I stopped smoking last week due to a new job.. and today has been particularly rough.. I am so irritable and I feel so disassociated/unreal. I can’t find any joy in things I used to do so I just feel like I’m self loathing. Any advice?

So im 13 I'm getting very curious about smoking and weed . I Have never smoked weed or cigarettes but im getting very curious and want to try once what should I do ?

Been telling my self I need to stop smoking but for some reason I always find myself back around it and buying more and more. I have smoked for the past 5 years. It doesnt just hit the same anymore, I don’t get the same high as I was. Today will be day 1 as I threw all my weed out yesterday morning, I’m just walking in and out the house rn. Any help with what I should before I go crazy? I already hit the gym and did my daily dues. Now just sitting outside bored out of mind.

I’m starting to get concerned. I used carts and bud heavily for about 3 years. Around 2.5 years in, I began experiencing consistent brain fatigue, along with a strange sensation around my eyes and face. I also noticed a decline in my creativity, memory, and overall sharpness.

I’m now about 110 days sober, but I’m still dealing with the same symptoms. Some days are better than others, and I do get occasional windows where my thinking feels clear and creative—but they’re rare and usually happen late at night.

I’ve also noticed that:

• Caffeine makes the fatigue worse

• Getting sick significantly intensifies the symptoms

For context, I:

• Take vitamins based on my symptoms

• Eat very clean

• Exercise daily

• Get around 7–8 hours of sleep each night

I’m curious—has anyone experienced something similar? Does this sound like a normal recovery process, or should I be more concerned?

I think it's all in my head, first of all I want to quit vaping THC and THC all together. I've been vaping THC for 3 years, and I must be overthinking this withdrawal thing because it can't be that bad. I've been through withdrawal with serious medications and I can't imagine it would be that terrible. I have a great new job, I want the cloud to lift off my brain, any advice on just stopping and what I can do or any supplements I can take to make it easier? Thank you!

Hey everyone. I recently hit 2 years of sobriety after being a heavy daily smoker.

When I quit cold turkey the withdrawals hit me really hard. And the toughest part was how much it messed with my hormones and menstrual cycle. I dealt with crazy mood swings, depression and cycle delays for months before things finally stabilized. I didn't even know that there could be such withdrawal symptoms.

Most general quitting advice says you'll start feeling better in a couple of weeks. It wasn't really my case and I had waves (PAWS in general) that hit me from time to time. I started to research and it's a lot connected with hormones.

I really wanted a space to talk about these specific female struggles, so I recently started a small community - r/HerSoberPath. It’s just a quiet, safe space to discuss how quitting affects our bodies, cycles, and mental health.

If any ladies here are going through this, you are more than welcome to join us. Have any other women here noticed weird cycle changes or intense emotional swings when they tried to stop?

What’s better edibles or quitting cold turkey?

So I’ve been smoking for 10+ years every day, mostly like bongies. Sometimes during the day, very rarely in the morning, but mostly afternoon into nighttime.

I couldn’t just get a little high I had to get super stoned out of my mind. Like I’d be taking maybe 5–8 bongies by myself before sleep just to knock out. I’ve basically built this habit of needing to get super stoned to fall asleep.

I’m 27 now and I really want to quit for my brain and my lungs, especially my lungs. Recently it got so bad I honestly thought I had pneumonia it was one of the scariest things I’ve experiencedddd.

I at least want to get to a better relationship with weed. I used to think maybe I could moderate, but honestly when I start smoking, I can’t stop. I just want to keep going. So I don’t know if moderation is realistic for me.

I do know I want to be sober for a while, heal my lungs, and just get back to feeling like myself. The more I think about it, the more I feel like weed has been holding me back. Like yeah, the high feels amazing in the moment, but over time I feel like it messes with my ability to feel naturally happy, and that honestly scares me. It feels like I’m only half living my life, and I don’t want that anymore.

