Many people who smoke pot, over a period of time reach a stage where their entire life seems to revolve around pot. It fills any gaps in their lives and it is as if they are living in a haze. As a result they miss out on many important things in life, thus affecting their emotional and social well being. Although Marijuana is considered a soft drug, unlike crack or cocaine, it still causes plenty of destruction and is psychologically addictive.
Marijuana per se does not cause physical dependence like crack or cocaine; quitting these drugs leads to many unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. This is one of the commonest reasons for failure of abstinence effort. However unlike other drugs like cocaine and heroin, marijuana does not cause any unpleasant physical effects. However marijuana does have a strong psychological addiction. As most pot smokers would be aware of, most people smoke pot because of boredom.
Over a period of time pot occupies every single void in the life of a pot smoker and this leads to psychological addiction. The pot smoker always wants to feel high and over a period of time, they start smoking more and more of pot to that extent that it becomes a habit.
Therefore when an individual attempts to quit weed, the psychological effects are more pronounced that physical effects. The two common psychological effects of cannabis withdrawal are insomnia and depression.
Insomnia is a problematic disorder complicating cannabis withdrawal. It is seen in almost all individuals who attempt quitting after prolonged use of pot for the first 4-5 days. It however tends to improve from the second week onwards. Exercise is a good way to combat insomnia arising due to cannabis withdrawal.
Depression is another common condition that complicates cannabis withdrawal. This is seen in the second week after quitting pot and is usually mild to moderate. The common symptoms include lethargy, loss of appetite, anhedonia, and insomnia.
Anxiety is another major problem complicating the withdrawal process. Cannabis possesses intrinsic anxiolytic properties and withdrawal from cannabinoids leads to anxiety, palpitations, sweating, and tremors in many people. But the symptoms are usually mild and improve over few days.
Therefore to quit pot one must realise that one merely wants it and does not need it. The trick is to fill in the addiction with something creative and useful like a hobby or family time. Once a person learns to live a life without marijuana it is possible to quit pot forever.
