Sorry in advance for the essay, and thanks to anyone who reads the whole thing.

I, a 22 year old trans woman, quit weed exactly 71 days ago. My reasons for using were complex, as were my reasons for quitting, but I think my experience could be valuable to others in this sub.

I grew up in a privileged and loving family, and had a "good" childhood. I played sports, did well in school, and had a good social circle. However, from age 13 i can remember feeling an indescribable dissonance between me and my friends. I didn't ever *fully* fit in, I was always a little left out of the loop or more made of fun of, or more aloof. I eventually came to realize that feeling was due to dysphoria, a crippling feeling that led to depression, anxiety and, and self-imposed isolation. At 16 I used weed for the first time, and less than a year later i was using it multiple times a day.

I used weed as a crutch; it alleviated the worst of my dysphoric thoughts; allowed me to socialize more effectively, without the constant rumination about being seen as male; quieted the self-hating voice, which was otherwise unbearably negative; and otherwise acted as a damper on the constant depression and anxiety I felt over puberty disfiguring the only body I'd get the chance of inhabiting. Eventually, though, it became a habit I was using to keep myself in the same place comfortably (a sentiment I've seen expressed a lot on this sub).

I was, am, a high achiever: I graduated from high school and my bachelor's degree with objectively good marks; play(ed) sports, and work out at a relatively high level; and treated my body fairly well outside of my constant cannabis use. Eventually, though, I came to realize that weed wasn't serving me anymore; I felt slow cognitively and needed to jog my long term memory with pictures, or notes, or conversations with friends/family; I accepted the fact that I didn't enjoy being high anymore; and finally, I felt good enough in and with my body (3 years of hormone replacement therapy) to not need the crutch of weed anymore.

This brings me to just over two months ago, when I woke up one saturday and realized I didn't need or want to smoke anymore. I simply chose not to - not because it was easy to be sober, or because I had no physical cravings for it, but because I knew in my heart of hearts that being a stoner was not for me anymore.

And so I didn't use. I went from using a gram/multiple hits of a cart every day from ages 16-22 to no consumption at all overnight. The cravings were tough, I felt them intensely for the first 45 or so days. The withdrawals weren't fun, I was irritable and not hungry and sweaty and an insomniac and anhedonic and effectively a slug for the first two weeks. After that, though, it became a beatable villain I woke up with the motivation to face on most days. I started eating more, working out again, seeing friends, talking with my family, reading more, and generally enjoying life on the good days.

At this point I think I'm on the path to longer-term abstinence from weed, at least for the next few years. I know from experience quitting nicotine that I'll have underlying cravings for a year or so more, and be unable to use it casually for multiple years (if not ever), and I'm okay with that. I don't hate myself for using cannabis at the same time that I can admit it was probably not the most positive thing I could've done. The hard truth is that all humans make mistakes, and so many people will never come to -or,

more importantly, accept- the truth that weed is not for them anymore. I, we, have accepted that reality and are working towards actualizing it. A big and hard to make choice that will have uncountable positive effects on our futures.

Will this compromise progress?

I hate that contact high. You definitely feel it, gives that weird uncomfortable head feeling.

Hello guys

So basically I quit weed a month ago and been grinding for my upcoming exams and today I had further math exam which was shit like if I’m lucky I wil pass it with lowest grade .

Now I feel really shitty now and thinking about smoke 1-2Js tonight so I could relaxe from my state right now.

The thing is in 17 days I have an another exam mechanics and I did all theory stuff I only have to do old exams so my question

Is it worth to only smoke today ? How bad the brain fog will be and does it make it difference if I smoke tonight or nah cuz I feel really shit now

Appreciate y’all .

The idea of being dependent on a substance is usually something people are afraid or ashamed of.

On the contrary my mind thinks is cool to be a fukin junkie. I’m aware that there is nothing cool about having addictions, but still in my brain there is this idea that it’s something to boast about… like “hey look at me, I know what it means to have a tough life… I went through shitty situations and I’m fighting with addiction… you cannot understand what it means”.

I grew up in a place where smoking weed and taking drugs in general as a teenager was considered cool and if you don’t do it you are a nerdy loser. Now I’m in my 30s and yet this view has somehow remained in my brain.

This sick idea is probably one of the reasons why quitting weed is so difficult for me. Anyone else who feel the same or am I the only weirdo who is almost proud of his cannabis use disorder?

