[Wanderlust90]

I smoke cannabis on a daily basis. Approx 2g a day. I feel like it's began to make me anxious all the time. I need help finding methods to stop. I have been on holiday back home for the past 4 days & unable to smoke so I've been drinking & popping valium. I really need help, my partner smokes too so im going to have to be around it. I really don't know how to do this.

[CANDC]

Hi wanderlust. Self medicating, combining alcohol and meds are very unpredictable. If your meds are not keeping you stable, would you consider talking to your prescribing doc and see if meds could be adjusted?

There are organizations like AA that deal with drug habits like Narcotics Anonymous

Or articles that deal with ways to get off cannabis
Marijuana - Cannabis Addiction: Recovery Information

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...-get-marijuana

How to Help Someone Overcome Marijuana Addiction: 15 Steps

[Wanderlust90]

I will be going to my pdoc next month & I'm still at the beginning of the medication merry-go-round so no doubt there will be a change or addition. I feel like I really need to address anxiety issues to be able to succeed. Thank you for your suggestions.

Hi wanderlust, I use to smoke weed and it pretty much made me paranoid, this was before I was taking meds. So it wasn't worth doing because of the way it felt.

The weed addiction is mostly a psychological addiction. Smoking weed procures a feeling, and it's this feeling that we associated terms like "good, relaxing, fun, peace, bliss, etc." to. We excuse it as no big deal at first that can exists for years or a lifetime. Once we've romanced the drug and made it part of our daily routine, it becomes part of us. Breaking this form of thinking habit takes work (yuck).

When we try to break routine, our brain goes haywire telling us that something is wrong, we forgot to do something, we are out of programmed balance. Our brains love routine, it doesn't want to think all the time over menial tasks. Take tying your shoe for instance, after a few times of intense concentration at first, it caught on and we do it subconsciencely for the rest of our life.

We've trained our minds to feel high. Let's say at 5 pm everyday I smoked after work. I can go all day just fine, but after 5 pm if I didn't smoke, my brain will get edgy because something wasn't done. Somethings not right, somethings suppose to be happening....the alarm clock went off. Not only that, I'm suppose to feel a certain way at this time, this needs to be fixed NOW! I'm mentally craving to satisfy that neglected part of my routine. We addicts have obsessive minds. This obsession can be stronger then we can handle. My brain won't be satisfied and will obsess on it until I perform the neglected routine. This is mostly mental withdrawls, not physical.

It takes 30 days to make or break a habit.

We have to now re-train our brain. We have all these positives tied to smoking (feels good, fun, peace, bliss, etc...) that needs to be downplayed. I put myself through this. I started associating words like it's gross, dirty, chore some, addiction, habit, chains, slavery, etc to it, removing the glam aspect. I then tell myself that I don't need it to do my day, that I'm being silly thinking that I can't live without it. I've adopted the thinking that it was a hindrance, getting in my way of making better money. I was able to learn and wrk more efficiently.

Since it takes time to de-program this habit, I'd excuse myself and do something different like dishes, take a walk or whatever it takes to step out away from the actual smoking action, especially at first. If I'm sitting there while it's being smoked, my obsession is going to kick in and I'm not going to beat it because it's all brain mind control.

I have found that after the first 3 days of breaking a habit, the obsession starts to wane exponentially. The first 2 days are hard.

It's not a good idea to substitute a drug for a drug, because all we are doing is transferring the association of "good, bliss, relaxing, fun..." from substance to substance. When it came to drinking alcohol, I subbed canned ice tea for beer to still feel like I'm "drinking" which slowly faded away because it didn't produce a high effect.

After awhile when my mind is not obsessed with smoking, it wouldn't bother me none as long as I didn't entertain romancing it again, trying to fall back in love with the drug like missing it. Out of mind out of sight.

Getting into a support group like NA isn't a bad idea. These groups actually cater to the obsession side of addiction, and also surrounds you with people like you trying to beat the mind's mental games.

Of course, when we have a "hole" we're trying to fill, it can largely be due to that are meds aren't tweaked right, yet. I didn't really lose my need to drink/drug till my stabilizers were increased to therapeutic levels. If there is past trauma, it needs to be dealt with.

As far as your boyfriend is concerned, just don't be around him when he's smoking. But note, if I was sitting there first and he walked in to get high, he can take it outside or to the bedroom, but in reality, is that really going to happen? I'd just remove myself. I've discovered that as long as the actual smoking is happening, it's easily doable. A lot of the time if I can just smell it, I'm not really caring about smoking it.

I hope this helps you some. It's hard to change how we exist, but it can be done successfully.

[Moogieotter]

I admire you for trying to quit. So much cultural denial around reefer's propensity for addiction.

