9 ms·

Throwaway because obviously the stigma. But yes, it's very real. I am addicted to marijuana. I smoke nearly 3 grams a day; what has become a $1000+/month habit.

Throwaway because obviously the stigma. But yes, it's very real. I am addicted to marijuana. I smoke nearly 3 grams a day; what has become a $1000+/month habit. I've always loved weed but the high salary has allowed me to lose control. I can't sleep or eat without it. Within 24 hours without weed I become an intolerable asshole who cannot eat or sleep. When I do sleep without it, it's full of nightmares and I wake up soaked in a puddle of sweat. I tell myself I am going to quit after every single joint, then I roll another. I know it could be broken with a few months of detox but it's too painful to deal with. That being said I don't think it has anything intrinsically to do with weed. People are just as addicted to cheeseburgers or coffee. The problem is a combination of personal character flaw, and a society that forces people into self medication of all forms.

dev_420b 8y ago
I had basically the same experience, though I think I was closer to a gram or so a day, and I never had trouble eating. But yeah, to the people saying it’s not real, try a few days of insomnia. The feeling of being high is nice, but not terribly addictive or unquittable in itself. But going through the crappy parts of withdrawal, feeling irritable, etc., and on top of that, not being able to sleep? It’s torture. In the end I couldn’t quit cold turkey. It took me maybe six months of weaning off before I could quit. Good luck to you.
- merinowool 8y ago
  People have insomnia and are irritable without ever smoking. Maybe cannabis just masking your problem and what you feel as "withdrawals" is not caused by cannabis. People often attribute causal relationship if it fits their limited knowledge.
  - topmonk 8y ago
    I agree, maybe he should try another strain
  - Jeremy1026 8y ago
    You seem awfully defensive and are quick to tell people they are wrong (without citations) when they disparage marijuana.
    - merinowool 8y ago
      They can Google that themselves.
      - nazgul17 8y ago
        The burden of proof, in science, is on who makes the statement. And science is the best set of procedures we know to get to the truth. So you should at least accept the critic if you can't be bothered to search something that supports your claims.
- Archibald_Eric 8y ago
  You need to use accounts with names that aren't so obviously alts in order to pull this garbage.
entelechy0 8y ago
Balance is key. I've been toking for over 10 years because it honestly does something for me. Sifting out other issues has helped me re-establish a healthier relationship with cannabis. I am now a medical patient in Florida, and I also take melatonin at night to help me sleep normally. If you try to live a healthy lifestyle (eat well, exercise, water, sleep), cannabis is a great supplement. Just don't make it the point. That said, I have not written a line of code that was not cannabis-influenced since before 2004
JumpCrisscross 8y ago
Were there any distinct early warning signs that could have flagged others to what was going on? I have friends who, post-legalization, are naturally enthusiastic. Want to know the warning signs unique to cannabis addiction I can keep an eye out for.
- nine_k 8y ago
  I heard a rule of thumb along the line of "don't do it three days in a row; if you have trouble stopping on the thirds day, start worrying".
- fhood 8y ago
  Can't speak for marijuana addiction, but I know an addict or two, and problems seem to develop most prominently if the substance is used heavily and for self-medication.
hsienmaneja 8y ago
That you experience significant physical withdrawal symptoms from marijuana certainty calls into question the street wisdom that pot isn’t (physically) addicting.
- Baeocystin 8y ago
  There is one important difference: withdrawal from something like alcohol can actually kill you. Withdrawal from marijuana makes you an irritable asshole for a week or two. The hardest part is understanding and coping with the issue that drives the user to use marijuana so heavily in the first place. If it can be understood what need the marijuana use is providing for, changing use patterns becomes possible.
  - hsienmaneja 8y ago
    Pot destroys lives in part by being so apparently benign.
    - Baeocystin 8y ago
      Whatever problems drive a person to use pot as a crutch are the source issue. Pot abuse itself (or any maladaptive behavior) is best thought of as a symptom, not a cause.
      - hsienmaneja 8y ago
        If someone is self medicating with pot, and pot is making their lives worse (which is the case for some users), the pot is a problem in and of itself. Drug culture itself is riddled with such booby traps. Fallaious street wisdom backed by egos and peer pressure are powerful tools to indoctrinate a child into an unexpected lifetime of addiction to substances such as pot.
        Baeocystin 8y ago
