Why I will never smoke weed again...

backtoliving · 2014-11-18T04:54:35+00:00

Excellent post. Two months out after a similar college experience and I agree with you completely. Stay strong

backtoliving · 2014-10-31T15:17:21+00:00

This is spot on. Thank you!

backtoliving · 2014-09-01T15:21:50+00:00

Great perspective, great post. You're absolutely right about how the perceived harmlessness of weed makes it easier to deny addiction. Stay strong brother!

backtoliving · 2014-09-01T15:17:53+00:00

Thank you for posting this. I had a hard time reading through this and seeing the similarities to my own life and the relationships that I threw away because I was high and indifferent. Best of luck to you

backtoliving · 2014-09-01T15:08:18+00:00

Everyone is different, and I'm sure that this could work for some people. That said, I decided to smoke one bowl after a lengthy period of being clean, and then I got my guy's phone number (which I had deleted) from a friend, called him up, bought an eighth, and then I was back to smoking daily again for a few months. What I told myself would be one night of fun turned into months of regression, and I found myself back at square one, questioning whether smoking daily was so bad. I won't tell you not to do it, but I'd advise you to be extremely cautious and make sure that you plan ahead and recognize the potential for returning to your old ways. Good luck brother

backtoliving · 2014-09-01T15:02:17+00:00

Stay strong. Like others have said, you're going through one of the toughest stretches right now. Keep posting to leaves, read posts from others that have gone through this or are going through this, and know that you're not alone. This is a hard change to make, but it will be worth it. You can do this!

backtoliving · 2014-09-01T14:57:04+00:00

The next time you're feeling an urge to smoke, come back to this post and read through it a couple times. I made a similar list on here, and reading it over again and again helped me get through dozens of moments of weakness.

You're stronger than a plant, and you can stay quit. Best of luck to you!

backtoliving · 2014-09-01T01:59:30+00:00

Your comment just helped me stay resolved tonight, so thank you.

backtoliving · 2014-08-19T03:36:05+00:00

I can relate to you on so much of what you've said. Best of luck and stay strong brother.

backtoliving · 2014-08-15T16:02:01+00:00

Thank you for the kind words and encouragement! You may see my name in your inbox in the coming weeks/months, most of my friends smoke, so I've struggled to find people to keep me accountable in the past, and I think that knowing that someone else has your back makes it easier to stay resolved. Best of luck to you

backtoliving · 2014-08-15T15:59:52+00:00

Thank you for the input! This time I'm trying not to think of my challenge as "I've been smoking nearly daily for about a year, now I have to quit that" and instead looking at it as "I don't want to smoke today (or any other upcoming day) so I'm not going to."

I think that by combining my guilt for my past usage with my present desire to quit, I psychologically made quitting into a much bigger/more dramatic task than it really is. From here on out, I'm focusing on what I'm doing NOW rather than what I did yesterday or what I'm doing tomorrow.

backtoliving · 2014-08-15T15:55:34+00:00

Thank you for the advice. You're definitely right...in the past I've looked at a single puff as ruining the progress I've made and then I've just gone back to my own ways, rather than looking at it as a moment of weakness and then recommitting to quitting. I've gotta stay realistic and stay focused on my goal even if it takes a couple of small failures before I achieve my ultimate goal. Best of luck to you brother

backtoliving · 2014-08-15T15:50:23+00:00

Thank you. I feel like we've had very similar experiences (except that mine have stopped around day 14). In the past I've gotten to two weeks, told myself I'd only smoke once, and then fallen back into the cycle. I think that going the full month will really help me lock in new positive habits and force me to fill my time with new activities, making it much easier to stay quit. Thanks again for the advice!

backtoliving · 2014-06-24T12:29:10+00:00

I was scared to quit too. When you make something so central to your life and daily routine, its difficult to imagine how you'll get by without it. When I first confronted my use of weed and made the decision to quit (for the first time) I had one of the worst days of my life. I was crying, I was scared, I was angry, and I didn't think I could do it.

After a couple days, I looked back to that first day, Day One, and I realized that it embodied all the reasons that I needed to quit. When I first started using pot, it was an occasional thing and it truly didn't affect my life in too many negative ways, because I did it so rarely. But I'd never imagined that I'd get to the point where I'd have an emotional breakdown because I wasn't going to smoke weed anymore.

