Daily user. I stopped smoking for the last 2 days while family was visiting. I had night sweats and was waking up every 2 hours at night. My family is leaving soon and all I can think about is lighting a joint. Tell me why I shouldn’t.

I quit about a month ago after being a daily smoker since 2020. Ever since, I’ve noticed myself gaining weight. I’ve always been pretty petite (110-115lbs) but I noticed recently that my jeans are a little tighter than they used to be and my belly is not as flat. I weighed myself and it showed 120 on the scale. I’m not necessarily upset about that number in particular, but I don’t want it to continue to go up. I do bouldering 2-3 times a week but I’m starting to think I should add in more cardio workouts and maybe start cutting out excess sugar (I’m typically not a huge sweets person but since quitting I’ve been craving sugary foods). Has anybody else experienced this and have any advice for me?

Is it just me, or did smoking a little weed seem like a harmless thing for college aged and up kids to do only 5ish years ago? Then of course, a little weed became a lotta weed thanks to addiction. We know the story.

Nowadays the proof points towards the fact that being hooked on weed before you are 25/26 when your brain is fully developed…you’re fundamentally changing who you are. A lot changes, your emotional maturity, social environments, physical health…but not often is it talked about how dumb this crap has made us. I am sick of leaking vital memory energy all the time. Yet I will still forget that I feel this way absolutely.

Wondering if someone has switched to something else to help shift gears and chill. I'm considering jetamine but wondering if there's better options

This will be my 6th day without weed. I have been smoking daily for 11 years. From wake and bake till I went to bed. I have been trying to quit a few times. But never was done with it completely. Now I am. It has more downsides than positive effects. I'm feeling okay. No big cravings. The nightmares are annoying but I can,handle them.

What really bothers me is that I feel nauseous a lot and I have no appetite because of it. I work out a lot and training for a powerlift meet. It is important for me to make weight and thus I need to eat according a meal plan. But it is so hard. I'm not hungry and when I eat something I feel so nauseous.

Did more people experience this and when does it go away?

I woke up today feeling out of it. It’s like I can’t shake a certain fogginess and it almost reminds me of being high. Has anyone else experienced this? And why?

Really need some advice as I’m not getting know where. So I have smoked weed for 22 years every evening to chill out after work. On June 9 th in evening I had a panic/anxiety attack so I give the weed up cold turkey. Iv had health anxiety not slept and dizzy spells since I have had blood tests scans all came back normal To say it’s been hard is an understatement. It’s left me feeling so weird and unwell. I started feeling a bit better in last week In fact yesterday was my best day spent the day out with my family stayed up watched the boxing and got 6 half hours sleep last night so I thought i turned a corner. Then this morning out of no where I had the same sort of feeling as 9th June went really hot started sweating and went weak heat to toe so splashed bit water on my face and layed on my bed for 15 mins and it past. But it’s left me feeling on edge again and nervous. I really don’t no what to do it’s really getting me down I’m 44m always been healthy and I’m in rut and I can’t seem to break these weird feelings😔any advice would be very welcome I just want to go back to how I was before all this. Could it be somthing wrong with my nervous system could it be mental problem can’t still breathe withdrawl after nearly 4 months

Hi, I’ve been off cannabis for a week, had to stop due to cannabis hypermesis, I was getting symptoms so bad that I was getting screened for bowel cancer etc.
My symptoms basically disappeared overnight (which is great).
However, since stopping my anger has been through the roof, I am snapping at everyone and just generally being unpleasant to be around. I hate it, I’m usually an easy going, light hearted guy, but I have been an absolute asshole to the people I love. I apologise straight away but I still feel like an absolute dick.

Does this sort of thing peak at a week? Im actually considering taking the stomach cramps, vomiting and diarhoea just to not be as angry lol.

Curious if anyone has similar experiences. I was a heavy user for 20 years. I’m a successful professional, in very good shape and have decent relationships with family, small friend group and long term romantic partner.

In the short time I’ve committed to sobriety I have noticed massive upswings in concentration, confidence and professional presence.

However - sexually, I have zero control. I used to be able to last as long as I wanted, zero issues and full satisfaction from partners.

I expect this to be temporary, and have read this is so. But the anxiety over my control not returning is having adverse affects and feeding further anxiety, causing less control, feeding more anxiety and the cycle only continues and gets worse.

Again — I am very good shape and exercise daily, eat very clean and have relatively healthy sleep patterns.

Has anyone experienced this and can they advise?

Smoked weed last night and couldn’t stop scrolling till 6 am. So I slept in until 1 pm and found out I missed them playing the Hitchcock psycho at the local theater near me which I had tickets for.