        >Fallaious street wisdom backed by egos and peer pressure That's what I am trying to get at- problems stem from earlier sources. Whether someone eventually gets hooked on something is a consequence of earlier failure. Whatever drug/habit is ultimately picked up in the aftermath is a genuine negative, which will have its own particulars. But it is not the initial causative agent. This is an important distinction to make, because otherwise we're just rearranging deck chairs instead of managing the fundamental issue. To expand context, when considering appropriate drug policy at a governmental level I think Portugal's experience is important to study: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radic...
chillingeffect 8y ago
weed before bed inhibits rem/dream sleep. when you stop, the brain gives you the saved up rem sleep and vivid dreams. the rest are classic anxiety symptoms. i wouldn't focus as much on the weed as on what is troubling you underneath. Seriously, working with a therapist to address the stress, abuse, trauma or whatever else will help quite a bit and the weed use will take care of itself. good luck and trust that your issues are resolvable!!!
ggggtez 8y ago
>Within 24 hours without weed I become an intolerable asshole I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest the underlying problem might not be the weed.
- fhood 8y ago
  If the implication here is that the intolerable asshole part is a personality problem, that doesn't seem like a fair accusation. Caffeine and sugar withdrawal cause much the same symptoms. It is hard to be nice when you have a headache and feel crappy.
- cabaalis 8y ago
  It might be, though. I have heard this exact thing from a friend about her husband. She may divorce him over it. It is very specifically when he is out. It is worth looking into the effects of prolonged drug use (even mj) on the brain and personality.
- ujustdidthat 8y ago
  Wow rly? Is this comment called for?
- beat 8y ago
  "24 hours without antipsychotics and I become schizophrenic". "I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest the underlying problem might not be the antipsychotics". See the problem with your phrasing? Lots of people deal with anxiety, anger management, and other relatively mild psychological malfunctions by self-medicating (or prescription medicating) with THC. That's why it gets prescribed as medication for these things. THC is effective in many cases, with very few side effects, relative to other medications. I have friends who are "marijuana addicts", who are pretty horrible to be around when they're not stoned, but fine when they are. They can be social and do their jobs. So, um, what's wrong with that? I am quite happy for them. edit: I should add that there's this Puritan tendency to treat things like anger management issues as a moral failing rather than a medical problem. So medicating rather than moralizing is seen as a character flaw. Personally, I deal with ADD. I've been formally diagnosed, and it's measurable and measured. I don't medicate for it and I pay a price for that - it puts limits on my activities and decisions, to shield my life from the problems ADD can cause. I don't medicate because the medication has caused side effects that were worse than the condition, for me. If I thought THC would help me deal with my ADD (it doesn't), I'd be out fighting for a prescription.
mrbgty 8y ago
If you haven't seen this, I recommend watching it as it explains the nightmares. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaWilO_Pig https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaWilO_Pig
zolthrowaway 8y ago
I was able to quit after like a 5+ year pretty excessive habit. There were three steps that really helped me. 1) I removed all accessories from my home. I sold/gave away all of my pipes, vapes, e-nails, etc. 2) I started taking nootropics. For me personally, l-theanine, caffeine, and a multivitamin did wonders. Even if it's placebo (which I don't think it is) it really helped mitigate the appetite and fogginess issues for me. 3) Telling my friends I'm not smoking anymore. I established that I'm not smoking. A lot of them initially tried to get me to smoke. It's something they enjoy and I used to enjoy. I had to explain how I felt. The real friends stayed and others flaked out which is totally fine with me. I do certainly understand the psychological addiction. It takes a toll. I definitely have unhealthy vices I'd like to cut back on, but for me personally, the steps above were enough to take me from waking up in the middle of the night to rip dabs to being totally sober. If you are interested in quitting, I would honestly recommend giving the above steps a try.
- naner 8y ago
  L-theanine and caffeine are considered nootroopics? That's just a cup of tea...
  - HiroshiSan 8y ago
    LOL love this comment. It's the 'starter-kit' if you will, recommended on /r/nootropics. I've been doing it for a while though I'm not sure I really notice anything :/.
  - wmccullough 8y ago
    A lot of people who take L-Theanine with Caffeine are taking it at a higher dosage than what you can from even a few cups of tea. I’ve read about this combination quite a bit and from my personal experience, you have to get the mixture just right. Even at high doses of caffeine, the right amount of L-Theanine can stop the jitters and give a calm focus. That all said, these dosages are so individualistic that it’s chasing a dragon.
