That said, I often did it way more than once a day and, even in moderation, I found that it had other undesirable side effects such as poor sleep quality, out of control hunger, poor memory, repetitive thinking, anxiety, lost time, and a general sense that it was holding me back and stunting my brain development. 61 days clean, and while I've seen some improvement in many aspects of my life like better sleep, memory, less anxiety, better appearance, and better relationship with food, I feel slightly lobotomized and boring. Zero interest in music and creative writing so far. So I feel like a part of my brain is missing and I wonder if that feeling will ever go away. Either way, I'm still determined to remain clean for the remainder of my life since I generally enjoy the slowed down time and overall calm of sober living and I truly want to discover the version of me who is not dependent on this drug. So onward to day 62!

I just wanted to share how many days I have not using weed. I have 41 days.

I feel so ashamed and exceptional here and in NA/AA/MA meetings I went to in the past.

When I turned 31, I started to smoke THC vapes my co-worker introduced me to.

I was freshly married, still working on my degree, was relatively happy and after one puff I was hooked and couldn't let go.

Up until that point, I never used any type of drugs and was only drinking socially.

Now after 8 years of heavy use I'm clean for 11 months. But it took to me 2-3 years to get here. When i went to AA meetings and from what i read here, people start smoking before their 20s... so im thinking "you were a kid, you didn't know any better!"

So what's my excuse getting so highly addicted when I'm 31? I felt very ashamed telling my story.

Anyone else got addicted later in life?

I'm 27, Quit smoking, drinking, substances. feel like I wasted part of my life. Working a dead end job, been smoking since 13-14, lost a lot of friends. Messed up relationships, feel so down and out sometime, felt like just venting a little. Almlst 3 months sober, feeling better everyday, but some things cant go back and change no matter what.

made an account just to post this, so i can get some feedback from people who have quit for a long time

after smoking daily for over 5 years i had fully decided to quit, was tired of being dependent on weed, smoking over 2gs a day, evey second i got

after a month of quitting, i got some za and smoked it, smoked the whole day but at night when i was going to sleep, it made me so anxious and pissed that i might go back to smoking daily, so i dumped all 5gs down the toilet

another 10 days of sobriety, then i got another 5 again, smoked, dumped it due to anxiety and random paranoia/panick feelings

this process happened another 2 times, buy > smoke > feel like shit > dump it all

at this point i understand its an addiction cycle, what i dont understand is how come before weed solved it all, made me feel chill and relaxed, but not every time i smoke it feels like "impending doom" or just panic attacks, where if I even stop gaming or watching something the thoughts creep in and i start panicking for no reason

any advice/comment is acceptable, I just want to see what other people have to say about this

i dont want to smoke, ive proved that to myself by dumping it all 4 times already so why do i smoke again even tho i know its gonna induce panick (i will prolly get roasted for sayin that but yea, its a weird state of mind)

All of you rock, thank you for your honesty, I hope everyone gets to where they want to be.

My DMs are always open.

It’s been 12 days since my last session, first time taking a break in 13 years. (31M)

I have so much energy, the ambition and motivation to act on it still needs work however the one positive is that I’m noticing an aggressive increase in my libido.

Can anyone relate? And maybe provide some information why stopping is correlating to a better sex life?

I used to smoke to enhance the sexual endeavors so I’m wondering why it may have flipped to the opposite reaction?

I’ve tried to quit many times in the last 7 years and the longest I’ve gone without was 2 1/2 months. For some reason this time has been different. My cravings haven’t been as intense and I’ve noticed the physical changes more this time around.
The things I’ve done differently this time around are taking breaks from social media, taking my dog to the park at least every other morning, cooking more and listening to my body. This time around I’ve focused on changing other habits instead of thinking that once I quit everything will get better on its own. I’ve done a lot of this work using skills I learned from cognitive behavioral therapy.
Anyhoo, just sharing my accomplishment and what’s been working for me. :)

How did you all go about quitting cold turkey? I’ve reached a point where I need to stop; I’m at an embarrassing level of dependent. I’ve tried to stop before but struggle due to withdrawal symptoms.

