Quitting marijuana, social anxiety, and solutions...

[joshziman]

I've smoked marijuana for habitually for a couple years now. The use became abuse once the habit started to negatively affect my psychological health.

For me, it is definitely not a social lubricant. Over the past several months, I've become increasingly self-conscious while high. Of course, while high, I am more clumsy and gullible and my short-term memory is very affected. While taking notice of my imperfections and clumsy behavior, I slowly developed extreme paranoia and social anxiety during the drug experience, but now it has carried over to affect my sober behavior. I now have social anxiety when I'm NOT high and I can't stand it. I want to be the social, outgoing person I was before I developed this problem.

It took a long time to decide, "Wow, I really need to stop, it's extremely detrimental to my social and psychological well-being".

As a college student, I'm around the stuff all the time. I've become much better at saying "no" when being offered a bowl, but there are times when I give in. It's part of the habit, I enjoy "smoking" but I hate the effect of the drug. For obvious reasons, I don't want to just switch to tobacco, I've never been a cigarette smoker and I want to keep it that way.

Quiting psychological habits/dependencies don't work cold-turkey, so here's my plan.

I'm going to try substitute herbs. I just ordered St. Johns Wort and Passionflower. I'll receive the orders in a week or so and give updates on my progress.

Feedback is greatly appreciated.

[sheffy4]

You are going to smoke those substitute herbs? I haven't heard of anyone using St. Johns Wort or Passion Flower as anything but a supplement or brewed as a tea. It sounds like they would be kind of disgusting.
It's hard, but I think you would be best not smoking anything at all. If you really don't just want to quit smoking all together, maybe you could try smoking flavored tobacco from a hookah. I've never tried it, but my friends were really into it for a while, and it's a very social activity.

[Dan.Linehan]

I was in the same spot in college joshziman. It never really stops being an issue. The sooner you quit the better.

You might want to try salvia for a legal alternative.

[wolverine]

I go to university (college) and I'm not 'around the stuff all the time'. Maybe it's not only you, but your friends, social group or perhaps even the college itself. Of course, you're the only one that can make the change, but maybe try to have an objective look at the situations you find yourself in, and who you're with, and see if you can choose to be in situations where you're not faced with the temptation.

One technique I've heard of, and that has worked for me with other things, is to imagine the most horrible, disgusting or frightening metaphor for the thing-to-be-quitted (in your case, marijuana), and then merge the two so that when you think/use/have anything to do with the real thing that you don't want to use/drink/eat/whatever anymore, you can only associate it with the negative image/metaphor. The example I remember best is someone associating raw white sugar with broken glass; he didn't want to eat sugar anymore after imagining it as broken glass ripping apart his insides! For me, I stopped drinking Coke cold turkey, just stopped. I simply saw it as a digusting, overly-sweet drink that left my mouth dry and sticky. Now, I can't stand it. This technique might be worth a try for you, if you can come up with a metaphor/image that is digusting/terrible/frightening for you personally.

Good luck!


Wolverine

[garentee]

I used to be in the restaurant business. Its everywhere. I smoked from the time I was 13-29 and I got really sick of the way I felt when high. It made my anxieties like a raging fire. One day I just stopped smoking and that was that. I have a lot of the same friends who are trying very hard to try and get me to start up again. I will not do it...unless one day I get the urge. Happily it has been almost twelve years since I quit. I still do not miss it. Just do it and do not give up trying to stay off of it. It is really the best thing you can do for your sanity. Think positive....G

[NickW]

garentee, congrats on your success! I admire your determination and will power. As someone who's kicked a bad habit or two myself, it can be tough. Was for me, anyway.

joshziman, just quit. Forget substitutes, forget trying to fool yourself. Don't send yourself a message that you're too wimpy, too weak, such a weenie that you can't quit a habit. Just say [blank] it. Feel the high of exercising your own strength, your own will. Feel what it's like to win, to triumph. Take control. Be a man, not a boy.

"You might want to try salvia for a legal alternative."
I assume you're not suggesting he start smoking Salvia divinorum.

"When considered by mass alone, salvinorin A is the most potent naturally occurring psychoactive compound known."
Salvia divinorum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[thef0x]

Honestly,

I had to leave the country to quit. I am studying abroad and I've smoked very rarely.

When I did buy, just recently, I was alone, stoned in my room for 3 days, smoking all of it.

It was HORRIBLE. It made me very depressed, a terrible decision.

I will never buy pot again.

I smoked for 2 years every day.

No more.

So I had to move to a radically new environment and just say no which wasn't hard.

You need to figure out what the mentality of someone who doesn't smoke pot is and then emulate that.

And feel empowered with your decision! Congratulations on this big self-discovery.

Cheers.

[LoraleighV]

...but it's way worth it! I've been sober and off pot for over 10 years now and I can tell you life is so much better in this clear-headed state.

A couple of points:

Quit hanging with the group you do, it'll be easier to stop.

The social anxiety will lift after it's out of your system - which may take a while.

All my best to you!

[Barcs]

Marijuana is one of the easiest "drugs" to quit. I'm not saying it's simple, but much easier than things like caffeine, nicotine or other hard drugs that develope physical addictions. I quit it cold turkey, and after a few days I didn't have many urges at all. After a week I felt renewed. After the month I didn't even feel like doing it anymore. Eventually I started smoking again, but only in moderation. I think that is the key with marijuana, if you use it. I've never seen anyone who uses once or twice a week to get negative side effects or social anxiety. It's usually the ones that smoke everyday or multiple times a day. The people that almost rely on it to go about their daily lives.

