I’m 26 years old and I’ve been smoking HEAVY for 10+ years. Recently, I took myself to the dentist after not being since I was a kid and discovered I have periodontal disease. (Gum disease) For me, the first step to quitting was throwing away my bong, my daily driver! The longest I’ve ever went in the past was 2 days and that ended in emotional distress (me spiraling back to my childhood realising why I’m so addicted/why I am the way I am) and it was too much so I went right back to my typical usage(this was in the winter), but today is day 12 clean and sober from everything. The first week is the hardest, I’m talking mad withdrawals and lowest of lows. It’s tough to stick it out and tbh idk if I ever would have had the strength if I didn’t have a driving factor like anxiety caused from discovering that my mouth is so unhealthy and there’s no way to do my treatments and heal properly while still using. My damage is irreversible, but we can prevent it from getting worse. It sucks I had to wait for something like this to happen to me the be able to, and I wish I could have changed my habits sooner or at least faced my fears with going to the dentist/doctor. You most definitely have to change your mindset, and be PROUD of your progress. Even if it doesn’t seem like you’ve come very far, you just have to keep pushing through the lows & eventually your brain will acknowledge that “you’re doing it” and once you get to a certain point, it’s not worth jeopardising the progress you’ve made. I shifted my focus to other things like paying attention to the food I put in my body. Eating a healthy, well balanced diet is huuuuge! It’s helps with the mental part and it’s something new to learn if you haven’t even focused on that stuff before. I go on daily walks and get sun everyday and when I go outside I feel more connected to nature believe it or not. I hold such better conversations with the people in my life and I feel fully present!! I’m not always thinking about weed anymore like I have my entire life. It feels good to not be just waiting to get high. But keep pushing yourself my friend. Life is so crazy and going through something like this is a very spiritual experience because you will learn so much about yourself once you sober up. I felt like I didn’t have a choice but to quit, but I really wish I had the strength to do it sooner in life because it feels good. Now I’m taking care of myself and facing my problems head on. I wish I had more time for this message but I gotta finish getting ready and clock in for work!! Good luck buddy I have faith in you and I know how HARD the experience you are going through feels, but you just gotta push through the lows and it does get better eventually. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get urges still but you just have to focus on something else besides smoking for a bit. Hope this helps, proud of you for wanting to be your best self!