Cannabis § depression

[stottle]

i've been smoking cannabis for 6 years now, at one point i would easily smoke 10 joints a day for a about 2 years, but now i want to stop. Its affecting my life, job, and girlfriend. If i had a choice between stop smoking and winning the lottery it would be stop smoking every time.
Over the last few days i've not been smoking and i've never felt so depressed in my life. I've been reading up on it from the net and most of what they descibe about the relation between smoking and deprssion and i'm feeling everything that they say.
What worries me more then anything is how i am making my girlfriend feel. We have been together since high school (5 years) and she doesn't smoke and has always wanted me to stop. I've said i would stop before and never really have and i don't feel i have her support because of that and its that which gets me down even further. I don't think she believes me when i say i want to stop and she is just getting more stressed out with me becuase all i want to do is hug her and hold her, but she is saying now they i am being to clingy and that she wants some space. I say to her i need her help more then ever now and i feel she doesn't want to know.
I want to stop smoking, make my girlfriend happy and live a normal life before i do somthing bad.

[OxyDout]

First off congrats on making the first step, but as you know, its not easy but your doing great.  Be glad you don't have to go through physical withdrawals, thats awful, but non the less, this will be a huge change.  The #1 things is not to use another substance to take the place of the weed.  You have to do this naturally.  

The girlfriend, thats......well, thats just fukd up, no offense, but thats just wrong.  If she really wants you to quit and really loves you then she should absolutely LOVE the idea of you giving her all this time.  Your essentially replacing the drugs with more of her, whats the problem!?!?

[Tessa]

Sounds to me as though your girlfriend has had enough, moved on.  There's really no other explanation for the way she's treating you, especially in this dire time of need. For her to say that she needs space when you're telling her you need her to be there for you--just doesn't sound very good my friend.  The up side to this is that, you CAN do this on your own.  You're on the right track. I don't know, I hope everything goes better for the two of you, and that you can work this out.  Like gwh says, just don't replace one addiction with another!!  I found that one out the hard way!  my thoughts are with you...good luck

[groovygirl]

one of my best friends smokes a ton of pot and has since i met him over ten years ago. he functions well at work and has a very high-profile job that keeps him on the go constantly.  it numbs him tho, and he has a big problem with relationships because of it.  all of his long-term girlfriends have eventually left, and pot was a large reason for it.  he is really unmotivated outside of work and can stay inside his house all weekend, by himself just smoking pot, eating and watching tv or playing on the computer.  once he quit (for a girl) and really seemed to get it together - started working out, doing things, eating healthy etc.  she left him, and he went straight back to pot.  he says the only way he can quit is when he does it for someone else...he doesn't feel important enough to just do it for himself.  my heart aches for him because i can see it ruining his life.  he's in his mid forties, and he wants a family and stuff.  i wish i could help him - he is so depressed.

[fishman59]

Pot -- nothing personal but pot? I've been smoking it since 1977 still do on weekends, I guess the only downfall is if you let it lead to another drug. For me it's codeine,pot I can take it or leave it.Codeine is my gorilla (monkey) If I were you I would stop the pot live with the headahes for a couple of days and then get into living life as a single person for awhile and let someone find you. I'm no expert but up here in eskimo land (Canada) the dating scene is a high unto itself--this coming from a happily married father of 3  good luck with the pot-quitting.

[skipper]

stottle:
on and off i've smoked one form of cannabus or another since i was 12 years old. i am now 51 and i don't see much of it anymore. i've always been a real fan of it's use and how it makes me feel, it should be legal.

is cannabus addictive? one school of thoughts says no. the other
says it is because it takes over certain functions your body's chemestry does in it's abcense.

you know in all my years of drug abuse (mostly opiates) i've made
note of something....in an individual suffering from substance a-
buse, the first person to leave is always the wife or girlfriend.

if you want off cannabus, cut the girl friend free. you do not need the headtrips this woman seems to enjoy handing to you. trust me, another woman is already moving in you direction. concentrate on being clean and clear headed when she come along!

keep posting and keep an angel on your shoulder!
kip

[angst]

i hope you will stop using the pot with or without the girlfriend
she may feel smothered with all of the sudden attention when
before pot consumed your time and recreation and libido.  have a
heart to heart with her.  i hope she stays with you.
either way, you are addicted mentally to the pot.  you will be
depressed for a while.  the pot medicated you mentally.  you will
be healthier eventually.  good luck.  Angst

[angst]

i apologize for not posting as much, but i am working at a
convience store next to the fire station where my ex husband has
his office {he's the fire chief}.  tonight, i start midnights.
i will be working alone.  there are things i must suggest to the
boss.  the schedules are hand written.  i would feel more comfortable if they were done in triplicate on the computer.
i am finding out others do not know much.  i will find the right way to do things.  on midnight, i have to sweep the stalls outside and empty the trash and change the water for cleaning windshields.  i have to sweep and mop the store.  i also have to stock the coolers.  all the while watching for customers.
so you can see it is a busy job.  i will have trouble working overtime.  i hope you are doing well with your back, feet and carpal tunnel disease.  i know they hurt.  i am still maintaining
on the methadone.  i feel soon is time to drop ten mg.-then another 10mg.  i am enjoying working so much.  i am still going to check the shipyard about the apprenticeship.  it is to begin in June or July.  i tell you this is one of the cleanest convience store - but that is not saying a lot.  just wanted to drop a few lines to you.  Good luck and Blessings,  Ava

[skipper]

angst:
i found winterland:
it's duluth, minnesota! it is dieing. demograph of people who left,
come back retire, and college students. an odd combnation and some
real intresting politics! my wife went a day earlier...when she ar-
oved all these swedes going crazy (hey jessi V their govenor) over
the heatwave(80*)!!  most of the time i was there it was in the 60's. my dog would have loved it!

keep an abgel on your shoulder
kip

[stottle]

this is the girlfriend of stottle, i would like to start by saying that i love him with all my heart and that what some of you said was really offensive to me, i know that some of you probably think im cold and heartless but all i can say is that he has cried wolf to many times, but dispite that i am still here for him and i always will be no matter what. Every relationship is different so you dont know what we are going through or have been through in the past!