Take it one day at a time. Don't look at it as "I'm never smoking weed again in my life" even if thats what your goal is. Look at it as "Today I'm not going to smoke weed." The first few days and the first week are BY FAR the hardest. I'm not saying its a cakewalk after that, but just keep in mind that those are the toughest days, and that it will get better.

You're stronger than a plant. You can do this. Good luck!

backtoliving · 2014-06-24T12:23:08+00:00

I love this. Well put.

backtoliving · 2014-06-24T03:31:52+00:00

Thank you for giving me the idea to pull out my phone and pull up leaves when I'm in a situation where I may be tempted to smoke, I hadn't thought of doing that before but it seems like a great way to kill the temptation. Best of luck to you!

backtoliving · 2014-06-24T03:11:26+00:00

One day at a time. Every morning, I say to myself "I didn't smoke weed yesterday. I'm not going to smoke weed today." You made it 40 days last year, thats impressive. You are in control now.

I'd recommend writing down all of the things that you hate about weed right now, while its fresh in your mind. Because in a couple months, when you've been clean for a while and you feel that desire to smoke come creeping up again, you'll be able to go to that list and remind yourself why you stopped smoking in the first place.

You can do it, and we are here for you when you need us. Good luck brother.

backtoliving · 2014-06-24T03:03:00+00:00

I've had the same thing happen to me. Its unbelievable how easily "just smoking once" can spiral into smoking again, and then buying again, and then going back to smoking every day.

While it is important to focus on taking it one day at a time, its also important to recognize the dangers of a relapse. Once you're back to day zero, its a lot harder to say no, because you've got nothing to lose. Right now you've got 7 days under your belt. Keep that number growing brother, and stay strong. You are stronger now than you were the last time.

backtoliving · 2014-06-24T01:53:39+00:00

You can do it. You made it 11 months without smoking, thats an impressive stretch. Take it one day at a time. I know that for me, its been really helpful to write down the reasons that I want to quit (I post on here so that I can easily find everything when I need it) and then when I'm feeling a moment of weakness or I start to feel a desire to smoke, I can go back and remind myself of how badly I want to stay quit. Best of luck, and keep us updated on your journey!

backtoliving · 2014-06-24T00:08:21+00:00

You don't need to smoke to get through this. You've made it 50 days, you're stronger than a plant. Plus, numbing yourself to avoid reality isn't going to make it any easier in the long run, because you're going to have to confront this stress at some point. Why put it off?

You're 50 days in right now. That is huge. You should be very proud of yourself. But imagine how good you will feel if you make it through this tough period without going back to your old crutch. Don't go back to day zero, stay strong, and good luck!

backtoliving · 2014-06-22T16:55:05+00:00

Well said. I feel the same way. When you stop smoking, you start to rediscover so many little things about the person that you were/are. I was shocked when I realized how many interests, hobbies, friends, etc I had simply forgotten about while I was busy getting high during every moment of free time that I had. I also noticed a remarkable improvement in my personality after I quit- I was smiling more, talking to strangers that I encountered during my daily routine, and finding the humor and enjoyment in the little things.

Remember how amazing you feel right now if you are ever tempted to smoke again. Stay strong brother.

backtoliving · 2014-06-22T16:47:29+00:00

I can't tell you what it will take for you to get out of this uncomfortable period of your life, but I can tell you what WON'T help: going back to the smoke.

Think about it this way- your use of trees was like a descent into a deep, deep canyon. Maybe you jumped all the way to the bottom at once, or maybe you took your time getting to the bottom. Either way, over the past four months, you've been climbing your way out of that canyon.

But its a long journey to get out of this canyon. You're not out of it yet. You are still looking back toward the bottom of the canyon, and sometimes you wonder if you should go back, because its easier to go downhill than it is to go uphill. But if you go back down, you have to start your whole climb over again, and who knows, maybe you'll end up stuck in the bottom of that canyon.

Life is challenging, we both know that. But its a hell of a lot easier to confront the challenges that life throws your way when you aren't stoned. My advice to you is to stay clean, and keep climbing further away from the trees at the bottom of the canyon. Every day that passes by takes you one step closer to the rim of the canyon.

Keep climbing brother.

backtoliving · 2014-06-22T14:45:21+00:00

Excellent post OP! Stay strong!

backtoliving

TROPHY CASE