Reading all of these posts about how much better being sober is has got me feeling left out

I had to look up “ anhedonia ” 

OMG - that’s exactly me also.   Just finding it hard to see the happy times - and enjoy activities - barely any sexual urges, apart from “solo”

I’m still exercising, walk the dogs, gym twice a week - and work from home - then a J after dinner, which i look forward to.

I’m starting to quit - but - it’s hard to start quitting

Took me about 8 months to think life was even OK without drinking. Many of us in sobriety see all these posts and think we should feel this way. Go to an AA meeting or an NA and you'll realize that especially in the beginning these "I feel amazing stories" are few and far between. The deeper the addiction the more time to get to the positive portion of quitting. Look at the other things. I saved a ton of money not blacking out on Amazon and I didn't get heartburn. Was I a miserable fucknl to be around besides that? Abso-fucking-lutely, just one day at a time.

TL:DR most people it takes time to feel great. Find the silver linings until you strike gold.

I cry every day. Just saying. This has been the hardest thing I’ve done in my life because my eyes are wide open and I’m exhausted from pushing down everything and placating everyone.

I really don’t enjoy being high anymore. I feel slow and out of it. I don’t talk to my girlfriend as much as I should. My body feels too relaxed like it isn’t even mine or real. My head feels heavy and my eyes are dry and tired.

I’m too lazy to go downstairs to get things that I purchased while high. Things that I know I love to do sober, but never get around to it because I’m high. I can’t hold a thought or remember what I just did or experienced. I snap and get angry easily when I’m not high.

I feel guilty for smoking and that’s okay. I am acknowledging that weed is the cause of the above feelings and attitudes. I am acknowledging that the feelings that I experience when not smoking are real. These experiences mean something and I would like to experience them with a clear head.

Work is stressful, but smoking doesn’t help the cause or make it better. Smoking piles on to the stress and adds to the anxiety, it doesn’t help it.

I acknowledge that I am addicted to weed. It’s trapped me in a vicious cycle of anxiety, depression, anger, tiredness. This is not how I want to live my life anymore.

Starting right now at 10:00pm MT on June 26th, 2024 I will no longer consume THC.

Edit: I took a couple hits today without even thinking about and then started to have an anxiety attack.

Edit 6/30/24: I asked my girlfriend to marry me on Saturday and she said YES!!! I smoked with a family member that night to relax and celebrate and then did again tonight. No THC for the entire month of July. Only exception is if it is offered to me while I am at my best friends bachelor party from July 11-14th.

My therapist loves to tell me “it’s growing pains, not growing fun”. What you’re finding out is that you have work to do and you can’t do that when you’re numbing your feelings with weed. We must feel our feelings to deal with them and move forward. I wrote a list of reasons why I quit and I look back to it and say ok, these are the things I value. What actions or steps can I take to back those things up? That’s how things get better.

I think people are more likely to post about the good moments in life and less likely to mention the bland, mundane, and awfulness; we see this on social media all the time.

I'm 111 days THC-free and let me tell you, it has been rough. It's having to learn new coping mechanisms for life without substances and this is very difficult. I have noticed, however that the mind does become more clear over time and it gets easier to silence the addicted voice. Just imagine a whole lifetime passing by unnoticed because we were high the whole time. F that.

Everybody’s on their own timeline. One day at a time. Try not to compare yourself to others. Hang in there!

You have to realise smoking gets you in a specific headspace.
Getting sober opens space for you to do the work for a better life which can be sustainable without being addicted to something.
You have to do the work yourself but it will be way more rewarding than smoking will ever be.

All our journeys are different; we all have different struggles with the plant. Other than quitting smoking, what else are you doing for yourself?

I started to see a therapist/counselor and that has made a big difference.

Take a look at my recent post on this sub

I had a similar experience and it got really dark and I was so miserable and angry all the time. But soon I came out of it.

Can’t recommend exercise more tbh

Everyone is different, but these are a few parts of my experience that help me feel good and like I’m growing:

1. Therapy.
2. Community, whether in the form of an occasional 12 step meeting, the Leaves chat on discord, or just spending time with people.
3. Being fully sober. I quit alcohol at the same time as weed.
4. Regular exercise.

Same here. Feeling like shit, like I'm an empty shell. Anhedonia is a bitch. Just want to go to bed to end this miserable day. But I don't want to relapse, because I know I don't want to start over again...

Stay strong !

Everyone is different, in the grand scheme of things 23 days is still very short. Some people don’t feel a big change for months

Important to remember that feeling better is great but you are still getting positive effects from being sober without noticing necessarily

Pretty often I have to remind me why I do this. Mostly it's because it lead me to nothing making me comfortable with nothing. I'm 47 now, I don't have all the time in the world, I am afraid by changes, this was the easiest but heaviest change to make. It's not a magic trick, it leaves you naked with your life. It's a daily choice of not numb myself and it's harder in hard days like these. Will it be worth? I'll discover it someday. Now it's too soon. But if I go back, I am afraid I will never can any change. It's a challenge. Ask yourself why, nobody else can know your true motivations.