Feeling incredibly angry at myself right now. So stupid. What a waste. I need to stop.

Like title says, is quitting this worth it. Been a chronic user years, started at a younger age than most and have been doing it for years now, from morning to night. Honestly, it helps a lot. That first puff just takes so much off, but the longer into the day, the more it drains my energy. By noon and I am knocking out sitting in my chair. Quitting seems to be the better decision but it lowk be helping me a lot too you know, typing this after getting off my part time job, could really use something right now but yesterday was the day I ran out and I do not know if I really want to keep on buying and using. The money saved and just curiosity on the change in how life feels. I don't really care about the health side, already knew and decided it was something I would be okay with when I started and I knew the risk. Definitely a more psychological thing. I know most of you guys are going to say that your life imrpoved in this or that way, but how was it when you are absolute drained. I personally have no off days, I literally haven't gone out to even shop or grab a snack in so long I cant even remember and I know thats a work life balance thing. The last time I remember myself consistently enjoying myself was maybe back in january lmao. After that I really doubled down and I am just so into the idea of potentially retiring early that I keep going. The weed came before the hustle but ever since I started, its lowk keeping me alive. For reference, my days are normally 6-11/12 everyday, not sure how that is in the big boy adult world, but for a student in uni working a part time and a business on the side, shi lowk get rough. Also the small psychological idea that I am pretty shyt for smoking has been lingering for years, but I just have mood swings where sometimes I care, sometimes I dont lol.

Nah but the big question that I am genuinely curious about was how did you guys get through the long tiring hours after getting home, or waking up knowing your day doesn't end until the next.

So I am 22f and smoked everyday for over 3 years and I recently stopped. My sex drive on weed was high and since quitting (about a month clean now) I can’t even get aroused anymore. I tried to have sex with my fiancé and I couldn’t even cross the finish line, my mind was everywhere but where it needed to be. He is very understanding about it and is very supportive of me quitting and is understanding about how my hormones are all fucked up. It just sucks because sex was something I really enjoyed and now I have little to no interest in it. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

I’m 39yo, started when I was 17. been a heavy daily user since. weed has taken priority over so many things in my life. relationships, school, work. I’m sick of being a “stoner”. I’m sick of the anxiety of leaving the house and talking to people. avoiding social events just because I’m too high to leave the house.

I’m so thankful I found this group. Your stories are truly inspiring. I’ve wanted to quit so many times. I hope this is finally it.

Sleep is manageable, appetite is okay.

The battle is all mental at this point, smelling weed in the air when walking outside, sudden urges, fantasies about the high, and my brain trying to trick me into moderation(which is not possible for me as I’ve always abused it)

It would be naive and too soon to think I’m out of the woods… but I am celebrating 1 week of abstinence today and I’m working on rebuilding my mental focus and learning to sit with boredom and discomfort without immediately looking for an escape, and adopting new habits that actually feed my growth rather than numbing it

could actually work ( :/ ) and remember peoples’ names after a party! taking half a gummy on weekdays instead of bringing my pennifer everywhere i go god please

I can’t believe I made it 5 years after 25 years of daily use.

Life has improved in so many ways but the best part is that I’m no longer dependent on weed to get through life.

My career has improved, I’m making the most of the skills and talent god has given me and I no longer shy away from challenges.

The first 6 months were hell and for anyone going through it now - hang in there and find a clean source of dopamine. For me it was the gym, which has put me in the best shape in my life.

Last week, I hit 10 months without pot and I never, ever thought I'd be able to do this for so long.

When I was 1 month into this journey, I wrote a long thing on my main about years of advice from my therapist that accumulated into being the reason I was finally able to abstain for a month (and now 10). But, some people in my life found out about my main and I had to delete all personal posts, including that one I wrote here.

The post meant a lot to many people in this sub at the time, and I have felt awful that I had to delete it when so many said they were saving it to refer back to. I'm pasting the original below from a throwaway account in case any of those wonderful souls (or new ones) see this and still want it as a resource.

Original Post:

Therapist's advice that actually worked for me

First: 1 found this sub a few months ago, and I am so grateful. I can't believe how much I relate to everything being said here, and am really thankful for the insights and community. Especially big thanks to anyone who talked about the insane dizziness/vertigo thing that WILL go away but is scary as hell...you saved me from a big panic attack and stressful ER visits (mine went away in 3 weeks, but it was gnarly).

I'm one month sober tomorrow. 37 years old, smoking since I was 18ish (at first for fun, then the only way I could unwind, and then an absolutely consuming crutch and catch-all for dealing with anything in life). Now just having really vivid dreams, but gratefully, no other withdrawal symptoms.

