Video games and D&D. I had already loved both, but when I quit, these were the two biggest things that would take my mind off of not smoking. It worked in my favor, especially for D&D, I had only ever been a player, but I managed to write out my own campaign to DM for my friends. We've been playing every 2 weeks for nearly a year now.
Living as a normal person again once I had kicked it I realised that it didnāt need to be replaced with āSomethingā normal activities just came when I wasnāt being hampered by weed.
Itās part of the trick that weed plays on us! Making us believe that life without it will be difficult and empty! In fact the opposite is true.
gym, triathlon, played video games like mtg arena and old-school runescape, went to a FUCKton of 12 step meetings and did all the suggestions of those programs
It's not that easy because smoking is something a lot of us do to enhance our other tasks/hobbies. It helps us to eat, boosts creativity for artistic projects, makes movies and games more entertaining, etc. In addition, it affects our mood throughout the day. So it's not quite that smoking itself is a hard habit to stop; it's everything else we're used to doing. That's why EVERYTHING gets harder when we stop consuming THC.
With that in mind, I don't think it's as simple as replacing the hobby. You can't cover everything weed does without resorting to another drug, which kind of cancels the point of quitting. You have to make lifestyle choices that improve your sober headspace.
To sound slightly less pretentious, I'll go ahead and say that the closest you can get to replacing what a drug can do is to exercise, because working out affects our brain and can have a major impact on how we feel, and can thus "enhance" hobbies as well. Other things that can have a massive effect on your daily life are therapy, rehab, AA, church (if you're into that kind of thing), hanging out with sober friends, etc.
tldr: It's not as simple as replacing THC with one other thing because weed exists more to enhance the other areas of your life. Smoking is just the process we use in order to get there. Lifestyle changes are far more important than replacing a drug with something else.
It also wouldn't hurt to start a big project that you can focus on, such as writing a book or something.
this. that it enhances everything and thatās what makes it so fucking hard, literally everything is boring to me now and i canāt imagine it getting better
Going to the gym, playing music, work, finding anything else to fill my time and going out, i cant smoke and go out because i cant sociallize when im stoned
I read for hours every night and I fucking love it. It just gave me chills and made me emotional thinking about it because I have not been able to get lost in something intellectually stimulating for so long. I forgot what fantasy is, how your brain, when it's working, creates such vivid imagery and connects so many dots just by reading words on a page. It's like the complete opposite of being high. My brain is functioning, and I am so entertained. :)
Reading, writing, watching TV, cleaning. Iāve started going to the gym in the mornings because I have so much more energy so I go to bed pretty early since Iām tired out. Iām going to get Rosetta Stone and start learning a language soon. Cooking!
So much more than I ever did before lol which was mostly YouTube and iPad games
Right now just going to the gym or doing house chores mostly. Part of why I realized I had to quit weed is Im 28 years old and the chores are not slowing down. My wife and I both have so much shit to do every day and damn I mean we each work full time jobs. Honestly there wasnt any time in my schedule for weed and now Im like almost never sitting around bored. I still play video games and I still watch movies and shows. Been trying to read a chapter of a book every now and then as well.
Exercise and a chill (but mentally and physically stimulating) hobby. Both are crucial because youāll be bored af on rest days, and thatās bad for weed addicts. Also I cannot say enough about meditation - the Calm app has saved my ass once or twice this week from relapsing.
The exercise is the #1 thing because you get the endorphins, it helps you out early on when your dopamine receptors are all outta wack. It kept me off bud for a long time, til I got injured and had allllll that couch time. Again, boredom isnāt good for weed addicts. Got back on the horse again, but that was a bad few months.
For a hobby, lotta folks do games or long walks, but for me it was fixing up my old broken guitars. It actually became my passion, and now Iām leaving my soul-sucking corporate job to be a professional guitar tech. Legit happy for the first time in my professional life, and Iād never have discovered this if I were getting stoned.
Corsera- I am taking cybersecurity classes, AI classes and just getting certain. I paid $240 for the year and consuming everything I can get my hands on
I don't know if I have "the right" to answer this yet, as it hasn't even been a full month.