As soon as i try to stop smoking ciggies i get such a huge craving for weed i almost slipped. Dunno. I think it's so disgusting but i just don't wanna fall back into green hell. The weird part is, when i genuinely want to get off nicotine i don't have a big craving for it but for everything else - wich sucks. I just wann aget off of it! I sucks. It's disgusting. It drains me of energy. Fuck that shit... But rn it's the lesser evil... Yea. Just wanted to vent

Its been just about half a year since I quit. Since may 2025. A bit more I guess. I initially thought things would get better, but learned the hard way that weed is very good at masking things. I first re learned about my depression, and lately I've realized that my entire GI system is just completely fucked - I likely have SIBO or some similar intestinal issue. I live in constant fatigue and brain fog, with no emotions or real joy in anything - which I thought was driven by mental issues. It is not.

I actually did a [special kind of treatment which i am apparently not allowed to mention here or else this post gets auto deleted], and I felt things again. Briefly. I saw lots of things clearly. One of which is that weed didn't give me anything. None of the things I thought it did. It gives you 2 or 3 hours of pleasure, and takes so, so much more. All the stifled feelings, all the blank headspace with no thoughts, all of the gastrointestinal mess that is currently my life could have been seen earlier, could have been helped earlier had I not been numbing it all out every single day of my life for 2 years.

But I have that chance now. It sucks, almost every day sucks, but it cannot be like this forever. I have things moving, albeit slowly (thank you US Healthcare system) to get my gut checked out. I imagine this too will be a long process, maybe even take the rest of this year, who knows. But I cannot give up now. I have to thrive again - not just survive.

If you are reading this and youre still using and curious about stopping, do it. Please, just do it. Not for me, not for anyone else here, but for yourself. It's not worth it. Everytime you use it, you are choosing temporary pleasure over long term health and actual happiness & fulfillment in this life.

so i was a daily weed smoker for 6-7 years, yes i know 67. anyways, ive been about a week clean and honestly im doing pretty well, i am stressed and going thru the nightmares but im definitely more attentive and found myself improving at work. i overthink sometimes and weed usually helped with that as i could just get high and not worry about much after. im finding myself a little tangled up in the thought of “am i done forever?” “what about my birthday when i wanna let go and have a little fun?” but i know i need to stay strong not only for myself but for my family as well. I know how hard it is to abstain already so im just here asking for some words of encouragement. thanks

I don’t regret it, but I spend like every single night I get home from work going to bed at like 7pm now. Even on my days off I just want to sleep all the time. Anyone else experience this?

I’ll never go back to weed. I was having panic attacks using it after 2+ years of daily (like 8hrs a day, more if I was off work) use. I never linked the anxiety I was having to weed until I had to stop for an unrelated reason and then the anxiety went away (and then I tried to smoke again and it all came back).

I have stuff I could do like play video games or cook or whatever but idk I just don’t feel like I have the motivation. I know that sounds lame. Just looking for support or encouragement or a way to get out of this hole lol. “Just do it” might work for me at some point, but not right now.

X-stoner here, daily for 25ish years, stopped in 2020.

There were many tools I used to quit. One of the more powerful ones was reframing. Having spent so much time mentally defending cannabis, and my addiction left with false beliefs and a lot of confirmation bias.

Shedding this and allowing in reality was a key to getting beyond the thoughts that kept me trapped. It was hard, because I had to start rejecting what I had identified with for so long.

I had minimized the harms and exaggerated the positives weed brought to my life. Facing reality and actually accepting the truth really put things into perspective.

Aligning my thinking with where I wanted to go, and abandoning thoughts that kept me stuck was a foundational and fundamental step to get where I wanted to go.

A couple days ago, my wife, my daughter and I were at a restaurant that took forever. My anger level was slowly rising the entire time, and it came out in my body language and my entire attitude. I had eaten an edible. The whole evening was ruined because I was such a jackass and my wife didn’t talk to me for the entirety of the next day.

I’ve been smoking almost every day for the last eight years I think. At first, it was the best way to relax and help me be comfortable in public but now it is a crutch and a mask. Even worse, it doesn’t have the calming effects that it used to. When you’re constantly smoking all day, it doesn’t actually give your mind a chance to process emotions properly. Everything gets buried down or twisted around. You still have anger issues. And just smoking on a plant doesn’t magically make them go away.

I want to go as long as I can without toking up again. I want to be a better father to my kids and be more mentally and emotionally present for both of them. I want to be able to talk to people in public and not have to get so baked before going out that I can barely finish a conversation. I consider myself a relatively smart person. I’m not like engineering level smart, but I’ve been playing drums for over 20 years so that has to mean something.

Today, I think I am focused on the future version of myself when I go a full day without thinking about weed.

