Marijuana recovery

Question

Do people really go to rehab because they can’t quit weed? I have smoked a ton every day for like a decade running and now, for personal reasons, I have decided it is time to change my ways and reinvent myself as a healthier and more productive person. My intentions are good but there is something lacking in the will power department I think because I only made it like 2 days quit before I couldn’t handle the cravings and the not sleeping any more and I snuck some bong hits not to get high but just to calm the way I was feeling. I feel absurd to not be able to do this on my own and I do not and never will drink alcohol or do any other drugs so if I need help it’s for innocent marijuana and marijuana alone. I have always thought of myself as a strong person and so am a bit bummed at my failure thus far. But I am determined to succeed and make this work. Just not quite sure how to go about it. I can’t imagine going to some rehab and sitting in therapy with some crazy alcoholic and some guy who injected heroin for a living and mugged people and whatnot and then talking about my little habit with joints after work. I’d feel ridiculous.

Jennifer Hamilton · Accepted Answer

People do seek help both in-patient and out-patient for marijuana everyday. It hijacks the brain's reward system just like the other drugs you mention. The same techniques used to stop the other drugs work for marijuana too. It is not a will power thing. Setting your strong will to doing anything it takes to stop will certainly help though. The ego can really get in the way of asking for help to stop something that we tell ourselves we should be able to stop on our own. By attempting to quit and making a serious effort, you learn what will work and what will not work in your efforts. We call this pre-treatment. If you enter into help and still think you could quit if you sincerely wanted to, the help offered would bounce off of you like a rubber ball because your brain would tell you you really didn't need to do all of those things to stop. So, keep trying different things on your own, learn from your mistakes and if you are unsuccessful, ask for help. You may be able to do it out-patient. It is that initial period of abstinence which makes it hard to do outpatient for any drug, including marijuana. To break the cycle helps through in-patient or in some cases, incarceration. I am glad for you it is not through incarceration. The stats I heard on in-patient treatment for marijuana were from over 10 years ago, but it was 100,000 people seek in-patient help to stop marijuana each year in this county. I commend you in your efforts. Continue and do not be afraid to ask for help.

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