How to Stop Smoking Weed
There are many posts on this forum that discuss various tips and strategies on how to stop smoking weed and I would advise reading them all. I thought however that I would do a essential check list of tips for quitting cannabis, based on various research I have done on the internet.
*Firstly I would consider are there any underlying reasons for why you are using drugs? If you are self medicating for either physical or emotional reasons, you may need to take action and even seek specialist professional help to treat the underlying problem. You may want to read my post on Marijuana for pain relief, What are the alternatives?
*Then I would consider how you are going to quit, are you capable of doing it by yourself, or do you need professional treatment or rehab. If you feel that you are in need of professional treatment or rehab check out our Related Websites page.
If you chose not to go for professional treatment or rehab, then I would consider doing the following in order to maximize your chances of quitting.
*You need to decide the method you are going use to quit, are you going to gradually reduce the amount you smoke before hand or go cold turkey, obviously gradually tapering off is the gentler way of doing it but you may find this is not possible, especially if you have become addicted, addicts often find it is an all or nothing type scenario, of course you can always try either and see what works best for you but if you are truly hooked and can’t gradually reduce the amount you smoke you may just have to quit cold turkey.
*Distracting yourself with other things that your enjoy is vital if you are to succeed in quitting, these can include sport, exercise, hobbies, entertainment, books, DVDs, etc. I would say that it’s crucial that you do something that involves some kind of exercise, as your body is really going to be in need of those feel good endorphins it will release.
*I know they are not for everybody, but if you can master things like yoga, meditation, self hypnosis or any other type of relaxation exercise, they are really useful tools for helping you cope.
*Avoid people who smoke dope, if you are going to succeed the last thing you want is to be around others, who are constantly putting temptation in front of you. This is one of the golden rules of giving up any drug.
*Limit your intake of caffeine, start reducing your consumption about 3 weeks before you stop smoking weed, this will help reduce symptoms like anxiety and heart palpitations.
*Consume lot's of complex carbs, drink lots of real fruit juices.
*Eat healthily, lots of veg and salad, maybe supplement your diet with vitamin and mineral tablets, try to consume plenty of omega fatty acids. The right diet will really help your body cope better.
*It may be best to continue to smoke tobacco if you mix it in with your marijuana, although I read one article that compared the effects of giving up tobacco with giving up cannabis, it said that half the people who gave up cannabis that also smoked tobacco, found it easier when continuing to smoke tobacco and the other half didn’t, so maybe it depends on the individual. You may want to make that decision depending on how you react.
*Whenever you feel the like you are going to crack, try to focus on the reasons why you want to quit. (Come and read the posts on this forum, if it helps). Write yourself a list of all the reasons you can think of why you want to quit and whenever you feel the need read the list.
*Visualise how your life could be if you didn’t take cannabis, write a list of goals you want to achieve, whenever you need motivation read the list.
*Make a list of the top ten or twenty people that are the most important to you, or who you respect the most. Tell them why you want to quit and make a promise to them of when you will quit by, this will give you extra motivation as if you continue to use after that date, you will feel as if you are letting these people down.
*Try to establish a connection with people who understand why you feel the need to quit. If possible find yourself some kind of sponsor, someone you can confide in when times are tough and who will give you the encouragement and support you need, support groups like marijuana and narcotics anonymous are excellent for this, for more information check out our Related Websites page. Anyway establish a support network (both online and offline). When you are feeling bad and feel like you are about to crack, instead of caving in write down what you are feeling, then come and post it here, it will help to share what you are going through with others who are going through the same, it does work, that’s why groups like narcotics anonymous are so successful at helping people recover and I would always advise joining one of them, the only problem is that they are not available 24/7, we are, take advantage of our free service. We are all trying to quit and stay off marijuana, we are all with you.
*Once you have got to the stage where you have decided that you are not going to smoke anymore cannabis, get rid of all your smoking paraphernalia and equipment, delete or get rid of all your dealers numbers and definitely get rid of any dope you have already got.
*Identify triggers that cause you to smoke, try to avoid those triggers.
*Give yourself a treat for your achievements. (Obviously not drugs).
*Organise as much as possible before hand, particularly anything that might cause you upset or stress. Have your house clean, bills paid, do all you can to make it as stress free as possible, don’t expect to achieve too much else while you kick the habit, that is the achievement. Take time to accomplish it.
*Try to maintain a positive mental attitude, this is going to be a difficult mental battle and positive thinking will make all the difference.
*Take it one day at a time.
Once you have quit staying off marijuana long term will also require a number of strategies, but the longer you go the easier it will get. You may find that you now have a lot of time on your hands, so one of the most important things is to find other things to replace getting stoned with, so learn that instrument, read or write that book, take up that hobby that you never had the time to pursue, do those things that you always wanted to do. And if you need to keep going to those support group meetings keep going, keep using this forum, make sure that you have always got an outlet to share and express how you feel, whenever you feel the need to use. Whether it’s been five days or five years since you last used, you are always welcome at marijuana/narcotics anonymous and you will always be welcome to post here.
If anyone can think of anything else on how to stop smoking weed please post it.
Remember whether you think you can or you can’t, you are probably right.
(Quitted with self control and personal responsibility, 6 marijuana free years and counting!)
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