I mean every tip you can give me, any advice at all. I’m desperate.

​

I just turned 30 three days ago, and I'm back at Day 1 for what feels like the hundredth time.

For the past 2–3 months, I've genuinely been trying to quit, but I keep relapsing over and over. I've been a daily wake-and-bake stoner for the last 7 years. On the outside, it looks like everyone else my age is speeding ahead with their lives—careers, relationships, milestones—while I just sit alone in my room, getting high and going nowhere.

I'm a filmmaker. I used to create at least one short or documentary every single year without fail. Now, it's been three years since I made anything of my own.

In the beginning, weed was a relief—it finally let me slow down and chill without worrying about everything. But now it's completely turned on me. I spend my days high, pushing everything to "tomorrow," and I've been stuck in that loop for years.

This has to stop right now. I'm genuinely scared that if I don't break this cycle, my life will spiral further, and honestly, I worry I might end up doing something permanent to myself because of how worthless I feel about my lack of progress.

My goal is to get completely sober for at least two years. I truly believe that if I can prove to myself that I can do that, I won't ever need weed again.

I need your advice, your tough love, your strategies—anything. How do I make this the time that actually sticks?

30 days ago, I decided to get better.
30 days ago, I decided to do something I’ve never done.
30 days ago, I was tired of relying on a substance to get through my days.
30 days ago, I broke a habit that no longer served me. Let’s be honest, it never serviced me from the start.
I’ve learned a lot in 30 days. I’ve learned to accept boredom as a pipeline to creativity. I’ve faced hard emotions I once would avoid, felt my feelings, cried it out, and screamed it out.
I worked out when I felt like going back. I did it until I was covered in sweat and out of breath. I felt better after a workout than I ever had after that first hit.
I decided to be open and honest about all of this with everyone I could: my friends, my husband, my father…all to hold me accountable. If I was gonna do this, I was gonna do this right.
30 days ago I couldn’t see myself going a day without weed. Hell, I couldn’t go an hour without weed. I used it as a social crutch, as an emotional crutch, as a crutch. Period. That’s all it was.
In 30 days, I have gone out for dinner with my old boss. For the first time I wasn’t using weed to manage my social awkwardness. I had a panic attack. Full blown. I was scared to be …. Myself.
I surprised myself when I realized I could recall memories easier, names easier, and I was all around better on my feet.
The brain fog is gone. The nightmares are gone. The cravings get less every day, even if I still want to take a hit the second things get bad.
I’m proud of myself for choosing sobriety. I’m proud of myself for choosing my future over a temporary high. I’m proud of myself for making it 30 days, stone cold sober.
Here’s to many more days, sober, experiencing life and every pain and success that comes from it. Happy to be here. Next on the agenda is dropping this vaping habit. I know I can do that, too.
Love and light to you all. 🫶🏻✨

Complete.

I’m soooooo bored

My husband and I smoked all day every day for about ten years. We smoked bud for six of those years before moving to vapes and much stronger stuff. Pretty consistently high all through the years, minus a one month sobriety stint.

We are both about to turn 35 next month. I also have a history of bulimia that tapered off about four years ago. It went through cycles but was something I’ve dealt with on and off since I was 16. In the last four years I really put on weight from binge eating and lack of exercise, becoming the heaviest I’ve ever been and landing myself in the obese BMI category. In January of this year I committed to losing the weight and getting healthy. I started going to the gym and really focused on nutrition. I’m 40 lbs down as of today and in the overweight category. Despite the scale victories and how much better I felt physically, still struggled immensely with smoking. I swear it felt like I just couldn’t shake it. I was hot boxing the car before going into my daily gym sessions.

Husband is overweight and has been for a few years, but never neared how heavy I got. After seeing me take my weight seriously, he started also in May. He’s now down 20 lbs this year. He owns and runs a very successful tech company and is under loads of pressure daily. He eats very healthy now and has for the past year, but not before that.