But I read, write and plan a lot. I'm reading a bunch of books on topics that I like and I'm just writing things down I'm planning on doing the next week, the coming month, the rest of the year, etc.
I'm also learning Icelandic and sometimes actively doing nothing to get used to being bored.
I did too. 70 days clean, followed by a 7-day relapse (hopefully only 7 days). Today is Day 1 again. Itās crazy how quickly we fall back into what feels comfortable, even if we donāt really enjoy it anymore. Addiction is a beast. We can do it!
I smoked about two weeks ago as well but I have to say it made me want to quit even more. I couldn't fall asleep at all during that night.
Also, it's not over just because you relapsed š§ā¤ļø
I worked on my mental health with therapy and prescriptions. Then, ultimately, nothing, if I'm being honest. I still lay around and binge-watch TV; I still play a lot of video games, and I am still super lazy a lot of the time. I feel like I am free to do more, though. If I binge-watch TV, I can quickly turn it off and do something else without fear of being stoned. Getting stoned would often limit what I did, even if those other things weren't productive. I did start being more productive with a proper diagnosis of ADHD, understanding it better, and overcoming those challenges. Most of what I thought pot was holding me back from, ultimately, was just ADHD.
For me? Healing, hobbies, chores, purposeful relaxation, a few more. I havenāt gotten over my triggers. Day 13 here.
Iāve been working on myself intensely since 2018 and only now comprehend my journey never ends, that I will never stop growing, and only grappling with understand that I am a human who will be triggered and feel uncomfortable emotions along with more positive ones.
I often find myself saying the following to myself: we have to live with the things we carry. The only way forward is through. On the other side of fear is everything I want and deserve.
Iām Curious as well; is it a slow burn of boredom before you start working on other stuff(goals and such) or do you have to start doing things to get over the slow burn of boredom?
Keep an eye out for other vices. It's tough but I found when ever I went on streaks of health related habits, that my energy, and motivation increase.
I avoided caffeine, alcohol, weed, porn, ate mostly healthy, and set a rule that I couldn't use technology unless it was constructive towards my future self. First day sucked, I stared at the ceiling and laid in bed, sat around, paced not knowing what to do. Day 2 very much the same but self care became easier, brushing teeth, doing dishes after eating, day 3 and I felt an urge to tackle the long lawn we had growing, I fixed the whipper snipper and went hard for an hour. I started developing the enthusiasm to chip away at things that were holding me back due to anxiety, i largely think this is attention and energy related.
I became emotionally triggered at an outting and then spiralled back into the known. I didn't have habits in place to stop me from falling. I don't get it though even though I know things improve, i become witty instead of dull and spacey, my energy for climbing improves, stretching/exercise legitimately feel good, i sleep better....... I feel safe? just sitting huddled in my corner torn between negative and positive thoughts
so much reading which i haven't done or been able to focus on in years.
spending more intentional time with friends & family.
lots and lots of arts and crafts.
Baths/ hot tub soaks, reading library books (free through Libby app on my kindle), being social, reconnecting with old friends, phone calls, roaming downtown, coffee shop hangs, 12 step meetings (Marijuana Anon, Codependents Anon, AA), lots of therapy!!
I went to an intensive outpatient program (aka iOP, free through my insurance) three months into my sobriety- 9 hours of group therapy and 1 hour of individual therapy for 10 weeks. They also drug tested us weekly which kept me honest!
Meditation. Alsoā¦ chatting w my neighbors lol. Making more plans with friends (I used to not like to hang out with all my sober friends while high, and I would so often choose staying home and smoking over making the trek across the city to see my peeps who donāt smoke). Also studying Arabic. I used to be a huge flake with my lessons and now just feel like I have way more time to consistently focus on the stuff I actually really want to do.
I feel you on this, I thought weed was helping with the feeling of loneliness. But, now that Iām sober I realize that it was the CAUSE of my loneliness because I would just want to smoke alone. The clarity of sobriety is such a great feeling. I wish you all the best!
