3 weeks down
I (30M) have had an emotionally abusive relationship with my parents my whole life and used weed (always flower) and the occasional other drug as a crutch for emotional regulation, boredom, social anxiety, and insomnia. I’ve used almost every day for about 15 years! (Sounds crazy as I type it out) I’ve gone on breaks before but always come back to it with the next triggering experience. It’s also just SO available now.
Anyway, I went cold-turkey 3 weeks ago and these are my experiences as a user for half of my life. People who say there aren’t any physical withdrawal symptoms are only speaking for themselves. The first 5 nights I struggled to fall asleep, as one with insomnia does, but what I really noticed was that STAYING asleep was much more difficult- I’m talking about waking up every 30 mins covered in sweat, like my nervous system forgot and had to relearn how to regulate my body’s temperature. No dreams, just real light sleep. During the days I would experience hot/cold flashes. (Stepping outside and taking a few big deep intentional breaths helps a lot for this.) and my sweat had an awful odor to it. I would get bored easily and craved using again, but I was determined to keep myself distracted-long walks in nature, meditation, I started playing my musical instrument again after not touching it since HS, literally anything to keep me from not thinking about smoking.
AFTER those initial first 5 days it got easier! I didn’t feel so restless sitting still anymore, I found going to the gym more helps to exhaust me so that I’m actually tired when I go to sleep, my body’s temperature regulation seems to be getting better, my mind felt a bit clearer, I stayed asleep for longer periods. Then the dreams/nightmares began and lasted about a week. Like, really vivid dreams. I almost forgot how much I would dream as a kid. I never had dreams when I was using. After that it’s been great! I feel like I have my mind back, I feel more patient, less impulsive, more considerate, more engaged in conversation. Anyway that’s my experience so far, this is officially the longest I’ve gone without THC since I was 15 years old. Just found this sub this morning and I appreciate all the perspectives and stories. Going to try and remain off the stuff permanently. Rn it kind of feels like I’m meeting an old friend again. Cheers!