I have a problem-I have been addicted to marijuana for over 9 years and desperately want to stop. HELP!!?
Hello. I have a problem-I have been addicted to marijuana for over 9 years and desperately want to stop because it is expensive. More importantly, to get a good job I will need to pass random drug tests. Despite my wish to stop,I have never been able to because of the depression of withdrawal and the strong cravings to use. How long does the withdrawal last? The longest I could go without using during this past year is 2 days. Whenever I am sober, I experience moderate to severe depression, mood swings, anxiety, anger, fatigue, loss of appetite, insomnia, nausea, and a diminished interest in the world.When does this start to get any better? Do you think I should seek professional help or is it just that I haven’t tried hard enough, been strong enough? I didn’t know that marijuana can be so addictive.Any help would be appreciative, but personal attacks aren’t(”if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all”)…
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I would go to a physician and discuss it with him. Looks like you should be under close observation when you decide to quit. I would assume that they would put you on medication and prefer you to get some counseling perhaps. Surprisingly when I smoked, I would get some of those symptoms you described so I dont smoke anymore.
if you “truly” want to get help for your addiction. go the dr and tell him/her youwant to go to detox. There is nothing wrong with asking for help.
My sister and my best friend where both addicted to coke. They got cleaned and they did it. it wasn’t easy but its what they wanted.
your stronger asking for help then not asking for help at all
Were you depressed and other such symptoms before you started using marijuana? Maybe it’s why you started in the first place. I mean, if you wanted to quit, you’d probably be put on other (albeit, legal) drugs for your withdrawal symptoms. Is the use of marijuana itself really that bad, or is it just the fact that it’s expensive and you can’t get a good job with it?
First of all congrats: change is always good.
Despite having smoked in the past I’ve never been addicted, and now smoking bores the life out of me, at least it did last time I tried it, and that was a while ago. It’s always the same!
BUT I have had MANY close friends who have found it impossible to even go to sleep without having a couple of joints in the evening. Irritable, well hysterical is more near the mark, desperate for a drag, a mess.
I think weed is highly underestimated in its capacity to make people total addicts. The dependence is mostly psychological, but I’ve seen people sweating their face off also, white as a sheet.
A friend is now on his 9th day of no-weed, and still struggles badly with thoughts of buying some. Of course he’s broke, so not much danger of that.
You probably smoked to keep unpleasant feelings at bay in the first place, being it just dislike of the world at large or some hardship you had to endure in your life and its still dragging you down, or leaving some (or a lot) of nasty feelings around in your head, that you need to silence to get some rest.
It’s nothing too bad really, think of all the people that drink their as* off every night. Try taking them off the juice for an evening: fat chance. Escape is in demand these grim days. What smoking weed does that’s bad, is to do with your will: you are sort of sedated, happy for nothing, which on one hand is good, on the other it just keeps you where you are as you dream along. Well you must know that already!
If you stop, for a while it will be worse, as all the feeling you worked so hard at repressing come to the surface. Eventually
you’ll just settle down for life without grass, but the desire to skin up could last a long time. Amazingly, is more the action itself than the actual effect of having smoked.
Give yourself something else to do, I know it sounds easy, but its true. Dance, walk, get on a train to somewhere new, anything out of the routine that will make the day go by.
Drink a glass of wine. That is not “become an alcoholic”, as it’s only too easy to swap addictions if you have the addiction-prone mind. Read about addiction, what it means and why you might be there at this point in your life. It’s ESSENTIAL to understand why you are an addict, to anything.
It’s not easy to be just comfortable in your own skin, without extras, especially now that you’re not used to it. People use all sort of things, from religion to substances to feel better about their life. Marijuana is just a natural antidepressant, which happens to be illegal in most nations.
Explore your limits. Test yourself.
Don’t be afraid of being clean: weed is only a phonecall away, or whathaveyou. You are not any more vulnerable than when you’re stoned. The thoughts and feelings that you can’t stand are always there, only now you can hear them and delve into them. Maybe you could look into therapy about the feelings, and the addiction will be pointless then.
Life is the most powerful drug there is, strong, merciless, and a hell of a bumpy ride!
You have to want to stop more than anything else. Not just for finances and job (although they are very good reasons). Stopping is the easy part, not picking up again is what is hard. The depression, mood swings, anxiety… are mainly the result of your brain telling you that something is missing (the marijuana). Although many people suffer from these symptoms and have never used drugs or alcohol. Using (self medicating) only makes things much worse. It is a vicious cycle but you must do what is necessary to break the cycle because it will only get worse. The chemical balance in the brain is something scientists and researchers are only beginning to understand.
It is not a matter of being “strong enough”. Anyone in recovery will tell you that willpower is not enough. You need to get together with people in your position, people who have made or will make a decision that they need to do something about the way thier life is going. Recovery from drugs and alcohol is a lifelong process but if you choose to live you will never regret it. It takes time for the depression and other symptoms to subside and have the ability to make sound judgements. Some days you may barely be hanging on but just don’t do the first hit, don’t drink either because that is no better and once drunk you will smoke again. Things do get better!!!
I have been addicted to drugs/alcohol for over 20 years. Today I have almost 9 months clean and sober that I obtained one day at a time. If you can go see a doctor about the depression, etc. He/She may give you something to help with those symptoms and begin to get your brain chemistry back on track so you can put your full effort into staying clean and sober. You should find a local NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meeting list in your area and go to meetings and talk with others in our position. I think their toll free number is 866-288-6262 or call your local hospital and ask.
You will learn that alcoholism/addiction is a disease. It is nothing to be ashamed of. I wish you all the best!!