[Mygrandjourney]

Originally Posted by Wanderlust90

I will be going to my pdoc next month & I'm still at the beginning of the medication merry-go-round so no doubt there will be a change or addition. I feel like I really need to address anxiety issues to be able to succeed. Thank you for your suggestions.

The cannabis is no doubt affecting your psych meds. Expect changes. The MA website has some gentle advice for detoxing from cannabis, which is slow and protracted, rather than sudden and violent like alcohol or benzos. Proceed with caution and take good care of yourself.

[Wanderlust90]

Thanks mygrandjourney. I also have no doubt it's affecting the effiacy of my meds. It's so hard to stop when you don't really want to but definatly need to.

[DechanDawa]

Why do you want to stop? If the reasons for wanting to stop are greater than the need to continue using, then you can stay quit. It's great to be free!

[Wanderlust90]

I want to stop because Im concerned its perpetuating my anxiety & depression. I don't want to stop because, well even though it often makes me more anxious & lazy, I feel compelled to do it. It sedating for me. I don't know how not to do it anymore.

[DechanDawa]

Originally Posted by Wanderlust90

I want to stop because Im concerned its perpetuating my anxiety & depression. I don't want to stop because, well even though it often makes me more anxious & lazy, I feel compelled to do it. It sedating for me. I don't know how not to do it anymore.

I live where it's legal. Last Christmas someone gifted me with an ample supply. It was great for a few evenings, but after awhile, well, some of us (due to anxiety) can't resist and overuse. In Feb. I gave up cannabis, tobacco and alcohol.An online community helped me get through the early tobacco quit. Around 6 months after quitting my doc gave me an SSRI for anxiety which drove me insane so I quit that and am on no medication. (I was refused benzos which I wanted - diazepam being first choice.) I'm now on the holistic path. Check out the "about me" section of my profile page for all the holistic stuff I am using.
I have no doubt in my mind that quitting unfriendly substances benefits mental health...but getting strong isn't easy. Quitting is the first step. Staying quit is a lifelong commitment. New coping skills need to be learned and practiced. That's how it is, my friend. It isn't easy, but it is so great...so so so great...to be free.

[DechanDawa]

I think quitting cannabis and quitting tobacco are similar. There is the initial physical withdrawal. Some people still have cravings 3 to 6 months down the line, but not as strong. Then there is the psychological addiction. It still has to do with brain chemistry because these substances mess with brain chemistry. I would think medications would be affected by quitting cannabis. So the idea that this is just a matter of forming a new habit in 30 days...is a bit of wishful thinking. It's war. Get ready for war. Are you ready for that? If you are...sincere best wishes. I love it when folks get free.

[avlady]

i wish my husband wouldn't smoke weed, but i have to add it seems to help him relax and he probably never go off of it. he smokes every day and i even like it when he's high as he gets unstressed and it helps me get along with him better too. he gets in a really good mood, and i like him on it. i guess i'm no help in discouraging it. i myself believe it does help people who need it. that is his medication as i see it, and he doesn't usually drink alcohol either. oh well i guess i can live with it.

[Wanderlust90]

DechanDawa I'm not ready for war, I have enough wars going on in my head on a daily basis. No matter what way I look at it im hurting myself. Continue to smoke & it affect my meds & not improve mentally or quit & cause a resulting imbalance that will probably disrupt my mood also. It's a hard decision. It does relax me but also makes me anxious, I don't know how to explain this effect. I feel like I drink in replacement of smoking if I cant & I don't think alcohol is any better but it's effect on gaba is blissful but too short lived. This is why I feel like I need to address my anxiety fairly aggressively & I might have a chance.

[DechanDawa]

Well, you are already at war as far as cannabis is concerned. You want its immediate effect but it is ramping up the anxiety which is causing you more anxiety. You are in the middle of two sides playing against one another, and that kind of conflict, of itself, creates inner tension. I have been completely focused on how to reduce anxiety for the past 6 months. Perhaps you should immediately reduce the amount of any non-prescription substance you are using. I know I shouldn't drink coffee because it ramps up anxiety, but I'm not willing to give it up, so I have drastically reduced the amount I drink. It's working and I am gradually breaking the dependence. I am sorry to make your situation sound so dramatic, but addictions don't just fade away by wishful thinking. It sounds like you need to discuss this with a pro. I also think group support is key, and some folks on this thread have provided you with helpful links. Good Luck.

[DechanDawa]

I'm sorry I came off sounding like such an uptight know-it-all. This thread probably triggered me. I have been getting rid of my addictions one by one. It's hard. They were how I coped for so many years. I feel for you more than my words conveyed. Hope you are okay these days. I mean it.

[Wanderlust90]

Thanks DechanDawa, I took no offence so no apology needed. I probably needed someone to be direct & not downplay the drugs effects.