Uncover the Reasons Holding You Back from Quitting Cannabis!
Struggling to quit smoking weed despite knowing for years that it’s not good for you? You’re not alone. Many people find themselves trapped in this vicious cycle, unable to break free. But why is it so difficult to quit? In this blog post, we delve into this paradoxical question. With the help of our amazing community, we’ve identified the top 10 reasons that hinder you from quitting and moving forward.
At the forefront is, of course, addiction! Cannabis isn’t addictive? We’re sorry to disappoint you. The myth that cannabis is just a plant that brings benefits like relaxation, better stress management, and increased creativity is simply false!
While cannabis may produce these benefits for some individuals, it certainly doesn’t apply to every smoker. Cannabis can also have the opposite effect and worsen various aspects. Besides one’s own mental state, the frequency of consumption, quality, and duration are crucial factors. If you smoke once a month, it has a completely different effect compared to daily use.
But let’s get back to the actual explanation. With daily consumption, the psychoactive compound THC quickly replaces the body’s own cannabinoid called anandamide. Anandamide normally regulates many functions such as mood, appetite, sleep, and more. However, THC takes over these regulations after a short period of daily use. Once the body doesn’t receive its supply, withdrawal symptoms automatically arise, and functions suffer from imbalance! This makes it challenging for most chronic users to simply quit smoking.
Feeling dissatisfied with life is another reason why you may find it difficult to quit smoking weed. Cannabis use can sometimes be a way to escape from or cope with underlying issues or emotions that contribute to your dissatisfaction.
It may temporarily provide a sense of relief or comfort, but it doesn’t address the root causes of your unhappiness.
Instead of facing and addressing the areas of your life that need improvement, relying on cannabis as a coping mechanism can create a cycle of dependence.
It can hinder personal growth, motivation, and the ability to make positive changes. To successfully quit smoking weed, it’s important to confront the dissatisfaction in your life and explore healthier and more fulfilling alternatives to address it.
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For many cannabis users, it’s a familiar experience. When you’re a regular consumer, you might feel emotionally numb or detached, unable to fully experience joy or sadness. A certain indifference sets in, and you find yourself feeling emotionally ‘numb.’
While temporarily shutting off negative emotions can seem appealing, it also means missing out on positive feelings that make life worth living. Just ask a regular cannabis user when was the last time they experienced goosebumps or intense emotions.
So why is this a reason that makes it challenging to quit smoking weed? The answer is simple: emotions can accumulate. All the suppressed emotions from your cannabis consumption period want to come out and be felt during the cannabis withdrawal phase. This can range from mild emotions to intense outbursts.
This overwhelming experience can be daunting for long-term cannabis users, often tempting them to retreat back to their comfort zone and resume smoking. However, if you can navigate this phase and allow yourself to feel and process these emotions, you will grow stronger and be more likely to achieve long-term abstinence from cannabis.
What do I do when I come home in the evening? It seems so boring, and I miss the reward for a challenging, long day! That’s also one of the reasons why many people struggle to quit smoking weed.
At first, it all makes sense. Getting high takes you to a different state of consciousness, where you can disconnect and forget about the world around you. But what can replace that feeling? To be honest, in the beginning, nothing can fully replace it. There are a few alternatives, but none of them can replicate the sensation of being high.
It may sound dramatic, and you might imagine that life won’t be fun anymore. But that’s just a misconception. Let me give you an example: Before going through withdrawal, you might say that a movie isn’t half as good when you’re not high. I used to think the same way, but it’s not true! When I reflect on it now, it’s actually the opposite. Sure, the first few months were more intense, but after years of smoking, I couldn’t even follow the plot of a film. I would forget what happened three minutes ago.
Now, I could rewatch all those movies because I can only remember half of them. It’s different now. I’m fully focused, and I can completely immerse myself in a movie for 90 minutes without weed. The conclusion: It was great during the first months as a smoker, but not anymore! I had been fooling myself all those years. When you think about it, this applies to many situations.
So, remember that the same things can become just as fulfilling, if not more, without being high. The anticipation of simple pleasures also comes back! It may sound absurd at first, but reading a book, meeting friends, and engaging in other activities eventually bring back that sense of anticipation. It takes time, but it happens.
One of the reasons why we kept postponing the cannabis withdrawal was the fear of the unknown. When you’ve been smoking for a long time, habits and routines develop, and suddenly they’re no longer there. Whether it’s your evening routine or your entire lifestyle, your life will change!
We tend to focus on the negative effects and what we might “lose,” forgetting about all the things we can gain through this change. There are actually 100 reasons to look forward to it. It’s all happening in your mind. In this post, we’ll explain how you can flip that fear and turn it into something positive!
We understand the fear of the unknown all too well, and it’s easier said than done. But if you dare to step out of your comfort zone, you can only gain! In other words, it’s also the only alternative to your current situation. Gather the courage and simply give it a try! Hundreds before you have taken this step and were rewarded. You can do it too!
