Quitting Cannabis

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If you have decided to quit cannabis, you may want to know what side effects to look out for. Some of them can seem worrying before you know that they're a natural part of the cannabis detox.

Listed below are some of the most commonly reported side effects as a result of cannabis detox.  People often feel scared when they feel physical side effects when quitting cannabis. They often feel like they will be ridiculed, because cannabis is well known for its non-physically addictive properties. This is not to say that the drug itself is not psychologically addictive.  It is fast becoming well known for its psychologically addictive qualities! Our minds can be our worse enemies, and whether it's your mind telling you you're having a night sweat, or you’re experiencing terrifying dreams, it's as real as the next addiction. The important thing to remember is that it‘s short lived. The feelings do go, and the rewards are beyond any of the joys of smoking cannabis, the rewards are something worth sticking it out for, and something that only those who really stick out the quitting process, can ever really experience.

If you have spent years smoking cannabis, and have decided to quit, then know that you have experienced life from a different angle, know that you have learned something during what you may see as your 'wasted years' and more importantly, know that your experiences can be converted into positive ones to guide you as you continue your life. Quit this way of living, quit this view of the world through a stoned haze, and move into the real world, the sober world, the world you belong in; using your experiences as a crutch to guide you, and never as an excuse to return to a life that you no longer are  part of.

Listed below are some of the side effects most commonly reported during a cannabis detox.


Some of the reported Effects of a cannabis detox

Insomnia

Many quitters complained of serious insomnia over the first week of the quit, the worse being over the first 3 days. Some quitters found that a normal sleeping pattern wasn't restored until as long as 22 days after quitting. Every quitter we questioned however, did report that sleeping patterns have since returned to normal, and they are all now sleeping better than they did in their stoned days.


Lack of appetite

Because cannabis is an appetite stimulant, many quitters complained of a complete lack of appetite over the first 2 weeks of the detox. After this period of time, an increase in taste and smell senses were reported, thus a deeper enjoyment of food. 

Indigestion was also reported from several quitters, and an inability to rest comfortably once food had been ingested, a feeling which was explained as feeling like it would be easy to remove by smoking some cannabis.  This is short lived and directly related to the quit.


Low tolerance levels

The first few weeks of the cannabis quit has reported quitters experiencing extremely low tolerance levels, an absolute opposite to the laid back tolerance levels to those of a 'typical stoner. Quitters have reported that tolerance levels were the worse in the first 3-5 days, gradually getting better over the following few weeks, with random 'off ' days a couple of days each week .


Night Sweats and Increased Dream Activity

Because one of the effects of smoking cannabis is short term memory loss, many stoners lose the ability to dream, or at least forget how vivid a dream can seem when you remember it clearly.  Quitters reported an increase in vivid dream activity during the first 3 weeks of the quit, some of the quitters even commented on an enjoyment in the newfound dream world.

Night sweats experienced on a cannabis detox can be as a direct result of the detox, and the chemical imbalance as the body adjusts back to normal, or as a result of the increased dream activity causing different unexpected emotions during the night increasing body temperature.

 If you experience either of the above, remember this is a short phase of the quit, and your sleeping pattern will return eventually to the one you had before you started smoking weed, if you treat it with the attention it deserves instead of cannabis.


Head-Fog and A lethargic feeling of Doom

Quitters reported often experiencing a 'head fog ' type feeling in the first few days of detox, which is said to lift between day 3-5 of the detox, and ease after the first few hours !  An anxious feeling, and lethargic unmotivated feelings were also reported as a result of the quit, which were also said to be short lived and more often than not replaced with a new found energy as the benefits of the cannabis quit properly take hold.


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The Have I Got A Problem website is a free online resource to help people better understand any issues or concerns they may have about mental health or addiction. The website includes resources specifically focused to; general Mental Health, Depression, Stress, Anxiety, Insecurities, Self-harm Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Anger Management, Eating Disorders, Coping, general Addiction, Alcohol, Smoking, Gambling, Drugs, Cocaine, Heroin, Marijuana (Cannabis) Ecstasy, PCP, Mephedrone, Ketamine & Crystal Meth.

The site was created to give the public information to help them understand mental health and addiction issues and to assist people in making better informed decisions about their life and personal choices.

www.haveigotaproblem.com was created and is run by 'Advising Communities’, which is a UK registered charity (Charity No. 1061055)

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"When I smoked a lot, I didn’t accomplish a thing. It took me forever to do simple tasks that didn’t used to cause me any trouble at all. Where are my keys? Even getting dressed becomes a pain. Believe me. Sometimes I woudn’t even have the motivation to le"

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