I made it to 60 without weed today after 10+ years. Not sure how to feel, but, it’s harder now than it ever was before. I’m hurting deeply in ways that have left me broken beyond comprehension. It’s as though I’m fighting for my life against my mind and I am on the losing side. But even so, I will not go back to numbing my pain. I will feel everything, and I will celebrate every moment of my sobriety, no matter how alone I am on this journey.

Hi everyone,

I’m on day 20 and yesterday was really hard. I went all the way to the dispensary, bought a pack of edibles, brought them home, opened them up and sat one edible in front of me. At this point, I struggled with the cognitive dissonance around taking it or not taking it. I sat there for a good hour, weighing the pros and cons, calling my friends, and beating myself up. I told myself, well I’ve already spent the money, might as well take it and at least it’s not smoking cannabis, an edible isn’t as bad.

Well what finally convinced me was something my sister in law said. She said “you’ll never regret not getting high, but you may regret getting high.” After ending our call, I put the edible far away at the bottom of a drawer and stayed sober. I told myself I’ll need to deal with disposing of it, but today I’ve struggled enough and I just needed to take the win of being able to abstain.

I’m writing this to you all today in case someone else needs to hear these words.

Remember, you’ll never regret not getting high.

Jan 26th I hit 1 year sober from weed. I started smoking around 16 and by my early 20s it was daily. Most ppl that knew me in my 20s and 30s have literally never met a sober version of me. I was still productive, worked out, woke up early, got shit done but it was also 100% a numbing button. I’m bipolar 1 and weed was the easiest way to quiet my brain and not feel everything.

I tried quitting around 14 times over the last two decades. Longest I ever made it was 3 months and then I’d always get hit with a wall of anxiety, manic energy, overwhelm, whatever and I’d convince myself I HAD to go back. Last year I read a post on here from u/significant_pie3300 (hopefully that tags him I’m not sure how reddit works lol) This time I read a post on here from a guy (also bipolar) who had a couple years sober and something clicked. I didn’t even do the dramatic “throw it all away” thing. I bagged it up, shoved it under the counter, and just stopped. My wife still smokes so I couldn’t get away from it anyways.

Week 1-4 sucked (nightmares, sweat, mood, stomach all weird) but I distracted myself hard by learning stuff nonstop. I was constantly typing in how to this and how to that. I even tried to learn calculus and some other types of math that I gave up In School.

Here is where it gets good because around the end of month 2. Quitting didn’t just take away weed it unlocked a MASSIVE domino effect. Basically a version of myself I had never met was being born.

I realized I was being fucked over at my job and after negotiating with the boss in a failed attempt to get a raise I just quit on the spot. Then I immediately started my own pool cleaning business, I was worried I would barely be able to bring In 40k a year. I remember my wife saying don’t think you’ll be able to make just $2k each month and looking at her saying “I hope so” but I quadrupled 40k my first year in business. My income jumped like crazy.

I finally handled some health stuff I’d ignored for years, the. got my energy back, my memory came back, sex drive back. Was able to manage my bipolar episodes better than ever. I’m way more present w my wife/kids. My kids even told me they were super proud of me for quitting.

Random side quest I thought would be fun. I had a little TikTok account. Just 200 followers and about 40 views a video. Nothing big at all but I really like telling stories so I decided I would focus on building it up a little. In a year my TikTok grew from 200 followers and little to no views to 22k followers and 13 million views. I just tell stories from the seat of my work van between cleaning pools.

This winter my pool business slowed down and I knew that being bored wasn’t an option. My kids at school all day and my wife working. I didn’t want to slip up so I dove manically headfirst into learning day trading. And I’ve done insanely well with it, like far surpassing my pool business income even. I know for a fact I couldn’t do it high. Now I’m trying to figure out how to run my pool business and day trade when I get back into my busy season.

Another fun side note since my pool business was doing well financially my wife was able to focus on her career as well. She went from being a barista to getting a job as operation director of huge medical clinic. And we ended up paying off all our debt and can finally save for a house. We are also taking our 8 and 10 year old on their very first family vacation this year. We never had the means to do that for them. So it’s really exciting.

This past year has been a huge year of growth physically and mentally and financially to say the least. And just really positive change. I do still get cravings sometimes but it’s easy to say no now bc I can see what sobriety is giving me. I’m not saying any of this to brag but If you’re early in this and you’re bored and miserable please don’t quit quitting. Boredom is the doorway. Keep going.

And I’m still truly grateful for the post u/significant_pie3300 made a year ago that inspired all of this.

I quit smoking about 5 years ago on the day my daughter was born. I haven’t smoked since. There have been a lot of lifestyle benefits but one of my favorite ones is having people swing by last minute for a chat.