„You are the only one responsible for giving you the life you want. Read that again.“
Brianna Wiest Tweet
It’s so easy to roll a joint and feel like nothing else around you matters five minutes later. But if you think about it for a moment longer, that’s not how it’s supposed to be. You’re momentarily satisfied even though you’re not truly content. Life isn’t just about good times and being high, where you’re somewhat satisfied. Life is always in balance.
That’s how it is in your life too. We can’t always be satisfied. There are phases in life that are not so beautiful, and then there are positive phases as well. Everything should remain in balance. Therefore, try to allow and accept days when things don’t go well and focus on the next day. After I quit, I also had to deal with negative moments, and I realized that they are just phases.
Let them in, listen to yourself, and try to actively change them. If you can’t, then that’s okay. Trying to suppress them or numb them with cannabis is not a long-term solution. You’ll find yourself caught in a vicious cycle that will eventually consume you.
One of the most common withdrawal symptoms after the last joint is sleep problems. However, we must note that sleep issues are among the well-known withdrawal symptoms, but not every cannabis user automatically experiences them.
Over the past 8 years, we have seen exceptions to this. It can range from 2 days to 5 weeks. What matters is how much you dwell on it and how much you focus on it. If you have a huge fear of not being able to sleep for the next few days or weeks, it often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Of course, that’s not the only thing you should consider. It’s even more important to have a regular sleep schedule and absolutely avoid taking naps during the day. If you have a rough night’s sleep and feel tired in the afternoon, you have to fight it!
Even if you feel tempted to lie down for an hour, it will make it even more difficult to fall asleep in the evening and gather strength for the next day. If you can’t see a way out, you can also temporarily turn to aids or sleep aids.
Another reason why you struggle to quit smoking weed is your comfort zone. We’ve mentioned the comfort zone several times before. Someone who has always taken the easiest path in life will find it difficult to quit smoking. It requires a certain amount of courage!
If you have already experienced many difficult changes in your life, starting will be easier for you. The outcome of these intentional changes is also crucial. If you always have big plans but never follow through or give up shortly after starting, that characteristic becomes ingrained.
However, if you have followed through with your intentions and were rewarded for it, it will be easier for you to step out of your comfort zone and get started. Of course, not every change leads to success, and things can go wrong at times, but having the courage to make a change reflects your determination.
If you don’t see a way to break out of your comfort zone, start with small steps. Set a small goal and give it your all! You will see how good it feels. This will build your optimism for bigger tasks, and hopefully, soon your confidence will be strong enough for you to quit smoking weed!
You are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with. This saying is widely spread and, in most cases, true. So, what are the chances of successfully quitting when your best friends continue to smoke weed while you’re the only one trying to quit?
The probability is not very high. Based on our 8 years of experience and conversations with thousands of people, we can say this: It is incredibly difficult, and only a few succeed!
Especially during the initial phase of cannabis withdrawal and in the months that follow, temptations will constantly be waiting for you. Birthdays and other special occasions are risky days! It starts with thoughts like “Just unwind once after 5 weeks, it won’t be that bad” or “I don’t have cravings, but today I’ll treat myself.”
For most people, those thoughts mark the end of their fresh start, and they immediately fall back into the vicious cycle. The next day, they think, “One more time today, and then I’ll stop again.” We’ve witnessed this countless times, so I can only advise you to stay away from such situations for the first few weeks or even up to 1.5 years.
Therefore, your environment and the people you spend time with from day one are incredibly important! If your friends support you and are considerate of your goal, refraining from smoking when you’re around, then it can work!
However, if you constantly see them smoking, especially during the initial phase, and you’re repeatedly confronted with it, the chances of staying clean are rather low. You don’t have to cut off contact with them forever, but take a break. If they are true friends, they will understand!
One classic reason is self-deception! Of course, there may be phases where cannabis has varying effects on you, sometimes less and sometimes more. However, if you reached the realization years ago that daily cannabis use is fundamentally not beneficial for you, stop deceiving yourself. It’s essentially an excuse to avoid taking action against your current situation.
We often hear this statement from those who have reached day two or three of their journey. Naturally, you won’t feel the same as you did before starting the cannabis withdrawal, but in this case, things have to get worse before they get better (we’re talking about averages, not exceptions).
The thing is, most people no longer remember what it feels like to be clean. After years of daily consumption, all that remains is a faint memory. So, drop the excuses and choose the only right path! On our website, you’ll find plenty of helpful articles and other options to assist you in successfully overcoming the withdrawal.
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About the Author
Hi, I’m Mike and I’ve been part of the QSW-Team since 2015. I used to smoke marijuana every day for 13 years until I managed to quit. I hope you can benefit from my experiences. Comments and ratings on my posts would be appreciated!
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