[angst]

whether this is stottle or your girlfriend {who i did not bash},
you have to quit using if you want to know what this world is really like.  the pot numbs you and alters your perception of the
people in your life.  if you continue to use, it is your choice.
to me pot is a drug.  not everyone on this forum will agree.  NA
tells me it is a drug.  what is even worse is that it takes you places to score where you might come in contact with something more potent than pot.  you could also get busted for possession.
i hope you have self-preservation on your mind.  good luck to both of you.  you are lucky to have her.

[Witchywoman]

Pot is just like any other drug. Some people can use it appropriately and others wind up with their lives getting out of control around it.  Just like some folks can take opiates for pain for a few days and then not feel that compulsion to keep taking more to get high.

We all react differently to different drugs.

I wish I liked pot. lol  In high school I smoke a lot of it. At first it was fun, but then it just made me depressed and paranoid.  I'm tried some for my pain a year or so ago, after over twenty years of not smoking any, and I just got so damn paranoid I couldn't imagine anyone enjoying it. But, our body's are all different.

There is no one true right way for anyone or anything, and that is as close to an absolute as I'm willing to get!

If pot is a problem for you, you know it somewhere deep down. If it is a 'take it or leave it' kind of thing, no problem.

For me, alcohol is no problem. I can have a beer or a glass of wine now and then and have never had an urge to drink more. I don't like the feeling.  But others can't go near alcohol without it consumnig their lives.

my two cents,
WW

[zwild]

Two years ago, a drunk driver hit, resulting in a shattered spine. I suffer from much ongoing neurological pain as well as autonoumous nervous system damage (effecting bowels, urinary, etc.)

After prescribing umpteen opiate derivatives, neurontin, topomax (topamax), etc., one of my Doctors suggested I try Cannibus (which is now prescribable in Canada). As I hadn't smoked pot since College (fifteen years ago) I was initially wary of this approach but, out of desperation, gave it a go.

Well...folks - it sure worked for me (and without any of the horrible nausea/diarhea/etc that the anti-depressents caused).

So, whenever that shooting pain starts up again in my torso, I know all I need to is smoke a joint and things will settle down quickly. Cannibus allows me to self-medicate as needed without relying on the good intentions of the multinational Drug Companies. It's also a fraction of the cost of the orthodox pills I have tried.

Personally, as a pain medication, cannibus has proven to be a much preferred way to go and I recommend it particularily for anyone that suffers from side effects from other Americanized medicines.

As for pots' "addictive qualities" -from my experience, it obviously hasn't been so.

[1fortheroad]

it sounds like you've found something that works great for you.  i, however, get so paranoid from pot that i haven't touched it in years.  every so often, i'd try it to see if it still had that effect and it was always the same.  are you able to get it prescribed?

[stottle]

I'd just like to say that it’s now been a week without smoking and i feel a million times better and all my friends and family have been really supportive. I don't feel as depressed anymore and i can actually begin to think straight at work for the first time in my life. Everyone has said what is wrong with me cos i seem so much more up-beat then usual. All my friends still smoke and being with them when they are smoking is easy to say no and most of them don't even offer now, which is cool.

I am now wondering what was all the worry about, but the first 4 nights it was so hard and I don't think I’ll ever forget it. Thank you for your comments, they have helped a lot in a difficult situation and all i have to do now is get over the final hurdle and make it up to my girlfriend who has stuck by me over the last few years.

To all the smokers out there who feel the strain of giving up, all it takes is one big reason, motivation and the knowledge that it will be ok in the end. I just hope I can keep it up because the cloud over my life is disappearing.

[Witchywoman]

woohoo!!! Congratulations stottle! You got through the first phase. Yay!!!

Now comes the staying stopped part.  They say it can be the hardest, so keep reaching out for support.

love,
WW

[OxyDout]

congrats!! but keep your head on straight, the road is a long one, but you have made a strong leap forward.  Just remember, things will only get better from hear............

[skipper]

hey everyone:
the weather here is 94*. but irish rose is due in at 6:00 pm.
so things are looking up.
smoke jane (weed)...lets see...it can really help during the second stage of withdrawl set in. the lethergic depressed stage.
the only problem i have with weed is after i smoke it i lose all
motavation to do anything and quickly become a real dull person.

keep an angel on your shoulder
kip

[stottle]

It’s been two weeks now since I stopped smoking and it’s getting easier all the time to stay away from it because I know if I just have one joint I’ve ruined all that I have been working for. I've still been seeing all my friends who all smoke around me, but I have no interest in smoking and they don't offer it to me.

The only hard part is trying to get my girlfriend to understand that this is for real, we are going on holiday to Spain next week and she says she wants to keep her distance until then. I don't know if she means that or she just wants out full-time, but she hasn't got the heart to tell me. I'm still so confused and all I want to do is hug and hold her, but she won't hug me back (which is not like her). We spent a whole day together the other day and I didn't hug her all day until I left to go out that evening and even then I felt she wasn't giving it her all. I don't know if it’s the pot messing with my head and that I should just chill out (which is very hard to do) or she really means it. I'm too scared to ask her. She still phones me every day and says that she love me, but that is what she has always done. Yours confused - stottle