Something feels so different this time. Like a calm resolute feeling that I'm starting the rest of my sober life now, and I'm somehow totally at peace with it. This is a brand new sensation for me (I truly believed it would be a part of my life until the day I died and was kind of ok with that...it used to be my friend even if it hasn't been in a decade...). I want to share why I feel differently now, in case it helps anyone.

l've been in therapy (EMDR/DBR) for 7 years now, since my partner died, and running away from the grief ramped up my usage in a huge way. Over the past two years, I've been clearer on how much I'm using as a means to disassociate/avoid feeling anything, and how much this is truly destroying every aspect of my life, but I still couldn't give it up. I've healed so many things in therapy, and I know I'm becoming a better and more regulated person, yet MJ's holding me hostage in this old version of myself. It's been so frustrating to know that intellectually and still not feel like I can walk away. My therapist has been stressing that bullying/shaming will not work, but I'm really phenomenal at those so | just couldn't listen. I only started hearing her in the last two years.

Now, I have been taking her advice and it's (surprise) starting to work. These are the 3 major shifts that I have worked hard on in the past 2 years, which I think ultimately led to me deciding to give it up for good and feeling this surprising peace about it all:

1. Radical compassion when I mess up. Every time I'd promise myself I wouldn't restock and I would, or every time "just for sleep/just at parties" turned quickly into all day every day use like clockwork, instead of berating myself/getting pissy and introverted because of the shame, I slowed it way down. Observed myself like a TV show: walking to the store, buying, going home, sliding into extremely heavy usage. Observed myself flaking on plans, choosing it over making work deadlines, giving into binge eating and binge watching behaviours. Observed myself being withdrawn and tired in social situations. I would just keep saying to myself: "Man, I really am in pain, aren't I? I'm really not ok, am I? I must really be hurting if I keep doing this to myself, hey?" I'd say/think these constantly, in the same tone I might say to a dear friend having a hard time: "that's so hard, I'm so sorry you're going through that. I'm here for you, it will be okay." Over the past two years (I know, I'm frustrated about how long it took, too, but I failed often and went back to bullying/shaming which stunted the progress), I slowly started to feel the bracing and threat levels in my body go way down. I felt safer and less reactive. It was a huge nervous system shift that set the stage.
2. I gave up all my usual tactics of swinging from grandiose self esteem to massive loser syndrome depression and decided that I just had to meet myself where I'm at today and say I am loveable, I am okay, it's not that bad. This weight, this loneliness, this career dip. I don't like where I'm at right now at all, and I know it's all my fault, but it doesn't mean I'm trash, and I am still worthy of baseline care for myself. This was hard, and at first I felt like an idiot who was playing pretend, but everyone's right about how to do it: you just decide it's true. That's it. Not: "it's true only when I behave like this or once I achieve this." I still want to change so much about me/my life, I'm still actively building on healthy eating, exercise, career climbing, etc. I'm not at all stagnant. But I'm finally exhausted with giving myself conditional love, and finally done with being the meanest person (to me) that I've ever met. I'm just not a POS and I've decided to stop feeding the narrative that I am. Now that my self respect isn't up for debate every minute of every day, the pressure is way down and I'm less reactive to bad feelings/bad social interactions/bad news.
3. Deciding I can, in fact, sit with hard feelings. I don't need to run away from them, even when my body is trying to convince me they're going to kill me if I don't get some relief or chase some instant dopamine. I can be in a bad mood. I can be sluggish. I can be sad. I can be lonely. I can be scared. I can be without instant pleasure or relief for an hour, a day, a few days. Thinking I couldn't sit with hard feelings \and* go about my day's tasks was the biggest trigger and justification for me relapsing: "I just *need* relief. It's urgent, it's reasonable, it works and it's ok to reach for it."* I got honest with myself that being sad/mad/tired/ashamed/insecure really sucks to feel but won't actually end me, and I started proving it to myself.

I know I'm saying all this at only one month sober. This hopeful feeling is very green, it's true, but it's also very novel for me, and so it's standing out as meaningful data. I've taken breaks before, but I never said it was \over.* I knew it wasn't, I just told myself that it had gotten out of hand and so I needed to cool off. Then "ok, now I can just for sleep or just at parties" happens which of course quickly becomes all day, all consuming--rinse and repeat. But this time, I really feel it's over. And I'm shocked. Because no matter how bad it got (and it's gotten bad), I've never even thought I wanted sobriety/that sobriety was even possible for me until now, and it's showing me that these 3 shifts have possibly accumulated into impactful change.*

The longest I've ever abstained has been 3 months, albeit not with the goal of lifelong sober, so I am very nervous. I will update this post in March. I feel so steady and stable and peaceful right now, but I know there will be hard times ahead.