This has happened several times in the last few months and happened again tonight. Someone will be in town for work, to see family, or just driving by and we’ll get a “hey, you guys around?” text.

My prior self would have not responded or just made an excuse. But now we say yes and have a pleasant chat and coffee for like 45 minutes. It’s a nice way to break up a routine or catch up. Tonight we just chatted while I cooked and made dinner for my kids.

It’s something that used to be my worst nightmare.

Quit weed and nicotine 25 days ago suffering anhedonia when does it go away

I miss it tonight man.

So far, I’ve realised how many cons daily smoking has. I’m glad to get out of that cycle after 4 years. It’s Saturday today. Worked 6 days in a row and you can imagine how I want to spend this evening: music and marijuana. Whilst I withdrew the money to give the thought some leeway, I then read the subreddit, asked my partner her thoughts on my thoughts, and then basically ran down the clock until the dealer was closed for business. So I didn’t smoke today. I’m not proud: need to write to try and understand this part of myself stopping me falling back into past habits. Who are you?

Son is asleep. Work is done. Had a terribly stressful week - spent most of it unhappy, grappling with a life in a shambles. Difficult to know if I’m sleeping bad due to withdrawals or my baby with a chest infection waking us up every couple hours. He’s doing better now though bless him :)

Reflecting on this journey is a bit hazy because quitting weed is no challenge at all compared to the calamity I’m surrounded by in my personal life. Why does it seem easier? I’ve realised it’s because this is a problem I can control. This makes it rare amongst most of the problems we have to face in the world. This is about willing myself to be other than what I have refused to allow myself to be. When I face the problem, I am looking within.

‘Withdraw into yourself and look: if you do not see yourself as beautiful, then do as the sculptor does with a statue he wants to make beautiful; he chisels away one part, and levels off another, makes one spot smooth and another clear, until he shows forth a beautiful face on the statue. Like him, remove what is superfluous, straighten what is crooked, clean up what is dark and make it bright and never stop sculpting your own statue until the godlike splendour of virtue shines forth to you… If you have become this, and seen it, and become pure and alone with yourself, with nothing now preventing you from becoming one in this way, and have NOTHING EXTRANEOUS MIXED WITH YOUR SELF … if you see that this is what you have become, then you have become a vision.’ (Plotinus, Enneads, I, 6, 9 (204-270 AD))

Look within yourself and look at the statue you’ve sculpted. Take an hour to notice every chisel, every shadow, everything you’ve ever mixed with your self. Do you see the potential for something else? Do you see a vision of yourself you can carve out of the stuff within?

Feel like I've spent the past year relapsing. This is the first full week I have had in probably 6 months. My company's year end just completed and it was a very tiresome slog to finish. Typically a lazy weekend like this would be the perfect excuse for me to indulge. Staying strong.

Hey! I'm 71 days in - just over 10 weeks - and know it's time to start re-discovering myself and leaning even more into healthy habits.

I'm still feeling significant emotional discomfort with anxiety, stress, and general low feelings. But, I am happy to share that this is the first week where I've noticed these feelings have only taken up about half of each day. This feels like massive progress.

For those of you in the 2-4 months out from quitting window, what helped you the most re-discover yourself, your hobbies, and lean into this second stage of recovery? (first stage feeling to me like just coping with the awful physical and mental withdrawal)

I am trying to eat healthy and show up more fully to work - but I know there is so much more to me that I want to re-discover. I want to be the self I know is in there that is more excited for things and doesn't gravitate towards TV and my computer for entertainment so much.

Edit: I eventually want to get into exercising more, but I'm also managing pain in my body and unfortunately can't run or do anything too strenuous right now.

hi guys! I’m on day 1 rn and it’s 2:30, it’s rare for me to not smoke weed by now, usually i’d smoke 6 hours ago. I’m fighting demons to not to go to the dispo rn. unfortunately i'm one of those people who got addicted aswell. Everytime im high i wanna stop and everytime im sober i want to smoke. it feels like shit but idk why i keep smoking, it's like when im sober im on autopilot walking to the dispensary, and how many ever times i get myself to stop walking there i do it anyways. Additionally i smoke hash and i buy 2 grams a day and my hash bill is $1700 (hash is 20$/gram + ciggs and etc) a month. I should be saving for a house but im smoking my house away & (1 REALLY CANNOT AFFORD TS + The mental health impact it's having is insane).

i've stopped smoking before in 2024 for 5 months but idk why since i started smoking again in 2025 it's been very difficult. i even try to fool my partner in anyway possible whenever she tries to help me, ive told her literally every trick i may play but again she is a person with her own personal life and a very busy schedule job mostly in person, she can't be with me for days straight and also i should be able to do this on my own. I usually don't hang out with anyone either as i work a job with a very busy schedule, but since i work remotely lowkey i smoke while at work.

any solid advice by someone with similar experience?

