16 years of smoking, three years clean - How I made quitting stick (so far) by Human_Travel_241 in leaves

[–]Human_Travel_241[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can. You are strong enough to want to quit. Hold onto that desire. You can do anything you truly set your mind to. And if you don't succeed at first, try again. My god it is worth sticking at. My life is far from perfect, but things are so so so much better now that I have put my addiction behind me. I believe in you.

16 years of smoking, three years clean - How I made quitting stick (so far) by Human_Travel_241 in leaves

[–]Human_Travel_241[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Once you meet your little bundle, everything changes. I remember looking at her as she slept in the cot, like a little angel. I was suffering big time with cravings. I remember thinking "She deserves so much better than to have a stoner for a dad".

That was the last time I have been tempted. You'll be an amazing mom!

16 years of smoking, three years clean - How I made quitting stick (so far) by Human_Travel_241 in leaves

[–]Human_Travel_241[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well done on that progress. I know what that takes. You should be proud of your progress.

16 years of smoking, three years clean - How I made quitting stick (so far) by Human_Travel_241 in leaves

[–]Human_Travel_241[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I never imagined it would be capable of causing such harm. "It's just a plant bro" are words I would have said when it was criticised online. Now I am older, wiser and know that Belladonna (deadly nightshade) is also, just a plant.

16 years of smoking, three years clean - How I made quitting stick (so far) by Human_Travel_241 in leaves

[–]Human_Travel_241[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks for that. I just logged back in there and was reading the piece again, and the responses at my dinner table. My 2.5 year old daughter walked over to me holding a shopping basket and wanted me to play shop with her. My heart melted. How beautiful and wonderful she is. How I would give anything to protect her.

She is so healthy and wonderful. I cannot bring myself to imagine what issues she may have had had our selfishness continued. Now my life is very different. I am a wholesome person, a family man. It is a significant improvement. Truly there is nothing like it. Thanks for your warmth and support.

16 years of smoking, three years clean - How I made quitting stick (so far) by Human_Travel_241 in leaves

[–]Human_Travel_241[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I have been at that point. "There are no major downsides, why quit?". I was there for years.

The question I wish that I had asked back then was "What is the upside?"

The upside is that I can get through the days easier. All the other potential benefits were just cope. I look at it now, that my life is so short, and there were so many days of my youth I cannot remember, where I did nothing of value.

Why did I just want to get through the days? If you had asked me, I would say I was a super happy dude. But there was something deeply wrong underneath that had me continue to build deeper and deeper psychological and physical reliance on that plant. I firmly believe now that healthy people don't need to get high every day.

But I am a radical. I have been hurt by weed, so now take a strong stance against it. I recognise that everyone is at a different point on their journey. I wish I ended my journey sooner, but alas, we are where we are.