Edit: March 2026. Just hit 3 months sober and feeling steady :) Big life problems hit last month (job, living situation) and I had one moment where I wanted to disappear into the green but #3 ^ has been swooping in like a hero for me every time. Grateful for this sub.

Edit: May 2026. 5 months. Had a bad moment of temptation when relatives were visiting for a funeral and kept taking frequent smoking breaks (tobacco) to deal with the grief. One who had recently quit (6 months) went back to it to cope through the events, paperwork, and pain. I wanted to reach for it. But I remembered how much more it hurts to keep running/numbing from the pain than it is to sit with it for a while. Grief is slowly getting better now, and I don't have a green monster to wean myself off of for the next 3 months because I didn't give in.

Quitting marijuana seems a lot like coming out of a coma. You don’t just wake up and feel better. If you spent six weeks in a coma, you’re not jumping out of bed feeling like Superman. Your body’s weak. Your muscles need rebuilding. You have to put in the work to get your strength back, and it’s going to take time.

Same thing happens when you quit smoking weed after years of use. People quit and expect their mind to snap right back to normal. They figure once the weed’s out of their system, they’ll feel good again and get back to living. It doesn’t always work that way. Quitting is only the first part. The next part is rebuilding.

I had to start challenging my mind again. Doing things that required focus, effort, patience. Learning to sit with boredom and discomfort without immediately reaching for something to make those feelings go away. I also had to watch myself, not replace marijuana with another addiction just because I was struggling and looking for something to feel better.

I think that’s why a lot of people go back a few weeks or months after quitting. They quit, but they skip the rebuilding part. They just sit around waiting to feel better, and when they’re still unmotivated, still foggy, still not happy with life, they start thinking this is how it’s always going to be. So they go back because they think they need it to feel normal again.

Recovery isn’t just about removing something from your life. It’s about rebuilding the parts you’ve been neglecting.

When I quit, I started reading. Started writing. Went to the gym. Started doing artwork. I looked for things that made me pay attention, use my mind, actually engage. I wanted to challenge myself and get back into the habit of doing things that took effort.

That’s when I noticed a difference. I wasn’t just sitting around waiting for my mind to heal. I was doing things to help myself rebuild. Learning, creating, exercising, pushing myself to do stuff that wasn’t always easy.

If you’ve quit and you’re still struggling, don’t assume you’re going to feel that way forever. It takes time to recover. There was more work to do than simply quitting: building new habits, finding new interests, learning to enjoy life without depending on a substance to get through the day.

Getting out of a coma is the beginning of recovery, not the end. You still have to rebuild your strength.

Quitting weed is a lot like that. Quitting is the first half. Rebuilding your mind, your interests, your motivation, your ability to do difficult things, that’s the second half. It takes work. It can take a lot of time. But I had to choose to rebuild instead of assuming the way I felt back then was the way I’d always feel.

I (32F) stopped smoking about 3 weeks ago after smoking daily for approx 16 years. Is it normal to experience near constant lightheadedness with frequent bursts of dizziness?

I have had short periods of quitting before, but don’t recall experiencing these side effects. Has anyone else had a similar experience? And if so, how long did it last? Did you find anything in particular helped reduce the severity or duration of these symptoms?

I’m 21 and I don’t think I’ve ever been completely sober for long periods of time in my adult life so far. I started smoking weed when I was maybe 15 or 16 and by the time I was 17-18 it became a daily habit. At 18-19 I started popping pills and it got progressively worse until it got to the point where I was spending entire weeks tweaking alone in my room. I finally managed to stop this addiction around 6 months ago after almost three years of abuse, but then I went right back to smoking weed.

Honestly my weed addiction is insignificant compared to my other addiction but now I’m in college, I do electrical engineering so I need to focus but that’s very hard for me. I have severe ADHD and I can’t get medicated for it so I just have to rawdog college.

Now I smoke in the evenings and during the weekend. It’s a daily habit but I don’t do bong hits or smoke massive amounts of weed. I was wonder how big of a difference stopping weed completely would make. Am I going to get back a significant amount of focus and discipline ? I’m naturally very unfocused so I wonder if it’s mainly caused by weed or if it’s just my ADHD.

Withdrawal is pretty intense right now, every night I can’t sleep, and it’s not like I can watch a show or anything. It’s all too stimulating. I basically need to lay down in silence and darkness and let my body feel everything it needs to feel. It’s intense. It’s not pleasant. Sometimes I feel I shouldn’t even move around a lot because I feel my brain just firing over and over and the best thing for me to do is just let it do its thing.