bcheung 8y ago
People don't wake up with nightmares and covered in sweat if they don't have a cheeseburger in the last 24 hours.
- whb07 8y ago
  I’d beg to differ. Go ask any XXXL wearing guy what happens if they clean up their diets.
  - RickS 8y ago
    Nah. Have you been one of these guys? I'm a XXL cleaning my act up and it feels great the whole time. All you realize is how fucked up you felt BEFORE. I've never known of anyone that went through that brand of withdrawl.
- bbeonx 8y ago
  Symptoms of addiction vary. Food addiction is real.
hutzlibu 8y ago
There are phases in my life, when I smoke a lot (but never nearly as much as you) and phases with nothing at all. So I regulary start and stop smoking. The trick for me is, not just not do anything anymore - you rather start doing something different. Because your mind is used to the reward of the ganja - if you miss that, there needs to be something else. Other pleasant experiences. Physical activitys help a lot, or starting to travel. But just stopping ... I believe is very hard on your own. In general, when I smoke a lot, I tend to isolate myself more and more. And when I stop, I socialice again. So that works for me (mostly, transition phase can still be hard, though). If you lack people who could help you, think about professional help...
merinowool 8y ago
Cannabis is non toxic, so what are you going to detox? Do you roll with tobacco? People often say they are "addicted" to cannabis, but that is in fact tobacco they use. You clearly have a problem nevertheless. It looks like your body is not compatible with what you smoke. Have you tried CBT therapy, to find out why do you need this?
chaosbutters314 8y ago
Sour patch kids are wayyyy more addictive than cheeseburgers and coffee. When you grab 4-5 of them and put them on your gum and suck down their sour goodness before getting that enjoyable gummy chew, it is heaven. I'd eat them till gums bled from all the acid.
ASalazarMX 8y ago
> a society that forces people into self medication of all forms From personal experience, I believe it's not society forcing anything, but a character flaw that encourages self-gratification in the short term. That flaw can be bypassed, don't give up if you're not happy about it.
- robdachshund 8y ago
  Hmm or perhaps it's because the legal medicines available for chronic illnesses, autoimmune disorders, severe IBS, seizures, and depression/anxiety, etc don't actually work and give you horrendous side effects. Please stop speaking on behalf of others if you have no clue what you are talking about. There are people with MS that smoke and are able to walk and move around and not be in constant unbearabke pain. People with chronic back pain do not have to take opioids loaded with toxic nsaids that will destroy their kidneys and get them hooked on narcotics. People and even children with untreatable seizures can live completely oridnary lives. People with depression, PTSD, and anxiety do not have to rely on dangerous antidepressants that can actually increase suicidal thoughts and have resulted in numerous suicides. People are self medicating because weed is the only real medicine for many of these illnesses. To call those people cowards is downright awful and completely unwarranted.
  - ASalazarMX 8y ago
    I was talking specifically about Marijuana addiction, OP's topic.
bruthafez 8y ago
I smoked ten spliffs a day for more than five years. I switched to vaping (JUUL) and CBD oil tincture and I was miraculously relieved of my marijuana addiction. Try CBD oil dude. You might find, like I did, that you smoke weed despite the THC, not because of it. You might be smoking purely for the CBD — why not isolate the variable and try CBD oil tincture under the tongue ? FWIW I use an olive oil tincture that I purchase from the dispensary with a 20:1 CBD-to-THC ratio. I find that it gives me all the positive effects of weed (relaxation, anxiety/depression relief) and none of the negative ones (paranoia, weed hangover, irritability whenever I wasn't high). It's also cheaper by an unbelievable degree. The amount of THC in the tincture is not nearly enough to get me high, it's only there to help the CBD work its magic. Try it dude. Ya might like it :)
randomsearch 8y ago
I’ve read a bit about addiction recently, particularly wrt social media’s manipulation of users, but the books I’ve read are full of references to other types of addiction. One very effective piece of advice appears to be that the addiction and your environment become intertwined. If you’re serious about giving up, then a change of location, job, friends seems to greatly increase your chances of being successful. It’s not just “don’t hang around pubs”, but also “live in a new apartment where you don’t have that fridge with the shelf you use for alcohol, that comfy chair where you drink at night.” Etc. Your environment becomes full of cues to continue your addiction, because you’ve associated it with the drug (or video games, etc.) I think it’s easier for some people to be addicted than others, so don’t be too hard on yourself for being in that situation, and keep trying. Get professional help. Sincerely, good luck.
jasonkostempski 8y ago
Have you tried weaning off?

