I want to quit, but I’m having a lot of trouble resisting. Open to tips and discussion!
You could start with trying to break associations gradually or creating obstacles.
If you smoke inside for example limiting yourself to smoking outside.
If you use a bong only letting yourself smoke because when it’s clean.
Just be wary of replacing it with other habits like alcohol or nicotine.
Put your vape and weed behind the snacks you bought that one time that taste like ass in the cabinet you don’t store anything useful in.
Especially with ADHD we are triggered to action by outside stimulus including sight. If you don’t see your weed and it’s inconvenient to get to you’ll be less likely to go for it when you’re bored. You can always make a scheduled “smoking weed” event and pop it into your calendar/alarm to make it a regulated thing.
Alternatively, if it’s really a big issue - then you may just have to get rid of your weed. Addictions are common in people with ADHD so there are some things we just have to abstain from (like, I’d absolutely urge folks with ADHD to never indulge in gambling or heavy drugs… weed is a borderline thing that is much less naturally addictive)
I’d absolutely urge folks with ADHD to never indulge in gambling
A thousand times this. That was a hard fucking lesson to learn.
Oh man. First time I went to the casino, I brought $40 and left my wallet in the car on purpose as I didn’t trust myself not to go crazy. Good thinking on my end… By the time I was done spending that amount, I was already scheming ways to go and grab my wallet without the people I was there with seeing me go back to the car. The very few times I went back since were with my wife, and she’s great at recognizing and regulating what I call my “stupid brain”, but it really showed me how I shouldn’t be trusted alone with that shit. I can definitely see it becoming a problem if I ever went alone…
I never understood this one. I have ADHD and autism and I find gambling boring as hell. With maybe the exception of blackjack. Where my autistic brain tries to count cards.
I remember the day I turned 21. I decided to try out a casino. I spent $50 there and promptly left. Maybe I just lucked out and they didn’t hook me with an easy win early on?
I’d much rather spend $50 on a video game that I can entertain myself with for hours.
It’s not a universal trait. Neurotypical folks are susceptible as well. It’s just that ADHD ups the chances of those reward centers lighting up like a Christmas tree.
I’ve never enjoyed casinos. The disorientation of the layouts, lights, and sounds that are designed to keep people time blind and engaged served as an effective deterrent for my overwhelmed senses.
But early in adulthood I very much grew to enjoy the rush of the ebay auction countdown. Looter type games were mostly limited to PC back then so I didn’t get access to them. I only played the lottery sporadically, whether out of boredom when I worked at a place that sold scratch offs, or when the lure of a big prize outweighed the obviousness of setting money on fire.
But then one day one of my favorite game franchises announced a mobile version. I didn’t really use my phone for games because it was mostly microtransaction hell etc. But I had been into Fire Emblem for many years so I figured I’d give it a chance. I vaguely knew what “gacha” meant, and the initial pull did nothing for me. But the game itself was like the perfect pocket version of FE gameplay. So I stuck with it and had fun. But of course, the real game was the slot machine, and the drip feed of the in-game currency to keep the gacha mechanic top of mind.
It wasn’t long before I put a table together to try and figure out what bundle deal gave the best exchange rate for real world money to game tokens. And not long after that I started buying here and there. And once the seal was broken, The Chase began in earnest. Bonus deep depression for the next few months made it that much worse. And it got very bad.
There are those that would argue that gacha/lootbox isn’t gambling, it’s opening a pack of baseball cards. But a pack of baseball cards isn’t tied to visuals, sounds, and timing honed from decades of data to maximize player retention and spend. And when baseball cards are presented that way, say, on someone’s YouTube channel… people watch. Same with Pokémon cards. Magic cards. It’s just people opening packs and reacting. But it gets views. It was part of the madness in 2020 and 2021, when people were bum rushing the card aisle when Target etc opened for the day. It was crazy. And this is all before even mentioning the Kinder Egg phenomenon… where it’s just people opening little toys. And kids will watch. For hours. It’s horrifying.
When it comes down to it, the rush people get from gambling isn’t necessarily from the money. The money is just the rationalization. The rush is from the anticipation. The uncertainty. It’s The Chase. You can make almost anything into a Skinner box. And there are a subset of people who are susceptible to that manipulation, and a line around the corner of ways to take advantage.
Oh yes, totally understood. I’ve seen families destroyed from sports gambling and other, less boisterous forms of it.