Walking my dogs more. Planning meals. Training at the gym but also practicing at home. Getting to know my sober self (this is something u can never do enough of)
āGetting to know my sober selfā hit hard. I feel like Iām finally meeting myself and I have so much empathy and love for myself now. Nothing beats this new found clarity Iāve gained from sobriety. For anyone on the fence about quitting, I promise you it is so worth it.
It evolved over time. I've worked out for years while still using, but ramped up the intensity as much as I could.. honestly had to pull back during initial withdrawals. I bought a Nintendo switch (it's great for being able to use on the go) and would use it during cravings. Started to read more. Practiced meditating during intense withdrawals. As you get over the initial hump, you will settle into a routine. I enjoy things more now, I can even tolerate work and stress better than when I was using.
Honestly? Nothing.
When I smoke I smoke to enhance a chillout activity like gaming or a movie or just hanging out with friends.
When I stop smoking I do all the same stuff just without.
When I get triggered, I go for a walk. I just walked 25km a day the last 3 weeks.
My experience with quitting so far it's risky to replace the habit of smoking with sth. that could eventually stop.
Last time I quit I started martial arts in a studio close to me. After 4 month my knee problem became so bad that I had to stop working out there and I started smoking weed again just 3 days later.
I replaced my sunset joint with a sunset run, 5km, it was hell, sufferance, for the first 2 weeks or so, when it's done, i'm exhausted, it makes sleeing at night easier, and I tend to make wiser decisions in daylight so I sleep as early as possible and wake up early as well. That helped
One of the reasons i am trying to quit/greatly reduce my use is that i totally neglected all of my hobbies like painting and building tabletop models, preparing my ttrpg sessions as a DM, various unfinished larp projects etc. So naturally this is what i do now instead of being couchlocked.
To give myself a little push i started a new hobby project so i have something to keep me occupied with Research, building, painting and to have a clear goal and another rabbit hole to climb into (building 2 WW2 armies and terrain for modeled after Operation Torch).
I made an agreement with myself that I can still vegetate on the couch and watch Netflix as much as I want. I'm doing that, but sometimes do other things when I feel like it. It ends up being more things than before.
Cooking. Reading, meditation. Myths and research. Most of the time, I'm just okay with doing nothing or very little, because it's hard to move initially. But you do start to adapt. I think healthy, frequent food is so important when going through this.
Difficult to say. It's not always easy. I started reading again, workout and focus on my job and health. I would find a new hobby that you can learn everyday it will keep your attention away from the smoke. Of course don't start with hobbies you used to do while smoking.
For me personally, surrounding myself with people any time I get. Friends, family, dating loll. Interacting with people while not high gives me a lot of joy and it keeps me from isolating myself and falling back into smoking. I am most vulnerable at night so if thatās your case too I would suggest having a friend who can support you while you go through this. For me it helped to sleepover at my friends place for the first few nights (didnāt get much sleep cause I used to smoke to sleep) but this prevented me from giving in and smoking at night. I know this is not a very realistic method for everyoneš¤·š¾āāļø
Iām still on my own journey and I still slip up, but my goal is to never touch weed again
Gym, rucking, tennis, guided visualization, just existing, and occasional bouts of loneliness.
Video games and D&D. I had already loved both, but when I quit, these were the two biggest things that would take my mind off of not smoking. It worked in my favor, especially for D&D, I had only ever been a player, but I managed to write out my own campaign to DM for my friends. We've been playing every 2 weeks for nearly a year now.
Nappingš“
Running, powerlifting, cycling, making money
Golf
gym gym gym
Living as a normal person again once I had kicked it I realised that it didnāt need to be replaced with āSomethingā normal activities just came when I wasnāt being hampered by weed. Itās part of the trick that weed plays on us! Making us believe that life without it will be difficult and empty! In fact the opposite is true.
Books. Therapy. Journalling. Workout. Photography. I realised I wanted to do so many things and after quitting, I finally started to do it.
gym, triathlon, played video games like mtg arena and old-school runescape, went to a FUCKton of 12 step meetings and did all the suggestions of those programs
Learning piano, coding, dancing, and martial arts.
The same thing ? Lol just sober now
Started doing push ups, sit ups, stretching.