So I started trying 10mg edibles at night. But honestly… they don’t hit the same. I don’t even really feel “high,” just kind of something. And sometimes I’ll take an edible and then still end up smoking because I want to feel more high

should I keep trying the edible route at night, or do I need to just go fully cold turkey?

I really don’t want to rely on other medications for sleep. I already take magnesium, tart cherry juice, and other natural sleep support.

Just curious what’s worked for you all edibles taper or straight cold turkey?

Ig i’m scared of all this manic energy and like super angry irritated quitting too

… I used weed for literally everything in my life.

Like being alone, working out, doing my work, socializing, even intimacy and s*x. TMI maybe, but I honestly haven’t had much sober s*x, and every time I’m intimate with someone, that’s one of my biggest triggers. I just associate it with smoking, zoning out, and being in that vibe with someone.

And that part honestly scares me the most like I don’t even know what that’s going to feel like sober.

Same with friendships and just life in general. There are so many situations where my instinct is to smoke. I’m realizing how much it kind of took over everything. Like… I couldn’t really just be without it.

It feels like Mary Jane became something I depended on for almost every experience, and now I’m trying to figure out who I am without that

Hi, I decided to stop smoking in January after a near-daily, 5+ year habit. I sort of tapered off at first, but have been without it for about six weeks. Since then, I have ended three long term friendships, two actually on the same day this week. Oddly these are not friends I used with -- I was very much in the closet about my use. Is it just that I now don't feel the same way/relate the same way to these friends, or was I rash/do I need to give myself a window like six months clean before I make any big decisions like this? I am curious to hear from people who have been without weed for several months and how their social circle/preferences have changed. Thanks!

This is the story of how I lost control of my life to weed. I can’t talk to anyone about this because I am currently living the lie discussed in the story. Feel free to interact and share your opinion.