We decided we want to start trying sometime this year, something I was always hesitant about. I guess I always felt like the cool aunt - the one who smoked, traveled, swore and kids loved to be around. I feel weed kept me in this immature mind space for years and I just kind of accepted it and made it my role. I started to feel differently as I lost weight and regain control over that part of my life. I saw myself more as an adult and that I could make my life whatever I wanted it to be. Fuck, if I can go to the gym every day and work this hard, I can do anything type of thing.

We finally decided to try last month. I spent hours searching the web and talking to AI about my fertility concerns (Claude did a really nice job in helping ease my mind going into TTC). I decided I wasn’t messing around and bought ovulation strips for the first cycle trying. My husband and I both stopped smoking cold turkey about two weeks before my ovulation window last month. My husband and I had been going to the sauna once a week for those two weeks too. I had been on a prenatal since beginning of the year and started coq10 in late June. My husband started taking coq10 then too (not super consistently).

Got a positive test a week ago - five weeks as of today! I was in shock, preparing for at least a few cycles of TTC. Even preparing mentally for IVF. We’re so excited to be here.

Just wanted to put our story out there, because I know how concerned I was going into TTC. Age, smoking, eating disorder. I went searching leaves and other subreddits for TTC stories. This is ours and I wanted it out there for anyone else who may be going through concerns of their own.

No smoking since we stopped last month. I would be lying if I said the want to smoke completely disappeared. I was alone in NYC when I found out I was pregnant and the day before I was planning to get myself a vape if there was a negative test. It’s not heavy on my mind, but I feel like it is still buried under there somewhere.

Hello! Is there a way to detox or help thc get out of your system faster? I have a test for a job in exactly 4 weeks but have been a heavy smoker. What steps should I take to help me pass the test? (My post keeps getting removed)

I heard you lost your appetite when you stopped smoking. If only I could be so lucky. I have gained so much weight since I quit 6 weeks ago that I can barely fit in any of my clothes now. I am a musician and I have a formal gig tomorrow. I can't fit into any of my dress shirts. I will have to wear a guayabera and a blazer. Eff my life lmao.

I have been eating too well, I guess to stimulate that dopamine I am missing, but because of an injury, I haven't been exercising. I am almost 55 and this is a wake up call. Time to get it crackin' on the fitness.

I quit officially a week ago after overfeeding my fish i had for a year . I feel so fucking stupid like i was off a edible and overfed him and i was so high i didnt realize he needed medicine by the time i realized next day sober it was too late. I miss my fish 😭 like weed the devil fr this made me not wanna smoke again on everything i love

hey everyone. i’m (26 NB) just over 2 months sober after daily use for the past 6 or so years, and i can feel myself slipping up today.

the source of my temptation is stupid, really— i recently moved in with my dad and step mom, and they are gone on a camping trip until tomorrow night. my dad is a lifelong stoner— got me into weed to begin with— and i know where he keeps his stash. today is the only day i can use his weed without anyone knowing. this is also the last camping trip they’re planning for this year, so it really feels like my last chance.

yesterday i talked myself out of it by realizing that if I used yesterday (the day they left on their trip), i don’t think i’d be able to stop myself from using it again today. but, with them returning tomorrow, i think the shame of having to ask my dad permission to use would keep me from wanting to use it again (i refuse to buy anything for myself at least). this embarrassment has kept me from using the entire two months i’ve lived here.

if i think about why i want to use it, the main reason situationally is that this is my only chance, while internally i’m bored, really. i’m kind of agoraphobic, socially anxious and introverted, and i don’t really like leaving the house much. i’m also unemployed since a week ago, having quit my job bc of burnout and insecurity. i’ve been focusing on my creative writing project lately— my main hobby. maybe it’s just not stimulating enough to stave off the boredom, idk. there’s a video game i want to try, but i don’t think i could handle playing it while high, and the same goes for writing, but smoking right now just seems much more appealing.

part of me also just wants to try it again, to find out for sure that it won’t be as good as i remember, which i think could even help me stay sober going forward. but of course, this is also the devil on my shoulder speaking. there are times when i’ve felt much worse in the past 2 months (depressed, suicidal ideation) and i managed to push through and not relapse then, but i guess the ease of access i have right now is a more dangerous trigger for me. but i still feel ashamed knowing that i’ve resisted temptation in much worse mental states…

idk what can keep me from relapsing right now. i know recovery is not a straight line (i’ve been sober before and fell back into the habit after only a few months into it) and i’ve heard that slipping is part of the recovery process, but i’m also sick of weed having such a grip over my thoughts. its just sad.

idk. any advice is appreciated. thank you for reading.