If I like anything, it’s scratchers and it’s because they’re soooooo satisfying to “play”. But it’s only something I indulge in occasionally.
Anyways, I tried to get into MMO’s back in the early days with all my friends. I tired of it fairly quickly. I guess the novelty seeking part of my brain overwhelmingly rejects typical “gambling” mechanics. Loot boxes don’t do anything for me and never have.
More recently I’ve grown completely frustrated with franchises like Forza Horizon and their little slot machine / skinner box mechanic. I love racing games, but it made me stop playing.
I can be addicted to things, but it just isn’t gambling for me somehow.
I do resent MMO’s for destroying so many of my friend’s lives though. Weird to lose people to that ecosystem, it’s the video game equivalent to losing someone to an MLM.
Also fuuuuuck, MLMs, almost did the “vector marketing” (cutco cutlery) and “rainbow vacuum” thing - the only thing that saved me was that Youtube had existed for like 5 years by then and there was enough people out there with their stories.
I supported myself with Blackjack for a few months. It was fun until it wasn’t fun at all.
In terms of impacting your life, weed is an addictive drug like meth or coke. It doesn’t have the physical addictive impact of those drugs (i.e. you don’t go into physical withdrawals) but it can have large impacts on your psychology and day to day to life. For a lot of people it is a massive demotivator and will prevent you from achieving the things you want out of life.
Treat it like an addictive drug. You have a problem, take strong actions to treat it. The good news is that it is much easier to get off than other drugs that have a physical addiction. If you get through 2 or 3 days without smoking the strong urge to smoke should fade. But it’s very easy to start again, so make some rules around when you allow yourself to smoke. Only use it as a reward for getting stuff done that day. Never smoke 2 days in a row. Every time you go to smoke, tell yourself out loud “I will not achieve any of my goals today”.
Where can I subscribe to your blog?
Maybe I should start one, I’ll call it Things I Learned From 35 Years of Nihilistic Hedonism.
weed is an addictive drug like meth or coke
I agree with your overall sentiment that it impacts your attitude, but this statement is just false. It seems like you’ve never done meth or coke. I promise you they are vastly different in terms of addiction.
Personally I’ve found I can’t just use weed (or alcohol) in moderation, I just basically pick back up where I left off.
Currently I’m in my 4th bout of sobriety from alcohol and my 3rd from weed. My sobriety from alcohol so far has been the longest bout of my while life at about 6 years and weed is currently at about 9 years.
For some people quitting and then using in moderation is possible, for some it’s impossible. For some it also depends on the drug as well.
Swap to a more stimulating strain that doesn’t counteract your meds, my adhd friends find some strains clash and some strains help with meds and their adhd symptoms themselves
I was thinking of trying some sativa, but with my anxiety it usually doesn’t work out well. What strains do your friends like?
CBD goes really well with sativas and adhd meds because it takes the edge off both without being sedating. Something like 20-50mg in the morning as oil or capsule
Not sure if strains are consistent across the world, this for example but it’s graded at 20% whereas the website shows 9%. The description is accurate though https://www.leafly.com/strains/chem-tange
I eventually quit, I finally cold Turkey’d it, I combined it with quiting nicotine.
I’ve tried to quit many times in the past, but this time has been the longest at 5 months or so
The advice I have: Don’t plan to quit, at some point you’ll have the impulse to quit after it weighs on your head for a while, that’s when you just lean into it - in the spur of the moment, toss your stuff or put it away someplace that’s annoying to get it back out of. Be as fast about this as possible as to not give time to the little voice that says “one more”: catch your brain off guard.
Then importantly, ensure to not substitute your habit with something else, like binge snacking or another drug - just accept that you’re gonna be uncomfortable - and embrace the discomfort - potentially make use of a fidget toy - but I found success in just destroying the habit rather than replacing/redirecting it. It took a couple weeks before it no longer was on my mind.
Finally: don’t beat yourself up if it takes a couple attempts to break the habit, each time I quit I got better at quiting.
It took a few weeks before I felt like it was all out of my system, and I started feeling healthier and better and more productive and more myself, and now I actually decline weed when offered because I like my sobriety. Mama Ganja taught me a lot, and she’s taught me all she can, and no I have moved on.
I put all my vapes and carts in my stash box, and will be putting that in my truck and parking it far away.
