When a person who uses marijuana for a very long time suddenly tries to quit smoking weed, they usually experience severe withdrawal syndromes which tempt them to smoke again just to ease the cravings. Many fail within weeks of trying because of one main reason—they don’t really know what to do.
Weed smokers might feel the urge to try to quit, but simply stopping and wishing they don’t relapse is not enough to help one quit successfully. What serious quitters need is a solid action plan that will lead them step by step, day by day, week by week. Without a concrete guide, quitters can lose sight of their goal and eventually find themselves back to where they started. There is no universal methodology for successful quitting, but a framework might help quitters see it through. Below is an action plan that quitters can try to follow through to quit smoking weed and detoxifying successfully within 2 months or less:
Week 1
This is the decision phase. You make the decision to quit smoking marijuana on the first day and you decide to stick to that decision in the following days. It is not easy. But when you are successful in fighting off your cravings, reward yourself for the hard work. Go to the spa or the movies, eat ice cream or chocolate, or buy yourself a new gadget accessory.
Week 2 and 3
This is the withdrawal-management phase. By this time, you might feel that the withdrawal symptoms have gotten worse or you might feel yourself caving in to the cravings because of how bad your symptoms feel. When you feel like giving in, pause for a moment, take deep breaths, and walk away from your nearest source of weed.
If you don’t feel hungry, don’t force yourself. Just remember to drink plenty of water and nibble on something from time to time. “Have some candy” to keep your sugar level from crashing. In time, you will regain your appetite and will be able to eat healthy meals again.
If you’re feeling angry often, be easy on yourself. Stressful situations can easily overwhelm you, especially if you relied heavily on weed to deal with stress. Communicate your feelings and thoughts to whomever you want; and if you feel bad, just apologize and try to talk things out. Talking will practice your interpersonal skills which you have long-forgotten while on the weed.
Week 4
This is the observation phase. Look at yourself, feel yourself. Do you feel any different about your body? If you decided to quit in order to allow yourself to recover from a disease, you should assess if there was any improvement. If you quit because of bacterial vaginosis, check now if you feel better down there. If you quit smoking marijuana because of the antibiotics you take for your chronic anal fissures, check now if their effects have improved. If you quit because weed aggravates your vertigo, check now if you still feel as bad as before.
Then again, no matter what you observe about yourself, stick to the decision of quitting. You will see the good results in time. Reward yourself again for another week of really hard work.
Week 5 and 6
This is the self-rediscovery phase. You see, if you focus too much on the detoxification and the drug tests, you will feel more frustrated when things don’t follow the set timeline. Instead of pressuring yourself with all the measurements, just focus on what you can attain from the quitting process. And the most important thing you could attain from this is yourself—that person you used to be before you start smoking weed.
The quitting process can take long, so use this time wisely by focusing on regaining your former sense of self. Think of all the good memories you had in the past. Think of what you used to like doing and seeing. Think of how good or bad life was before you smoked weed.
Week 7 and 8
This is the social reconnection phase. You might have noticed that some friends or relatives that were once close to you have now become distant since you started using weed. This is because weed smokers tend to shut themselves in and others out while they get busy getting high. Smoking weed takes up your time and attention, so you spend less time with other people.
This is a good time to reach out to your family and friends again, maybe share them your story so they can help and support your quitting endeavor. More support means more chances of quitting successfully.
There is no fixed action plan for everyone. Usually, plans have to be modified according to a person’s needs, limits, and expectations. But no matter what solid plan is made, the key to successful quitting is to stick to the plan no matter what.
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