Do you have to use marijuana to feel normal?

Many people have problems with marijuana. Often touted as something that is perhaps very lightly physically addictive, but perhaps psychologically addictive, either way, when it’s someone you know, or perhaps you yourself, has an issue abusing or using marijuana, the problem becomes very real, and it doesn’t matter if its technically psychological or physical. It’s there, and it’s a problem, and it needs to be dealt with.

In this article, we will take a look at a few ways to get help when it comes to using and quitting marijuana use.

1. Establish a firm commitment to quit.
This is very important. Having a strong psychological commitment towards quitting is the first step. Think of all the reasons you should quit – including very dramatic ones, such as not wanting your kids to find out you smoke, for instance – and latch on to them. Hold on to them for strength. You will need these reasons close by your heart when you are struggling and breaking free of your habits and patterns.

2. Garner the support of friends and family.
Let your friends and family know have think you have a problem with using marijuana and that you are addressing this problem. They hopefully will be right on your side.

If your friends and family indulge in marijuana themselves, or find it otherwise threatening to learn you are quiting, you will have to simply find other friends and family who will support you, and focus on them for now. This could mean dropping friends or even family members while you change your life.

3. Accept that you will have relapses.
No one is perfect. Accept that any mistakes you make in the future are just – mistakes. They don’t define you, and they don’t stop you from waking up the next and not using.

4. Accept that you might need professional help and be ready for it when the time comes.
Understand that you dependency on marijuana might be incredibly strong, and in order to effectively break it and move beyond this dependency, professional help could be needed. This might mean one on one therapy or it could mean staying at a drug addiction treatment facility for a number of days, or just out patient visits.

Either way, it’s OK to accept professional help. Allow yourself to get the help you need, when and if it comes down to it.

5. Finally, start an exercise program.
This is a funny sounding suggestion, but when quitting one habit, it’s great to replace it with another. For people with substance abuse issues, establishing an exercise program can be an effective way to excerpt control over the body, making it obey you, rather than the usual act of falling victim to the bodies craving for a drug. Of course, exercise has about a million other benefits, all of which carry weight in helping you live a happy, healthy, drug free life.

The concept of real addiction problems when it comes to marijuana is hard for some to swallow. For those who think it’s silly, at least don’t make it harder for someone who believes they have a problem. Drug addiction – and addiction in general – comes in many guises, and while marijuana has valid medical use and, also, I will readily admit, recreational value for many that is both safe and enjoyable – it is a real problem for some, and for that group of people, I wish them the best in the journey of breaking free of the chains that hold them down.