Weed is really sneaky, I also get slowly addicted.
Get a routine instead. Take your meds, then go jogging.
Tell somebody you trust about your addiction and give them all your stuff. Also tell them who you meet to buy it.
That would be a solution that probably works but is hard. Everything else doesnt work, like hiding from yourself, if nobody is there to look after you.
ADHD and self control are not really working out.
You may also create a calendar and cross a day a month, thats it. The other days are sober.
It’s legal here. I go to the dispensary.
One unique tip that I have is to go to a CBD/Hemp store and snag some CBD heavy strains to mix in with your normal bud. Making sure to increase the % of CBD each time you grind.
It might not help immediately, since CBD is supposed to be a calming substance, not a stimulant. But quitting smoking is a whole lot easier once you are mostly on the CBD stuff.
Definitely avoid the CBG heavy hemp as that’ll just give you the gnarliest munchies you’ll ever have in your life. Some people swear it’s “smart weed” - but for me I can’t think straight when munchies are knocking.
For me i found it easier to quit if i don’t have any weed around at all. It adds the extra step and effort of having to buy it which helps me stay off it when I want a break and lets my brain also use financial reasons to help resist.
Sorry to hear that. I’ve quit quite a few things, as well as a long term weed habit in my early twenties and so here is what I have to say in no particular order:
-
Understand yourself. Take a bit of time to think through how you feel about what you’re doing and why you do it. Have compassion here and look at the root causes, don’t be like “I vape and I don’t want to because I’m a garbage person with no willpower” or something nasty and unhelpful. For example with myself with weed I came to the conclusion that I didn’t really enjoy the effects overall, but it was a very comfortable way to alleviate boredom and the rebound anxiety and sleeplessness was difficult to handle.
-
Based on the above figure out what you’re going to do about it. If you want to stop then have plans for handling anticipated barriers (if you can’t sleep don’t lie in bed being miserable. Have a book to read, a walk to go on, a show to binge or a friend to chat to etc). If you have particular triggers find ways to avoid them, raise the barrier to using weed by making it a pain to get/be reminded of. If you always vape when having a morning coffee maybe idk have a morning coffee at a cafe instead while you adjust.
-
Understand it’s gonna suck a bit. It just is, there will be a period where you are restless and bored. Acceptance is powerful.
-
Understand that there is no point in making it harder for yourself. Like yeah it’s going to suck a bit but there is no need to punish yourself. Have plans for stuff to do to replace it, have plans to alleviate the worst symptoms, pick up new hobbies, adjust your work schedule if you can (more or less, whatever makes it easier for you), change your space etc. Don’t just raw dog misery and hope to succeed. It’s ok to take a sedative the first couple of sleepless nights, or to lean on friends a bit, or be messy and late, or spend a weekend mindlessly videogaming or whatever.
-
I strongly recommend exercise. Exercise helps manage stress and energy so much, it makes the brain dispense the happy chemicals, and it is time consuming but simple. Try find something you like to do. Again don’t force yourself to suffer. Long walks, swimming, running, cycling, lifting, climbing whatever takes your fancy.
that I didn’t really enjoy the effects overall, but it was a very comfortable way to alleviate boredom and the rebound anxiety and sleeplessness was difficult to handle.
Hey HEY. Hey.
No need to call me out like that…
10/10 response, well said
I’m not calling anyone out. We all eat worse than we’d like to, exercise less than we feel we ought to, have a home messier than we’re pleased with, spend more time watching mindless tv than is really good for us or some analogous permutation of minor sins.
We’re apes trying to figure out how to use root digging and berry picking brains to navigate the lightbox of eternal distraction and a world of concrete, glass, and tedium. This shit is hard.
If you have similar experiences to my past ones then I hope you can draw comfort from knowing you’re not unique in your difficulties and it is possible (although life circumstances depending not always easy) to overcome them.
-
change up how you consume cannabis. switch to like a dry herb vape, so that you actually have to do something before smoking, rather than just pushing a button whenever you want
I bet a pretty girl with some handcuffs could solve your problem, but they only use their powers for money.
You can do it!! I’m 105 days clean. Years trying to quit… But being a daily heavy user. From 18 to 35. Keep at it! You can doooo it!!!
I fear the Adderall more. Weed can be such a good motivator though. Just make sure you vape an uplifting strain.