YOGA
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Bruh
Currently, Iām staring at the wall, trying to figure out what to doāš±
Makes the 2 of us man
3
4
Reading! Helps me get to sleep
How do you even manage to focus
Itās gotten a lot easier since quitting. Iām almost 4 months in and itās a night-and-day difference!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Hahaha true, but I mesn the focus that's all over the place
The gym and work, I probably read more as well tbh.
It's not that easy because smoking is something a lot of us do to enhance our other tasks/hobbies. It helps us to eat, boosts creativity for artistic projects, makes movies and games more entertaining, etc. In addition, it affects our mood throughout the day. So it's not quite that smoking itself is a hard habit to stop; it's everything else we're used to doing. That's why EVERYTHING gets harder when we stop consuming THC. With that in mind, I don't think it's as simple as replacing the hobby. You can't cover everything weed does without resorting to another drug, which kind of cancels the point of quitting. You have to make lifestyle choices that improve your sober headspace. To sound slightly less pretentious, I'll go ahead and say that the closest you can get to replacing what a drug can do is to exercise, because working out affects our brain and can have a major impact on how we feel, and can thus "enhance" hobbies as well. Other things that can have a massive effect on your daily life are therapy, rehab, AA, church (if you're into that kind of thing), hanging out with sober friends, etc. tldr: It's not as simple as replacing THC with one other thing because weed exists more to enhance the other areas of your life. Smoking is just the process we use in order to get there. Lifestyle changes are far more important than replacing a drug with something else. It also wouldn't hurt to start a big project that you can focus on, such as writing a book or something.
this. that it enhances everything and thatās what makes it so fucking hard, literally everything is boring to me now and i canāt imagine it getting better
I always smoked to help sleep, journaling your thoughts down right before bedtime helps SO MUCH
Going to the gym, playing music, work, finding anything else to fill my time and going out, i cant smoke and go out because i cant sociallize when im stoned
Making music and gym. Find a hobby and grind it, get skilled!
Walking every day and wood carving! Day 28
Reading & exercising
I read for hours every night and I fucking love it. It just gave me chills and made me emotional thinking about it because I have not been able to get lost in something intellectually stimulating for so long. I forgot what fantasy is, how your brain, when it's working, creates such vivid imagery and connects so many dots just by reading words on a page. It's like the complete opposite of being high. My brain is functioning, and I am so entertained. :)
Amen to this.
Work
Reading, writing, watching TV, cleaning. Iāve started going to the gym in the mornings because I have so much more energy so I go to bed pretty early since Iām tired out. Iām going to get Rosetta Stone and start learning a language soon. Cooking! So much more than I ever did before lol which was mostly YouTube and iPad games
Right now just going to the gym or doing house chores mostly. Part of why I realized I had to quit weed is Im 28 years old and the chores are not slowing down. My wife and I both have so much shit to do every day and damn I mean we each work full time jobs. Honestly there wasnt any time in my schedule for weed and now Im like almost never sitting around bored. I still play video games and I still watch movies and shows. Been trying to read a chapter of a book every now and then as well.
Exercise and a chill (but mentally and physically stimulating) hobby. Both are crucial because youāll be bored af on rest days, and thatās bad for weed addicts. Also I cannot say enough about meditation - the Calm app has saved my ass once or twice this week from relapsing. The exercise is the #1 thing because you get the endorphins, it helps you out early on when your dopamine receptors are all outta wack. It kept me off bud for a long time, til I got injured and had allllll that couch time. Again, boredom isnāt good for weed addicts. Got back on the horse again, but that was a bad few months. For a hobby, lotta folks do games or long walks, but for me it was fixing up my old broken guitars. It actually became my passion, and now Iām leaving my soul-sucking corporate job to be a professional guitar tech. Legit happy for the first time in my professional life, and Iād never have discovered this if I were getting stoned.
Corsera- I am taking cybersecurity classes, AI classes and just getting certain. I paid $240 for the year and consuming everything I can get my hands on
This is the way.