dev_420b 8y ago

I had basically the same experience, though I think I was closer to a gram or so a day, and I never had trouble eating. But yeah, to the people saying it’s not real, try a few days of insomnia. The feeling of being high is nice, but not terribly addictive or unquittable in itself. But going through the crappy parts of withdrawal, feeling irritable, etc., and on top of that, not being able to sleep? It’s torture. In the end I couldn’t quit cold turkey. It took me maybe six months of weaning off before I could quit. Good luck to you.

merinowool 8y ago
People have insomnia and are irritable without ever smoking. Maybe cannabis just masking your problem and what you feel as "withdrawals" is not caused by cannabis. People often attribute causal relationship if it fits their limited knowledge.
- topmonk 8y ago
  I agree, maybe he should try another strain
- Jeremy1026 8y ago
  You seem awfully defensive and are quick to tell people they are wrong (without citations) when they disparage marijuana.
  - merinowool 8y ago
    They can Google that themselves.
    - nazgul17 8y ago
      The burden of proof, in science, is on who makes the statement. And science is the best set of procedures we know to get to the truth. So you should at least accept the critic if you can't be bothered to search something that supports your claims.
Archibald_Eric 8y ago
You need to use accounts with names that aren't so obviously alts in order to pull this garbage.

entelechy0 8y ago

Balance is key. I've been toking for over 10 years because it honestly does something for me. Sifting out other issues has helped me re-establish a healthier relationship with cannabis. I am now a medical patient in Florida, and I also take melatonin at night to help me sleep normally. If you try to live a healthy lifestyle (eat well, exercise, water, sleep), cannabis is a great supplement. Just don't make it the point. That said, I have not written a line of code that was not cannabis-influenced since before 2004

JumpCrisscross 8y ago

Were there any distinct early warning signs that could have flagged others to what was going on? I have friends who, post-legalization, are naturally enthusiastic. Want to know the warning signs unique to cannabis addiction I can keep an eye out for.

nine_k 8y ago
I heard a rule of thumb along the line of "don't do it three days in a row; if you have trouble stopping on the thirds day, start worrying".
fhood 8y ago
Can't speak for marijuana addiction, but I know an addict or two, and problems seem to develop most prominently if the substance is used heavily and for self-medication.

hsienmaneja 8y ago

That you experience significant physical withdrawal symptoms from marijuana certainty calls into question the street wisdom that pot isn’t (physically) addicting.

Baeocystin 8y ago
There is one important difference: withdrawal from something like alcohol can actually kill you. Withdrawal from marijuana makes you an irritable asshole for a week or two. The hardest part is understanding and coping with the issue that drives the user to use marijuana so heavily in the first place. If it can be understood what need the marijuana use is providing for, changing use patterns becomes possible.
- hsienmaneja 8y ago
  Pot destroys lives in part by being so apparently benign.
  - Baeocystin 8y ago
    Whatever problems drive a person to use pot as a crutch are the source issue. Pot abuse itself (or any maladaptive behavior) is best thought of as a symptom, not a cause.
    - hsienmaneja 8y ago
      If someone is self medicating with pot, and pot is making their lives worse (which is the case for some users), the pot is a problem in and of itself. Drug culture itself is riddled with such booby traps. Fallaious street wisdom backed by egos and peer pressure are powerful tools to indoctrinate a child into an unexpected lifetime of addiction to substances such as pot.
      - Baeocystin 8y ago
        >Fallaious street wisdom backed by egos and peer pressure That's what I am trying to get at- problems stem from earlier sources. Whether someone eventually gets hooked on something is a consequence of earlier failure. Whatever drug/habit is ultimately picked up in the aftermath is a genuine negative, which will have its own particulars. But it is not the initial causative agent. This is an important distinction to make, because otherwise we're just rearranging deck chairs instead of managing the fundamental issue. To expand context, when considering appropriate drug policy at a governmental level I think Portugal's experience is important to study: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radic...