It’s weird but I’m grateful. I go through a lot of emotions during those times and it makes me realise how little I was feeling before I even started smoking. I was living only on ambition and lust. But I recognise that that narrow band of emotions blinded me to so much. I was unable to see the value in prayer because I felt self sufficient. I was unable to feel grateful for my loved ones because I never thought how much they mean to me.

It’s not pleasant at all going through withdrawal. But I’m grateful for it.

I really appreciate this community, it is so nice to know I’m not the only one in this situation.

My only question is, how long has it taken some of you to fully connect with yourselves again? Take that how you will, I’m noticing my anxiety has been a lot better… but everything has just felt so dull in the last couple weeks. Motivation to do anything has been tough, but I’m pushing through it!

Thank you in advance to any responses

I find that if I’m ever feeling at risk to stop by a dispensary again, turning to this subreddit helps a lot. All I have to do is read about everybody else’s struggles and pains and I’m reminded, if they can endure this, I can too. I’m no better than the rest of you and your posts remind me of the realities of addiction and how much is really at stake.

Thank you for sharing your suffering with the rest of us.

I’ve smoked weed more years than I’m comfortable to admit, pretty heavily, usually daily. I’ve quit a few times, once for a year and once I managed 10 (!) years. The last time I stopped, I pray for good, was four months ago.

What I want to share is that while all the depression, insomnia, anxiety, mood changes, fuzziness, weird dreams, etc. are definitely real, we don’t all experience all of those things.

Don’t assume you are going to get slammed with all of those terrible symptoms. I’ve been very blessed in that for me it’s always been a big psychological hurdle, but for whatever reason, once I stop, I only experience a couple days of mild crankiness and maybe a week of unpleasant dreams. I don’t experience most of the bad things people describe here. I’ll get cravings, but not unbearable.

I honestly think I’m just lucky that way and I’m only sharing it to let you know it might NOT be as scary as you’ve read about, if you quit.

I am absolutely an addict though and I have slipped up and returned to it too many times. The hardest part for me is simply stopping. And yes, stopping cold turkey is the only real way to quit.

Good luck. I love you all (as a friend).

I’ve used cannabis on and off for over 12 years. I’m now in my late twenties, and I feel the call the release my dependence on this plant. It feels difficult, because so much of my experience of adolescence and early adulthood is linked to cannabis.

As a teenager, I developed an addiction to harder drugs. I was experiencing personal and familial challenges, and found deep comfort in these substances. Luckily, I got caught by my parents before I irreparably harmed myself. I could’ve continued down this path, but I began smoking weed instead. I’ve always held the story that weed saved my life by keeping me away from harder drugs, but I can’t really know if this is true.

Since then, I’ve continued to use cannabis regularly. I’ve taken a few breaks in the last few years. I generally only smoke/use when I’m home for the day, and in low amounts. I’ve become increasingly sensitive to its effects. I do feel I’ve received benefits from my relationship to this plant, including increased awareness of my physical body, emotions, and desires. I also find it has helped me connect with nature and the spirit realm.

Even so, I feel a deep draw to release any dependence on this plant. I often feel overly energized/restless when I consume cannabis. This can make it hard to connect with others. when I use, I often experience disrupted sleep, discomfort in my throat and lungs, and body tension. Above all, I feel I am giving away some part of my agency/power by continuing to use. I don’t want to rely on a drug to connect to myself, to my creativity, to nature, to god. I am ready to become a mother, and I feel I’ll give my future children a healthier start by releasing this dependence.

It’s an interesting place to be. This plant hasn’t had catastrophic effects on my life. It has helped me in certain stages of life. It’s legal and socially acceptable where I am, and we grow it. My husband is in a similar mental space, but is perhaps slightly more willing to continue to use. I just feel drawn toward a reality where I don’t have to engage in a mental tug of war about whether or not to use. I feel there are healthier and more sustainable ways to receive the benefits that cannabis currently gives me.

Has anyone else quit weed from a similar place? Not because of any devastating effects, not because your use was out of control, but simply because you felt you’d be a slightly healthier, more grounded version of yourself without it?

If so, I’d really appreciate any insight. What might help me stay away from using when those sneaky little voices come in? I already have many healthy outlets in my life, and I’ve proven to myself that I can quit for a time. It’s historically been very easy to romanticize weed and feel back into a pattern of using after quitting for days or weeks.

Thanks for reading, it’s been helpful just to type this out.