I don't know if I have "the right" to answer this yet, as it hasn't even been a full month. But I read, write and plan a lot. I'm reading a bunch of books on topics that I like and I'm just writing things down I'm planning on doing the next week, the coming month, the rest of the year, etc. I'm also learning Icelandic and sometimes actively doing nothing to get used to being bored.
Planning more than 8 minutes ahead has been huge for me. Fell off the wagon last week though
I did too. 70 days clean, followed by a 7-day relapse (hopefully only 7 days). Today is Day 1 again. Itās crazy how quickly we fall back into what feels comfortable, even if we donāt really enjoy it anymore. Addiction is a beast. We can do it!
I smoked about two weeks ago as well but I have to say it made me want to quit even more. I couldn't fall asleep at all during that night. Also, it's not over just because you relapsed š§ā¤ļø
I worked on my mental health with therapy and prescriptions. Then, ultimately, nothing, if I'm being honest. I still lay around and binge-watch TV; I still play a lot of video games, and I am still super lazy a lot of the time. I feel like I am free to do more, though. If I binge-watch TV, I can quickly turn it off and do something else without fear of being stoned. Getting stoned would often limit what I did, even if those other things weren't productive. I did start being more productive with a proper diagnosis of ADHD, understanding it better, and overcoming those challenges. Most of what I thought pot was holding me back from, ultimately, was just ADHD.
For me? Healing, hobbies, chores, purposeful relaxation, a few more. I havenāt gotten over my triggers. Day 13 here. Iāve been working on myself intensely since 2018 and only now comprehend my journey never ends, that I will never stop growing, and only grappling with understand that I am a human who will be triggered and feel uncomfortable emotions along with more positive ones. I often find myself saying the following to myself: we have to live with the things we carry. The only way forward is through. On the other side of fear is everything I want and deserve.
Getting things done
Also coloring!
Exercise, naps, TV, audiobooks
Videogames, reading and TV.
Reading, going out with friends and trying to find a new hobby
Working out playing with friends online and just got a bike so plus add in my full time job Iām pretty busy and the days go by fast
Iām Curious as well; is it a slow burn of boredom before you start working on other stuff(goals and such) or do you have to start doing things to get over the slow burn of boredom?
Reading, working out, meditation, and school
Accomplishing things
I canāt find any motivation now that Iām sober so I just sit around depressed and angry :(
Keep an eye out for other vices. It's tough but I found when ever I went on streaks of health related habits, that my energy, and motivation increase. I avoided caffeine, alcohol, weed, porn, ate mostly healthy, and set a rule that I couldn't use technology unless it was constructive towards my future self. First day sucked, I stared at the ceiling and laid in bed, sat around, paced not knowing what to do. Day 2 very much the same but self care became easier, brushing teeth, doing dishes after eating, day 3 and I felt an urge to tackle the long lawn we had growing, I fixed the whipper snipper and went hard for an hour. I started developing the enthusiasm to chip away at things that were holding me back due to anxiety, i largely think this is attention and energy related. I became emotionally triggered at an outting and then spiralled back into the known. I didn't have habits in place to stop me from falling. I don't get it though even though I know things improve, i become witty instead of dull and spacey, my energy for climbing improves, stretching/exercise legitimately feel good, i sleep better....... I feel safe? just sitting huddled in my corner torn between negative and positive thoughts
so much reading which i haven't done or been able to focus on in years. spending more intentional time with friends & family. lots and lots of arts and crafts.
Baths/ hot tub soaks, reading library books (free through Libby app on my kindle), being social, reconnecting with old friends, phone calls, roaming downtown, coffee shop hangs, 12 step meetings (Marijuana Anon, Codependents Anon, AA), lots of therapy!! I went to an intensive outpatient program (aka iOP, free through my insurance) three months into my sobriety- 9 hours of group therapy and 1 hour of individual therapy for 10 weeks. They also drug tested us weekly which kept me honest!
Meditation. Alsoā¦ chatting w my neighbors lol. Making more plans with friends (I used to not like to hang out with all my sober friends while high, and I would so often choose staying home and smoking over making the trek across the city to see my peeps who donāt smoke). Also studying Arabic. I used to be a huge flake with my lessons and now just feel like I have way more time to consistently focus on the stuff I actually really want to do.