chillingeffect 8y ago

weed before bed inhibits rem/dream sleep. when you stop, the brain gives you the saved up rem sleep and vivid dreams. the rest are classic anxiety symptoms. i wouldn't focus as much on the weed as on what is troubling you underneath. Seriously, working with a therapist to address the stress, abuse, trauma or whatever else will help quite a bit and the weed use will take care of itself. good luck and trust that your issues are resolvable!!!

ggggtez 8y ago

>Within 24 hours without weed I become an intolerable asshole I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest the underlying problem might not be the weed.

fhood 8y ago
If the implication here is that the intolerable asshole part is a personality problem, that doesn't seem like a fair accusation. Caffeine and sugar withdrawal cause much the same symptoms. It is hard to be nice when you have a headache and feel crappy.
cabaalis 8y ago
It might be, though. I have heard this exact thing from a friend about her husband. She may divorce him over it. It is very specifically when he is out. It is worth looking into the effects of prolonged drug use (even mj) on the brain and personality.
ujustdidthat 8y ago
Wow rly? Is this comment called for?
beat 8y ago
"24 hours without antipsychotics and I become schizophrenic". "I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest the underlying problem might not be the antipsychotics". See the problem with your phrasing? Lots of people deal with anxiety, anger management, and other relatively mild psychological malfunctions by self-medicating (or prescription medicating) with THC. That's why it gets prescribed as medication for these things. THC is effective in many cases, with very few side effects, relative to other medications. I have friends who are "marijuana addicts", who are pretty horrible to be around when they're not stoned, but fine when they are. They can be social and do their jobs. So, um, what's wrong with that? I am quite happy for them. edit: I should add that there's this Puritan tendency to treat things like anger management issues as a moral failing rather than a medical problem. So medicating rather than moralizing is seen as a character flaw. Personally, I deal with ADD. I've been formally diagnosed, and it's measurable and measured. I don't medicate for it and I pay a price for that - it puts limits on my activities and decisions, to shield my life from the problems ADD can cause. I don't medicate because the medication has caused side effects that were worse than the condition, for me. If I thought THC would help me deal with my ADD (it doesn't), I'd be out fighting for a prescription.

mrbgty 8y ago

If you haven't seen this, I recommend watching it as it explains the nightmares. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaWilO_Pig https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaWilO_Pig

zolthrowaway 8y ago

I was able to quit after like a 5+ year pretty excessive habit. There were three steps that really helped me. 1) I removed all accessories from my home. I sold/gave away all of my pipes, vapes, e-nails, etc. 2) I started taking nootropics. For me personally, l-theanine, caffeine, and a multivitamin did wonders. Even if it's placebo (which I don't think it is) it really helped mitigate the appetite and fogginess issues for me. 3) Telling my friends I'm not smoking anymore. I established that I'm not smoking. A lot of them initially tried to get me to smoke. It's something they enjoy and I used to enjoy. I had to explain how I felt. The real friends stayed and others flaked out which is totally fine with me. I do certainly understand the psychological addiction. It takes a toll. I definitely have unhealthy vices I'd like to cut back on, but for me personally, the steps above were enough to take me from waking up in the middle of the night to rip dabs to being totally sober. If you are interested in quitting, I would honestly recommend giving the above steps a try.

naner 8y ago
L-theanine and caffeine are considered nootroopics? That's just a cup of tea...
- HiroshiSan 8y ago
  LOL love this comment. It's the 'starter-kit' if you will, recommended on /r/nootropics. I've been doing it for a while though I'm not sure I really notice anything :/.
- wmccullough 8y ago
  A lot of people who take L-Theanine with Caffeine are taking it at a higher dosage than what you can from even a few cups of tea. I’ve read about this combination quite a bit and from my personal experience, you have to get the mixture just right. Even at high doses of caffeine, the right amount of L-Theanine can stop the jitters and give a calm focus. That all said, these dosages are so individualistic that it’s chasing a dragon.

bcheung 8y ago

People don't wake up with nightmares and covered in sweat if they don't have a cheeseburger in the last 24 hours.