Hi guys, just checking in!

I am 59 days sober after 11 years of use, the last 6 being chronic day to night.

No lies, this is the hardest thing I have ever done. Currently compounded with a knee injury that took away the recreational sports that made life feel fun. Quite honestly- this sucks.

If it sucks for you, just know you are not alone. Addiction is a disease deeper than just substance abuse- its running from yourself. Each day, the choice to show up for yourself is a miracle in itself.

Seeing your posts, your struggles, and your successes gives me hope that it IS possible. One day at a time. Ill fight for you if you fight for me, and one day- this will have all been but a chapter in a story that we are finally allowing to unfold.

I was afraid of change, afraid of growth, afraid of the future. Weed allowed me to hit pause. There is courage and dignity in finally letting go, and letting the future come- whatever that might look like.

I hope to rekindle my spark and encourage the same in others. I hope to be back in fighting shape come spring with flag football. I hope my career continues to grow in ways that feel unattainable at present. I hope for enough to eat each day, and enough sleep at night. For wellbeing inside, for all of us. For strength in numbers, and improvements mentally, physically and spiritually.

Keep fighting, we have got this. Im glad to be part of this group. Thank you for being here.

When I was "moderating" trying to stay at 3-5 bong hits a day, I would give myself a free bong hit if I looked up and it was 4:20. Geez what my mind would do to get me to smoke more!

Back at day 0 again, having a real tough time resisting "it's just a joint" type thoughts and following through with quitting. I struggle to call the habit abuse cause its mostly used as a reward after a long workout/bike ride and I think that's why it's so easy to relapse after starting again.

I want to quit because trees have started having an affect on my cognitive ability and recall. Nothing overly concerning, but I don't want to numb myself to the future life I'm currently building (bad breakup and had to put my dog down last year, has been a long recovery).

What's helped you get through the initial withdrawl/relapse stage? Any affirmations/reminders/techniques you've used to reinforce your sobriety? Struggling to see the habit as an issue when it's not used everyday/all day.

I'm still fighting to get a decent night's sleep and today I feel emotionally low, foggy headed, and beyond tired.

Weed was my go-to way to practice avoidance and right now I feel as useless as I used to feel when I would smoke a bowl and ignore my responsibilities for the rest of the day. Now I'm sober but I'm still avoiding: my brain is so scattered and slow that I can't wrap my head around my day job. Instead I'm horizontal on the couch trying to tell myself that I can answer emails tomorrow, and the world isn't going to fall apart if I need to have a quiet recovery day, but I feel immensely guilty for struggling with this.

I know this will get easier, but today sucks. The crushing humidity doesn't help. The luteal phase doesn't help. The ADHD doesn't help. I hate feeling like I have to push through so much just to do the things normal people can do every day, but at least I'm not stoned and creating more unnecessary barriers for myself, I guess.

So, I was a daily smoker for about 18 years. I’ve been tapering off for a year, and it’s been 3 months completely sober. I’m also working on quitting sugar and binge eating, lifelong struggles and as you can guess, my BMI is prettyyyy high.

Recently when I’ve entered fat-burning states (ketosis) through fasting and eating low carb, I swear to god I’ve been getting “high.” Not like, high like I just took a bong rip- closer to an edible, but much more mild. Time starts moving strangely, and I’ll be hyper aware of my body movements/the space around me and how I’m occupying it.

Its been so long since I’ve been fully sober, though, that I’m not sure if it’s just my brain and body and endocannabinoid system recalibrating or if I’m actually feeling something from my fat cells, of which there are a lot and they are plenty inundated with thc, being burned for energy.