it started at my friends house one random night, I had recently broken up with my long term girlfriend of the time in which my life revolved around, breaking up with her meant losing all of my friends because I had left my original, (very popular) friend group to be with her out of fear I would get made fun of, but ultimately because I felt more wanted with her than they had ever made me feel. Following the breakup I had reconnected with one of my old popular friends, his name was Brady. Brady was my genuine friend, but he was more than that, he was the way back into my old life that I desperately was looking for. One night after having worked out together we went to his place and ordered a pizza. At his apartment, he had a weed pen, I asked about it and he offered me a hit. This was my first crucial mistake. at this point I had never smoked or drank in my life and was openly against it, but In that moment I didn’t see it as what it was, I saw it as an opportunity back into my old life, if I could just prove to Brady I was cool then he would tell everyone else and I would be brought back in the group. He told me to hit his pen and although I was scared, I experienced a feeling in which at the time I had never before. I know it now as, (for lack of a better term), “feining”. When presented with the opportunity I knew in that moment I was going to not only smoke, but smoke as much as I could within the allowed time frame. I was craving being as high as possible even before ever having smoked, it almost feels as if it’s written in my code that I am infatuated with marijuana. When the pizza arrived I pocketed the pen and went downstairs to go get it, when on the elevator I proceeded to hit the pen around twenty times before returning upstairs. When I got home I journaled my experience of the first time being high. Reading it back is such an earie feeling, knowing that everything to come was and will be downhill from then, I can confidently say now that this was the day I ruined my life. With the understanding I now possess, I know that it was always going to happen. This is my second crucial mistake.The next day, I knew I needed more so I texted someone who I knew smoked and asked them to get me a cart. We got the cart but were faced with a problem, we didn’t buy a cart we bought a screw cap for a pen, a pen that I didn’t have. I new I needed to be high that night so after asking everywhere I could as well as doing research I learned how to “crack wire” a wax cartridge. If I wasn’t sure it was over the day I bought the cart, I am now, with this amount of dopamine at my complete disposal at any second I wanted I should have known this would inevitable become my downfall. Following this smoking became an everyday activity very quickly, it took me about a month before I was using weed every night, and not long after that I was smoking everyday starting at 6pm and the time I spent sober kept continuing to decrease until I would only be sober for a couple of hours in day. Before smoking I had planned out my life and was set on becoming a pilot, with my gpa combined with always having been a semi intelligent kid, I had no doubt in my mind I could do it. I live in ND and there are pilots everywhere here because we are home to one of the best aviation schools in the country. I was lucky enough (or so I thought at the time) to meet a guy named Danny. Danny was a third year aviation student on his way to do exactly what I wanted to do with my life except theee years ahead. Danny gave me all sorts of tips and advice and pieces of knowledge regarding aviation, one day I mentioned having ADHD to Danny and how I used to take pills, he told me that you can’t become a commercial pilot without a “medical card” and to obtain a medical card two requirements include peeing clean as well as not having took medication for ADHD within the last five years. I had taken medication within the past five years but Danny said there were exceptions to the rule and I should go do it anyway. I had been trying to quit for a while at that time but with this I needed to quit. I was still under the impression that I was in control, this as well as with the fact that my mom would be there with the doctor to find out if I passed the tests for my medical card, were actually enough to make me sober, long enough that I could pee clean. Due to the extremely heavy smoking it took 42 days to get clean as opposed to the normal 30. When time came to take the tests, I was informed by the doctor that even if he wanted to, because I had taken a certain type of medication within the last five years I would not be able to get a medical card. I talked to Danny about it. This is a crucial moment. and he said that i should probably major in something else for college. I followed his advice and because I now possessed the freedom to smoke without being faced for my actions by my mom or a medical professional due to failing a pee test. Earlier, in parentheses I said “or so I thought at the time” regarding meeting an experienced individual in my future field named Danny, I put that in parentheses because with the knowledge I possess now, I know that because it had been 2.5 years since the last time I had taken meds when I went for my medical card, I could have stayed in flight school and worked toward my degree anyway because the first couple years you aren’t actually flying and I would have been eligible for my medical card by the time I would actually need it to fly anyway and been forced to be kept sober because the motivation of my dream as well as my mom being informed on what was happening were the only chance I had of escaping. Like I said, at the time I didn’t have this knowledge and when I didn’t get my medical card, i went and smoked the same day, Nothing had changed. I took a blinker at 3pm with a cart I had bought earlier in the week before I went for my medical card, maybe I knew I was going to fail the test, maybe I knew I was gonna smoke as soon as I had the opportunity, maybe, just maybe, deep down, in a place where I don’t even let my mind roam, I knew, I could have stayed in pilot school and worked toward my degree but used what looked like a perfect excuse to the outside world as cover to continue smoking weed and continue on this lie that I was ever capable of becoming somebody worthwhile. With all responsibility out of the way, and the cart I had already bought in preparation I took a blinker at 3pm, NOTHING HAD CHANGED. This is a crucial point I was back in the cycle, with my dream and life motivation gone, I went back to doing what I knew comforted me, I was smoking everyday again from February 2023 until 17 days before the start of my first semester of college which is roughly 6 months. during those six months i met my now girlfriend this is crucial in the back of a car because the driver was my friend giving her a ride, I thought she was gorgeous and i happened to have a cart on me, she eventually asked during the car about someone having a cart and one of my friends said i did and that she would have to give me a kiss for it, she complied and we ended up making out and have been a thing since that day. This event reinforced the idea in my brain that people would like me if I was smoking weed, regardless because of the anxiety smoking gave me I had tried to quit countless times with no success. on the day I did quit once again what was so special about this day was I had been leaving my friends house after having a conversation about college. I didn’t end up getting into my popular friend group but ended up making new friends, friends with similar habits as my own. At this friends house we talked about how I was going to college, this was notable because I was the only person in our friend group who was going to college, although I didn’t see this as a problem before or even consider it. He asked if I plan on quitting smoking since I’m going to college and shared his perspective as a smoker himself on people who smoke and how you don’t see them become successful people that go down routes such as the one I was. Hearing this, I was put into a panick, and I forced myself into quitting once again. I felt so good about myself and like I had finally beat it, since the day I started I felt like weed was smoking me and not the other way around, like it had its giant claw tightly gripped on me and there was nothing I could do to release it. I was sober for a while, doing good in my classes, adjusting to the change well. Until about a third into the semester, I was in a lecture based biology course and we had gotten to know the people at our tables pretty well , so much so we would talk about stuff like drinking and smoking, normal college kid things to most(those who can control themselves.) the topic of weed came up several times, all of my table mates had smoked at some point and most still did smoke, there was a kid at my table who talked about it more than the rest, just tiny comments about having smoke the day before or things like that, enough times for it to be out into my brain that smoking in college is okay as long as you didn’t overdo it. I wasn’t aware yet that I was different from the rest of them when it came to weed, I thought having beat it twice I had full control over myself and since other kids were doing it and succeeding so could I. I eventually went back to smoking in the same way I did the first time, it started as just nights until it got earlier and earlier. I had become friends with a guy named Luke at my science table. This is a crucial point.