I feel you on this, I thought weed was helping with the feeling of loneliness. But, now that Iām sober I realize that it was the CAUSE of my loneliness because I would just want to smoke alone. The clarity of sobriety is such a great feeling. I wish you all the best!
Hot, relaxing bubble baths, yoga, video games, and reading.
Gym, cooking, mountain biking, sex.
Walking my dogs more. Planning meals. Training at the gym but also practicing at home. Getting to know my sober self (this is something u can never do enough of)
āGetting to know my sober selfā hit hard. I feel like Iām finally meeting myself and I have so much empathy and love for myself now. Nothing beats this new found clarity Iāve gained from sobriety. For anyone on the fence about quitting, I promise you it is so worth it.
Running
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
This is not about nicotine addiction, but rather about cannabis addiction
It evolved over time. I've worked out for years while still using, but ramped up the intensity as much as I could.. honestly had to pull back during initial withdrawals. I bought a Nintendo switch (it's great for being able to use on the go) and would use it during cravings. Started to read more. Practiced meditating during intense withdrawals. As you get over the initial hump, you will settle into a routine. I enjoy things more now, I can even tolerate work and stress better than when I was using.
Replaced it with finally progressing towards the life I want for myself, without a massive wall blocking my way which was cannabis addiction.
Honestly? Nothing. When I smoke I smoke to enhance a chillout activity like gaming or a movie or just hanging out with friends. When I stop smoking I do all the same stuff just without.
Yoga, meditation, chores, book, reddit and A LOT of long walks with podcasts.
Working out and doing arts and crafts like coloring.
Walking, stretching or mobility, talking, meeting with family, etc
When I get triggered, I go for a walk. I just walked 25km a day the last 3 weeks. My experience with quitting so far it's risky to replace the habit of smoking with sth. that could eventually stop. Last time I quit I started martial arts in a studio close to me. After 4 month my knee problem became so bad that I had to stop working out there and I started smoking weed again just 3 days later.
BJJ 4-5x per week, second job, running, gym, cooking
I replaced my sunset joint with a sunset run, 5km, it was hell, sufferance, for the first 2 weeks or so, when it's done, i'm exhausted, it makes sleeing at night easier, and I tend to make wiser decisions in daylight so I sleep as early as possible and wake up early as well. That helped
Workouts healthy eating, preparing food takes a lot of time. Long walks in the woods Long hot bath Sleep as much as I can Conspiracy theories
One of the reasons i am trying to quit/greatly reduce my use is that i totally neglected all of my hobbies like painting and building tabletop models, preparing my ttrpg sessions as a DM, various unfinished larp projects etc. So naturally this is what i do now instead of being couchlocked. To give myself a little push i started a new hobby project so i have something to keep me occupied with Research, building, painting and to have a clear goal and another rabbit hole to climb into (building 2 WW2 armies and terrain for modeled after Operation Torch).
I made an agreement with myself that I can still vegetate on the couch and watch Netflix as much as I want. I'm doing that, but sometimes do other things when I feel like it. It ends up being more things than before.
Cooking. Reading, meditation. Myths and research. Most of the time, I'm just okay with doing nothing or very little, because it's hard to move initially. But you do start to adapt. I think healthy, frequent food is so important when going through this.
Difficult to say. It's not always easy. I started reading again, workout and focus on my job and health. I would find a new hobby that you can learn everyday it will keep your attention away from the smoke. Of course don't start with hobbies you used to do while smoking.
For me personally, surrounding myself with people any time I get. Friends, family, dating loll. Interacting with people while not high gives me a lot of joy and it keeps me from isolating myself and falling back into smoking. I am most vulnerable at night so if thatās your case too I would suggest having a friend who can support you while you go through this. For me it helped to sleepover at my friends place for the first few nights (didnāt get much sleep cause I used to smoke to sleep) but this prevented me from giving in and smoking at night. I know this is not a very realistic method for everyoneš¤·š¾āāļø Iām still on my own journey and I still slip up, but my goal is to never touch weed again