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by Dan.Linehan

The sooner you quit the better.

Absolutely agree. I smoked the stuff for several years in my early 20's, and it didn't do me any favours. I was a complete wreck in fact. I got all the paranoia, and social anxiety, big time.

When I stopped, I found I had a nicotine addiction, and started smoking regular cigurettes for a while too (yuuck).

Eventually I developed quite a healthy life style and did a lot of exercise (Tai Chi and soft Kung Fu, traditional Chinese health arts); I can honestly say, I felt way much better from the natural high of the exercise and just being well and healthy than I ever did from smoking dope.

I wish you the best of luck in dropping this habit man, am sure you'll look back in years to come and be very glad you did.

Good luck!

Jamie.

[Lauxa]

I have one friend who when pressed to smoke will just say that he gets paranoia really bad and so he finally realized that this is not a good drug for him.

I would say don't try to sub another smoking substance, it's just not the same and will keep the habit of smoking fresh and probably make it harder. Maybe go for another oral stimulus like breath mints.

And it would probably be good to diversify your social contacts, while maybe not dropping your old group altogether. See if you can get in with a sports-focused group that will encourage more healthy habits.

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by Lauxa

I have one friend who when pressed to smoke will just say that he gets paranoia really bad and so he finally realized that this is not a good drug for him.

I would say don't try to sub another smoking substance, it's just not the same and will keep the habit of smoking fresh and probably make it harder. Maybe go for another oral stimulus like breath mints.

And it would probably be good to diversify your social contacts, while maybe not dropping your old group altogether. See if you can get in with a sports-focused group that will encourage more healthy habits.

This is excellent advice, I think, and esp. getting in with a sports-focused group, the kind of people who are lilely to be health concious; it will rub off on you. Plus you get to do all that lovely exercise.

Which kind of exercise would you do? Running could be a good option, will make you feel naturally 'high', and it's the kind of high that will over flow in to your life, so you'll feel good, all the time. If you start recording your times, and make some kind of log, you'll be able to get some sense of improvement over time, which is great too.

[mercuryrising]

Originally Posted by Jamie

This is excellent advice, I think, and esp. getting in with a sports-focused group, the kind of people who are lilely to be health concious; it will rub off on you. Plus you get to do all that lovely exercise.

Which kind of exercise would you do? Running could be a good option, will make you feel naturally 'high', and it's the kind of high that will over flow in to your life, so you'll feel good, all the time. If you start recording your times, and make some kind of log, you'll be able to get some sense of improvement over time, which is great too.

I think your advice is pretty good too. It's been a little over a year and half since I quit smoking pot. I just quit cold turkey and dealt with the hang-ups. Had to leave a lot of old friends behind. But if they had really been my friends, they would have understood. There really isn't any other way to quit than to just quit.

I've found that my addiction just moved into other things, mostly smoking cigarettes and eating badly. This week the company I work for goes completely smoke free, so I have to do something about that. I like your idea about getting high off of exercise. I'll have to give that a try. Maybe I'll get addicted to something positive for a change.

[SaberToothDream]

I know how difficult it can be to be surrounded by people smoking pot and to be conflicted by wanting to smoke and not wanting to smoke at the same time. I recently moved to California and the people I met just so happened to be big pot smokers. I’ve smoked pot occasionally in the past but nothing like this. I don’t know if it’s California weed in general or just what these kids get but it really messes me up. I hate hat hate how I feel on it. I over think everything and usually just end up not saying anything, I feel awkward, stupid, and all my other social anxieties are intensified. Eventually I realized I just have to say no to them when they offer. It sucks because they seem to really enjoy how they feel when they smoke and it feels like a waste to pass up a free drug. But it really makes no sense to do something that makes you feel awful and you know will make you feel awful. There’s just no need to subject yourself to that.

[blazer1]

I have not read all the responses but I can add my two cents in.

I have been a smoker also, and social anxiety is a problem not just for you and I but nearly all smokers. If you had any form of shyness or insecurity before you started smoking, the weed will exaggerate that - simply because weed introduces a lot of paranoia into your thinking.

The other thing which you may find is happening (because it happens to me) is that you will feel people are talking about you, trying to hinder you from progress (keeping you down) and other things revolving around you. On this note it can go both ways, people are unknowingly trying to stop others from progressing, it's natures way, the fittest survive, perhaps being high and paying attention to things around you has caused people like you and I to take notice of this human nature, where normal people don't even pick up on it.

The best thing to do is to ignore it.

Also, I feel you are not really that addicted to marijuana, because if you don't see the difference between some alternative herb and marijuana then it seems you are just starting out and smoking marijuana is something you use for social standing. Perhaps it makes you feel cool enough to hang out with people if you know you are a pot head.

In my opinion go cold turkey ... why bother smoking ciggarettes or other alternative herbs and wrecking your lungs when you don't get the 'high' off it? Just not worth it.


Anyway, peace.

Blazer1 from Sydney.

[Firefighter469]

Don't waste your money with those substitute herbs, they're expensive and have no effect besides hurting you and maybe giving you a lung infection or cancer.

Find some new friends. Start jogging, there's nothing better than an endorfin high!