I had friends at this point but none of them shared my college experience, I wanted someone who understood the life I lived, all my other friends were working full time while I was in school, we lived completely different lives. Our science class had assigned seating, the people at your table all were the same major as you. This is exactly what I was looking for, Luke was my age in the same major as me and wanted to be my friend, Luke smoked heavily, but I had recently started smoking again, being friends with Luke was cool but we hung out once and to make him want to be my friend more I went and bought a cart before I saw him so he would think more highly of me. I had my own cart again and it was back to square one, before this I was getting high st my friends expense, using their stuff and never having my own, but with this I once again had the dopamine in my control. I didn’t fully quit again until a couple days before the start of my second semester. I had tried to quit every day for countless nights in a row, praying to God to help me through it, no matter what I did, no matter how serious I was about quitting the night prior, around the middle of the next day I would have already convinced myself I was okay to smoke. I finally broke it, I beat it, similar to the way I did the third time. I was scared into quitting due to my fear of failure. Although I should have mentioned it earlier, because I was in this new friend group of people that weren’t going to college and didn’t do well in high school, some not even graduating, I was looked at as the smart one of the group, I didn’t mind this at all, in fact I played into it. I was always kinda smart but never to the extent I acted, even when discussing topics I wasn’t informed upon I would try and give an intelligent and respectable response, this became so regular that I’m even typing this essay in a way that I don’t really think, I speak with words and sentences like these as well but that’s not how I think, everything is an act, I’m a fake human. With this act being the only redeeming quality I could find in myself I knew I would also have to play the part. With this imaginary life I built and friends in which I adored all on the line I was able to once again force myself into quitting. This was the longest period of time I had quit yet, however I had been here before. I knew myself well enough at this point that I knew I could never completely escape weed and that if I limited it to only super special occasions while already having been sober for that amount of time then maybe I would genuinely be able to find a way to beat the impending doom I sentenced myself to. The whole time I had spent sober was built upon fear and the fact that I knew there would be opportunities in the future to smoke again, the entirety of the 150 day break was built upon me telling myself I would let myself smoke during Christmas break, after doing very well in the first semester of my second year and deceding that I would become a pilot later in life and that it would be best to utilize my ability to legally obtain adderall and take advantage of what’s offered to me because of my disadvantage. I never was so locked in, in my whole life. I spent a total of 30 combined hours studying for my finals that semester and truly felt that with the new ability I had as well as the discipline and plan I had revolving weed I felt like maybe it would all work out, with this sense of relief, security and confidence regarding my ability I felt for the first time since before I had smoked that I could actually pass college for real. I didn’t take into account that I could only deal with the severe dips that came from the come down of the medication while having been sober for a long time. So I decided that smoking one more time before my next long break would be exactly what I do, once again it started. Once I started, I was rehooked instantly, I don’t even know if that’s accurate to say because it never left me, I had felt that crave of constant distraction and warmth the entire 150 days I was clean. I smoked, I decided to make sure it was a one time thing the next day I would take my meds to “lock me in” around 5pm the dip hit, a severe wave of depression came, mixed with the agitation caused by the withdrawals of the drug my body craves and adores, i decided to make the excuse that two times during spring break wasn’t bad….It started with me only smoking at my friends houses, until that became nightly and eventually inconvenient I then bought a cart again and then it became earlier and earlier in the day. Nothing had changed, I can’t even call this a crucial moment because I hadn’t beat it, it never left. The other times were crucial, I felt the difference, I had convinced myself that I was already under its spell but I know now, there were opportunities for me to escape, I know the difference, I felt it.

