Beating Mental (and what I like to call Social) Addiction

Everyone always says marijuana isn't addictive. Its very true that it isn't physically addictive, but holy shit for me it is the most mentally addictive thing on the Earth. Its like I can't escape it. Its just something that I absolutely love to do, but at the same time its slowly killing my future. I have no control over my smoking. I've been smoking since I was 12, and smoking everyday (or close to it) since i was 15. I feel like because I've been smoking for so long, I've ruled out everything else there is to do that is social and fun, and replaced it with smoking weed.

Its not like all I do is smoke weed, I go to school, I run and lift during the weekdays, I play sports when the weather permits. But after those options are exhausted I feel like the only thing left to do is smoke with my buddies.

That is another point I wanted to make, which I call social addiction. I sometimes feel like the only reason I smoke weed is because its the only thing that I do with my friends. Like I said in the previous paragraph, its not like ALL we do is smoke, but about 90% of the time spent together is blowing down blunts. Now I'd figure the best course of action is to find new friends, but I'm only in my town for a few more months and that would make no sense. When I don't smoke, I'm bored as fuck if I'm with my friends. So for the time being, I'm stuck in this web of sticky sticky herb.

What I'm asking for essentially, is what can I do to beat the greenery and change it from a habit to pure and unabusive recreation? After I get all of my priorities done, I don't have shit to do, and even sometimes I skip doing schoolwork and go smoke weed! This isn't getting me anywhere, and its putting a huge hole into my savings account as I'm jobless. How do I socially thrive right now in my current situation without smoking weed? When I move away to college it will be no problem finding friends who don't/rarely smoke, but as for now I'm kind of hit.

 

I hear ya on mental and social addiction. My daily smoking days are over and have been for almost three years. I had to stop because i finally realized that; I need more fucking money, i need to care about my health and my fucking mind thought, if my smoking friends are only friends because of smoking, they are not true friends. I got tired of scandless people. I wanted more for my life.

You gotta make huge life changes in order do something other than smoke weed, which is hard as a mothafucka for most. Lots of sacrifice. You just gotta find something else to take up your time. Please don't go to another substance. For me, i started putting more focus on my dog, eating right, staying away from cig smokers, and looking at my future for what i wanted.

If you skip school now to go smoke weed, I don't recommend even going to college, yet. Take some time off maybe, too many people rush college at an early age. Honestly, unless you are a wizard that gets those grades no problems.

It dont matter where you live, weed is everywhere.

Sorry don't mean to preach...

 

Thank you for the advice. I've already made significant lifestyle changes. Through exercise I have almost completely transformed my body, and I just wish I could apply that physical discipline to my schoolwork and marijuana habits. I've never skipped a class at my community college, and I don't plan on it either. I take lots of notes in class and pay attention and all that good shit, but I could feel my good grades slipping because I don't do shit outside of school. I need to change that, but I just can't sit there and read/outline for so long, and I believe that a lot of it has to do with the fact that I smoke way too much for my own good. I have the intellectual capability, but not the determination as through all my life I've had things handed to me and school just came easy to me, but now shit is real.

 

Right on man, you sound like a smart person.

Best of luck.

 

As far as school goes, make sure you focus on your studies before you smoke weed. Other than that, i'm not sure what the problem is. You said you have your priorities in line and take care of everything before you get high, so its not like pot is truly ruining your life. You just need to make sure you study before you get high.

I used to get stoned with my friends and do absolutely nothing but sit there and watch tv or whatever. Now I have more active friends and we're always doing something productive, be it hiking or camping or making music. We still smoke as much weed as I smoked with my old friends that just sat there after getting high, but I don't feel like it effects me mentally as much anymore because I'm always doing something that challenges my brain or body when I get high.

Pot used to make me really lazy and unmotivated so I started only allowing myself to smoke at night after I took care of all my shit...no more wake and bakes and smoking throughout the day after that.

There isn't really any advice i can give you other than just cut down or stop. The only way you can accomplish that is willpower. But honestly, I dont think pot is a problem unless you allow it to be a problem. Like i said, if you find productive things to do while getting high at the same time, it wont drain you as mentally as it does if all you do is sit around and watch tv or play video games.

 

I recommend acupuncture.

yoga, tai chi, qi gong might be good

I just loved getting high. Had to get to a point where it sucked before I stopped.

 

You're right, I guess it all just comes down to willpower. I have a problem with cutting down, so I need to stop for a good while just so I can learn how to control it. If I just go to keeping it once a week or something it will eventually turn into every day because thats just how my brain functions. I was binge drinking on the weekends and just getting piss drunk, so I quit for a few months and now I learned to control my intake very well. I don't do it nearly as often or drink as much at one time. So if I apply that logic to the ganj, maybe it will work.

 

If you feel that stopping is going to be an issue that's a sure sign you need to put it down for a good while. Look at going without for a month or two as something to accomplish... as a mission. You do seem to really have your shit together so I expect you'll do just fine regardless of what we all suggest. Believe in yourself...