whb07 8y ago
I’d beg to differ. Go ask any XXXL wearing guy what happens if they clean up their diets.
- RickS 8y ago
  Nah. Have you been one of these guys? I'm a XXL cleaning my act up and it feels great the whole time. All you realize is how fucked up you felt BEFORE. I've never known of anyone that went through that brand of withdrawl.
bbeonx 8y ago
Symptoms of addiction vary. Food addiction is real.

hutzlibu 8y ago

There are phases in my life, when I smoke a lot (but never nearly as much as you) and phases with nothing at all. So I regulary start and stop smoking. The trick for me is, not just not do anything anymore - you rather start doing something different. Because your mind is used to the reward of the ganja - if you miss that, there needs to be something else. Other pleasant experiences. Physical activitys help a lot, or starting to travel. But just stopping ... I believe is very hard on your own. In general, when I smoke a lot, I tend to isolate myself more and more. And when I stop, I socialice again. So that works for me (mostly, transition phase can still be hard, though). If you lack people who could help you, think about professional help...

merinowool 8y ago

Cannabis is non toxic, so what are you going to detox? Do you roll with tobacco? People often say they are "addicted" to cannabis, but that is in fact tobacco they use. You clearly have a problem nevertheless. It looks like your body is not compatible with what you smoke. Have you tried CBT therapy, to find out why do you need this?

chaosbutters314 8y ago

Sour patch kids are wayyyy more addictive than cheeseburgers and coffee. When you grab 4-5 of them and put them on your gum and suck down their sour goodness before getting that enjoyable gummy chew, it is heaven. I'd eat them till gums bled from all the acid.

ASalazarMX 8y ago

> a society that forces people into self medication of all forms From personal experience, I believe it's not society forcing anything, but a character flaw that encourages self-gratification in the short term. That flaw can be bypassed, don't give up if you're not happy about it.

robdachshund 8y ago
Hmm or perhaps it's because the legal medicines available for chronic illnesses, autoimmune disorders, severe IBS, seizures, and depression/anxiety, etc don't actually work and give you horrendous side effects. Please stop speaking on behalf of others if you have no clue what you are talking about. There are people with MS that smoke and are able to walk and move around and not be in constant unbearabke pain. People with chronic back pain do not have to take opioids loaded with toxic nsaids that will destroy their kidneys and get them hooked on narcotics. People and even children with untreatable seizures can live completely oridnary lives. People with depression, PTSD, and anxiety do not have to rely on dangerous antidepressants that can actually increase suicidal thoughts and have resulted in numerous suicides. People are self medicating because weed is the only real medicine for many of these illnesses. To call those people cowards is downright awful and completely unwarranted.
- ASalazarMX 8y ago
  I was talking specifically about Marijuana addiction, OP's topic.

bruthafez 8y ago

I smoked ten spliffs a day for more than five years. I switched to vaping (JUUL) and CBD oil tincture and I was miraculously relieved of my marijuana addiction. Try CBD oil dude. You might find, like I did, that you smoke weed despite the THC, not because of it. You might be smoking purely for the CBD — why not isolate the variable and try CBD oil tincture under the tongue ? FWIW I use an olive oil tincture that I purchase from the dispensary with a 20:1 CBD-to-THC ratio. I find that it gives me all the positive effects of weed (relaxation, anxiety/depression relief) and none of the negative ones (paranoia, weed hangover, irritability whenever I wasn't high). It's also cheaper by an unbelievable degree. The amount of THC in the tincture is not nearly enough to get me high, it's only there to help the CBD work its magic. Try it dude. Ya might like it :)

randomsearch 8y ago

I’ve read a bit about addiction recently, particularly wrt social media’s manipulation of users, but the books I’ve read are full of references to other types of addiction. One very effective piece of advice appears to be that the addiction and your environment become intertwined. If you’re serious about giving up, then a change of location, job, friends seems to greatly increase your chances of being successful. It’s not just “don’t hang around pubs”, but also “live in a new apartment where you don’t have that fridge with the shelf you use for alcohol, that comfy chair where you drink at night.” Etc. Your environment becomes full of cues to continue your addiction, because you’ve associated it with the drug (or video games, etc.) I think it’s easier for some people to be addicted than others, so don’t be too hard on yourself for being in that situation, and keep trying. Get professional help. Sincerely, good luck.

jasonkostempski 8y ago

Have you tried weaning off?