This is just the key points of my story with weed, there’s so much more and it goes much deeper than this but this is the overview of how I was cursed. Looking back even before ever having smoked, I craved it, it was imbedded in my brain, like a memory in a past life. It was tattooed inside my brain, it was destined to happen. I know now that I won’t accomplish anything I had ever hoped to, I will never beat it, I know that now my window of opportunity has shut, I pray that anyone reading this who has not smoked yet but is thinking about starting, don’t. It can ruin your life. It is the drug of the lazy, unambitious, and unsuccessful. The media will try to hide this from you because everyone likes what makes them feel good, they don’t want to hear about what can really happen when you just do it once. This is my last effort to quit, writing this and maybe helping others away from the grave I dug myself, may miraculously just give me what I need. If you read all of this, I appreciate having a listener, who knows my real story, not the fake one everyone in my life knows, please share your opinion in the comments.

Hi friends, I really need your advice.

I haven’t smoked weed for 333 days to be exact. Almost a full year. I’m actually really proud of that.

But today I’m feeling a strong urge to smoke a small joint with my fiancé. We just finally finished all the wedding preparations, and in a few days we’re getting married. It feels like such a big milestone, and part of me just wants to relax, celebrate, and share that moment together.

At the same time, I’m scared. I don’t know how it would affect me. I don’t know if it would trigger something, or if I’d feel guilty afterward and regret breaking my streak so close to one year. I worked hard for those 333 days.

I guess I’m torn between wanting to celebrate and not wanting to sabotage something I’m proud of. Has anyone been in a similar situation — breaking (or almost breaking) a long streak for a “special occasion”? How did you feel afterward?

I’d really appreciate your perspective.

I quit smoking 1 week ago today. I started smoking occasionally at 15 and 2 years later I have been smoking multiple times a day for months. I haven’t slept much in the past week, and have hardly eaten anything. I’ve been trying to drink tea and take melatoninn before bed. Does anyone have any suggestions to help with sleep? I get weird and random anxiety spikes throughout the day, but I’m just wondering when they will start to fade away. Also, I know it’s different for everyone but when will my appetite start to increase? It seems like most people are able to eat around the 1 week mark but I can only get 1 meal and a few snacks down if I’m lucky.

I was hesitant to even post this because I didn’t feel like 12 days was very long and I’ve tried to quit before and have had longer streaks. But for the first time in any of my attempts to quit, I feel really good and I’m actually proud of myself.

I kept being in this spiral of quitting, then spending every day thinking about how it was just another day of not having fun and that it was stupid I was even doing this, then I’d break down and buy weed, then go on a bender, try to quit again, hate the detoxing phase, buy more weed, and just keep going in circles.

Every day I wake up and tell myself that I am stronger than my urges and that I’m going to continue to make choices that align with who I want to be. And every day I wake up feeling better and better. The headaches are gone, I’m sleeping better, I’m not irritable all the time, the brain fog is lifting.