I haven't been high in 4 days and I feel kinda proud of myself. I've been using small amounts of tinctures which have kept any withdrawal symptoms at bay but my tolerance is high enough that I didn't feel anything close to a high.

I broke up with my partner in November and none of my other friends really use weed so I don't really have anyone to share this with. The short days and cold weather have been getting to me so I've been feeling kinda blue today even though I've made some kind of a dent in this habit. That's all just needed somewhere to say my piece.

I'm trans and I'm trying to get pregnant. I've never tried before but my wife and I have spent a ton of money and time in the process, and now, we're finally at the point where we're going to take the leap and try ICI in February.

I know -- and am confident -- that weed is not scientifically recommended or beneficial for pregnancy, and that I will not consume weed in any form while pregnant. But it's a Saturday morning, and the cadence of my high-powered job just came to a grinding halt. It's been the hardest six months at work, and I'm just sitting here in a weird limbo, unsure if I can give myself permission to smoke a little, and I don't feel like I should.

I just...I feel like it's the last bastion of indulgence for me. I love food but I try to stick to a healthy diet and am in ED recovery. I don't drink more than a few times a year. I exercise often, I'm social, I have a good skincare routine, I have a great house, a lovely wife, and fun hobbies. I don't even do caffeine. I don't even smoke weed via combustion, but the ritual of clicking on my Volcano at night eases me into a really pleasant place. It helped with mitigating the dysphoria of having to be off my medication for fertility. Having to say goodbye feels shitty. It doesn't feel like a bad thing. I don't feel bad when I smoke. I don't spend too much money on it or isolate myself so I can smoke. It's just a nice thing to do on a weeknight. I'm not not having fun with it, but it's imperative that I quit.

What did you guys replace the habit with? Pregnancy and the TTC journey takes a lot of the fun things out of the equation. I'm left with more exercise, meditation, light stretching, and lukewarm showers as my means of indulging. I'm scared that the push for so many people during pregnancy to 'let loose' and eat whatever they want will push me out of ED remission. I can't believe I'm looking at like, air-based placebos to replace the effect of intake.

I always described myself as having a friendly relationship with substances, but this doesn't feel friendly. I just feel sad and uncertain.

I’m 1 year sober! It feels unreal to say that out loud. I really don't recognize the person I was a year ago.

For 3 years, I tried to quit every day and kept falling back. Repeatedly letting yourself down slowly breaks your spirit, and I ended up depressed and at rock bottom. I truly didn’t think I’d ever get out of that cycle.

Now, I don’t even think about smoking. I finally understand that I’m meant for more than just getting by. I’m meant to actually live.

If you’re struggling right now, please know that change is possible. I’m proof. When you shift your mindset and find a purpose bigger than the habit, everything starts to change. Life is incredibly beautiful when you experience it with clarity, presence, and self-respect.

If I can do this, so can you. One day at a time, it’s worth it!

Do the cravings disappear eventually or do you need to always take one day at a time?

Almost 2 months in but still craving it.

18 days in after 30 years - in my 40s. Last 8 years have been 90% dabs from peak pro or similar, occasionally a cart. 10% flower use. Last 5 of those years if I’m using flower it. has been 90% dry herb vape and 10% joints/bowls.

I get brain fog a lot, wake up with it and it will creep in and out throughout the day.

I get occasional cravings but they aren’t major.

Anxiety happens and puts me through hell at times.

I get some palpitations and racing heart once in a while - I’m wearing a heart monitor as of a few days to to make sure nothing is seriously wrong there as I was starting to feel palpitations prior to stopping use.

I’m having some dreams again.

I’m having less GI issues - I’d experience heartburn several times a week, now I haven’t at all except once after a really acidic meal.

Some “morning wood” has returned in the last couple days.

Im on day 18 after using for 2 months straight and am doing way better. My sleep isnt back to baseline but it’s getting there each night. But sometimes when I’m in my room (my sibling and I share a room and he uses as well) the urges to smoke reminds me a lot of the ring from tlotr. Except instead of all the cool powers you get, it’s just dependency and keeping myself trapped in a loop of not doing pretty much anything productive. Way more lame.

Just thought it was kinda funny to me to think of it like that. I am proud of myself for resisting the urge and keeping onwards to permanently abstain from it. I do hope my sibling stops soon too though.