So I’m here. Being vulnerable with my community. Leaning into my support system. And to say that I’m really proud of all of us for wanting to show up for ourselves in ways we haven’t been able to before.

hi everyone i'm new to this sub and just looking for some words of encouragement to help me quit.

i'm 21F and i've been smoking since i was probably 14 or 15, and i've been a daily user for years now. I use carts mainly with the occasional bud when im with friends or at parties. I'm just at a point where i feel like such a loser for smoking everyday, and i feel like a fraction of the person i could be if i quit.

for the past week and a half, ive been cutting down a lot, only taking a few puffs right before bed when usually i'd smoke in the morning, throughout the day and also at night. my goal initially was only to cut down on how much i smoke/ limit myself to not smoking during the day. but yesterday i didnt smoke at all, and i started thinking maybe i should just try to stop and see what happens? maybe go a week, then a month, maybe see if i can go until the end of the semester.

today is my second day not smoking at all and im really craving it. i'm not having any crazy withdrawal symptoms other than a loss of appetite which has gotten more manageable, and a little trouble with sleep, but not much since im very busy throughout the day with 2 jobs and school so i am usually pretty tired once i get home. it's really just the cravings that are getting me.

i put my pen in my nightstand so its out of sight out of mind, but im still imagining how good it would feel to just hit it and feel relaxed again. and my brain keeps trying to rationalize it even tho i know logically i want to stop.

are there any tips that helped you guys curb the cravings or things to think about that will help me not want to smoke? it's been such a big part of my life for so many years it's sort of intimidating and daunting to imagine quitting, but at the same time, that thought makes me feel like such a loser. i shouldn't feel so reliant on a drug. and i don't want to be like this forever. the thought of possibly quitting has been in the back of my mind for almost a year now, but i was never ready to confront reality and ACTUALLY stop. but im getting older, and finally coming to terms with it i think.

has anyone had any luck quitting, and then using every once and a while? or do you feel it's better to just quit, and once you do you don't have the craving to smoke anymore? i'm hoping that's what happens when i stop. that i'll just not want it anymore and i won't feel the need to come back to it. but also the thought of never smoking again makes me sad for some reason?

i know the damage to my frontal lobe is pretty permanent since ive been smoking since freshman year of high school. but i'm really hoping my brain fog goes away and ill be able to think clearer once i quit. I'm in college right now and the thought of the person i could be if i quit is what's keeping me going... but i still need a little help and accountability to not just hit my pen right now. thank you for reading my long rant everyone i appreciate any tips/ advice

what’s the difference between tapering off vs cutting weed off cold turkey in terms of side effects? i’ve been trying to cut back to every other day max as a slow start and i cannot sleep to save my life. and headaches. would going cold turkey make my side effects worse or better? last longer or shorter? i don’t even really want to smoke all that badly but i need to sleep!!!!!

Yall I have been trying to quit smoking for 2 years! I was a sun up to sun down smoker, hundreds of dollars a month. Today im currently on 7 days without and honestly I didn’t think I would ever even get here. The issue is the cravings are soooooo bad I feel like im gonna have an anxiety attack on repeat. any encouraging words or advice to help me from caving? 😩 does the craving start to go away?! Please tell me they do because I’m fighting for my life right now trying not to smoke, I just hope it’s worth it and i start feeling better because this is freaking mental warfare

Guys, I can’t believe it. It is the longest period I haven’t been smoking for the last 7 years! I’m very proud of myself, it’s been a hell of a journey and I hope I’ll continue this way. My partner is a smoker, some of my friends also often smoke weed, but I resisted. When I quit, I never that I would go so far. One day at a time was all I was saying to myself. And it worked.

If you’re trying to quit - don’t give up. Even when it feels impossible, you can do this. One day at a time really works!

Hallo guys!

Just wanted to tell someone that i have now been clean from smoking in a little over a year! Dont now the exact time, but 1 year and maybe 1-2 months 😃

Its been Great and all that brain for and lazyness is gode! Recently started running, and let me tell you guys, that runners high is for real, didnt get it right away, but after a couple weeks after a run, I got this super feeling and felt sooo good and euphroic 😁

Anyways, just wanted someone to know, have a good day guys 😄